Adobe Acrobat Accessibility Test?

[irishgrizzly]

I've done a job but have now been asked for the following...

PDFs of print publications must pass the Adobe Acrobat Accessibility Test (full check) as part of any requirements for graphics providers; for example, images must be all include Alternative Text (ie description ‘behind’ the picture that screen readers can pick up) and use tables not text boxes.

Where's best to start with this? Anyone have experience or know a good guide?

 

[macstudent]

You need Acrobat pro to run the accessibility test.

In Acrobat X go to the accessibility panel (if it isn't open, go to the tools panel menu and activate it). Then choose full check.

In Acrobat 9 go to Advanced Menu > accessibility > full check.

FYI - You will need to use InDesign CS5.5 to create an accessible PDF. It is technically possible with earlier versions, but it will take a long long long time.

Here is a link to Adobe's site with more info.
http://www.adobe.com/accessibility/

If you are looking for videos, I have a quick series on InDesign CS5.5 New Features at lynda.com that covers some parts of this process.
http://www.lynda.com/James-Fritz/243752-1.html

 

[irishgrizzly]

Thanks for the info macstudent. I'm running CS5 and was hoping this would be something I could do in not too much time. Maybe I'll try and get a demo version of 5.5.

I've tried running this on an existing PDF and it passed, but I don't know how the test can account for the positioning of text flow. From what I can tell I have to "tag" elements in Acrobat. So images have to be given alt text and text boxes can be numbered. Have you done a similar job before?

 

[macstudent]

Thanks for the info macstudent. I'm running CS5 and was hoping this would be something I could do in not too much time. Maybe I'll try and get a demo version of 5.5.

I've tried running this on an existing PDF and it passed, but I don't know how the test can account for the positioning of text flow. From what I can tell I have to "tag" elements in Acrobat. So images have to be given alt text and text boxes can be numbered. Have you done a similar job before?

You can fix any PDF in Acrobat, but it is a lot more work.

In InDesign CS5.5, you can select each image and apply custom alt next or have it be auto-generated by metadata. Regarding the flow, this is established by using the article panel in ID CS5.5. Acrobat can't really check the flow, that is up to you.

Yes, I have built accessible files for clients before. Usually it is for government documents since they are required to be accessible by federal law.

If you have any other questions, let me know. You can email me at fritzjames at gmail dot com