RE: Do you have to file ADA bugs against vendors?

PDF reading software varies significantly in terms of how well each program
handles accessibility, including the ability to access, read, and fill out
forms.  They also vary in terms of how well screen readers are accommodated
versus other assistive technologies.

 

Adobe brand PDF readers have usually performed the best, so look at Adobe
Acrobat (desktop) as well as Adobe Acrobat Mobile (apps for iPhone and
Android). 

 

In our testing, all other PDF vendors fall short of Adobe, and Adobe isn't
perfect, either.

 

All PDF files, as well as PDF reading software, should follow the PDF and
PDF/UA standards developed by the ISO PDF committee, which the PDF
Association maintains.  Note: A PDF file is a very different piece of code
than an HTML webpage, so we can't squeeze the square WCAG peg in the round
PDF hole. It can reflect the WCAG intent, but the mechanics of PDF
accessibility might be different.

 

From our interpretation of the US laws, all federal government agencies
should purchase only fully compliant PDF reading software. However, no law
requires a) PDF manufacturers to adhere to accessibility standards, b) how
well PDF manufacturers meet ALL the accessibility standards, or c) end users
must use only PDF-compliant technologies.

 

In other words, it's a crap shoot how well a user's technology will access,
present, and process the form.

 

Sec. 508 has been with us for 25+ years, and I don't know of any enforcement
of accessibility for any of the PDF software manufacturers. 

 

Bevi Chagnon  |  PubCom.com

Designer, Trainer, Author, Accessibility Expert

Member of the ISO committees for PDF and PDF/UA

Adobe Community Expert in the Adobe online forums

 

PubCom.com:  Accessible Design + Technology

Office documents . Adobe InDesign . Acrobat . PDFs . EPUBs

View our blog and tutorials at www.pubcom.com/blog
<http://www.pubcom.com/blog>  

 

From: Deborah Dinzes <Deborah.Dinzes@becu.org> 
Sent: Wednesday, July 2, 2025 1:41 PM
To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
Subject: Do you have to file ADA bugs against vendors?

 

Hi,

 

My team is ADA-remediating PDF forms that appear on our website. Often, the
PDF is accessible in Adobe Reader on the desktop and with NVDA, but may have
a problem when read on an iPhone. I'm being told that I have to resolve this
issue with Apple - i.e., file ADA bugs with Apple regarding issues with
their software. 

 

Do you do that? If so, who do you work with at Apple? We're having even more
trouble with Android phones. 

 

Thanks for your help.

Deborah

 

 



 

Deborah Dinzes

Sr Technical Writer, Knowledge Management

Offsite |  m (425) 443-9524

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