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Re: Pagemaker or QuarkXPress and Accessible PDF Document

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From: Waltenberger, Lon (LNI)
Date: Sep 8, 2009 3:05PM

Hi Randy,

Forgive me if I talk about stuff you already know.

Creating accessible PDFs from InDesign and other graphic-oriented
applications is difficult at best and usually impossible.

Find more info about accessibility using InDesign at
http://www.adobe.com/accessibility/products/indesign/.

I agree with Steve Green for the most part.

PageMaker was not designed with accessibility in mind. Adobe alludes to
that if not directly states it on their site.

I can't speak to QuarkXpress but assume accessibility non-existent
because it too is designed to create products for print media only.

The best way to make PDFs accessible is to ensure the original document
is properly structured. Few understand the importance of this or know
how to accomplish it. It isn't difficult; it's merely a new way of doing
things.

For Microsoft Word, here's a start from Adobe at
http://blogs.adobe.com/accessibility/2008/03/reference_card_for_accessib
le.html.

Please know that neither Acrobat's Quick/Full Accessibility Checker nor
the Read Out Loud voice synthesizer can be trusted.

The checker does its best (kudos to Adobe for all of their work on
accessibility) but it's machine-based. It'll tell you that the PDF has
no problems because it sees tags throughout the PDF. However, the tags
could be, and probably are, scattered about the PDF in anything but
readable order.

Most of the time, from experience and reading it on Adobe's site, it's
best to remove the programmatically placed tags and manually tag the
document. Only knowledgeable human eyes can create accessible PDFs.

The Read Out Loud functionality is okay but it's not a robust screen
reader. According to Adobe it's about 90% as efficient as JAWS. Which
10% do you want to leave unknown?

The only true test of a document's accessibility for screen readers is
to visually follow a screen reader through the document. This ensures
complete coverage in logical reading order.

Freedom Scientific's EULA forbids using the JAWS demo for testing. I
find that disappointing.

GW Micro at http://www.gwmicro.com/ allows use of the Window-Eyes demo
for unlimited testing. They have a 30-minute limit that requires a
reboot to continue using. I applaud their generosity for testing but 30
minutes go by quickly until one becomes proficient using Window-Eyes.

NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA) at http://www.nvda-project.org/ has a
free robust open source screen reader. Check out the flash drive
version. It runs from a thumb drive on any PC with a simple file
download. This is great for demonstrating screen readers to content
owners. You can add Microsoft Mike and Mary for a better audio
experience. And there's no time limit. Additionally, Adobe recently
announced support for NVDA's reader at
http://blogs.adobe.com/accessibility/2009/08/adobe_supports_open-source_
nvda.html.

I hope you find some of this useful.