[Journalists] From a computer idiot

Fri Feb 6 00:46:20 UTC 2009

Following is advice from my brother. His final reference is to Australian 
legislation. I believe similar legislation applies in the US.

I spoke with Andrew yesterday about PDF files not opening. He said this 
might occur if the file were untagged and protected. It might also occur if 
a file were created using an old version of Adobe.

Andrew's message begins now.

Tagging of PDF files - one could be excused for believing that this is a

dark art rather than a science.

Tagging was introduced with Acrobat Version 5.  My hazy memory says

about ten years ago.  That was the first time screen reader users had

direct access to PDFs - there was previously a plugin that gave limited

access.

Tagging in a PDF file is a bit like tags in an HTML file.  It tells

screen readers et al in what order items should be presented.  Adobe

Acrobat/Reader know if a screen reader is present.  If one is present

and an untagged PDF is opened, you get the message that the file is not

tagged.  When you choose the reading order (you'll usually opt for the

default unless that doesn't work) Adobe Reader essentially applies

temporary tags to the file.  How well these work will depend on the

process used for creating the file in the first place.

Adobe Acrobat (the one you pay for) offers facilities for tagging PDFs.

It can do this automatically and/or it can be done manually.  Tags can

also be manipulated to improve accessibility.  However, manual tagging

and rearranging cannot be done by a blind person.

The easiest way to create a tagged PDF is to produce the file in

Microsoft Word, using formal styles.  If Acrobat is on the computer, a

menu item in Word will allow the conversion.  Headings will be used to

create bookmarks (a great feature), table of contents will translate

well and any links will appear as links in the PDF.  Alt text on images

will also carry across, as will tables.  Microsoft also offers a free

plugin for creating PDFs and, with the exception of a small bug, I've

found it very good.

"Why then," you ask, "are so many PDFs untagged?"  I suspect many people

print to PDF rather than using the conversion option.  Also, many

applications don't support the tagging process.  Adobe's InDesign

desktop publishing software has facilities for structuring (tagging) a

PDF.  However, it takes some digging to find it and some practice to

understand it.  A colleague has just delved into its depths to turn a

messy PDF into a thing of beauty.  The process also involved some

cleaning up in Acrobat.

Will Kurzweil provide a better experience than Adobe Reader with

untagged PDFs?  I doubt it.

If you ask the sender to tag a PDF, I suspect they'll glaze over.

Better to send them info from the Adobe site on how to do it.

And finally, tagging is specifically for accessibility purposes.  It is

relevant to people using screen readers, text/graphics enlargement

software and software designed to augment visual reading with synthetic

speech output.  The frustrating thing is that very many PDFs could be

structured with no more effort than is required to produce an untagged

file.  It's therefore worth educating people to do it properly, in the

same way that progress is being made in getting people to create

correctly structured HTML pages.  People who supply inaccessible PDFs

are breaching antidiscrimination legislation, including Section 508.

Andrew

Andrew Downie

SEO, Adaptive Technologies

Knowledge Sharing Services

Centre for Learning Innovation

51 Wentworth Road, Strathfield NSW 2135

Ph: (02) 9715 8347

Email:

andrew.downie at det.nsw.edu.au

www.cli.nsw.edu.au

NSW Department of Education and Training

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Graham Downie" <grahamd at netspeed.com.au>
To: "Blind Professional Journalists List" <journalists at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2009 9:50 AM
Subject: Re: [Journalists] From a computer idiot

> Hmmm. This is not a question I can answer. My software, Window Eyes, 
> always indicates when a PDF file is untagged and gives options for the 
> reading order. Most PDF files I receive at work are untagged. Sometimes I 
> receive scanned images.Even these can be opened but cannot be read. I get 
> around this by printing the image, then scanning it. Not convenient but 
> better than nothing. Perhaps there is a setting you can change in your 
> software. Perhaps you could turn off your screen reader after possitioning 
> on the file to be opened. Then open the file, copy and paste.
> My brother was not at work yesterday and will probably have better ideas 
> than me.
> Best wishes
> Graham Downie
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Cheryl Wade" <cwade at mdn.net>
> To: "Blind Professional Journalists List" <journalists at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2009 12:01 AM
> Subject: Re: [Journalists] From a computer idiot
>
>
>> Hi, Graham,
>>
>> My software simply says it cannot be opened because it is not properly 
>> tagged. I'm less worried about headers and spacing than I am about what 
>> the document says. What do I do when it says the document can't be opened 
>> because it's not properly tagged? i can't cut and paste it because I 
>> can't even open it.
>>
>> Any suggestions?
>>
>> Cheryl Wade
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Journalists mailing list
>> Journalists at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/journalists_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
>> Journalists:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/journalists_nfbnet.org/grahamd%40netspeed.com.au
>>
>> __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus 
>> signature database 3823 (20090203) __________
>>
>> The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.
>>
>> http://www.eset.com
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Journalists mailing list
> Journalists at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/journalists_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> Journalists:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/journalists_nfbnet.org/grahamd%40netspeed.com.au
>
> __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus 
> signature database 3823 (20090203) __________
>
> The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.
>
> http://www.eset.com
>
>
> 