{"id":29941,"date":"2021-02-04T16:48:50","date_gmt":"2021-02-04T16:48:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.globalizationpartners.com\/?p=29941"},"modified":"2021-02-04T16:50:25","modified_gmt":"2021-02-04T16:50:25","slug":"tips-for-creating-accessible-pdf-documents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.globalizationpartners.com\/2021\/02\/04\/tips-for-creating-accessible-pdf-documents\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Creating Accessible PDF Documents"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Accessible PDF documents can be used by people with disabilities, such as those who are blind or have poor vision, deaf or hard of hearing, mobility impaired or have cognitive impairments. To make a PDF accessible, you need to modify your content, which we\u2019ll explain in this blog post.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s best to think about accessibility while you\u2019re creating content as opposed to when you\u2019ve already turned your content into a PDF. Doing so will make your document that much easier to modify once you convert it to a PDF.<\/p>\n<p>However, there are still many things that you can do to make a document, whether it\u2019s a Microsoft Word, Adobe InDesign, HTML or other type of file format, accessible once it becomes a PDF. Let\u2019s take a look at how you can create an accessible PDF document.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Tips to Consider When Developing Content<\/h2>\n<p>Here are some things to consider as you develop content, which will make it easier, in the long run, to turn it into an accessible PDF.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-29949\" style=\"float: right; margin: 0.5em 0 0.5em 1em;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.globalizationpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Importance-of-Accessible-PDF-Document.jpg\" alt=\"Importance of Accessible PDF Document\" width=\"377\" height=\"203\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.globalizationpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Importance-of-Accessible-PDF-Document.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.globalizationpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Importance-of-Accessible-PDF-Document-300x162.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 377px) 100vw, 377px\" \/>Don\u2019t rely on color or sensory characteristics alone to convey meaning, and don\u2019t use flashing or blinking elements<\/li>\n<li>Use color combinations that provide a sufficient degree of contrast<\/li>\n<li>Add controls for audio so the user can control pause, play, and volume<\/li>\n<li>Have users initiate changes<\/li>\n<li>Provide consistent navigation<\/li>\n<li>Consider the items in the rest of the blog post as you\u2019re developing content<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Make All Text Searchable<\/h2>\n<p>All text, including text inside graphics, pictures or other images, must be searchable. Assistive technology software can\u2019t read or extract the words if they\u2019re inside of a visual. You can change this by removing the text from inside the image and saving it as a separate item like a text box. How you go about this will depend on the software that you\u2019re using.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s even better for accessibility is using text instead of images of text, although sometimes a visual is the best approach for clarity\u2019s sake.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Use Fonts that Allow Characters to Be Extracted to Text<\/h2>\n<p>Use only Unicode fonts, as they provide the most flexibility. The fonts in an accessible PDF must contain enough information for Acrobat to correctly extract all of the characters to text for purposes other than displaying text on the screen.<\/p>\n<p>Using Unicode fonts, which are plentiful, is the best way to ensure that you can extract text.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Make Form Fields Interactive with Accessible Error Messages and No Timing<\/h2>\n<p>If your PDF contains form fields a user can fill out online, make the fields interactive\u2014meaning a user can enter values into the fields. To be accessible, form fields must be interactive. Interactive PDF forms also have a defined tab order, which allows users of assistive technology to use the Tab key to progress from one form field or interactive control to the next logically. Also, don\u2019t set a time limit to fill out the form.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Use Acrobat\u2019s PDF Navigational Features<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-29944\" style=\"float: right; margin: 0.5em 0 0.5em 1em;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.globalizationpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Accessible-PDF-Document.jpg\" alt=\"Accessible PDF Document\" width=\"379\" height=\"204\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.globalizationpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Accessible-PDF-Document.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.globalizationpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Accessible-PDF-Document-300x162.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 379px) 100vw, 379px\" \/>Acrobat has several different navigational features, such as links, bookmarks, headings, table of contents, and a preset tab order for form fields. These features help all users use the document more efficiently without having to read or scroll through the entire document to find what they\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n<p>Bookmarks, which can be created from document headings, are especially useful. Users can interact with a PDF through these navigational features by using a keyboard, so there\u2019s no need to rely on a mouse. Allow readers to choose how they go about navigating content.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Specify the Document\u2019s Language and Title<\/h2>\n<p>Suppose you specify the document\u2019s language in the PDF properties. In this case, some screen readers can switch the current speech synthesizer to the appropriate language to provide the correct pronunciation of content in different languages.<\/p>\n<p>Providing a document title allows the user to locate and identify the document.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Don\u2019t Use Security Features that Will Interfere with Assistive Technology<\/h2>\n<p>Some authors of PDFs restrict users from printing, copying, extracting, editing or adding comments to the PDF. However, to be an accessible PDF, the text must be available to a screen reader.<\/p>\n<p>Acrobat\u2019s security settings can be set to protect the document\u2019s content while not interfering with a screen reader\u2019s ability to convert the on-screen text to speech or Braille.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Structure a Document\u2019s Tags and the Proper Reading Order<\/h2>\n<p>A screen reader or other text-to-speech tool requires the document to be structured to read a document\u2019s content and present it in a way that makes sense to the reader.<\/p>\n<p>Document structure tags in a PDF define the reading order and identify headings, paragraphs, sections, tables, and other page elements. The document\u2019s tag structure also allows documents to be resized and reflowed for viewing at larger sizes and on mobile devices.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Use Alternative Text Descriptions for Non-Text Elements<\/h2>\n<p>Some types of content such as images, interactive form fields, and audio and video elements can\u2019t be understood by the screen readers\u2019 user unless they have associated alternative text.<\/p>\n<p>Though link text is available to screen reader users, it\u2019s possible to provide even more meaningful descriptions by setting alternative text, which is quite helpful for things like images and tooltips.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>For More Information<\/h4>\n<p>If you need to make your website, courses or documents accessible, GPI offers several services: PDF accessibility, PDF verification, PDF remediation, PDF tagging, accessibility solutions, accessibility testing, Section 508 testing, InDesign tagging, Microsoft Word tagging, Quark tagging, ADA testing, and testing for accessible EPUB3. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.globalizationpartners.com\/contact\/\">Contact us<\/a> to learn more about these services.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Accessible PDF documents can be used by people with disabilities, such as those who are blind or have poor vision, deaf or hard of hearing, mobility impaired or have cognitive impairments. To make a PDF accessible, you need to modify your content, which we\u2019ll explain in this blog post. It\u2019s best to think about accessibility [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":29944,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[1398,1422,1526,883],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalizationpartners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29941"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalizationpartners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalizationpartners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalizationpartners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalizationpartners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29941"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalizationpartners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29941\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29958,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalizationpartners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29941\/revisions\/29958"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalizationpartners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalizationpartners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalizationpartners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalizationpartners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}