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Re: NVDA + Flash and another question on PDF

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From: Olaf Drümmer
Date: May 22, 2013 12:52AM

Hi Robbie,

Adobe Reader (if that's what you are referring to) does not have something built-in that I would call a reader targeting people with disabilities or special needs.

It does have a text-to-speech feature but I do not think many would claim it is especially good. It is definitely not a substitute for assistive technology.

Adobe Reader (on Windows) nevertheless exposes an internal programming interface to screen reader programs or other assistive technology. A screen reader - like JAWS or NVDA - can make use of that programming interface and deliver the actual functionality, like accessing and interacting with content in PDF files, assuming they are tagged PDF files.

In addition, for any PDF files that are not tagged already, Adobe Reader (and Adobe Acrobat) will offer to create tags on the fly. While this is based on heuristics, and will work better or not so good, depending on the PDF file, it enables some access to content that has not been prepared with accessibility in mind.

Regarding the quality of PDF access - I'd say that JAWS and NVDA are similar, and both are quite good at it. I can't comment on other screen readers.

Olaf


On 21 May 2013, at 20:09, Kohn, Robbie wrote:

> My second question is regarding the built in reader in Adobe PDF. My experience with the built-in reader has been horrible. Do most blind/vision-impaired users tend to use their own screen readers vs. the built-in reader? I've searched but could not find navigation tips for using the built-in reader and when I click the up/down or right/left arrows the document jumps all over the place.