[BlindMath] Bookmarked PDFs

[Ramana Polavarapu]

Have you already tried InftyReader on the PDF to retrieve LaTeX?

On 2/1/23, Lucas Nadolskis via BlindMath <blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Apparently getting the source file is very difficult due to copyrights or
> whatever internal policy these publishers have.
> I have obtained the PDF from the author a couple of times, and it was okay.
> DBT still failed on it, but at least I could read the original source.
>
> Thank you very much for your explanation.
>
> Kind regards.
> Lucas Nadolskis.
>
>
>> On Feb 1, 2023, at 5:42 PM, Susan Kelmer via BlindMath
>> <blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>
>> PDFs are simply a display medium.  And while you can produce them with
>> some formatting and bookmarks, the math will never be accessible because
>> it is an image, and even with good OCR, the OCR output doesn't know how to
>> format math for reading by someone using a screen reader.
>>
>> And even if the book was originally written and formatted as a LaTex
>> document, it doesn’t mean that the math was actually presented properly,
>> but perhaps you could ask the publisher for the original Latex, if there
>> is one?
>>
>> This is why people like me still have a job.  Publishers are producing
>> PDFs, and if I'm producing files for a blind student, I must turn them
>> into something usable by a screen reader.  Generally, I'm using Word with
>> MathType and outputting as HTML/MathML and/or Braille, because MathType
>> still doesn't render Latex.  I wish they'd get that fixed, it would save
>> me a billion steps in trying to produce a Latex file from very good
>> quality Word with MathType files.
>>
>>
>> Susan Kelmer
>> Alternate Format Production Program Manager
>> Disability Services
>> Health and Wellness Services
>> T 303 735 4836
>> www.colorado.edu/disabilityservices
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Due to the nature of electronic communication, the security of this
>> message cannot be guaranteed. If you’ve received this email in error
>> please notify the sender immediately and delete this message.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: BlindMath <blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Lucas
>> Nadolskis via BlindMath
>> Sent: Wednesday, February 1, 2023 3:08 PM
>> To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics
>> <blindmath at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Lucas Nadolskis <nadol012 at umn.edu>
>> Subject: [BlindMath] Bookmarked PDFs
>>
>> Hello all.
>>
>> I have been trying to access some books that are quite heavy on math.
>> I have found them on Bookshare, but the math content is not properly
>> formatted, which in this specific case makes a lot of difference.
>>
>> I then reached out to the publisher, who  sent me the bookmarked PDF of
>> the book.
>>
>> However, the math in the book is still beyond the reach of Jaws, VO or
>> braille notetakers.
>>
>> My  next step would be writing to the author, but considering how old the
>> book is, I don’t have a whole lot of hope on this front.
>>
>> I know this is a persistent issue, and I have emailed a couple of times in
>> this list about it.
>> But I am wonder why PDFs, even those generated on LaTeX, are not
>> accessible as far as math is concern.
>>
>> I have used mathML and math type with fantastic results. However,
>> unfortunately I still need to deal a lot with PDFs, and I can’t find a
>> solution for that.
>>
>> Thank you very much for any assistance.
>>
>> Kind regards.
>>
>> Lucas Nadolskis.
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> BlindMath mailing list
>> BlindMath at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindmath_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> BlindMath:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindmath_nfbnet.org/susan.kelmer%40colorado.edu
>> BlindMath Gems can be found at
>> <http://www.blindscience.org/blindmath-gems-home>
>> _______________________________________________
>> BlindMath mailing list
>> BlindMath at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindmath_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> BlindMath:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindmath_nfbnet.org/nadol012%40umn.edu
>> BlindMath Gems can be found at
>> <http://www.blindscience.org/blindmath-gems-home>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> BlindMath mailing list
> BlindMath at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindmath_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> BlindMath:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindmath_nfbnet.org/sriramana%40gmail.com
> BlindMath Gems can be found at
> <http://www.blindscience.org/blindmath-gems-home>
>