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Re: AxesPDF tool

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From: Philip Kiff
Date: Apr 20, 2019 1:50PM

I just found the Quick Start Guide for axesPDF QuickFix as well as a
guide on how to use their table editor on the German side of the Axes4
website. The QuickStart Guide looks quite detailed (119 pages), but I've
not seen it anywhere in English:
https://www.axes4.com/anleitungen-axespdf-quickfix.html

I'll reach out to the company and see if they have anything to add to
the discussion regarding English help for users.

Phil.

On 2019-04-20 15:32, Philip Kiff wrote:
> Ha! Yes, I have to agree that figuring out how to use AxesPDF is a
> high learning curve. I learned to use it largely through trial and
> error. But I also found some hints from the AxesPDF QuickFix section
> of their Help Centre:
> https://support.axes4.com/hc/en-us/categories/200116848-axesPDF-QuickFix
>
> I have found the company to be reasonably responsive when I use the
> "Submit a request" feature on their support site for registered users,
> so you might try getting support that way instead of via email?
>
> I think that their main development team probably works in German and
> materials are probably prepared in German first and then later
> translated into English. In some cases, they may not translate
> materials into English at all. I can read German more or less, and at
> one point I was sent a draft of a part of a user guide in German for
> their AxesPDF for Word plugin which I found helpful. I think they now
> have a draft of a user guide for the AxesPDF for Word plugin in
> English. But I haven't seen a user guide for the AxesPDF QuickFix tool
> - for that I think they just have the Help Centre website above?
>
> When I was learning how to use it, I started simply by using the
> Checker tab and running the checker to find errors. Then I would
> search up individual errors on their website to see how to resolve
> them. Their website is organized in a way that allows you to search
> for solutions to many of the checker errors here:
> https://support.axes4.com/hc/en-us/sections/200327928-Fixing-PDF-UA-problems
>
>
> Following this approach I eventually learned how to use most of the
> features of the software. Though after two years, there are still a
> few features that I don't quick know what they do, or how exactly they
> are supposed to work (!). So they definitely could do with some better
> documentation.
>
> I was also thinking about making some tutorials for using axesPDF in
> conjunction with some tips on how to remediate PDFs generally. But
> I've not gotten around to it.
>
> There's one conceptual tip that I've not seen highlighted but that I
> think might help folks understand where QuickFix might fit in an
> efficient PDF remediation workflow. Using AxesPDF QuickFix actually
> involves going back and forth between AxesPDF QuickFix and Acrobat
> Professional DC. To edit tag names and properties and to do bulk tag
> editing, I use AxesPDF QuickFix. But if you need to insert new tags or
> move tags into a different order, then you have to go back to Acrobat
> Pro to do that. So I always start out with Acrobat Pro and I do the
> main tagging and the ordering of tags. From there it is a process of
> going back and forth from AxesPDF QuickFix to Acrobat Pro based on
> which tool does the thing I need fastest. Whenever you need to insert
> new tags or move tags into a different order,  you have to use Acrobat
> Pro.
>
> Phil.
>
> Philip Kiff
> D4K Communications
>
>
> On 2019-04-20 14:27, Karlen Communications wrote:
>> I have axesPDF but there are no tutorials in English. I found some in
>> Finnish but they are for the axesPDF add-in for Word and basically
>> just tell
>> you how to make Word documents accessible.
>>
>> I've been trying to figure out how to use axesPDF and so far have had no
>> luck. I do have a visual disability but am not relying on adaptive
>> technology for the user interface.
>>
>> I've heard it is a good tool, but with no tutorials available, I
>> found it a
>> high learning curve, even with what I know about accessible PDF.
>>
>> I was going to write tutorials on how to use it but my e-mails to
>> axesPDF
>> asking for help in understanding the user interface have gone
>> unanswered for
>> about a year now and their support pages are scarce in terms of usable
>> information.
>>
>> If anyone has tutorials on how to use axesPDF, please let me know. I
>> hate
>> having tools I should be able to use but can't.
>>
>> Cheers, Karen
>>
>>