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Re: Accessible ways to read pdf documents with screen readerson windows

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From: JP Jamous
Date: Sep 1, 2021 6:26AM

You can open PDF files in Adobe Reader DC as well. I tend to read them using various ways with JAWS.

1. I let them open in Edge, but sometimes I have found that certain things are more accessible in Adobe Reader
2. I use Adobe Reader to open and read PDF files especially, those that need scanning. For example, if the PDF is an image, I perform a JAWS OCR scanning on it using the layered command Insert + Spacebar, followed by o and d.
3. If the PDF file is well tagged, you can use quick navigation keys with JAWS like t for next table, c for a dropdown list, or h for next heading, etc.
4. I tend to convert large programming books to Notepad. This allows me to have more control of the content especially the syntax or markup. You can use MSWord, but with different programming languages, it could automatically change certain symbols to bullets or other objects. That's why I prefer to use Notepad.
At the end of the day, you have to take each PDF file as a different challenge. Depending on its content, you have to identify which program you want to open it with. If the PDF content is a scanned image or has heavily nested tables, the challenge can be quite difficult to overcome. It becomes a 50/50 chance at obtaining the proper content.





=================================================Jean-Pierre Jamous
Principal Digital Accessibility Engineer
Jepelsy LLC
"The only limitations in life are those we set for ourselves"
=================================================