How do I make VoiceOver read paragraphs in InDesign-created PDF without pausing on each line?

[ZedEm]

I created a PDF using InDesign according to instructions from Adobe tutorials. I tagged the elements properly, using Articles etc, and exported the document to PDF.

When I check the PDF using Preview on Mac, VoiceOver reads the paragraph content continuously. But when I open the PDF in Acrobat Reader, and then use VoiceOver, it reads the text line by line, stopping at the end of the lines. I have to use ctrl-option-rightarrow to move to the next line.

Is there something that I didn't do in InDesign? The paragraphs are just simple paragraphs. They are styled, and tagged properly. Any ideas?

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

Well, you may or may not have made the PDF correctly. That's a different issue!

Find a tutorial on reading PDFs with Voice Over. See our recent blog on testing with screen readers at Testing for Accessibility: Screen Readers

Note: Apple's Voice Over is not a "robust" screen reader. Passable, but most users are not fond of it.

To fully test a PDF for accessibility compliance, you must use JAWS and NVDA on Windows, as well as keyboard accessibility and testing with other assistive technologies.

[Gijs Veyfeyken]

I think this is a general problem or a conscious choice of screenreader vendors. NVDA, JAWS and VoiceOver all pause at the end of each visual line instead of completing the sentence. If a PDF contains multiple small columns of text, it's a horrible reading experience.

I just tested it on this PDF, assuming it's tagged correctly 🙂

Tagged PDF Best Practice Guide: Syntax | PDF Association 

Would be great to correct this behavior in InDesign but I don't think it's possible.

[ZedEm]

VoiceOver read properly the PDF you shared. It's a good document, thank you for sharing.

I still don't know how to make a paragraph read properly, but the search continues. I will post the answer here if I find it.

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/gijs+veyfeyken  wrote

I think this is a general problem or a conscious choice of screenreader vendors. NVDA, JAWS and VoiceOver all pause at the end of each visual line instead of completing the sentence. If a PDF contains multiple small columns of text, it's a horrible reading experience.

...
Would be great to correct this behavior in InDesign but I don't think it's possible.

The reading experience you're describing is NOT controlled by InDesign or any other source program. (Other items are, but not those described in this thread.)

Take some of the tutorials about using JAWS and NVDA that are on the web and learn how to use screen readers.

FYI, all screen readers work by extracting the live text and streaming it to the screen reader's buffer. There's no concept of pages or columns, it's sounds like a long scrolling thread similar to an EPUB.

If you'd like to learn how to use screen readers correctly, we have links to tutorials for the major brands at https://www.pubcom.com/blog/2019_04-05/checking-with-screenreaders.shtml  Scroll down to the different brands to see the links to tutorials.

[Gijs Veyfeyken]

Support for tagged PDF with VoiceOver is still buggy. Can't test properly.

I am aware Windows' screenreaders have a command to read the entire paragraph (ctrl + arrow down/up). Did some more testing with standard arrow navigation:

• NVDA 2019 behaves the same in PDF as it does on webpages. The default max. length of rules is set at 100 characters. NVDA pauses when it reaches 100 on the web as well as in PDF when navigating with the arrow keys. This is the desired behavior in my opinion.
• Jaws 2019 has the default max. length of rules set at 150 characters. When navigating a PDF with the arrow keys, this setting is ignored. There's a pause at the end of every visual line. Even if it's only 5 words for example. This is not the the desired behavior in my opinion.