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Re: Pagemaker or QuarkXPress and Accessible PDF Document

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From: Karlen Communications
Date: Sep 9, 2009 4:50AM

You can also use the Highlight Content in Acrobat to move through the Tags
Tree and see what the content on the page corresponds to. This helps
eliminate an adaptive technology specific quality assurance result.

In terms of InDesign and Quark based articles, document designers should
create styles for each structural element in the document, for example
headings, lists, and so forth. Then, even if the ability to export to tagged
PDF is wonky at least you can use the Role Map to make global reassignments
rather than having to manually edit the Tags.

Highlight Content in Acrobat is your best friend as it lets you move through
the document and visually compare the reading order with the Tag order. You
can also use Reflow or save the PDF as an accessible text file but I find
the use of Highlight Content a better method.

There are also issues with the accessibility full check that will give you
false positives or false negative. I use the full check as an indicator of
where problems may lie but not as the determinant of an accessible PDF.

I do workshops on creating accessible Word documents, documents for
repurposing to tagged PDF and have written a book for Word 2003 on creating
logical document structure/accessible Word docs. The principles can be
applied to any application from which you create a document. Creating well
structured documents is key.

I am doing a four part EASI webinar series on accessible and usable PDF
beginning September 10: http://easi.cc/clinic.htm#karenwebinar for anyone
interested.

Cheers, Karen