PDF Documents & Accessibility
Introduction
PDF (Portable Document Format) files, created with Adobe's Acrobat software, have long been notorious for their inaccessibility. For example, PDF files created prior to Acrobat version 5.0 are almost certain to be inaccessible to screen readers. Yet PDF offers many features that appeal to authors, including the ability to protect a document's contents from copying. And software plug-ins to popular applications make it so easy to create a PDF document that some people find it easier to make a PDF than to convert the same document to a web page.
With Acrobat 5.0 & 6.0, Adobe began to incorporate accessibility features. While it is now possible to create reasonably accessible PDF documents, the software does not eliminate the need for authors to build in the structure, alternative text, complete information and other features that will improve accessibility for all kinds of people. In addition, you need to take some additional steps when saving PDF documents if you want to make them more accessible.
Doesn't the new Acrobat Reader take care of accessibility?
You may hear about new accessibility support in recent releases of Acrobat Reader, the software that people use to read PDF files. This software does provide tools to help people with disabilities to use PDF documents, but those documents still have to be accessible in the first place. That is, Acrobat Reader cannot create good accessibility if support for accessibility has not been planned into the document by the author.
Read ahead to learn about the Ideal Solution for PDF Accessibility
