Re: accessible PDFs?

>>> <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org> (Kristine Bradow) 12/23 12:52 PM >>>
I need to put some documents up on the web that the people I work with
can download from the web. I was planning on just putting the documents
in *.pdf format and inserting a link to the Adobe Acrobat reader page,
but I thought that I'd ask and see how such a solution rates in terms of
accessibility--what, if any, accessibility problems would requiring a
plug-in like Acrobat create?
<<<

"Accessible PDF" is an oxymoron. (See also "military intelligence" and "creation science" [g].)

>>>
If it would present a problem, can any of
you offer an alternative? Converting the gross amount of literature that
I need to put up into HTML creates a formatting nightmare that I'd
prefer to avoid if possible--especially since some of the documents are
not all just text.
<<<

Would need to know more about the originating format(s) of the literature. Word-processing documents? What is the nature of the non-text contents? It sounds like you have a large volume to convert. If so, then it's going to be more worthwhile to purchase, customize or develop tools which can convert your document set to HTML while accurately preserving its contents.

If you're wanting to publish to the Web, then HTML is going to be the most accessible format. Your concern about a "formatting nightmare" makes it sounds like you want to preserve the layout, the visual presentation, of the documents, rather than the information they contain. If that's a concern, then why are you wanting to publish to the Web?

<author>Chris Kreussling</author>
<disclaimer>The views expressed are 
those of the author and do not necessarily 
reflect the position of the Federal Reserve 
Bank of New York or the Federal Reserve 
System.</disclaimer>

Received on Wednesday, 23 December 1998 13:20:45 UTC