| 3 Introduction

Document language

Specifying the document language in a PDF enables some screen readers to switch to the appropriate

language (See “Document Language” on page 16).

Security that will not interfere with assistive technology

Some authors of PDFs restrict users from printing, copying, extracting, adding comments to, or editing text.

The text of an accessible PDF must be available to a screen reader. You can use Acrobat to ensure that

security settings don’t interfere with a screen reader’s ability to convert the on-screen text to speech (See “Set

Security That Permits Accessibility” on page 17).

Document structure tags and proper read order

To read a document’s text and present it in a way that makes sense to the user, a screen reader or other text-

to-speech tool requires that the document be structured. Document structure tags in a PDF define the

reading order and identify headings, paragraphs, sections, tables, and other page elements (See “Step 5:

Determine if the PDF File is a Tagged PDF File” on page 20).

Alternative text descriptions

Document features such as images and interactive form fields can’t be read by a screen reader unless they

have associated alternative text. Though web links are read by screen readers, you can provide more

meaningful descriptions as alternative text. Alternative text and tool tips can aid many users, including those

with learning disabilities (See “Step 6: Determine if the PDF File is Properly Tagged” on page 23).

Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader Accessibility Features

Accessibility features in Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader fall into two broad categories: features to make

the reading of PDF documents more accessible and features to create accessible PDF documents. To create

accessible PDF documents, you must use Acrobat, not Reader.

Features for Accessible Reading of PDFs

• Preferences and commands to optimize output for assistive software and devices, such as saving as

accessible text for a Braille printer

• Preferences and commands to make navigation of PDFs more accessible, such as automatic

scrolling and opening PDFs to the last page read

• Accessibility Setup Assistant for easy setting of most preferences related to accessibility

• Keyboard alternates to mouse actions

• Reflow capability to temporarily present the text of a PDF in a single easy-to-read column

• Read Out Loud text-to-speech conversion.

• Support for screen readers and screen magnifiers

Features for Creating Accessible PDFs

• Creation of tagged PDFs from authoring applications

• Conversion of untagged PDFs to tagged PDFs from within Acrobat

• Security setting that allows screen readers to access text while preventing users from copying,

printing, editing, and extracting text

• Ability to add text to scanned pages to improve accessibility

• Tools for editing reading order and document structure

• Tools for creating accessible PDF forms

Making PDF Accessible with Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro