Operation Manual

253
USING ACROBAT X STANDARD
Accessibility, tags, and reflow
Last updated 10/11/2011
Creating accessible PDFs
Workflow for creating accessible PDFs
At a high level, the process of creating accessible PDFs consists of a few basic stages:
1 Consider accessibility before you convert a document to PDF.
2 As needed, add fillable form fields and descriptions, and set the tab order.
3 Add other accessibility features to the PDF.
4 Tag the PDF.
5 Evaluate the PDF and repair tagging problems.
These stages are presented in an order that suits most needs. However, you can perform tasks in a different order or
iterate between some of the stages. In all cases, first examine the document, determine its intended purpose, and use
that analysis to determine the workflow that you apply.
Additional resources
For more information about creating accessible PDFs, see these resources:
• Guide to creating accessible PDFs, General Services Administration:
www.section508.gov/docs/PDFGuidanceForGovernment.pdf
• Best practices: amp.ssbbartgroup.com
Consider accessibility before you convert a document to PDF
Whenever possible, think about accessibility when you create the source files in an authoring application, such as a
word-processing or page-layout application.
Typical tasks in the authoring application include adding alternate text to graphics, optimizing tables, and applying
paragraph styles or other document-structure features that can be converted to tags. For more information, see
“Creating a tagged PDF from an authoring application” on page 254.
Add fillable form fields and descriptions, and set the tab order
If your PDF includes form fields, use Tools > Accessibility > Run Form Field Recognition to detect form fields and
make them interactive (fillable).
Use the Forms tools to create fillable form fields, such as buttons, check boxes, pop-up menus, and text boxes. When
you create a field, type a description in the Tooltip box in the Properties dialog box for that field. Screen readers read
this text aloud to the user. For more information, see
“Create form fields” on page 157.
For information on setting the tab order to use document structure, see “Set form field navigation” on page 164.
Add other accessibility features to the PDF
This stage includes setting the document language, making sure that security settings don’t interfere with screen
readers, and adding bookmarks. For more information, see
“Set the document language” on page 258, “Prevent
security settings from interfering with screen readers” on page 258, and “About bookmarks” on page 260.