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Re: Serious bugs in latest Acrobat update: DO NOT UPDATE

for

From: Laura Roberts
Date: Sep 22, 2021 12:38PM

I've been noticing this issue longer than a week...

Hey, if you combine it with the InDesign bug where it adds a million span
tags to Acrobat PDFs, it'll make for fun times remediating. Span
pathpathpathpath span lol

Unfortunately, the software on the work station I use is automatically
updated.

Thanks Bevi. Hopefully you'll get the devs' attention. I voted.

On Wed, Sep 22, 2021, 2:31 PM Elizabeth Thomas < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
wrote:

> Aaahhh! That's a disaster! I definitely appreciate the heads up.
>
> Is this update a problem in both the Mac version and the Windows version?
>
> -Elizabeth Thomas
> CPACC, ADA
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Sep 22, 2021, at 11:56 AM, <EMAIL REMOVED> wrote:
> >
> > Last week, Adobe updated Acrobat and with it, the PDF Maker plug-in for
> MS
> > Office that is used to export PDFs from Word and other office apps on
> > Windows.
> >
> > Several key bugs in PDF Maker have shown up since, namely:
> >
> > * Alt-text added in Word is dropped in the exported PDF and
> replaced
> > with code gibberish. (Yes, all the Alt-text you worked hard on is gone!)
> >
> > * Every frigging line, border, and background fill on table cells,
> > text boxes, paragraph borders, and hyperlinks is tagged in the Tag Tree
> with
> > <P>PathPathPathPathPathPath.one "path" for each border on each cell in a
> > table.
> >
> > * And there's no way to roll back to the previous version of
> Acrobat
> > and recover your tools. Once updated, you are S O L.
> >
> > Three actions to take:
> >
> > 1. Vote to fix these bugs on Adobe's UserVoice website.
> > If you can, please also add a comment about how accessibility is required
> > for you and your organization by your country's and state's laws.
> (Adobe's
> > staff don't understand these laws about civil rights and equal access to
> > information.) We need a few hundred votes on this page for Adobe to pay
> > attention to the problem, so spread this message to your colleagues.
> > The website is at
> >
> https://acrobat.uservoice.com/forums/590923-acrobat-for-windows-and-mac/sugg
> > estions/44183082-accessibility-errors-with-pdf-maker-update-sept-20
> >
> > 2. Until this is fixed, use Microsoft's built-in utility to export
> > accessible tagged PDFs, and skip the Acrobat Ribbon (which is the Adobe
> PDF
> > Maker plug-in) altogether. I'll have a blog / tutorial on this by the
> > weekend, but in the meantime, here are the quick instructions:
> >
> > a. Make an accessible Word document as usual, with styles,
> Alt-text,
> > etc.
> >
> > b. File / Save As / and then choose PDF in the File Type field.
> This
> > triggers Microsoft's built-in export utility, not Adobe's.
> >
> > c. Set your options, file location, and file name.
> >
> > 3. And don't upgrade to the latest version of Acrobat. The version
> > that is buggy (well, more than usual) is 2021.007.XXXX, and the versions
> of
> > PDF Maker that are installed with it are PDF Maker 21 Library 21.7.123
> and
> > Library 21.7.112.
> >
> >
> >
> > - - -
> >
> > Bevi Chagnon | Designer, Accessibility Technician | <EMAIL REMOVED>
> > <mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> >
> >
> > - - -
> >
> > PubCom: Technologists for Accessible Design + Publishing
> >
> > consulting . training . development . design . sec. 508 services
> >
> > Upcoming classes at www.PubCom.com/ <http://www.pubcom.com/classes>;
> classes
> >
> > - - -
> >
> > Latest blog-newsletter
> > <https://mailchi.mp/e694edcdfadd/class-discount-3266574> - Simple
> Guide to
> > Writing Alt-Text
> > <https://www.pubcom.com/blog/2020_07-20/alt-text_part-1.shtml>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > > > >