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Re: A better PDF editor for accessibility?

for

From: Chagnon | PubCom
Date: Jun 12, 2013 9:56AM

Just a few corrections about InDesign...
Olaf wrote: "in 2001 Adobe InDesign CS5.5 was released, with tagged PDF
creation support that made it relatively easy for the average user to create
tagged PDF."

InDesign version 1.5 (not CS 5.5) was released in 2001, and I don't recall
it having XML/tagged PDF support in that version. And when a topic takes
12-18 hours of classroom time to teach, I wouldn't call it "relatively easy
for the average user."

I started creating tagged accessible PDFs from InDesign CS4 (version 6)
which was released in 2008. I think the feature might have been available in
CS3 (version 5) but wasn't really a workable tool in that version.

CS 5.5 (version 7.5, released in 2011) greatly improved InDesign's tools to
create a tagged PDF (namely lists, tables of content, anchored graphics).
But InDesign was — and still is today — an imperfect set of tools for
creating accessible PDFs.

InDesign CC (aka CS7, version 9) will be released this coming Monday, June
17. I'll let you know then about any new accessibility tools, features, and
improvements.

—Bevi Chagnon
- - -
www.PubCom.com — Trainers, Consultants, Designers, Developers.
Print, Web, Acrobat, XML, eBooks, and U.S. Federal Section 508
Accessibility.
The 508 Workshop tour in 2013 — www.Workshop.PubCom.com

-----Original Message-----
From: <EMAIL REMOVED>
[mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of Olaf Drümmer
Sent: Wednesday, June 12, 2013 3:53 AM
To: WebAIM Discussion List
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] A better PDF editor for accessibility?

Just to really make this clear...:

- in 2001 the first version of PDF (1.4) and Acrobat (Acrobat 5) were
released that defined/supported tagged PDF
- tagged PDF is the basis for accessible PDF, and has some conceptual
similarities to tags in HTML
- tools to create tagged PDF emerged over time, some significant dates being
- 2002 FrameMaker
- 2007 Microsoft Office
- 2008 OpenOffice
- in 2001 Adobe InDesign CS5.5 was released, with tagged PDF creation
support that made it relatively easy for the average user to create tagged
PDF
- in 2008 PDF was released as an ISO standard (ISO 32000-1), after in 2007
Adobe had indicated they'd be interested in handing further development of
and control over the PDF format over to ISO
- in 2012 a tagged PDF based standard that defines accessible PDF was
published by ISO and is called PDF/UA (ISO 14289-1).

With my statement (accessible PDF not being a success story yet) I referred
to the time between 2001 and now.

---

A major pain point for a long time has been that the quality of tagged PDF
export (and features helping in the preparation of a document for tagged PDF
export) has been so flawed, that it was (and still) often is necessary to do
extensive fixing after the tagged PDF has been created (and many users do
this in Acrobat, which in itself has numerous unfortunate limitations in the
'tag fixing' area). If Microsoft Word and PowerPoint did at least an OK job
at producing tagged PDF, life would be so much easier (just think if the
fact that all images tend to jump to the beginning of the document, or the
fact that doing decent structuring in PowerPoint is a nightmare). Adobe
Indesign made a lot of progress in CS 5.5, but for non-trivial documents it
is still highly flawed or limited. Even FrameMaker - a highly structured
document creation tool - 11 years later - is still in a sad state when it
comes to decently tagged PDF (how embarrassing is that? Just think of all
the product docu mentation that could actually be useful for everyone if
only someone got their act together...).

Some developers have offered add-on tools that work around ugly problems in
programs, and make creation of well tagged PDF feasible for the average user
(tools like axesPDF for Word, CommonLook Office for Microsoft Office, axaio
MadeToTag for InDesign). More modern and powerful AT is also emerging, not
relying on crude hacks (like TUROT order) anymore but taking tagged PDF
serious (like NVDA or the soon to be released VIP-PDF Reader).

For the upcoming more modern technology (creation, reading, and assistive
technology) to be economically viable, it is key to leave all the weird
stuff behind and to get it right on the conceptual level as much as
possible. TUROT order cannot and must not be part of a brighter future, it
eats away too much from the few precious resources that are available. Bad
tools and processes must be left behind, they are a plague for everyone, and
block the overall effort from being effective.

Olaf


On 12 Jun 2013, at 01:32, Jonathan Metz wrote:

> Chagnon | PubCom" wrote:
>
>
>> What's less than a year old?
>> Acrobat itself and the PDF standard were created in the late 1980s
>> and released to the public in 1993, 20 years ago.
>> Accessibility tools first appeared in Acrobat 6 (pdf spec 1.5) in
>> 2003,
>> 10 years ago, although they were marginal.
>> Significant accessibility tools appeared in Acrobat 8 (pdf spec 1.7)
>> in 2006, and more tools/features have been added to every version since.
>
> Sorry, I should have clarified PDF/UA. Not PDF 1.7.
>
>
> Jonathan
>
> > > list messages to <EMAIL REMOVED>

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