measuring pdf accessibility - pdf a11y testing for the rest of us (a11ysummit2014)
DESCRIPTION
Most people would agree that the best strategy for PDF accessibility is to integrate accessibility best practices prior to the conversion process, when the document is first being created. But in the real world, where legacy and automatically generated PDF documents abound, we don't always have the luxury of going back to the source document to fix accessibility issues. Sometimes, all we have to work with is the PDF document itself. So when the accessibility of that PDF document is so bad, and crying out loud that it sucks just isn't enough, then what do you do? Being able to rely on a backup plan to evaluate PDF accessibility and come up with a list of issues might be exactly what you need to figure out the full extent of the damage… When PDF Accessibility isn't exactly at the top of your LinkedIn Skills and Expertise list and you don't have access to someone who does, you need to roll up your sleeves and get creative. In this presentation we will see how much ground can be covered by combining the powers of the WCAG 2.0 guidelines and a customized checklist to determine the level of accessibility of your PDF documents.TRANSCRIPT
PDF a11y testing for the rest of us
@dboudreau Sept. 9th, 2014
a11ySummit 2014 Deque Systems, Inc.
role=“PDF Sensei”
role=“PDF Sensei”
"It's a pain that I have to download each PDF. Pain in the ass… I find HTML easier to deal with."
By 2003, PDF hatin’ was all the rage…
But PDFs never went away, did they?
Some 11 years and billions of PDFs later…
While technology has come a looooong way…
Can you claim to have won the war on inaccessible PDFs yet?
PDFs… What’s your strategy?
PDFs… What’s your strategy?
Do you even know what to do with them
Not everyone is a PDF expert!
Not everyone has access to one 24/7 either!
And let’s be honest…
So, what happens is…
A truckload of PDF documents!
You!
Slowly, but surely…
Have no fear, Frank is here!
“You can trust us, everything is going to be all right!”
What you need are PDF Accessibility Testing
Self-Defense Techniques
THIS is what your PDF accessibility strategy should look like!
Tagged PDF
!=
Accessible PDF
Tagged PDF
=
PDF that are accessible to screen readers
Measuring PDF Accessibility A Testing Proposal For the Rest of Us
Or, as I like to put it…
Great Tools to Consider Acrobat Pro XI Accessibility Checker
Runs on both Windows and MacOs
CommonLook PDF plugin For Adobe Acrobat on Windows
PDF Accessibility Checker 2 Independently runs on Windows
Tough Luck
PDF Accessibility Checker
Instant feedback FTW!
That being said…
Faking Your Way
Up the PDF a11y Ladder
1. Access Restrictions 2. Default Language 3. Document Title 4. Bookmarks 5. Content Reflow 6. Read Out Loud 7. Heading Structure 8. Tabbing Order 9. Informational Images 10. Decorative Images 11. Meaningful Hyperlinks 12. Data Tables
Check Points Technique WCAG SC
Access Restrictions -- 4.1
Default Language PDF16 3.1.1
Document Title PDF18 2.4.2
Bookmarks PDF2 2.4.5
Content Reflow -- 1.3.2
Read Out Loud -- 1.3.2
Heading Structure PDF9 1.3.1
Tabbing Order PDF3 1.3.2
Informative Images PDF1 1.1.1
Decorative Images PDF4 1.1.1
Meaningful Hyperlinks PDF11 2.4.4
Data Tables PDF6 1.3.1
Access Restrictions
Are there any access restrictions on the document, such as password protection?
a11yTip #1 Ensure access restrictions on PDF documents don’t lock users out http://bit.ly/1ogK9Lw
Default Language
Is the natural language of the PDF file specified in the document properties?
a11yTip #2 Specify the default language of PDF documents http://bit.ly/1ogdC52
Document Title
Does the PDF have a meaningful title (not just a file name)?
a11yTip #3 Specify descriptive and meaningful titles for PDF documents http://bit.ly/Q3WLWW
Image-Based Documents
Text-Based Documents
Bookmarks
Does the PDF contain bookmarks and are they helpful for navigating efficiently to various sections of the document?
a11yTip #4 Create bookmarks from the content structure in PDF documents http://bit.ly/1vD93GZ
Content Reflow
When Reflow mode is activated, does all the content reorganize naturally in a single, easy to read column?
a11yTip #5 Ensure the reading order of a PDF makes sense when reflowed http://bit.ly/1ikVqXa
Read Out Loud
When Read Out Loud is activated, does all the content get read correctly and in the right order?
a11yTip #6 Ensure the default reading order in PDF document makes sense http://bit.ly/1oleGoo
Heading Structure
Is content organized consistently using semantically and correctly structured headings?
a11yTip #7 Mark up headings in PDF documents using heading elements http://bit.ly/Rl0hxa
Tabbing Order
Can the document be navigated in a predictable order that is consistent with the meaning of the content?
a11yTip #8 Create a tabbing order for PDF content that is logical and intuitive http://bit.ly/1o8HcMu
Hit the tab key, YO!
Use the down arrow key.
Informative Images
Does the text alternative provided for every informative image convey the same meaning or purpose as the image?
a11yTip #9 Provide meaningful text alternatives for images in PDF documents http://bit.ly/1iue3bg
Decorative Images
Are purely decorative images marked up as artifacts, so screen readers can safely ignore them?
a11yTip #10 Turn purely decorative images in PDF documents into artifacts http://bit.ly/1ovRTX1
Meaningful Hyperlinks
Is hyperlink text marked up using Link annotations and is the purpose of that text meaningful?
a11yTip #11 Provide replacement text for PDF links that are not meaningful http://bit.ly/1l02siv
Data Tables
Are the tables marked up properly and are header cells and data cells explicitly associated?
a11yTip #12 Use table markup to structure tabular data in PDF documents http://bit.ly/1uRX2Nl
PDF a11y Testing Leveling the playing field
Diving deeper into accessible PDFs https://dequeuniversity.com/courses/list/pdf
$45
PDF strategy! What will yours be?
Knowbility KickStarter
Campaign
Photo Credits All rights belong to their respective owners.
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