[nabs-l] Jaws and PDF Forms

[Cindy Bennett]

Was the PDF an interactive one? Some PDF's have edit boxes imbedded
into them that you can enter text into. Sometimes they are accessible,
and sometimes, JAWS lags a lot or doesn't read all of the information.
For example, on one form that I was trying to fill out, JAWS said the
information corresponding to the previous check box as I navigated the
check boxes.

If they aren't interactive, then I think it depends. You can save them
as .txt files and insert information into them and format them back to
PDF's. But some people are kind of hyper about their forms maintaining
their original formatting. I think that for a standard form that you
would fill out to get a photo ID, I would just get a reader to help
me, because they probably receive hundreds of these forms and it might
throw off the data entry person or the scannner used to enter the data
if the form is formatted differently. However, I had to fill out a
form for someone a while ago and the situation was somewhat less
formal. I told them my options and they said it was totally fine if I
converted the file to a .txt and that they didn't care about
formatting. So, it just depends. Honestly though, if you're spending a
lot of time on a form that would take a sighted person 2 seconds to
fill out, just consider getting a reader or buying someone coffee for
the favor. Sometimes, these things aren't worth the extra effort
although I can see the value of exploring solutions to make your life
easier when you have to fill out forms in the future.

Cindy

On 9/10/13, Preston Gaylor <pgradioman at hotmail.com> wrote:
> Dear NABS:
> I hope all of you are well!
> I just have a quick question for you all.
> Yesterday, I was filling out a form from Pendot (our state's Department of
> Transportation) to get my photo ID, and I did have some trouble filling it
> out!
> Jaws was reading the form fine, but to me I thought that the form was
> inaccesable to fill out with Jaws.
> I tried other screen readers like System Access and Narrator, but they
> didn't work!
> Luckily, my Mom was there and she helped me fill the form out completely.
>
>
>
> Have any of you encountered PDF forms recently?
>
>
>
>
>
> What did you use to help the form accessible for you to fill out?
> Did you copy and paste it into a Word document and save onto a thumb drive
> to fill out at a later time?
> What other ideas and suggestions do you guys have about PDF forms and Jaws
> and what should I do next time I come accross another Adobe form in the near
> future?
> Thanks, and take care!
> Sincerely:
> Preston
>
> Sent from my iPod
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-- 
Cindy Bennett
Secretary: National Association of Blind Students

B.A. Psychology, UNC Wilmington
clb5590 at gmail.com