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RE: questions about accessible pdfs

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From: Sarah Horton
Date: Mar 1, 2004 10:43AM

Julian,
How about just including "PDF" in the link text so it is read as part of the link, e.g., <a href="directions.pdf">Directions and map (PDF)</a>? You could include the PDF icon as a way of reinforcing the PDF-ness of the link, but not as the primary way of telling users that the link is a PDF.

Sarah

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I do use type="application/pdf" and I do have a PDF icon graphic with
appropriate alt text but it is after the link, not before it therefore the
user would have to read past it to "learn" that it is a PDF.

Hmmm, have to think about this one.

---------------------------------------------------------
Julian Rickards
Digital Publications Distribution Coordinator
Publications Services Section
Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines
Phone: (705) 670-5608
Fax: (705) 670-5690


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jukka K. Korpela [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ]

> I don't think that's the optimal approach when linking to PDF
> document.
>
> After all, the title attribute should specify an advisory title for a
> document. I could see the point in title="Introduction to General
> Surrealism (in PDF format)" but plain title="PDF Document" is somewhat
> questionable.
>
> Explicitly mentioning "(PDF)" or similar (maybe the PDF icon,
> naturally
> with alt="(PDF)") is probably the best way of telling that it's a PDF
> document.
>
> Even if a browser supports the title attribute, there is no
> guarantee that
> the user will notice the availability of the information in it.
>
> Technically, an appropriate way to give metainformation about
> data format
> is type="application/pdf" in an <a> element. It's not much
> used by current
> browsers, but at least it's standardized. So it could be used
> _in addition
> to_ explicitly mentioning the type.


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