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Re: PDFs that read one word per line

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From: Monir ElRayes
Date: Jan 29, 2010 1:24PM

Geof,

ComnmonLook is a software tool that works with Acrobat Standard or Pro and
presents the PDF structure in a visual, easy-to-manipulate format called the
Logical Structure Editor. The idea is to hide the complexity of the PDF
structure as much as possible from the remediator.

Keep in mind that a PDF file consists of 3 independent "views": Physical
(this is what gets displayed and printed), tags (this is what the screen
reader process) and content (this is what the Reflow feature in Acrobat uses
as well as what gets displayed by PDAs). As the 3 PDF views are independent,
they can (and often do) get out of synch with each other (especially with
some PDF generation tools). Putting them back in synch, and ensuring that
there are sufficient and accurate structural elements to make the document
accessible, can be beyond the skills of the average user.

CommonLook hides the complexity of the PDF structure and also provides tools
that make it possible to automatically correct many of the common
accessibility issues in PDF (many are based on feedback from customers such
as OPM, DHS and SSA) and deal with complex objects such as tables.

CommonLook also methodically goes through the PDF document and ensures all
the Section 508 standards are verified (either automatically or through
operator intervention) and generates a compliance report. This is important
because many people mistakenly assume that screen reader testing is
sufficient (while Section 508 is intended to deal with many different types
of disability).

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.


Cheers,
Monir