WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

Re: help with pdf remediation

for

From: chagnon
Date: Mar 17, 2021 9:27AM

Coincidentally, I was just reviewing this issue last week with one of Adobe's lead engineers.

There are several factors that can throw off how the language is recognized by the AT:
1. How the designer set up the source file in InDesign.
2. How InDesign's internal export utility coded the language attribute into the PDF.
3. And how screen readers sometimes miss the language setting when voicing the PDF.

Details for each factor are below. Note, we're talking about "local" language settings that are used to specify one paragraph or word in a different language from the main document. The main "global" language setting is different and is set in the PDF's Properties (aka, metadata).

[Long explanation follows]

1. The source InDesign File.
The InDesigner needs to create a new Paragraph Style or Character Style for each foreign language in the document. In the style settings, set the local language under Advanced Character Formats.
Remember, use a Paragraph Style if the entire paragraph will be in the foreign language, and a Character Style if only a letter or few words will be in it.

2. The exported PDF from InDesign.
Open the PDF and examine the Tags tree.
The Paragraph style will add the language attribute to the <P> tag. You'll see this in the Content (left) tab in the Properties dialogue for the tag (and not in the Tag or middle tab).
The Character style will add the language attribute to the yellow bankers box container or a <Span> tag that encases the letters/words.

The resulting PDF is not like Word, which puts the language attribute in the Tag tab (middle tab) of the Properties dialogue, not in the left tab.

Why are there 2 places in PDF to identify the language? Was told so that we can get granular control of it. But that, to me, just allows for potential problems that you're having, detailed in 3 below.

3. Screen reader recognition of the 2 places where language is specified.
Our testing of both JAWS and NVDA did not show any problems with the language attribute being on the Tag or Content in the Properties dialogue. Both screen readers picked up the language as we'd expect.

However, I would not be surprised that different AT with different preference settings would miss one method but work with the other.

Suggestion:
Be sure your screen reader software is upgraded to the latest version.

In Acrobat, try setting the language in the Tag tab rather than in the Content tab. Or maybe put it in both tabs.

Let us know if that resolves the problem.

— — —
Bevi Chagnon | Designer, Accessibility Technician | <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 – Simple Guide to Writing Alt-Text