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moyco
Inspiring
February 8, 2016
Question

Is there a way to add table summaries to a PDF programmatically? I have thousands of tables that need them and adding them manually one at a time is not feasible.

  • February 8, 2016
  • 2 replies
  • 1995 views

Is there a way to add table summaries to a PDF programmatically? I have thousands of tables that need them and adding them manually one at a time is not feasible.

2 replies

Participant
May 22, 2025

Hi, were you able to find a resolution or any possible workaround for this issue?

Inspiring
February 8, 2016

Why would you want to do that?

The relevant ISO standards (ISO 14289-1m aka PDDF/UA) does not require or even recommend table summaries.

In general it has to be said, that whatever information is present in a PDF file meant to be accessible should be accessible to all users, regardless of disability or not or what type of disability or tyype of assistive technology usedd. A table summary tends to only be accessible to screen reader users and precludes others.

On an even more general note, it is preferred to provide information that one may put into a table summary as regular content on the page, so everyone can benefit.

Olaf

moyco
moycoAuthor
Inspiring
February 8, 2016

What I want is irrelevant.

Table summaries are a requirement of the federal agency for which the tables are being produced in order to meet Section 508 Standards (and their specific accessibility checklist).  The content is set and we cannot alter it, and even if the information is provided in the text outside the table, a summary is required.

Now, do you any useful ideas or suggestions?

Karen.

Inspiring
February 8, 2016

Please accept my apologies for having bothered you with useless information.

Olaf