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Z
ZedEm
Participant
June 18, 2019
Question

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

  • June 18, 2019
  • 1 reply
  • 1274 views

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?

This topic has been closed for replies.

1 reply

Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
Legend
June 18, 2019

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.

|    Bevi Chagnon   |  Designer, Trainer, & Technologist for Accessible Documents ||    PubCom |    Classes & Books for Accessible InDesign, PDFs & MS Office |
Gijs Veyfeyken
Gijs Veyfeyken
Participating Frequently
June 19, 2019

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.

    Z
    ZedEmAuthor
    Participant
    June 19, 2019

    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.

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