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Re: PDFs and NVDA

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From: Bevi Chagnon
Date: Aug 21, 2011 2:57PM

Lisa, I think you mean "headings" not "headers."
They are very different parts of a page.
To help understand the difference: when you think of a header also think of
its mate, a footer. Headers are running headers (aka page numbers, folios,
repeating info) that repeat at the top of every page.

A heading is a headline, subhead, title or something similar that is part of
the body text on a page. Headings are used by assistive technologies for
quick navigation while headers are usually ignored.

Similar usage for tables. A table header is the repeating information at the
top and includes the column heads. A table heading falls in within the body
of the table and acts like a subhead, dividing one portion of a table from
another.
In tables, the header is used by assistive technologies to orientate the
user, while table headings (subheads) are usually read like any other text
in the table and often confuse the heck out of AT users.

--Bevi Chagnon
(former editor and typesetting)

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PubCom - Trainers, consultants, designers, and developers
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