WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

RE: PDF files and Section 508 Compliance

for

From: Austin, Darrel
Date: May 16, 2005 1:05PM

> Even when I get a nice, pretty Word document and a nice
> pretty PDF document to put on the Web, that's still not
> really accessible, is it?

Right. It's still pretty much just a paper form.

Unless they take the time to make it an actual PDF form. But, at that point,
you have to ask 'why not just make it a web form?'

> Do I need to develop an html form that
> could be filled out online in order to truly make this setup
> accessible?

That would be nice.

> I'm lost as to what to do that doesn't present a big
> accessibility problem - even if I had .doc, .pdf, .txt
> formats and an html form all available on the site. Right
> now, frustration tells me that providing no access to the
> application to anyone seems to me to be the only equitable solution.

'Equitable' isn't necessarily a good good argument for 'accessible', as it
leads to the baby-with-the-bathwater arguments. Yes, your content should be
made available to all, but don't limit it to all just in the name of
fairness.

The issue is that it's not just a document, but a form that this
organization wants people to fill out. For someone with a physical
impairment, they are likely better off using an accessible electronic form
rather than pencil and paper.

-Darrel