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Paul-BT
Participating Frequently
April 22, 2020
Question

Acrobat PDF accessibility

  • April 22, 2020
  • 3 replies
  • 1416 views

Hi folks,

Does anyone know if there is any training available for making PDFs accessible in Acrobat Pro DC? I have been doing this already for the past seven months or so in my employment, after self-teaching through YouTube and Adobe's online resources. However, when it comes to more advanced editing, such as with more complex tables, I haven't managed to find anything suitable. Adobe have suggested I post on this forum, so I'm hoping someone can help. This specifically relates to complex tables and associated IDs, but if there is any online training available, that would help myself and other members of my team. Thanks!

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3 replies

Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
Legend
April 24, 2020

<Quote> This specifically relates to complex tables and associated IDs, but if there is any online training available.  /

 

Unfortunate that the blog intimidated you re: x/y coordinates for each table cell. Looks like it was trying explain the associated IDs needed for complex tables.

 

Take a look at Rob Haverty's (Adobe employee) online tutorials about accessible PDFs. I know one section covers tables and the cell IDs. But remember, if you simplify the table, it will only need column/row headers, not the IDs. There isn't an automated method or software tool anywhere to associate data cells with complex headers, so it's a one-cell-at-a-time procedure. Royal PITA.

http://adobe.lookbookhq.com/acrobataccessibility

 

And thanks, ynwtf!  Revised books will be out soon...

 

|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Bevi Chagnon &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp;Designer, Trainer, &amp; Technologist for Accessible Documents ||&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;PubCom |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Classes &amp; Books for Accessible InDesign, PDFs &amp; MS Office |
    P
    Paul-BTAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    April 29, 2020

    Thanks Bevi for your helpful link to Rob Haverty's training sessions. I've watched them all and found them very informative, particularly the advanced tables and forms sessions and I now have more of an idea on how to tackle them. A lot of the PDFs in my work are supplied to me, so I sometimes have to work with what I have, but as you rightly point out, if individuals producing the PDFs from Word were able to simplify their tables, it would make our lives a lot easier.

     

    It's also good to know we're on the right track using PAC 3. It's taken me a while, but I'm now able to get 'green ticks' in all my documents, so they're PDF/UA compliant. My next step is to use screen reader software to ensure the tables are logical.

     

    I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank Kenny Moore at TaggedPDF.com for his help and tutorials for getting me there! For anyone about to embark on PDF accessibility (that perhaps don't have financial restrictions), I've no doubt that Bevi's courses in combination with the above will be very beneficial.

     

    Thanks again one and all!

     

    Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
    Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
    Legend
    April 29, 2020

    You're welcome!

     

    |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Bevi Chagnon &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp;Designer, Trainer, &amp; Technologist for Accessible Documents ||&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;PubCom |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Classes &amp; Books for Accessible InDesign, PDFs &amp; MS Office |
    Y
    ynwtf
    Inspiring
    April 22, 2020

    I was going to suggest pubcom.com with Bevi, but looks like she beat me to the punch here. 🙂

    I've taken her online courses for Word + PDF and InDesign + PDF. Both were pretty good to sort all the crap that exists in the infinite wrong of the interwebs. Seriously, when I was struggling with tables just a few months into 508 work I found one online article saying that literally every cell of a table needed an X, Y coordinate grid reference (don't do that, btw!). yikes?

     

    So  yeah, Bevi's courses helped to de-mystify and ground a lot of my incorrect self-taught assumptions and points of discussion to have with my staff and clients. They also provided several reference points, specifically regarding the philosohpy of why things should be the way they are. For me, if I don't quite understand the HOW, understanding the WHY usually compensates and I can find my way through. A compass on a map, if you will. Plus you get a printed manual of the course material, so if anything is missed you can reference it at your leisure (assuming that's still the case?).

     

    Finally, if you have specific questions feel free to post them here too. It's nice to see actual accessibility questions in the forums from time to time 🙂

      P
      Paul-BTAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      April 23, 2020

      Thanks for your helpful response! It's good to know that not every cell of a table needs an X, Y coordinate - as you say, it does get a bit confusing when you find conflicting information out there. As per my response to Bevi's post, I/we may be able to utilise her training course in Word + PDF, but it's useful to learn from a past participant. Thanks again - will do 🙂

        Y
        ynwtf
        Inspiring
        April 23, 2020

        Yeah, that blog TERRIFIED ME!!! Good thing things have changed I guess huh? Maybe that was from before my time. But I totally agree that information is very hard to come by, especially with standards and technology changing so fast. It's hard to find material that is dated for reference so I had no idea if I was reading articles from 2017 or 2014. One might as well have been from the stone age, relatively speaking.

         

        As to the course, yes it was very helpful. I've had to reference the manual several times since, which sits on my desk to my left and within arms length.

         

        It does get better. Once you overcome some of the initial hurdles and begin to grasp the relationships of what is what, you can then troubleshoot your way out of most issues you will come across. For me, it took just short of maybe a year discovering an issue, finding the solution, feeling confident to move to another document only to discover a whole NEW issue I could have never imagined. Each one, of course, creating a manic panic attack! But, like I noted, once I learned how what works with whatever and the basic tools to accomplish a task, then logic just kind of takes over and it becomes much more intuitive. That was at an average of maybe one or two documents a month. YMMV depending on how deep you dive into it all.

         

        Now, I love it---much to the annoyance of my coworkers as I constantly nag them to set their files up better.

        🙂

         

        And don't be shy to post questions here. Just be sure to use the post tag topics to associate your post with the Standards and Accessibilities sub-forums. Been a while since I've posted here, but if it still works that way it will help get you more attention from users in this field.

          Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
          Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
          Legend
          April 22, 2020

          Our firm specializes in accessibile training. www.PubCom.com/classes  We have open-enrollment classes (only online at this time) and custom team or private training. Contact me off list via our website.

           

          |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Bevi Chagnon &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp;Designer, Trainer, &amp; Technologist for Accessible Documents ||&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;PubCom |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Classes &amp; Books for Accessible InDesign, PDFs &amp; MS Office |
            P
            Paul-BTAuthor
            Participating Frequently
            April 23, 2020

            Thanks Bevi. I work for local government, so there may be an opportunity for myself and my colleagues to take you up on your offer of online training (we're in the UK), but that very much depends on finance and management agreement. I will certainly ask about the possibilty and it's good to know there is training available! 🙂

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