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Thread: DL, DT, DD in PDFs

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From: Alan Zaitchik
Date: Wed, May 24 2017 11:27AM
Subject: DL, DT, DD in PDFs
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I am making accessible a rather long Pdf that includes a 10 page
'Glossary'.
I am restricted to the PDF file and Acrobat, and I cannot revert to the
original (Word?) document.
The Glossary section was generated as a series of paragraphs, one per
glossary item. Not even a list.

Now I can (laboriously and manually) create a List structure for the
Glossary items, but I wondered about using 'dl', 'dt', and 'dd' tags.
If this were an HTM document that is what I would use here.
Is that the preferred solution for PDF files as well? Will it make a
difference to assistive technology reading the PDF?

Your advice most appreciated!
Alan

From: Duff Johnson
Date: Wed, May 24 2017 1:25PM
Subject: Re: DL, DT, DD in PDFs
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Hi Alan,

> I am making accessible a rather long Pdf that includes a 10 page
> 'Glossary'.
> I am restricted to the PDF file and Acrobat, and I cannot revert to the
> original (Word?) document.
> The Glossary section was generated as a series of paragraphs, one per
> glossary item. Not even a list.
>
> Now I can (laboriously and manually) create a List structure for the
> Glossary items, but I wondered about using 'dl', 'dt', and 'dd' tags.
> If this were an HTM document that is what I would use here.
> Is that the preferred solution for PDF files as well? Will it make a
> difference to assistive technology reading the PDF?

Within one or more <L>/<LI> structures (of course), use <Lbl> tags for the term and <LBody> tags for the definition.

Duff.

From: Alan Zaitchik
Date: Thu, May 25 2017 12:08PM
Subject: Re: DL, DT, DD in PDFs
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So I gather there's no point in using the dl/dt/dd semantics or no way to do so with the PDF. Gotcha.Thanks!
A

> On May 24, 2017, at 3:25 PM, Duff Johnson < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>
> Hi Alan,
>
>> I am making accessible a rather long Pdf that includes a 10 page
>> 'Glossary'.
>> I am restricted to the PDF file and Acrobat, and I cannot revert to the
>> original (Word?) document.
>> The Glossary section was generated as a series of paragraphs, one per
>> glossary item. Not even a list.
>>
>> Now I can (laboriously and manually) create a List structure for the
>> Glossary items, but I wondered about using 'dl', 'dt', and 'dd' tags.
>> If this were an HTM document that is what I would use here.
>> Is that the preferred solution for PDF files as well? Will it make a
>> difference to assistive technology reading the PDF?
>
> Within one or more <L>/<LI> structures (of course), use <Lbl> tags for the term and <LBody> tags for the definition.
>
> Duff.

From: Duff Johnson
Date: Thu, May 25 2017 3:08PM
Subject: Re: DL, DT, DD in PDFs
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It's true there's no point in using dl/dt/dd as structure elements (unless you are going to map them appropriately, which sort of loses the point in a different way). However, there _is_ a way to do definition lists with PDF, as I indicated. It's as capable as HTML's <dl> model, and actually, more general and flexible. Sadly, support for this feature of PDF is uneven.

Duff.

> On May 25, 2017, at 14:08, Alan Zaitchik < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>
> So I gather there's no point in using the dl/dt/dd semantics or no way to do so with the PDF. Gotcha.Thanks!
> A
>
>> On May 24, 2017, at 3:25 PM, Duff Johnson < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>>
>> Hi Alan,
>>
>>> I am making accessible a rather long Pdf that includes a 10 page
>>> 'Glossary'.
>>> I am restricted to the PDF file and Acrobat, and I cannot revert to the
>>> original (Word?) document.
>>> The Glossary section was generated as a series of paragraphs, one per
>>> glossary item. Not even a list.
>>>
>>> Now I can (laboriously and manually) create a List structure for the
>>> Glossary items, but I wondered about using 'dl', 'dt', and 'dd' tags.
>>> If this were an HTM document that is what I would use here.
>>> Is that the preferred solution for PDF files as well? Will it make a
>>> difference to assistive technology reading the PDF?
>>
>> Within one or more <L>/<LI> structures (of course), use <Lbl> tags for the term and <LBody> tags for the definition.
>>
>> Duff.