WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

Re: Word To PDF Accessibility: What Does and Does Not Transmit From Word To PDF

for

From: chagnon@pubcom.com
Date: Jun 18, 2019 12:10PM

The list is so-o-o long!

We're seeing a regression in accessible PDFs from any source program using
any of the available tools, not just Adobe's PDF Maker plug-in, Microsoft's
built-in converter, Fox It, Nuance Power PDF, or Axes4 PDF's utility.

The biggest problems are with Tables of Content, footnotes, and regular
tables.

Part of this comes from the development of the forthcoming PDF UA-2
standards, which are not yet completed nor published by the ISO. But
companies are beginning to build UA-2 "stuff" into their programs now, in
today's versions. Essentially, they are jumping ahead of the standard and
consequently, no A T knows how to process this stuff and present it to the
human being using the A T.

The main questions this community needs to ask and get answers for:

1. Why are we going backwards? Why are PDFs exported from Word today, with
the latest software releases, less accessible than they were 2 years ago?

2. Why do different companies interpret the standards differently? Aren't
standards supposed to, well, standardize things?

3. Any why are companies programming for UA-2 before it's ready and
released? Or even the law? Sec. 508 requires only PDF UA-1, not UA-2.

Any answers?

-Bevi

- - -
Bevi Chagnon, founder/CEO | <EMAIL REMOVED>
- - -
PubCom: Technologists for Accessible Design + Publishing
consulting . training . development . design . sec. 508 services
Upcoming classes at www.PubCom.com/classes
- - -
Latest blog-newsletter - Accessibility Tips at www.PubCom.com/blog

-----Original Message-----
From: WebAIM-Forum < <EMAIL REMOVED> > On Behalf Of Jim
Homme
Sent: Tuesday, June 18, 2019 10:15 AM
To: WebAIM Discussion List < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Subject: [WebAIM] Word To PDF Accessibility: What Does and Does Not Transmit
From Word To PDF

Hi,
I'm starting to keep track of what accessibility fixes in Word need to be
redone when going to PDF. Does anyone already have notes on this? It looks
to me as though it matters what process you use to make the PDF after you
make the Word doc accessible. We have both the Adobe and the Microsoft PDF
generation facilities available to us here.

Thanks.

Jim



==========
Jim Homme
Digital Accessibility
Bender Consulting Services
412-787-8567
https://www.benderconsult.com/our%20services/hightest-accessible-technology-
solutions

http://webaim.org/discussion/archives