Re: Acrobat PDF & Accessibility

On Thu, 20 Dec 2001, Joel Ward wrote:

> Question:
> 
> If you have an accessible HTML version of a document, do we need to make the
> PDF version of the document accessible too?  What if the PDF version is only
> made available for printing purposes (and marked as such)?
> 
> In that case, I'd concentrate on making the HTML accessible and forget about
> the PDF.
> 
> What does everyone else think?

I have to agree with you there.

Bob

> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Carol Foster" <c.foster@umassp.edu>
> To: "William R Williams/R5/USDAFS" <wrwilliams@fs.fed.us>
> Cc: <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
> Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2001 4:35 PM
> Subject: Re: Acrobat PDF & Accessibility
> 
> 
> > I agree with Jakob Nielsen, though some people really like PDF's.  I tend
> to
> > get annoyed when I click on a link and a PDF suddenly starts slowly
> appearing
> > without warning.
> >
> > I believe to meet WAI priority 1 checkpoints, an HTML version is required.
> The
> > new more accessible PDF's that can be created with Adobe 5.0 and the Make
> > Accessible Plugin are definitely an improvement over the old ones for
> screen
> > readers, and if I understand this correctly, I believe that they alone
> will
> > satisfy Section 508 without an alternative, though an HTML version is
> still
> > recommended.
> >
> > As a web developer, I'm afraid that those of us who want to make our sites
> as
> > accessible as possible are now in the position of not only having to
> create an
> > HTML version, which can be easy or very time consuming (depending on what
> we
> > have to start with), but also to make sure the PDF is itself accessible,
> which
> > can also be easy or very time consuming, depending on how the PDF was
> created,
> > what hardware and software one has, and how well one knows the new PDF
> tagging
> > language and update facilities.
> >
> > Carol
> >
> > William R Williams/R5/USDAFS wrote:
> >
> > > Hello,
> > >
> > > It's been debated often, I suspect; yet, if my experience means
> anything,
> > > much disagreement exists about the "true" accessibility of pdfs on the
> web.
> > > Certainly, Adobe has promoted the application and worked diligently to
> make
> > > them accessible, but others - such as Jakob Nielsen - suggest avoiding
> pdfs
> > > for on-screen delivery.
> > >
> > > I know there are definite usability issues, but how does this group
> stand
> > > on the accessibility of PDFs?
> > >
> > > Thanks!
> > > ======================
> > > Bill Williams
> > > Communication Technician
> > > USDA Forest Service, Region 5
> > > 707.562.9005
> > > wrwilliams@fs.fed.us
> > > ======================
> >
> > Carol Foster, Web Developer
> > University of Massachusetts, President's Office
> > http://www.umass-its.net/ipg
> >
> >
> 

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Received on Thursday, 20 December 2001 17:17:47 UTC