Integrating Accessibility into PDF Documents from MS Office Applications

Sean Keegan

High Tech Center Training Unit for the California Community Colleges

Overview

Definitions
What are PDF "tags"?
Creating a "tagged" PDF from MS Word
Adding Tags to a PDF Document
Evaluating and Manipulating the Reading Order
Resources

Definitions

Image Only PDF
- Scanned image - does not contain text content
- Requires some type of OCR to be read
Searchable PDF
- contains text content (can highlight the content on page)
- However, reading order is questionable
Tagged PDF
- contains a document structure with a specified reading order
- headings, form fields, etc. are identified

PDF Tags

Tags provide structure to a PDF document
The Tag structure can be used to control document reading order
Tags can also improve PDF Form accessibility and conversion to alternate formats

Creating PDFs from MS Word

Software Necessary
- MS Office 2000, XP, 2003 (or later)
- Adobe Acrobat 5.x, 6.x, 7.x, OR 8
Sample Workflow
- Create your content in MS Word
- Use "Styles" to provide document structure and modify content presentation
- Use the Column tool in MS Word to display multi-column layout
- Add appropriate descriptions for any images
- Identify column headers for any data tables
Convert to PDF using the "Convert to Adobe PDF" option from the menu bar

Notes:
Example files: 01 Volcanes.doc, 02 Word Example.doc, 03 Text Boxes.doc, 04 Word Data Tables.doc

Adding Tags to PDF Documents

An untagged PDF document may or may not have a logical reading order
Tags may be added automatically by selecting:
Advanced > Accessibility > Add Tags to Document
Sample Workflow
- Use automated tool to add tags to document
- Add appropriate descriptions for images
- Check reading order of document and modify where necessary

Notes:
Example files: 05 Untagged PDF.pdf, 06 Untagged Example.pdf, 07 PDF Three Column.pdf, 08 PDF Repair.pdf, 09 PDF Data Tables.pdf

Untagged PDF documents may be usable with assistive computer technology, however, it is not possible to manipulate the reading order until the document becomes tagged. A PDF document created using Distiller would be an example of an untagged document.

Evaluating the Reading Order

Save the PDF as Text (Accessible) or Text (Plain)
- Review the resulting text file for errors or inconsistencies in the document reading order
Use the TouchUp Reading Order tool
- Review the specified zones and the order in which the zones are numbered
- Need to monitor multi-column layouts, sidebars, and figures for correct reading order

Notes:
Example files: 05 Untagged PDF.pdf, 06 Untagged Example.pdf, 07 PDF Three Column.pdf

It is important to assess the reading order if the document contains a number of text boxes or sidebars as these are not always organized into a logical reading order.

Manipulating the Reading Order

Adding content to the reading order
- Ensure the document is a tagged PDF and open the TouchUp Reading Order tool
  (under Advanced > Accessibility > TouchUp Reading Order...)
- Draw a zone around the text you wish to add and select the appropriate label (e.g, Text, Heading, etc.)
Removing content from the reading order
- With the TouchUp Reading Order tool open, select the appropriate zone you wish to remove
- Select the "Background" button in the TouchUp Reading Order panel
- This removes the specified zone (and content) from the document tag structure