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Re: accessibility guidelines/normative for PDF?

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From: Chagnon | PubCom
Date: Aug 5, 2016 11:51AM

<< PDFs are considered web content >>

Uh, I disagree.
That's a dangerous, way-too-broad interpretation!

A PDF is just one of many file types that can be linked into or part of a webpage, just like a Word DOCX file can.

When they are part of a webpage, our current standards require that they be accessible, along with the other content on the webpage. Per Sec. 508 requirements, they also must be accessible whenever they are "public facing" -- that is available to the general public -- regardless of whether they are on a website, flash drive, or delivered via any other media technology.

The PDF file format itself is independent of all technologies and can reside and function anywhere, not just on a website. Example: a PDF that is stored on my office computer's hard drive has nothing to do with the web and doesn't need any web technology to exist and be functional. And when stored on my office computer, it is exempt from accessibility requirements because it is not public facing (and also not government information, either, but that exemption will eventually go away a few years from now).

The PDF file format was deliberately designed to stand alone and be independent of any other file format, platform, delivery method, or technology. And the PDF format was, in fact, developed a few years before Tim Berners Lee developed HTML and the World Wide Web.

Summary: A PDF is one of many different independent file formats that can be part of a website's content, but to broadly paint it as "web content" is inaccurate. Most PDFs aren't part of a website, and therefore aren't "web content" at all.

PS: And this is another reason why the PDF/UA standard is better for accessible PDFs than WCAG (WEB Content Accessibility Guidelines). It takes into account that PDFs exist on their own, beyond being part of websites.

--Bevi Chagnon

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Bevi Chagnon | www.PubCom.com
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