Formatting PDF Documents

05 Formatting PDF Documents

PDF (Portable Document Format) was originally developed as an export option, just like a printer. It was a great way to "print" something to the screen and it maintained the look of the original document. Most times, PDF documents were created by scanning a paper document and saving it as an image file. Although some basic editing and commenting features were built into the professional Acrobat versions, it was never meant as an editing environment. In addition, when the PDF file format was introduced, the use of Assistive Technology to read a PDF was not available. Over the years, Adobe has worked to retrofit and develop the Acrobat programs to allow Assistive Technologies such as screen readers and refreshable Braille devices to utilize the products. Even with these changes, the true accessibility of a PDF document depends on how it is developed, converted, or edited.

This tutorial will walk you through using the Adobe Accessibility checker and making necessary adjustments:

Converting documents to PDF

PDF files are not typically created in Acrobat. They are usually created in another program and converted to PDF. There are dozens or probably hundreds of programs that can create PDF files, but very few of them produce tagged PDF files. If you are using Microsoft Word or PowerPoint, OpenOffice.org Writer, or Adobe tools such as InDesign, you can often create accessible, tagged PDF files without opening Acrobat. Of course, the accessibility of the PDF depends on the accessibility of the original document.

The majority of the PDF files on the web were probably created in Microsoft Word. The good news is that it is possible to create accessible PDF files in Office, as long as the following requirements are met:

The file must be accessible. That includes providing alternative text for images, proper headings, appropriate link text, etc. For more information, read our tutorial on Microsoft Word.
Office 2000-2003 users must have Acrobat installed, as well as the add-in. Office 2007 users must have either Acrobat or the Microsoft PDF add-in installed. Office 2010 users can create tagged PDF files natively or with the Adobe add-in.
The file must be exported correctly. If a file is created by printing to PDF, it will not be correctly tagged.

For more information, see WebAIM's resources on Converting Documents to PDF Links to an external site.

Making PDF in Adobe

Making your PDF Accessible in Adobe

If you have a document that was previously converted or scanned to a PDF, you will need to make sure the document is accessible.

These streamlined instructions are intended for use with relatively simple documents that require only basic accessibility formatting (e.g.. your document consists of only a few pages with a basic heading structure, a few simple images, no special requirements for security, interactivity, or language, etc.). For more complicated documents or for more detailed instructions, see Adobe’s Acrobat Accessibility Training Resources at adobe.com.

Every PDF document must be checked and corrected in Adobe Acrobat Pro to ensure its accessibility. Accessible PDF documents contain tagged elements (a method of marking items so that Assistive Devices can recognize them correctly) including headings and text blocks. Non-text elements such as images require descriptions, and reading order must match the logical flow of the document.

You may notice that there are other tools and methods in Adobe Acrobat Pro for making documents accessible. The only way to ensure your document is conformant with accessibility standards, however, is to perform a manual check of each accessibility element.

Steps for making your document Accessible in Acrobat Pro XI. The following steps were provided by IT ACCESSIBILITY AT ILLINOIS.

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