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Understanding the Concept of "Accessible PDF"

What is an accessible PDF?

To ensure that PDF-based content is accessible to people
with disabilities or can be adapted for different usage situations
(for example, for reading on mobile devices, smartphones,...),
it must be available in digitally accessible form.

There are some basic technical requirements for accessible PDFs
that you can easily check with a PDF Accessibility Checker (PAC) tool, like:

• axesCheck (web-based service)


• PAC 2021 (Windows plugin)


• axesPDF (Windows application)



For example, an accessible PDF contains an invisible structure layer
on which all content-relevant elements are coded in the correct order
in a machine-readable manner and important additional information
is included for comprehension and targeted navigation.




Important.
Precondition for working with a PDF document for accessibility
is that your PDF document already has a tag structure.
If this is not the case then first create a PDF with tags,
either from converting the source document or
with a PDF editor.




Why is PDF accessibility important?

On the one hand, much essential information exists exclusively as PDF content.
PDF is the most widely used file format worldwide for exchanging documents;
be it reports, minutes, tickets or bank statements, for example.

However, most PDFs available to date have massive barriers for
people with disabilities or are inadequately equipped for current and
future usage scenarios (mobile Internet, AI, Big Data, for example).
Accessible PDFs provide a remedy here.

On the other hand, PDF accessibility is already required
by law for many organizations.
The laws are gradually being extended to other areas.
The EU would like to play a pioneering role here,
because digital inclusion enables all people to
participate fully in the information society.

"Many people don't know that PDFs actually have to be barrier-free.
There are still misunderstandings,
e.g. some people say that PDFs are not a website,
but it is clear, and PDFs must be just as accessible.
I would like to clarify that."

Michael Wahl,
Head of the German Federal Monitoring Agency for
Accessibility in Information Technology




PDF/UA - The ISO Standard for PDF Accessibility

The ISO standard 14289, also known as PDF/UA,
where UA stands for Universal Access, guarantees
the best possible user experience for end users of
the most widely used document format in the world.

• Which PDF/UA requirements need to be evaluated?


• Basic requirements

Are the basic rules according to the PDF specification adhered to?



• Logical structure

Are there errors in the tag tree that make content inaccessible?



• Metadata and settings

Does the PDF have settings that limit accessibility
or is it missing important metadata that is required for smooth processing?




WCAG - The global guidelines for accessible web content

The WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)
Level A and AA for a PDF.

• Which WCAG requirements need to be evaluated?


1. Perceivable

Can all content-relevant elements be perceived?

This includes requirements such as:

• Are text alternatives available?


• Is the contrast minimum met?


• Is it possible for software to distinguish between
  content-relevant and decorative elements?


• Is software able to access all content-relevant elements?




2. Operable

Are information, settings, and mechanisms available to enable
navigation and interaction (for example, with form fields)?

These include:

• Is the title available?


• Is the tab order set for interactive elements?




3. Understandable

Can users understand the content and user interface,
even if they use voice output, for example?

These include:

• Are natural language defined for all elements?


• Is there a Unicode equivalent for each character?




4. Robust

Are the basic rules according to the PDF specification adhered to?

Common Ways for the Creation of Accessible PDF Documents

There are two common methods for the creation of accessible PDF documents:

• The direct method based on source format:
  If you want to create accessible PDF documents with authoring software
  like Microsoft Word, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Acrobat,
  or if you want to convert a structured format like HTML or XML into PDF,
  you usually click the magic “Create PDF” button.

  If the conversion software does a good job, the necessary internal tag tree
  is created automatically in a high quality.




• The indirect method based on existing PDF file:
  If the source file is not available or if the authoring software doesn’t do
  a good conversion job, you can take the PDF without tags,
  generally a web-PDF, and rework it.

  During this process you tag every relevant content element and
  add some additional accessibility features like alt text to figures.
  For doing this you need a software tool, a PDF editor,
  that is capable to create and edit PDF tags.




But do not expect too much.
Only very few software programs offer the possibility to create high-quality
PDF/UA compliant documents out of the box or at least with less effort.




This is when you need help by axes4 tools to finally get a
100% PDF/UA compliant document in a few minutes:


• Direct method / MS Word source format: axesWord


• Indirect method / Any existing PDF: axesPDF

News - New key features in axes4 software solutions

See also axes4 blog

Interesting?

• Contact NewFormat,
  for axes4 software tools to create
  PDF/UA compliant documents with a few clicks.

Universal Accessibility

Software and Services Empowering Easy Creation of
Accessible PDF Documents (PDF/UA)

Products

Create PDF/UA and WCAG compliant PDF files from within MS Word

Remediate any existing PDF for PDF/UA compliance

Validate any existing PDF file for PDF/UA and WCAG compliance

Services

   

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