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Re: Reference tag with ALT text

for

From: Philip Kiff
Date: Apr 22, 2020 11:22AM

Mmmmm....I think Alan may be trying to get at the question of whether
this syntax may be acceptable in cases when there is a single note that
is referenced multiple times. And in such cases, I'm not sure that the
PDF Association's best practice guide is helpful? In 4.2.7.3 Creation
(on page 37) of their guide, they imply that their recommendations are
only fully reliable when:
- the label is not repeated elsewhere in the document, or
- the same-labelled <Note> follows the <Reference> in the logical
reading order.

Coincidentally, I'm right now finishing off a long, official legal
document where I used almost this exact same tagging structure in order
to tag multiple instances of a symbol which is intended as a marginal
note to identify passages that have changed in the document since the
last revision. In my case, I did not create an empty reference tag.
Rather, I enclosed the symbol with an <Lbl> tag and then placed the
<Lbl> as a child of a <Reference>. Then I applied alternative text to
the <Reference> tag just like the case Alan mentions. So the tag tree
looks like this:
<Reference> (with alternative text)
 - <LbL>
- - symbol

To complicate matters, In my case, the <Note> that the <Reference>
refers to actually precedes the <Reference> symbol in the document, so
my file doesn't meet either of the criteria set out in item 4.2.7.3 of
that PDF Association guide.

Alan's example is almost the same as mine, except that document employs
an empty <Reference> tag. But by simply reversing the nesting order, and
using the <Lbl> tag instead of the <Note> tag on the number, then the
tagging in the document he cites would be correct, wouldn't it?
(Assuming that there is indeed a <Note> somewhere that is being
referenced with that <Lbl> number.

In any case, like, Alan, I thought that this was pretty good solution to
the challenge of managing multiple references to a single note when one
is dealing with a document whose text and format cannot be altered. But
I also did not do robust testing to see whether this syntax would be
properly consumed by multiple different assistive technologies.

The only other viable option that I've seen for dealing with such
structures (multiple references to a single note ), is the one put
forward by Ted Page from Accessible Digital Documents here:
https://accessible-digital-documents.com/blog/accessible-pdf-footnotes-endnotes/

Phil.

Philip Kiff
D4K Communications

On 2020-04-22 11:01, <EMAIL REMOVED> wrote:
> No, that construct is incorrect.
>
> Refer to the PDF Association's Syntax Guide at https://www.pdfa.org/resource/tagged-pdf-best-practice-guide-syntax/, specifically sections 4.2.7 <Note> and 4.2.8 <Reference>
>
> There's no need to have Alt-text on the standard construct. If the Alt-text just repeats the exact live word content in the PDF, then it provides no additional information whatsoever, and may also remove some functionality/controls for the A T user.
>
> Trying to envision what this looks like: <Quote> The Reference tag has as its Alt text the actual content of the footnote. The content is not in a Paragraph tag inside the Reference, as I have usually seen. There's no tag elsewhere in the tag tree for that content. <End Quote>
>
> If the actual content of the footnote is in Alt-text on the <Reference> tag, then how do other users get access to or see the footnote? Alt-text is generally available only by screen readers and other text-to-voice A T.
>
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: WebAIM-Forum < <EMAIL REMOVED> > On Behalf Of Alan Zaitchik
> Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2020 10:03 AM
> To: <EMAIL REMOVED>
> Subject: [WebAIM] Reference tag with ALT text
>
> I just saw something I never knew could be done. Works in JAWS, but I'd like to know if this is legit.
> In a PDF table there's a numbered footnote reference. The author created a Note tag around the number and added an empty Reference tag inside the Note. The Reference tag has as its Alt text the actual content of the footnote. The content is not in a Paragraph tag inside the Reference, as I have usually seen. There's no tag elsewhere in the tag tree for that content. It's just the Alt text of the empty Reference tag.
> Obviously this forces the user to hear the note while reading the main content, but on the plus side this supports the note's content being reused multiple times since it's just adding multiple Reference tags with the same Alt text.
> Is this a common practice? Do all screen readers support Alt text on a Reference tag?
> Thanks,
> Alan
>