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Thread: Citation superscript

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From: Leah Roderman
Date: Thu, Nov 21 2019 2:41PM
Subject: Citation superscript
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My organization produces long documents that are intended to be printed and are distributed in PDF. We have one that has over 150 note numbers in superscript for citations that are listed at the end of the document. I went looking for a best practices guide about formatting those and have run into conflicting information about how screen readers parse superscript. I'm hoping someone on this list has expertise: if you have a resource for this specific usage, please let me know.

Thanks,

- Leah

Leah Roderman

Senior Digital Communications Manager

ChangeLab Solutions
(510) 302-3309 I = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = <mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >

The mission of ChangeLab Solutions<http://changelabsolutions.org/>; is to create healthier communities for all through equitable laws and policies. Join our email list<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/51374/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=8821>;, connect with us on Twitter<http://twitter.com/ChangeLabWorks>; or Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/ChangeLabSolutions>;, and support our work<https://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/51374/donate_page/donate-if>!

The content in this message is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. ChangeLab Solutions does not enter into attorney-client relationships.

From: Brian Lovely
Date: Fri, Nov 22 2019 7:55AM
Subject: Re: [External Sender] Citation superscript
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I assume we are talking about footnotes. The best way to handle these is to
provide some visually hidden text that explains what the link is, like
<a>footnote 2</a>. When the link is activated,
focus should be placed on the relevant footnote. It would also be good
(particularly for a long document with lots of footnotes) to have some
mechanism for returning focus to the link.

On Thu, Nov 21, 2019 at 4:41 PM Leah Roderman <
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:

> My organization produces long documents that are intended to be printed
> and are distributed in PDF. We have one that has over 150 note numbers in
> superscript for citations that are listed at the end of the document. I
> went looking for a best practices guide about formatting those and have run
> into conflicting information about how screen readers parse superscript.
> I'm hoping someone on this list has expertise: if you have a resource for
> this specific usage, please let me know.
>
> Thanks,
>
>
> - Leah
>
>
> Leah Roderman
>
> Senior Digital Communications Manager
>
> ChangeLab Solutions
> (510) 302-3309 I = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = <mailto:%
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
>
>
>
> The mission of ChangeLab Solutions<
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://changelabsolutions.org/__;!0Ns9_1dOjwg!LDme35h88RIL5ghY9je2Awz4ing-MEthjrf_CeSP-TXUexpsjuaE3SUqFZcyB17xEAY0vg$
> > is to create healthier communities for all through equitable laws and
> policies. Join our email list<
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/51374/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=8821__;!0Ns9_1dOjwg!LDme35h88RIL5ghY9je2Awz4ing-MEthjrf_CeSP-TXUexpsjuaE3SUqFZcyB16Vov_BQg$
> >, connect with us on Twitter<
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://twitter.com/ChangeLabWorks__;!0Ns9_1dOjwg!LDme35h88RIL5ghY9je2Awz4ing-MEthjrf_CeSP-TXUexpsjuaE3SUqFZcyB15yw81yZw$
> > or Facebook<
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.facebook.com/ChangeLabSolutions__;!0Ns9_1dOjwg!LDme35h88RIL5ghY9je2Awz4ing-MEthjrf_CeSP-TXUexpsjuaE3SUqFZcyB16oc644zQ$
> >, and support our work<
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/51374/donate_page/donate-if__;!0Ns9_1dOjwg!LDme35h88RIL5ghY9je2Awz4ing-MEthjrf_CeSP-TXUexpsjuaE3SUqFZcyB15IoVZwPw$
> >!
>
> The content in this message is provided for information purposes only and
> does not constitute legal advice. ChangeLab Solutions does not enter into
> attorney-client relationships.
> > > https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://list.webaim.org/__;!0Ns9_1dOjwg!LDme35h88RIL5ghY9je2Awz4ing-MEthjrf_CeSP-TXUexpsjuaE3SUqFZcyB14GsA-k6A$
> List archives at
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://webaim.org/discussion/archives__;!0Ns9_1dOjwg!LDme35h88RIL5ghY9je2Awz4ing-MEthjrf_CeSP-TXUexpsjuaE3SUqFZcyB14gVXg3bg$
> >

--
*Brian Lovely*
Capital One Digital Accessibility
804.389.1064

The information contained in this e-mail is confidential and/or proprietary to Capital One and/or its affiliates and may only be used solely in performance of work or services for Capital One. The information transmitted herewith is intended only for use by the individual or entity to which it is addressed. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any review, retransmission, dissemination, distribution, copying or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon this information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from your computer.

From: glen walker
Date: Fri, Nov 22 2019 4:50PM
Subject: Re: [External Sender] Citation superscript
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This is a nice article on accessible footnotes. It goes through creating a
basic footnote and then adding features, such as a link back to the main
text.

https://www.sitepoint.com/accessible-footnotes-css/

But this is an html solution. You need a PDF solution? A similar concept
should still be possible. I know when creating a Word doc, I can have
in-document links so can jump to a footnote then jump back. I think that's
preserved when saving as PDF.

On Fri, Nov 22, 2019 at 7:56 AM Brian Lovely via WebAIM-Forum <
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:

> I assume we are talking about footnotes. The best way to handle these is to
> provide some visually hidden text that explains what the link is, like
> <a>footnote 2</a>. When the link is activated,
> focus should be placed on the relevant footnote. It would also be good
> (particularly for a long document with lots of footnotes) to have some
> mechanism for returning focus to the link.
>
> On Thu, Nov 21, 2019 at 4:41 PM Leah Roderman <
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>
> > My organization produces long documents that are intended to be printed
> > and are distributed in PDF. We have one that has over 150 note numbers in
> > superscript for citations that are listed at the end of the document. I
> > went looking for a best practices guide about formatting those and have
> run
> > into conflicting information about how screen readers parse superscript.
> > I'm hoping someone on this list has expertise: if you have a resource for
> > this specific usage, please let me know.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> >
> > - Leah
>
>

From: Jonathan Avila
Date: Fri, Nov 22 2019 5:25PM
Subject: Re: [External Sender] Citation superscript
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If I recall correctly -- in PDF 1.7 you can't have a link move focus move to a tag -- only a page ore view. Oddly enough you can move to specific tags with bookmarks. I believe newer versions of the PDF format address this -- but the support by tools may not be there yet.

Jonathan

From: Philip Kiff
Date: Sat, Nov 23 2019 7:34AM
Subject: Re: [External Sender] Citation superscript
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Regarding superscripts:
Some programs (MS Word for example) automatically shrink the font-size
of superscripted text slightly. When possible, I increase the font size
back again to make the superscript numbers more readable. In MS Word or
InDesign you can create a style that you can apply to do this. I have
noticed that some organizations place superscripted citation numbers
inside brackets, and some do the same thing without using superscript at
all. I don't recall having seen any guidance or recommendations
regarding these practices written down anywhere.

Regarding footnotes and how to format them in a PDF:

Using in-page links as several other have described is one method, and
that formatting is creating by default for properly formatted footnotes
in current versions of MS Word when you use Acrobat DC Pro to generate a
PDF. However, there seem to be issues with some screen readers sometimes
in accessing such in-page links. Maybe this is related to Jonathan's
suggestion that this might be connected to how the PDF specification
defines links (I didn't know that!).

Another common practice when "remediating" PDFs with footnotes is to
move the tags containing the footnote content up in the tag order so
that the footnote content follows directly after the footnote number
appears in the text, or directly after the paragraph within which the
footnote number appears. For screen readers, then, it won't matter if
the in-page links work, since the content appears immediately afterwards
to the screen reader regardless. By leaving the in-page links, you also
serve low vision users who may employ high magnification levels, since
it still allows them to click on in-page links that will move the
visible cursor location. There are a couple places where you can find
accessibility specialists recommending that footnote content be moved in
the tag order to appear beside their respective citations/references,
but I don't think that this is required by the PDF/UA standard. It is
more of a best practice, than a standard, I think.

Finally:
Someone named Ted Page wrote up a blog post suggesting that perhaps a
JavaScript solution is the best way of formatting footnotes in a PDF.
Although I personally have neither implemented nor tested this method, I
nevertheless suspect that some variation of it could well be the model
that most closely approaches the ideal method currently available for
screen reader users using current technologies. I have not seen any
guidance or recommendations to this effect anywhere, this is just my
random opinion. Here is a link to Ted Page's post:
https://accessible-digital-documents.com/blog/accessible-pdf-footnotes-endnotes/

Phil.

On 2019-11-22 19:25, Jonathan Avila wrote:
> If I recall correctly -- in PDF 1.7 you can't have a link move focus move to a tag -- only a page ore view. Oddly enough you can move to specific tags with bookmarks. I believe newer versions of the PDF format address this -- but the support by tools may not be there yet.
>
> Jonathan
>
>

From: Brian Lovely
Date: Mon, Nov 25 2019 6:26AM
Subject: Re: [External Sender] Citation superscript
← Previous message | No next message

Good catch Glen, I was focusing on HTML

On Fri, Nov 22, 2019 at 6:50 PM glen walker < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:

> This is a nice article on accessible footnotes. It goes through creating a
> basic footnote and then adding features, such as a link back to the main
> text.
>
>
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.sitepoint.com/accessible-footnotes-css/__;!0Ns9_1dOjwg!PIulCWLtgHdAUg6oMlJXv0QXW6lS9N8zfhNBMllyYiI2aKKmrwjGImz_bE77SJV8klEEoQ$
>
> But this is an html solution. You need a PDF solution? A similar concept
> should still be possible. I know when creating a Word doc, I can have
> in-document links so can jump to a footnote then jump back. I think that's
> preserved when saving as PDF.
>
> On Fri, Nov 22, 2019 at 7:56 AM Brian Lovely via WebAIM-Forum <
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>
> > I assume we are talking about footnotes. The best way to handle these is
> to
> > provide some visually hidden text that explains what the link is, like
> > <a>footnote 2</a>. When the link is activated,
> > focus should be placed on the relevant footnote. It would also be good
> > (particularly for a long document with lots of footnotes) to have some
> > mechanism for returning focus to the link.
> >
> > On Thu, Nov 21, 2019 at 4:41 PM Leah Roderman <
> > = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> >
> > > My organization produces long documents that are intended to be printed
> > > and are distributed in PDF. We have one that has over 150 note numbers
> in
> > > superscript for citations that are listed at the end of the document. I
> > > went looking for a best practices guide about formatting those and have
> > run
> > > into conflicting information about how screen readers parse
> superscript.
> > > I'm hoping someone on this list has expertise: if you have a resource
> for
> > > this specific usage, please let me know.
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > >
> > >
> > > - Leah
> >
> >
> > > https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://list.webaim.org/__;!0Ns9_1dOjwg!PIulCWLtgHdAUg6oMlJXv0QXW6lS9N8zfhNBMllyYiI2aKKmrwjGImz_bE77SJXhAHiYTg$
> List archives at
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://webaim.org/discussion/archives__;!0Ns9_1dOjwg!PIulCWLtgHdAUg6oMlJXv0QXW6lS9N8zfhNBMllyYiI2aKKmrwjGImz_bE77SJX8t7eL2Q$
> >

--
*Brian Lovely*
Capital One Digital Accessibility
804.389.1064

The information contained in this e-mail is confidential and/or proprietary to Capital One and/or its affiliates and may only be used solely in performance of work or services for Capital One. The information transmitted herewith is intended only for use by the individual or entity to which it is addressed. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any review, retransmission, dissemination, distribution, copying or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon this information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from your computer.