Mastering PDF Accessibility - Free Webinar Highlights & Tips

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 Free webinar: Introduction to accessible PDFs James Baverstock, Principal Accessibility Consultant at AbilityNet Annie Mannion, Digital Marketing Manager, AbilityNet

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 Welcome Live captions from MyClearText switch on via control panel CC Additional captions: www.streamtext.net/player?event=AbilityNet Slides and recording: abilitynet.org.uk/IntroPDFWebinar Feedback form for post-webinar questions

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 About AbilityNet AbilityNet supports people of any age, living with any disability or impairment to use technology to achieve their goals at home, at work and in education.

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 About your speaker James Baverstock: Principal Accessibility Consultant at AbilityNet Specialisms: Document and web accessibility Training and consultancy Auditing and design reviews Holds the IAAP Accessible Document Specialist (ADS) and Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA) certifications

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 Poll: How confident are you that your organisation s PDFs are as accessible as they can be? Very confident Confident Not confident Not at all confident Not Applicable (NA)

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 Introduction to accessible PDFs James Baverstock

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 PDF accessibility basics

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 What is PDF? Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format used to present and exchange documents independent of software, hardware, or operating system. When you save a document as a PDF, it looks just the way you intended it to. Quick to output from popular authoring programs like Word.

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 Issues with PDF accessibility Making PDFs accessible for users with disabilities can be a LOT of work especially with more complex PDFs It is generally easier to make HTML web pages accessible HTML is a more flexible format that is better supported by assistive technology and has full separation of presentation and content PDFs don t have great usability on mobile - VoiceOver on iOS and TalkBack on Android only have partial support for PDF & they can cause issues for users with low vision Paid-for tools are required for making PDFs more accessible

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 Always consider Always consider if it is necessary to use PDF as your publication format as against HTML When using PDF, it is very important to ensure that the source document is as accessible as possible before conversion For example, follow accessibility guidelines for Word documents, such as: Ensuring styles are used for elements such as headings and lists Adding alternative text to images Creating tables with table headers Considering use of colour and colour contrast Saving as tagged PDF Visit: Microsoft: Create accessible Office documents

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 Characteristics of accessible PDFs Searchable text Navigational aids (headings, bookmarks, table of contents) Metadata e.g. title and document language Programmatic document structure e.g. tags Logical reading order Alternative text for non-text elements Appropriately formatted tables Interactive links and form fields that can be tabbed to with keyboard Good colour contrast for text and informative images

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 Checking PDFs for accessibility

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 Acrobat Accessibility Checker Available from Check for accessibility in the Accessibility Tools Should always use for a primary check on a PDF Be aware automated checkers cannot pick up all issues

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 PAC (PDF Accessibility Checker) PAC 2024: Free third party PDF checker for PC Useful supplement to the Acrobat Accessibility Checker tests for WCAG and PDF/UA. Includes colour contrast test for text. Screen reader preview useful for reading order, alt text, heading order and table structure

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 Colour contrast checker Check for at least a 4.5:1 colour contrast between text and background (3:1 for large text) At least 3:1 contrast between parts of informative graphics (like charts) required to understand the content TPGi colour contrast analyser

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 Tagging in PDFs

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 Tags in Acrobat You can view the Accessibility tags pane on the side panel on the right of the screen The tag order is the reading order for assistive technology such as screen readers. You can test it by arrowing through the tags from top to bottom.

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 Editing tags in Acrobat To locate which tag relates to a section of content, select the content and choose Find tag from selection in the Tags menu To edit a tag directly in the tag pane, double click on it and rename Alternatively, you can right click on a tag and choose Properties to change the tag type

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 Adding tags in Acrobat Ideally tags should be created via an accessible source document Basic tags can be added with the Reading Order tool With the Reading Order tool open, marquee the element you want to tag and select the tag name from the tool Alternatively, autotagging can be used to initially add tags to an untagged PDF (but will need editing)

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 In summary Consider if PDF is the appropriate format for content Embed as much accessibility as possible in the source document before conversion to tagged PDF Use automated checkers to get a first pass on the accessibility of the document, but build on this with manual checks like colour contrast and reading order Acrobat Pro can be used to add or edit tags if necessary

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 Useful resources Adobe: PDF accessibility overview Section508.gov: Create accessible PDFs PAC 2024 PDF checker Tagged PDF site PDF accessibility Facebook group PDFs and accessibility: Exploring the accessibility challenges

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 eLearning/in-house team training Online learning for individuals Thurs 6 March PDF Accessibility abilitynet.org.uk/training/PDF-Accessibility Use code: 2025PDFTraining20 for 20% off before 14 Feb 25! PLUS! 10 for 8 courses bundle offer: abilitynet.org.uk/Training-Bundle In-house training on PDF Accessibility for your team Book in-house team training: 5% off bookings made by end Feb 25! abilitynet.org.uk/AccessibleDocumentsEnquiry eLearning for your whole organisation Creating accessible PDF documents abilitynet.org.uk/training/eLearning-courses

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 Open Q&A Please use the Q&A window Slides, transcripts and a recording of this online event will be made available

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 Digital accessibility and inclusion training Train your team with our in-house team training and eLearning options: www.abilitynet.org.uk/eLearning Save 10% on 2025 online training courses for individuals: discount code AbilityNetWebinar10 www.abilitynet.org.uk/training Contact us: abilitynet.org.uk/TrainingEnquiry

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 How AbilityNet can help AbilityNet charity uses technology to help transform the lives of disabled people, at home, at work and in education. Ask us about: Accessibility audits and testing User research and testing In-house training and eLearning Accreditation and certification Consultancy and Strategy Contact us: abilitynet.org.uk/speak-our-experts

Introduction to accessible PDFs February 2025 Keep in touch AbilityNet newsletter: abilitynet.org.uk/newsletter Free webinars: abilitynet.org.uk/webinars 26 Feb 2025: Tips to make your smartphone easier to use 18 Mar 2025: Travel Made Easy - top apps for seniors on the go 'European Accessibility Act (EAA): Your Questions Answered' series coming soon! Starts Wed 19 March.