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DMI.SYSTEMS
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September 26, 2019
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Validate pdf / UA against WCAG 2.0

  • September 26, 2019
  • 1 reply
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Is it possible to Validate pdf / UA against WCAG 2.0 in Acrobat DC Pro

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Correct answer a_C_student16379412

Acrobat Pro DC does a decent job of checking conformance to the subset ot WCAG 2.0 criterea that can be machine-checked. For conformance to PDF/UA, PAC3 from the Swiss foundation Access for All, is the defacto standard checker - to the extent that the document can be machine-checked. Since PDF/UA is in general more stringent than WCAG 2.0, PAC3 is the more rigerous checker, but Acrobat is still a great first-check. Very important though - roughly a third of conformance criterea can not be machine checked, it requires knowledgeable human inspection. Just because I get a happy green checkmark from PAC3 does not mean my PDF is accessible - that is, fully conforming to WCAG and PDF/UA. I have to manually check the tag tree, contents pane, and screen-reader or emulator and make the needed corrections. 

1 reply

a_C_student16379412
a_C_student16379412Correct answer
Inspiring
September 27, 2019

Acrobat Pro DC does a decent job of checking conformance to the subset ot WCAG 2.0 criterea that can be machine-checked. For conformance to PDF/UA, PAC3 from the Swiss foundation Access for All, is the defacto standard checker - to the extent that the document can be machine-checked. Since PDF/UA is in general more stringent than WCAG 2.0, PAC3 is the more rigerous checker, but Acrobat is still a great first-check. Very important though - roughly a third of conformance criterea can not be machine checked, it requires knowledgeable human inspection. Just because I get a happy green checkmark from PAC3 does not mean my PDF is accessible - that is, fully conforming to WCAG and PDF/UA. I have to manually check the tag tree, contents pane, and screen-reader or emulator and make the needed corrections. 

    brennanyoung
    brennanyoung
    Participating Frequently
    September 15, 2022

    Why does Acrobat not offer the same level of stringency as PAC? Is there a strategic rationale?

    How does PAC help those that don't use Windows? (PAC is Windows-only). Yes, I do know about virtual machines. They do not represent the native-OS experience correctly, especially in relation to ATs. PDF/UA conformance is infested with dragons, and Adobe could do so much more to help authors in this area. Like... if you pass the Accessibility Check including manual checks, Acrobat could (offer to) insert the PDF/UA flag automatically.

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