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From: Maya.Sellon
Date: Thu, Aug 04 2016 1:37AM
Subject: accessibility guidelines/normative for PDF?
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Hi all,
I'm being asked to what guidelines PDF's should comply in order to ensure they are accessible. Specifically, someone is asking if ISO 14289-1:2014<http://www.iso.org/iso/home/store/catalogue_ics/catalogue_detail_ics.htm?csnumberd599&;ICS15&ICS2$0&ICS30> is the only relevant guideline or if there's more. Could anyone please advise?

Thank you!
Maya

From: Karlen Communications
Date: Thu, Aug 04 2016 7:18AM
Subject: Re: accessibility guidelines/normative for PDF?
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For PDF documents the international standard is ISO 14289 or PDF/UA. As this standard is implemented and added to legislation (for example Section 508 Refresh), those of us with disabilities will have a consistent experience when accessing an accessible tagged PDF document. I think it will also help with the tools that let us add Tags to untagged documents and even the OCR within applications that we can open PDF documents in.

Here are some resources to help with implementation:

PDF in a Nutshell: http://www.pdfa.org/2013/06/pdfua-in-a-nutshell/
Structure Elements Best Practices Guide for PDF/UA (draft version) http://www.pdfa.org/2015/12/announcing-the-structure-elements-best-practice-guide-0-1/
The Matterhorn Protocol (PDF) http://www.pdfa.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/MatterhornProtocol_1-02.pdf
PDF/UA Reference Suite: http://www.pdfa.org/publication/pdfua-reference-suite/

I just tried to go to the PDF/UA technical Implementation Guide on the AIIM site but the page has been removed/moved so am contacting Duff to see what the correct address is now.

Cheers, Karen

From: Maya.Sellon
Date: Fri, Aug 05 2016 2:04AM
Subject: Re: accessibility guidelines/normative for PDF?
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Thank you very much! I was looking at the ISO but it's great to have it confirmed I'm looking in the right area. If you could please update a link on WebAim then I'd much appreciate it. I'll check out the other links you shared in the meantime. Thank you again!

regards,
Maya

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From: Jonathan Avila
Date: Fri, Aug 05 2016 8:04AM
Subject: Re: accessibility guidelines/normative for PDF?
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> I'm being asked to what guidelines PDF's should comply in order to ensure they are accessible.

PDFs are considered web content and can be made generally accessible by following WCAG 2 A/AA. There are numerous WCAG 2 techniques for PDFs https://www.w3.org/TR/2014/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20140408/pdf.html

Despite what others may say, most accessibility laws do not prescribe PDF/UA must be used to provide accessible PDF -- WCAG 2 can be used to make accessible documents .

Jonathan

Jonathan Avila
Chief Accessibility Officer
SSB BART Group 
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703.637.8957 (Office)

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From: Olaf Drümmer
Date: Fri, Aug 05 2016 8:14AM
Subject: Re: accessibility guidelines/normative for PDF?
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Hi Jonathan,

> On 05.08.2016, at 16:04, Jonathan Avila < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>
> Despite what others may say, most accessibility laws do not prescribe PDF/UA must be used to provide accessible PDF -- WCAG 2 can be used to make accessible documents .


any idea which approach might be more efficient to implement - following WCAG 2 A/AA, or following PDF/UA?

Olaf

From: Chagnon | PubCom
Date: Fri, Aug 05 2016 11:13AM
Subject: Re: accessibility guidelines/normative for PDF?
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PDF/UA is more efficient, not just to implement, but to understand.

Although all the requirements for accessible PDFs are in WCAG, it takes knowledge and time to figure out which 20+ WCAG guidelines affect PDFs.

In a way, WCAG is overkill for PDFs and is difficult to interpret by most non-expert users, too.

PDF/UA was developed by Acrobat experts who have been a part of PDF development for decades. The PDF/UA guidelines "harmonize" with WCAG -- that is, they match the concepts and goals of WCAG, sometimes point by point -- but PDF/UA tweaks the language and usage specifically for PDFs, not web content.

Summary: if you read PDF/UA, you can pretty much figure out what's needed in the PDF for accessibility.

--Bevi Chagnon

— — —
Bevi Chagnon | www.PubCom.com
Technologists, Consultants, Trainers, Designers, and Developers
for publishing & communication
| Acrobat PDF | Print | EPUBS | Sec. 508 Accessibility |
— — —

From: Chagnon | PubCom
Date: Fri, Aug 05 2016 11:51AM
Subject: Re: accessibility guidelines/normative for PDF?
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<< PDFs are considered web content >>

Uh, I disagree.
That's a dangerous, way-too-broad interpretation!

A PDF is just one of many file types that can be linked into or part of a webpage, just like a Word DOCX file can.

When they are part of a webpage, our current standards require that they be accessible, along with the other content on the webpage. Per Sec. 508 requirements, they also must be accessible whenever they are "public facing" -- that is available to the general public -- regardless of whether they are on a website, flash drive, or delivered via any other media technology.

The PDF file format itself is independent of all technologies and can reside and function anywhere, not just on a website. Example: a PDF that is stored on my office computer's hard drive has nothing to do with the web and doesn't need any web technology to exist and be functional. And when stored on my office computer, it is exempt from accessibility requirements because it is not public facing (and also not government information, either, but that exemption will eventually go away a few years from now).

The PDF file format was deliberately designed to stand alone and be independent of any other file format, platform, delivery method, or technology. And the PDF format was, in fact, developed a few years before Tim Berners Lee developed HTML and the World Wide Web.

Summary: A PDF is one of many different independent file formats that can be part of a website's content, but to broadly paint it as "web content" is inaccurate. Most PDFs aren't part of a website, and therefore aren't "web content" at all.

PS: And this is another reason why the PDF/UA standard is better for accessible PDFs than WCAG (WEB Content Accessibility Guidelines). It takes into account that PDFs exist on their own, beyond being part of websites.

--Bevi Chagnon

— — —
Bevi Chagnon | www.PubCom.com
Technologists, Consultants, Trainers, Designers, and Developers
for publishing & communication
| Acrobat PDF | Print | EPUBS | Sec. 508 Accessibility |
— — —

From: Jonathan Avila
Date: Fri, Aug 05 2016 11:56AM
Subject: Re: accessibility guidelines/normative for PDF?
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<< PDFs are considered web content >>
> Uh, I disagree. That's a dangerous, way-too-broad interpretation!

Sorry, should have been more -- PDFs are considered web content when served up via HTTP/HTTPS protocol and rendered through a user agent.

From https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/
Example: Some common examples of Web content technologies include HTML, CSS, SVG, PNG, PDF, Flash, and JavaScript.

Jonathan

Jonathan Avila
Chief Accessibility Officer
SSB BART Group 
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703.637.8957 (Office)

Visit us online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Linkedin | Blog
Check out our Digital Accessibility Webinars!

From: Jim Homme
Date: Fri, Aug 05 2016 1:40PM
Subject: Re: accessibility guidelines/normative for PDF?
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Hi,
Perhaps my view of one point is incorrect. I view a PDF as a separate document from a web page because I have to click a link on the page to open the PDF. When the PDF is on the web, I tend to view it as a part of the website, but not part of the web page that contains the link that gets me to the PDF.

Thanks.

Jim


=========Jim Homme,
Accessibility Consultant,
Bender HighTest Accessibility Team
Bender Consulting Services, Inc.,
412-787-8567,
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http://www.benderconsult.com/our%20services/hightest-accessible-technology-solutions
E+R=O

From: Caid, Lisa M.
Date: Fri, Aug 05 2016 2:09PM
Subject: Re: accessibility guidelines/normative for PDF?
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Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Rule 206.1 State Websites, Definitions...
"(22) Web page--Presentation of state website content, including documents and files containing text, graphics, sounds, video, or other content, that is accessed through a web browser."

Based on this, I understand that files containing text includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel, PDF, HTML, files etc., in the requirements for Texas website/web page accessibility.

Sincerely,

Lisa Caid, B.S.
Accessibility Coordinator
West Texas A&M University
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(806) 651-1241
IT Service Center (806) 651-4357

If you need email content or attachments in alternate formats for accessibility, please send your contact information and the specifics of your request to = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = .

From: Jamous, JP
Date: Sat, Aug 06 2016 7:45AM
Subject: Re: accessibility guidelines/normative for PDF?
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As I am following this thread, I believe the confusion is with 2 things.

1. Adobe Reader Add-On opens up in IE or Firefox so it looks like it is a part of the browser.
2. All of the tagging is HTML based which adds more to the confusion.

Yet, as all folks mentioned on here, it is a binary file that is able to contain multiple types of media such as text, video, audio, images, etc.

With the help of XML, it can store HTML tags to provide an accessible content to ATs. That was the best work-around that they came up with for this file type.

From: Karlen Communications
Date: Sat, Aug 06 2016 8:40AM
Subject: Re: accessibility guidelines/normative for PDF?
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In reading this over with my screen reader, it may seem terse...it is not meant to be...

I think the Tags are actually XML not HTML. I think HTML is a subset of XML?

Full disclosure...I am a Canadian delegate to ISO 14289 and also someone who uses adaptive technology.

I advocate for the adoption and implementation of ISO 14289 because I want to "ensure" as much as possible that PDF that I encounter are as accessible as they can be. I would think that an international standard specific to the PDF format would be something that we want, advocate for and insist upon. For my 2 cents, this is how we move the accessibility of the PDF format forward.

When someone asks me what I mean by an accessible PDF, I will always say it has to be ISO 14289 conforming. Period. The specifications are, well, specific to the PDF format.

I don't see this as being different from any standards related to video description, captioning or any other digital component of what we encounter.

Cheers, Karen

From: Bourne, Sarah (MASSIT)
Date: Tue, Aug 16 2016 7:45AM
Subject: Re: accessibility guidelines/normative for PDF?
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If you decide to use the ISO 14289 PDF/UA standard to measure compliance, please be aware that you will also need to test for WCAG2 color contrast compliance. (Use of color to convey meaning is included, so you don't need to test for that separately.)

sb
Sarah E. Bourne
Director of IT Accessibility, MassIT
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
1 Ashburton Pl. rm 811 Boston MA 02108
617-626-4502
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http://www.mass.gov/MassIT