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Thread: pdf files
Number of posts in this thread: 14 (In chronological order)
From: Lancaster, Lanne
Date: Thu, Jul 12 2001 1:32PM
Subject: pdf files
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Has Adobe made their pdf files accessible (without that cumbersome plugin)
yet? Our school was thinking of putting some of the syllabi, etc in pdf
format but didn't want to endanger our hard-won Bobby badge. Has anyone had
any experience with screen readers and PDFs?
Lanne Lancaster
Student Resources Coordinator
Community College of Aurora
16000 E. CentreTech Parkway
Aurora, Colorado 80011-9036
303-360-4784
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
From: Jeff Isom
Date: Tue, Jun 12 2001 1:44PM
Subject: Re: pdf files
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If you have Adobe 5, you can download a make accessible tool that helps you
create accessible PDF files. Unfortunately this only works with Acrobat 5.
The files are then accessible to screen readers.
More information can be found at http://www.webaim.org/howto/acrobat
Good luck.
Jeff
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lancaster, Lanne" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
To: "'WebAIM listserv'" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2001 1:24 PM
Subject: pdf files
> Has Adobe made their pdf files accessible (without that cumbersome plugin)
> yet? Our school was thinking of putting some of the syllabi, etc in pdf
> format but didn't want to endanger our hard-won Bobby badge. Has anyone
had
> any experience with screen readers and PDFs?
>
> Lanne Lancaster
> Student Resources Coordinator
> Community College of Aurora
> 16000 E. CentreTech Parkway
> Aurora, Colorado 80011-9036
> 303-360-4784
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
>
>
>
From: Morris, Lynn
Date: Thu, Jul 12 2001 2:00PM
Subject: Re: pdf files
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I have a follow-up question for 508-compliance: Is it OK to post a PDF
version alone, or does 508 require that we post an HTML/text version too?
From: Farinelli, Stephanie L
Date: Thu, Jul 12 2001 2:05PM
Subject: Re: pdf files
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I had read, however, that Adobe Acrobat 5.0 cannot make files accessible
(with the downloadable plug-in), without the source file, if the document
was:
1. Created in 4.0 or earlier, and
2. is copyright protected.
Please let me know if you have any information regarding this.
I also don't understand why there is a regular downloadable
Acrobat Reader 5.0 and other
Acrobat Reader 5.0 with Search and Accessibility.
Stephanie Farinelli
Enterprise Services, ESA
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lancaster, Lanne" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
To: "'WebAIM listserv'" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2001 1:24 PM
Subject: pdf files
> Has Adobe made their pdf files accessible (without that cumbersome plugin)
> yet? Our school was thinking of putting some of the syllabi, etc in pdf
> format but didn't want to endanger our hard-won Bobby badge. Has anyone
had
> any experience with screen readers and PDFs?
>
> Lanne Lancaster
> Student Resources Coordinator
> Community College of Aurora
> 16000 E. CentreTech Parkway
> Aurora, Colorado 80011-9036
> 303-360-4784
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
>
>
>
From: Jeff Isom
Date: Thu, Jul 12 2001 2:44PM
Subject: Re: pdf files
← Previous message | Next message →
To be safe, I would recommend that you post an HTML/text version as well.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Morris, Lynn" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
To: "'WebAIM forum'" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2001 1:44 PM
Subject: RE: pdf files
> I have a follow-up question for 508-compliance: Is it OK to post a PDF
> version alone, or does 508 require that we post an HTML/text version too?
>
>
From: Steve Rindsberg
Date: Thu, Jul 12 2001 3:10PM
Subject: Re: pdf files
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Just a little nit: There's no such thing as Adobe 5. Adobe's the company,
Acrobat's the product, and on the Adobe forums, they call me The Village
Pedant, and now you know why.
At 01:42 PM 7/12/01 -0600, you wrote:
>If you have Adobe 5, you can download a make accessible tool that helps you
>create accessible PDF files. Unfortunately this only works with Acrobat 5.
>The files are then accessible to screen readers.
>
>More information can be found at http://www.webaim.org/howto/acrobat
>
>Good luck.
>
>Jeff
>
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Lancaster, Lanne" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
>To: "'WebAIM listserv'" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
>Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2001 1:24 PM
>Subject: pdf files
>
>
>> Has Adobe made their pdf files accessible (without that cumbersome plugin)
>> yet? Our school was thinking of putting some of the syllabi, etc in pdf
>> format but didn't want to endanger our hard-won Bobby badge. Has anyone
>had
>> any experience with screen readers and PDFs?
>>
>> Lanne Lancaster
>> Student Resources Coordinator
>> Community College of Aurora
>> 16000 E. CentreTech Parkway
>> Aurora, Colorado 80011-9036
>> 303-360-4784
>> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
Steve Rindsberg
President, RDP - a slide imaging service bureau
http://www.rdpslides.com
Developers of ZAP!
Customizable online ordering software for service bureaus
http://www.rdpslides.com/zap/
From: Steve Rindsberg
Date: Thu, Jul 12 2001 3:14PM
Subject: Re: pdf files
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>Please let me know if you have any information regarding this.
>I also don't understand why there is a regular downloadable
>Acrobat Reader 5.0 and other
>Acrobat Reader 5.0 with Search and Accessibility.
Probably because the one download's considerably larger than the other.
That always used to be the case. This way, people who don't need Search
and Accessibility don't have to spend online time downloading it.
Steve Rindsberg
President, RDP - a slide imaging service bureau
http://www.rdpslides.com
Developers of ZAP!
Customizable online ordering software for service bureaus
http://www.rdpslides.com/zap/
From: Ruth Stillman
Date: Thu, Jul 12 2001 6:20PM
Subject: Re: pdf files
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Adobe actually has a section of their site that is dedicated to accessibility related to their software and PDF files. You can find it at http://access.adobe.com/
--- "Lancaster, Lanne" wrote: > Has Adobe made their pdf files accessible (without > that cumbersome plugin) > yet? Our school was thinking of putting some of the > syllabi, etc in pdf > format but didn't want to endanger our hard-won > Bobby badge. Has anyone had > any experience with screen readers and PDFs? > > Lanne Lancaster > Student Resources Coordinator > Community College of Aurora > 16000 E. CentreTech Parkway > Aurora, Colorado 80011-9036 > 303-360-4784 > = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > >
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From: Mark Magennis
Date: Fri, Jul 13 2001 5:16PM
Subject: Re: pdf files
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Hi Lanne,
You won't endanger your "Bobby Approved" status as long as you also provide
an alternative version that is accessible. A couple of other replies have
suggested putting up an HTML version alongside the PDF. If you do this you
can keep your Bobby badge.
Mark
>
From: Nancy Swenson
Date: Fri, Jul 13 2001 5:20AM
Subject: Re: pdf files
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I am out of the office. I will return on Monday, July 16. If you need immediate assistance while I am away, please call the Instructional Design Office's main number at 407-823-3809.
Thank you.
From: Jeff Isom
Date: Fri, Jul 13 2001 8:27AM
Subject: Re: pdf files
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Thanks for the correction. I got it right half the time in my post. What I
meant to write the first time was "Adobe Acrobat 5". Unfortunately, my
hands couldn't keep up with my brain.
Jeff
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Rindsberg" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
To: "WebAIM forum" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2001 2:59 PM
Subject: Re: pdf files
>
> Just a little nit: There's no such thing as Adobe 5. Adobe's the
company,
> Acrobat's the product, and on the Adobe forums, they call me The Village
> Pedant, and now you know why.
>
> At 01:42 PM 7/12/01 -0600, you wrote:
> >If you have Adobe 5, you can download a make accessible tool that helps
you
> >create accessible PDF files. Unfortunately this only works with Acrobat
5.
> >The files are then accessible to screen readers.
> >
> >More information can be found at http://www.webaim.org/howto/acrobat
> >
> >Good luck.
> >
> >Jeff
> >
> >
> >
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: "Lancaster, Lanne" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
> >To: "'WebAIM listserv'" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
> >Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2001 1:24 PM
> >Subject: pdf files
> >
> >
> >> Has Adobe made their pdf files accessible (without that cumbersome
plugin)
> >> yet? Our school was thinking of putting some of the syllabi, etc in pdf
> >> format but didn't want to endanger our hard-won Bobby badge. Has anyone
> >had
> >> any experience with screen readers and PDFs?
> >>
> >> Lanne Lancaster
> >> Student Resources Coordinator
> >> Community College of Aurora
> >> 16000 E. CentreTech Parkway
> >> Aurora, Colorado 80011-9036
> >> 303-360-4784
> >> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> Steve Rindsberg
> President, RDP - a slide imaging service bureau
> http://www.rdpslides.com
>
> Developers of ZAP!
> Customizable online ordering software for service bureaus
> http://www.rdpslides.com/zap/
>
From: Jeff Isom
Date: Fri, Jul 13 2001 8:34PM
Subject: Re: pdf files
← Previous message | Next message →
Mark wrote:
> If you do this you can keep your Bobby badge.
>
While the goal to keep your site Bobby approved is a good first step. I
would like to mention that a Bobby approved site does not necessarily equate
with an accessible site. There are only a very few of the Section 508
regulations that Bobby will automatically check for.
I guess what I'm saying is Bobby is a good to for checking certain aspects
of accessibility. However, don't get trapped in the assumption that your
page is accessible because it is Bobby approved.
Jeff
From: Mark Magennis
Date: Fri, Jul 13 2001 9:23PM
Subject: Re: pdf files
← Previous message | Next message →
Good point Jeff. "Bobby Approval" means WAI priority 1 only and relies so
much on manual assessment that it is virtually worthless as a reliable
indicator of accessibility. Bobby's value lies more in helping you to assess
a website for accessibility. I think that the "Bobby Approved" symbol does,
however, have value for spreading awareness of accessibility as an issue
that can be tackled.
The major limiting factor of Bobby is that, of the sixteen priority 1
checkpoints, only one can actually be tested automatically by a tool like
Bobby. All the others require some degree of manual checking.
For example, checkpoint 1.1 requires you to "Provide a text equivalent for
every non-text element". Bobby can check all your images to see whether they
have alt text, but it cannot say whether that text is "equivalent" to the
image. Therefore it can only half test that checkpoint. At the extreme,
Bobby can't do anything. For example, checkpoint 14.1 requires you to "Use
the simplest and most straightforward language that is possible". There is
no way Bobby can test for this.
One out of sixteen may sound pretty bad for a checking tool, but the
strength of Bobby lies not in its ability to spot all the problems but in
the way it speeds up the process of checking. It's good at pointing out
where you should manually check for problems. And also good to help you
learn about accessibility problems and how to fix them. Every problem or
potential problem it finds contains a hyperlink to a decent explanation of
the underlying issue which also hyperlinks to further external explanations
and the WAI guidelines themselves. I see Bobby as a great jumping off point
to begin your accessibility check but take "Bobby Approved" with a pinch of
salt.
Mark
>
From: Amwclw1
Date: Mon, Jul 16 2001 8:05PM
Subject: Re: pdf files
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Stephanie -
Sorry this reply is late, but it didn't look like anyone answered your question.
Here is a link to Acrobat 5.0 white paper. It will give you steps on how to create an accessible pdf file from an existing pdf. Not as detailed as it should be, but it is the only reference on how to create Accessible PDFs. Also, the Acrobat 5.0 book should have been released June 21. That might give you more detail.
http://access.adobe.com/whitepaper.html
Hope this helps -
Amy Ward
Web Developer
ITS Services, Inc.
Stephanie -
Sorry this reply is late, but it didn't look like anyone answered your question.
Here is a link to Acrobat 5.0 white paper. It will give you steps on how to create an accessible pdf file from an existing pdf. Not as detailed as it should be, but it is the only reference on how to create Accessible PDFs. Also, the Acrobat 5.0 book should have been released June 21. That might give you more detail.
http://access.adobe.com/whitepaper.html
Hope this helps -
Amy Ward
Web Developer
ITS Services, Inc.