Operation Manual

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USING ACROBAT X STANDARD
Accessibility, tags, and reflow
Last updated 10/11/2011
About tools for creating accessible PDF forms
Adobe offers several tools for the creation of accessible PDF forms:
Acrobat Pro, Acrobat Standard Use one of these applications to open untagged or tagged PDF forms (except PDF
forms that are created from LiveCycle Designer) to add fillable form fields, such as text boxes, check boxes, and
buttons. Then use the application’s other tools to make the form accessible. Add descriptions to form fields, tag
untagged forms, set the set tab order, manipulate tags, and perform the other PDF accessibility tasks.
LiveCycle Designer (Available in Acrobat Pro) Use this product to design and build new forms or to import untagged
PDF forms and make their form fields fillable and accessible. You can deploy forms in tagged PDF, XML, and other
formats from LiveCycle Designer. Once you create or edit an Acrobat form in LiveCycle Designer, it becomes a
LiveCycle Designer file. It is no longer a PDF that you can edit or manipulate in Acrobat. Both Acrobat and Reader
can open and read PDF forms that you create from LiveCycle Designer. These PDF forms, however, don’t include
permissions to modify the file. Therefore, use LiveCycle Designer only for PDFs that are intended to contain only
form-based information. Don’t use it to add form fields to a document that combines pages of narrative with an
occasional page that has form fields. In this case, use Acrobat Pro to add the form fields. Then complete the
accessibility tasks for the rest of the document content.
Authoring applications Most authoring applications that you can use to design forms don’t retain their fillable form
fields when you convert the files to PDF. Use the forms tools in Acrobat Pro to add fillable form fields. Moreover, if
you tag the form during conversion to PDF, the authoring application can generate inappropriate tags for the text
labels of the form fields. In a complex form, for example, the text labels for all the fields can run together into a single
line. Screen readers can’t interpret these fields as individual labels. Such reading order problems can require time-
consuming work in Acrobat Pro to split the labels apart. In this case, producing an untagged PDF form from the
authoring application is sometimes the better course. You can then use the Forms tools in Acrobat Pro to add fillable
form fields before you tag the entire document. Some forms are straightforward enough that you can produce a tagged
PDF from the authoring application. Then perform light touchup in Acrobat Pro after you add the fillable form fields.
Workflow for creating accessible PDF forms
Using Acrobat, you can open untagged and tagged PDF forms, add fillable form fields, add field descriptions and
alternate text, set the tab order, and tag the forms (if they aren’t already tagged). You can also edit the tags of any tagged
PDF form by using the TouchUp Reading Order tool or the tag tree.
1. Design the form for accessibility.
Forms tend to have relatively complex layouts compared to documents that have a simple, single-column structure.
The success that an application has in analyzing and tagging a form depends largely on the original formatting and
layout of a document, and the types of fields that it uses.
When you design a form, include headings, instructions, and fields in which users are to enter data. At a minimum,
give each field a label. Also add special instructions for fields that need them. Use graphics tools to draw lines and
boxes. Don’t use characters, such as underscores and vertical bars, because these text characters can confuse screen
readers.
Adding descriptions to form fields enables screen readers to identify the fields to users. Users hear the description read
aloud when they tab to the field. Write descriptions that are terse but complete. For example, the description “First
name” is appropriate for a first-name field. Don’t use instructions (such as “Enter first name”) as a description.