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Re: converting a Word file into an accessible PDF?

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From: Moore, Michael
Date: Dec 22, 2006 7:30AM


Merry Christmas Jennison

We use Adobe 7 here at DARS. If the document is created using good
structure and is relatively simple, headings, text, lists, and images
with alt text. The adobe conversion will properly tag the document. It
is a good idea to check the reading order and the tag structure to make
sure that everything worked correctly. If the document author does not
use styles properly, the document will not be properly tagged.
Additionally, in my experience anyway, tables usually need some work to
get the reading order and tag structure correct.

If you have a high volume of PDF documents, you may want to consider the
Common Look plug-in for Adobe, it makes the assessment and remediation
process quite a bit more efficient.

Tagged pdfs work best with the latest releases of screen readers. If
you are publishing documents for use by the general public, I recommend
adding an accessible html version of the document to better accommodate
folks with older systems or software. The University of Illinois has a
really good tool to make this process much easier.
http://www.accessiblewizards.uiuc.edu/

Mike Moore
Accessibility Specialist
Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS)
(512) 424-4159

-----Original Message-----
From: <EMAIL REMOVED>
[mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of Jennison
Asuncion
Sent: Thursday, December 21, 2006 8:31 PM
To: WebAIM Discussion List
Subject: [WebAIM] converting a Word file into an accessible PDF?

Hello,

Apologies if this has been previously asked and answered here, but a
colleague asked me a question that I didn't have an answer for - if one
has a relatively uncomplicated Word file (with headings, perhaps a
couple of tables), what is the best process to follow to take this file
and convert it into an accessible PDF?

My gut is saying to move the file into PDF Pro and save it into a PDF
there, however, I am unfamiliar whether PDF Pro will automatically do
any necessary tagging of an existing Word file, or if there is some work
that needs to be done.

Any help or direction to resources would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Jennison