- From: Charles McCathieNevile <charles@w3.org>
- Date: Sun, 23 Dec 2001 09:30:48 -0500 (EST)
- To: Jason Megginson <jason@bartsite.com>
- cc: "'Ken Reader'" <kreader@attaininc.org>, <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
Well, I don't have a scientifically tested answer yet, nor one that is any kind of W3C policy, but based on thinking about this for myself it seems that there is reasonable access to PDF for people who have brand new hardware and software of particular brands, and the rest of the world has to rely on the conversion to HTML producing something sufficiently accessible. This can be tested - the conversion service is available to the author as well as the end-reader. In some cases that might be fine, in some cases it might be easiest to produce any old PDF version and an HTML version that conforms to WCAG at the desired level instead of reworking the PDF. This depends on that situation. But as far as I can tell, if the converted version doesn't meet WCAG requirements then the PDF version doesn't either, since it requires a plugin and it is a P1 WCAG requirement that content work without one. This may not be the case for 508, which has slightly different rules, but I haven't examined it in sufficient detail to give a technical opinion on the issue, and I am not a lawyer so I don't recommend relyng on my opinions about legal issues without checking them with a real lawyer. Just my two cents worth - entirely personal opinion and I reserve the right to retract it or not based on more detailed consideration of the issues. Cheers Charles On Fri, 21 Dec 2001, Jason Megginson wrote: Hello, All. I too agree that making an HTML page is easier and less likely to hinder accessibility, but one can make an accessible PDF file easily with the Adobe plug-in with Microsoft Word and PageMaker 7.0. The plug-in adds HTML-like tags and the .pdf file can be added to a webpage, maintaining the document's appearance for printing for sighted users. Images and tables can be tagged and formatted for alternate text and the flow of information can be altered as well. Again, I feel that accessible PDFs should be used when it is absolutely necessary to maintain the layout of an original document for printing. In my opinion, there should be an option for a text only document as well as the PDF file. Jason Megginson Access Technology Specialist Bartimaeus Group jason@bartsite.com www.bartsite.com -----Original Message----- From: w3c-wai-ig-request@w3.org [mailto:w3c-wai-ig-request@w3.org] On Behalf Of Ken Reader Sent: Friday, December 21, 2001 8:50 AM To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org Subject: RE: Acrobat PDF & Accessibility I agree with joel. With all the trouble it takes to make the pdf accessible it is just easier to go ahead and put it up in html. Ken Reader IT Coordinator ATTAIN, Inc. 2346 S. Lynhurst Drive STE 507 Indianapolis, IN 46241 Telephone (317) 486-8808 Fax (317) 486-8809 -----Original Message----- From: Joel Ward [mailto:ward_joel@bah.com] Sent: Friday, December 21, 2001 8:40 AM To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org Subject: Re: Acrobat PDF & Accessibility The rare PDF that includes internal navigation is tolerable, but I have never found a PDF that is as easy to read in a browser as a standard HTML document. If I want to read the content in full, I will usually print the PDF. I've gone through many wasted reams of paper that way. :-) Much like with HTML pages, PDFs can be done well and PDFs can be done poorly. The fault often lies with the document's designer/coder. For viewing online, you can make a PDF document work much like a standard HTML page. But why bother? Just make a standard HTML page! ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jon Hanna" <jon@spinsol.com> To: <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org> Sent: Friday, December 21, 2001 8:23 AM Subject: RE: Acrobat PDF & Accessibility > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > Does anyone actually like reading PDFs in a browser? > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- > Version: PGPfreeware 6.5.3 for non-commercial use <http://www.pgp.com> > > iQA/AwUBPCM33YFpv9f1Mr0YEQIK/wCg0TDuRQUDGofoC4vgUgfc79+t9uAAoPKH > 4TfA3Z3iJP8QPMzBCYh3ny8V > =CRpg > -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- > > -- Charles McCathieNevile http://www.w3.org/People/Charles phone: +61 409 134 136 W3C Web Accessibility Initiative http://www.w3.org/WAI fax: +1 617 258 5999 Location: 21 Mitchell street FOOTSCRAY Vic 3011, Australia (or W3C INRIA, Route des Lucioles, BP 93, 06902 Sophia Antipolis Cedex, France)
Received on Sunday, 23 December 2001 09:30:54 UTC