Setting to stop PathPathPath... tag before table headers?

Report · Oct 09, 2021

I am converting numerous Word docs to ADA accessible PDFs. I have two computers, each with Adobe Acrobat Pro DC Version 2021.007.20095, and, from what i can tell, the same 'preferences' for Accessible documents. I sent the same word document to both computers. The document is about 100 pages long - a single table, with the header of the table repeated on each new page. On one computer, the Accessibility Check returns minor issues i can easily fix (Title failed, and Bookmarks Failed). On the other computer, I get a Headers Failed issue under Tables (in addition to Title and Bookmark Failed). The Headers issue is much more difficult to fix - since it occurs on every page of the document, and i have to do hundreds of these long documents by hand. If i look at the tags in both documents, the one with the Table Header issue has a tag showing the repeated word PathPathPath, etc. before the header tags <TH>. Is there some setting i am missing on this computer that is causing this issue?

Report · Jun 10, 2023

@MikeCraghead_biz

Yes, the bug in Adobe PDF Maker that caused the PathPathPath tags inside tables was corrected over a year ago with the 2022 update. (See above).

So if you're still getting that border nonsense, then you must upgrade your version of Adobe Acrobat (which includes the Adobe PDF Maker plug-in for MS Office).

Caution: As of June 6, 2023, a bug was introduced with Acrobat 2023 update that swaps your Alt Text into gibberish alpha-numerics. So wait a few weeks before upgrading until that new bug is fixed.

See this discussion for details and a workaround: https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-discussions/new-bug-in-pdf-maker-removes-alt-text/m-p/1385104...

And for now, skip Adobe's PDF Maker and instead use Method C described in this tutorial: https://pubcom.com/blog/tutorials/ms-office/export-pdf/index.shtml.

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Report · Oct 09, 2021

No, you're not missing a thing.

It's incorrect programming from PDF Maker (export from MS Word and office apps).

To start, PathPathPath etc. should never have been programmed into every row of every table by Adobe. Each "Path" identifies every segment of every cell's border, so there are 4 Paths for each cell.

And by putting them in a tag, they become discoverable content by screen readers and other Assistive Technologies. Plus, Acrobat's latest accessibility checker is flagging the ones in the header (but for some strange reason, not the rest of them in the table).

When you updated Acrobat to 2021.007.20091, many bugs for accessibility were introduced. You can read more about them here:

I know, that's a lot of reading, but there were a tremendous number of bugs Adobe introduced with the September update.

VOTE to get these nasty bugs fixed at Adobe's UserVoice forum, https://acrobat.uservoice.com/forums/590923-acrobat-for-windows-and-mac/suggestions/44183082-access...

Adobe did a quick patch last week (2021.007.0095 and PDF Maker/Library 21.7.127) but it only corrects one half of the missing Alt-text problem, and does nothing to correct the PathPathPath on every row of every table.

That's why you need to vote for the fix. Please let them know why you need accessibility to be correct in Adobe's products; I don't think they know how many millions of people are affected by this crappy programming, and how many of us worldwide are required by government regulations to publish only accessible content.

Report · Mar 15, 2022

Why assume they don't know? It seems much more likely they just don't care. I'm a tech writer and I want to quit my job over this garbage they give me to work with. Or maybe just not wake up in the morning.

Report · Mar 15, 2022

@Jeremy236023696jq2, @ksteinmann and @Mike Craghead,

Adobe just corrected this nasty bug with last week's release of Acrobat Pro to version 2022.001.20085.

Upgrading your copy of Acrobat will also upgrade the PDF Maker plug-in in MS Office.

To easily update your version, go to either Help / Check for Updates, or if you have the Creative Suite, use it to update Acrobat.

Thanks for your efforts here and in UserVoice, which finally got Adobe's attention on this issue. All of us here in the community must work together to get these things fixed (which, I agree, shouldn't have happened in the first place).

Report · Mar 15, 2022

Thank you. But this entire situation is grotesque.

Report · Mar 15, 2022

@Jeremy236023696jq2

Agree, but I'd use a stronger term than grotesque. Something like inhumane might be more appropriate.

Corporations should respect the civil rights of people with disabilities, and also respect us customers who make accessible documents. There is no excuse for Adobe's — or any other corporation's — behavior on this issue.

Equal rights and accessibility are the law in most countries in the world.

Report · Feb 03, 2022

I had a very similar issue (three tables per page x 76 pages x 2 docs English & Spanish = too many!).

Here is a super dumb way past this bug:

In Word, do NOT use File >Save As PDF. Instead,

Go to File > Save As > [choose PDF from the file type droplist] > press Save.

No more PathPathPath!

It's objectively silly that File > Save As PDF should give you different results than choosing the file type manually. It doesn't create an accessibility nightmare like printing to PDF does, but those PathPathPath errors can really add up!

Anyway, I was happy to find this fix, hope you all have similar success with it. But Adobe: do please fix this. Microsoft could help by tweaking their GUI to steer users more intuitively to the right path, but we mustn't count on that!

Couldn't a function be added to Acrobat that seeks out every " PathPathPath..." and kills it with fire? There is no circumstance in which that tag with those contents would be useful. And isn't it all just plain text XML if you're deep enough under the hood, addressable with a little basic find-and-replace logic? I don't know much so I'm just speculating, but it sure looks plausible through my ignorance-colored glasses.

Cheers!

Mike

Report · Jun 09, 2023

Has this been fixed?

From here it looks to me like “File > Save As > [choose PDF from the droplist]” is apparently no longer the best bet, now resulting in a badly-tagged PDF (everything’s in a tag). Now, “File > Save as PDF” and even the “Create PDF” button seem to be functioning properly! Note: File > Print to PDF is still a no-no.
Good news, right?

Report · Jun 10, 2023