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TODD WEISSENBERGERWEB ACCESSIBILITY COORDINATOR
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
Creating Good PDFs/ Avoiding Bad PDFs
Good PDFs vs. Bad PDFs
Good PDFs… Bad PDFs…
Good PDFS …come from good source
documents …are tagged for structure …include text alternatives
for pictures, charts, and other non-text elements
…are easy to navigate by using headings and bookmarks
Bad PDFS …are flat images, often
from a scanner …lack tags and structure …present important non-
text elements without any text equivalents
…are hard to navigate because they have no headings or bookmarks
Good PDFs vs. Bad PDFs
Common mistakes in PDF
Publishing flat, image-only files Acrobat OCR can expose the underlying text
Designing difficult navigability Add tags, headings and bookmarks
Neglecting ALT text Alternative text adds context to your graphics
Publishing the wrong reading order Check your reading order, and clean it up as necessary
Downgrading accessibility Using PDF in lieu of a more accessible file format
option
Other limitations of PDF
Mobile viewing Documents may not resize or reflow correctly for
mobile usersMultimedia
Multimedia elements are not captioned or keyboard-operable
Combined documents may present barriers Keep elements separate where possible:
content/interactive/media
Check your source
WordExcelPowerPointInDesignHTMLServer/run-time
The more accessible the source document, the better the PDF.
Tagged documents
Tags provide semantic and structural definition for document elements (list, links, headings, tables)
Tags can carry over from source documents—build ‘em in
Tags may be applied retroactively (e.g., in Acrobat)
ALT Text
ALT text should reflect the content and the purpose of the content it replaces
For complex graphics (e.g., graphs and charts), ALT text may point to a longer description at another location
ALT text may be addressed in the source document, but Acrobat also has tools to provide ALT text
PDF Forms (if you must…)
Avoid if at all possible Qualtrics, UI Workflow, HTML forms Cross-platform issues Ease of use on mobile devices
Start with a tagged base document, and add form fields in Acrobat Add meaningful labels Group related form controls, such as radio buttons Make sure tab order reflects form structure
, back of envelope
Multimedia
Utterly inaccessibleAvoid at all costsNo closed captioning optionNo keyboard operable playerAvoid at all costsUtterly inaccessible
Demos
PDF from external source: Journal Scan
External PDFs may be flat, and thus inaccessible
Check with website, JSTOR, library for text version
Beware of “text” PDFs from third-party sources
What about government/non-editable PDF?
Demo: Search e-Journals via UI Libraries InfoLink
PDF from source document: Word
PDF from source document: Excel
Forms: Go Qualtrics!
More control typesPreset control groupsResults and reportingBranchingAccessible options
Bottom Line
SemanticsHeadingsAlternative TextTables, Lists, LinksNo formsExternal options when necessaryReading Order
Questions?