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7 Position the pointer over the Telephone field, and click to create an insertion
point. 周en type in any phone number.
You can use the Typewriter tool to add text to any PDF file, unless security applied
to the document prohibits it.
8 Choose File > Save As > PDF, and save a copy of the form in the Lesson04 folder,
using the filename MusicForm_complete.pdf.
You can open the saved file if you wish to verify that all your data was saved.
9 Click the close button to hide the Typewriter toolbar.
10 Choose File > Close to close the order form.
About exibility, accessibility, and structure
周e accessibility and flexibility of your Adobe PDF files determine how easily
vision- and motion-impaired users and users of hand-held devices can access,
reflow, and, if you allow it, reuse the content of your files. You control the acces-
sibility and flexibility of your Adobe PDF files through the amount of structure you
build into the source file and the method you use to create the Adobe PDF file.
By making your PDF documents more accessible to users, you can broaden your
readership and better meet government standards for accessibility. Accessibility in
Acrobat falls into two categories:
•
Accessibility features that help authors create accessible documents from new
or existing PDF documents. 周ese features include simple methods for checking
accessibility and adding tags to PDF documents. With Acrobat Pro, you can also
correct accessibility and reading-order problems in PDF files by editing the PDF
file structure.
•
Accessibility features that help readers who have motion or vision limitations to
navigate and view PDF documents more easily. Many of these features can be
adjusted by using a wizard, the Accessibility Setup Assistant.
For Adobe PDF files to be flexible and accessible, they must have structure. Adobe
PDF files support three levels of structure—tagged, structured, and unstructured.
Tagged PDF files have the most structure. Structured PDF files have some struc-
ture, but are not as flexible or accessible as tagged PDF files. Unstructured PDF files
have no structure. (As you will see later in this lesson, you can add limited structure
to unstructured files.) 周e more structure a file has, the more efficiently and reliably
its content can be reused.
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LESSON 4 Reading and Working with PDF Files
Structure is built into a document when, for example, its creator defines headers
and columns, adds navigational aids such as bookmarks, and adds alternate text
descriptions for graphics. In many cases, documents are automatically given logical
structure and tags when they are converted to Adobe PDF.
When you create PDFs from Microsoft Office files or from files created in later ver-
sions of Adobe FrameMaker®, InDesign, or Adobe PageMaker®, or when you create
Adobe PDF files from websites, the resulting PDF files are tagged automatically.
In Acrobat Pro, if your PDF documents don’t reflow well, you can correct
most problems using the Accessibility panel or the TouchUp Reading Order
tool. However, this is not as easy as creating a well-structured document in
the first place. For an in-depth guide to creating accessible PDF documents,
visit http://access.adobe.com.
Working with accessible documents
You’ll examine a tagged PDF document and see how easy it is to reflow the docu-
ment and extract content.
Checking for accessibility
It’s always a good idea to check the accessibility of any Adobe PDF document before
you distribute it to users. 周e Acrobat Quick Check feature tells you right away if
your document has the information necessary to make it accessible. At the same
time, it checks for protection settings that would prohibit access.
First you’ll look at the accessibility and flexibility of a tagged PDF file that was cre-
ated from a Microsoft Word file.
1 Choose File > Open, navigate to the Lesson04 folder, and double-click the Tag_
Wines.pdf file.
2 Choose File > Save As > PDF, and save the file as Tag_Wines1.pdf in the
Lesson04 folder.
3 In the Tools pane, open the Accessibility panel. If the Accessibility panel isn’t
listed, choose View > Tools > Accessibility to open it.
4 In the Accessibility panel, select Quick Check.
Acrobat quickly checks the document for accessibility issues, and displays the mes-
sage that it didn’t identify any issues in the document.
Tip: By default,
Acrobat displays only
some of the panels in
the Tools pane. To select
which panels appear in
the list, click the menu
button at the top of
the Tools pane, and
then select or deselect
individual panels.
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ADOBE ACROBAT X CLASSROOM IN A BOOK
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5 Click OK to close the message box.
6 Close the Tools pane.
You can add security to your PDF files and still make them accessible. 周e 128-bit
encryption offered by Acrobat X prevents users from copying and pasting text from
a PDF file while still supporting assistive technology. You can also use the Enable
Text Access For Screen Reader Devices For 周e Visually Impaired option to modify
security settings in older PDF documents (Acrobat 3 and later) to make them
accessible without compromising security. 周is option is in the Password Security
Settings dialog box. (See Lesson 08, “Adding Signatures and Security” for more
about adding security.)
Reowing a exible PDF file
Now you’ll take a quick look at how flexible a tagged PDF file is. You’ll reflow the
PDF file, and then you’ll save the contents of the PDF file as accessible text.
First, you’ll adjust the size of your document window to mimic the smaller screen
of a hand-held device.
1 Choose View > Zoom > Actual Size to display the document at 100%.
2 Resize the Acrobat window to about 50% of the full-screen display. In Windows,
click the Maximize/Restore Down button if the window is currently maximized;
if the window isn’t maximized, drag a corner of the application window to
reduce it. In Mac OS, resize the document pane by dragging a corner.
Your goal is to resize the Acrobat window so that the ends of the sentences in the
document pane are cut off.
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LESSON 4 Reading and Working with PDF Files
3 Choose View > Zoom > Reflow.
周e content of the document is reflowed to accommodate the smaller document
screen, and you can now read an entire line of text without using the horizontal
scroll bar.
When you reflow text, artifacts such as page numbers and page headers often drop
out because they are no longer relevant to the page display. Text is reflowed one
page at a time. You cannot save the document in the reflowed state.
Now you’ll examine how the display changes when you change the magnification.
4 Choose 400% from the magnification
pop-up menu.
5 Scroll down the page to see how the
text reflows. Again, because the text
is reflowed, you don’t have to use the
horizontal scroll bar to move back and
forth across the page to read the enlarged
text. 周e text is automatically contained
within the document pane.
6 When you’ve finished viewing the
reflowed text, restore the Acrobat
document window to its usual size,
and close the file.
You can save the contents of a tagged document in a different file format for reuse
in another application. For example, if you save this file as accessible text, you’ll see
that even the contents of the table are saved in an easy-to-use format.
With Acrobat, you can even make some unstructured documents more readily
accessible to all types of users. You can add tags to a PDF document using the
Add Tags To Document command in any version of Acrobat. However, to correct
tagging and order errors, you must be using Acrobat Pro.
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ADOBE ACROBAT X CLASSROOM IN A BOOK
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Making files exible and accessible
Some tagged Adobe PDF documents may not contain all the information necessary
to make their contents fully flexible or accessible. For example, your file may not
contain alternate text for figures, language properties for portions of the text that
use a different language than the default language for the document, or expansion
text for abbreviations. (Designating the appropriate language for different text ele-
ments ensures that the correct characters are used when you reuse the document
for another purpose, that the word can be pronounced correctly when read out
loud, and that the document will be spell-checked with the correct dictionary.)
If you’re using Acrobat Pro, you can add alternate text and multiple languages using
the Tags panel. (If only one language is required, it is easier to choose the language
in the Document Properties dialog box.) You can also add alternate text using the
TouchUp Reading Order tool.
Now you’ll look at the accessibility of a page of a user guide. 周is document was
designed to be printed, so no attempt was made to make it accessible.
1 Choose File > Open, and open the AI_UGEx.pdf file in the Lesson04 folder.
2 Open the Tools pane. 周en,
in the Accessibility panel,
click Quick Check. 周e
message box indicates that
the document has no logical
structure. Click OK to clear
the message box.
Now you’ll see how this
page reflows.
3 Choose View > Zoom > Actual Size to display the document at 100%.
4 Close the Tools pane.
5 Reduce the size of the document pane: In Windows, click the Maximize/Restore
Down button if the window is maximized; if it isn’t, drag a corner of the window.
In Mac OS, drag a corner of the document pane to resize it. Resize the Acrobat
window small enough that the width of a full page cannot be displayed on the
screen (at 100%).
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LESSON 4 Reading and Working with PDF Files
6 Choose View > Zoom > Reflow.
周e text reflows well, despite the lack of structure.
7 Choose View > Zoom > Zoom To Page Level. Resize the Acrobat window to its
usual size.
Acrobat is able to reflow even this unstructured document relatively well. However,
the lack of structure in the document makes it inaccessible. You can add tags to
improve the flexibility and accessibility of the page.
Adding tags
You can add tags to a PDF document in Acrobat. When you add tags to a document,
Acrobat adds a logical tree structure to the document that determines the order in
which page content is reflowed and read by screen readers and the Read Out Loud
feature. On relatively simple pages, the Add Tags To Document command can work
well. On more complex pages—pages that contain irregularly shaped columns, bul-
leted lists, text that spans columns, and so on—the Add Tags To Document com-
mand may not be sufficient.
You’ll add tags to this document to make it more accessible.
1 Open the Tools pane. In the Accessibility panel, click Add Tags To Document.
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ADOBE ACROBAT X CLASSROOM IN A BOOK
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Acrobat adds tags to the document and opens a Recognition Report in the naviga-
tion pane.
2 Scroll through the Recognition Report. Notice that the Accessibility section
indicates that the document does not include Alt text. If you’re using Acrobat
Pro, you can use the TouchUp Reading Order tool to add it.
3 Click the Tags button to open the Tags panel in the navigation pane. (If the
Tags button isn’t displayed, choose View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes >
Tags.) Click the arrow next to Tags to view the tags Acrobat has added to the
document.
While Acrobat can track the structure of most page elements and tag them appro-
priately, pages with complex layouts or unusual elements may not always result
in successfully tagged PDF documents and may require editing. When you tag a
PDF file using Acrobat, the Recognition Report lists pages where problems were
encountered and suggestions for fixing them.
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LESSON 4 Reading and Working with PDF Files
It’s a good idea to check these items in the PDF document to determine what cor-
rections, if any, need to be made. Use the report to navigate to the problem areas
of your PDF document by clicking the links for each error. 周en, if you’re using
Acrobat Pro, use the TouchUp Reading Order tool to correct the problem.
4 If you’re using Acrobat Standard, close the document and skip the next exercise.
Adding Alt text (alternate text)
Non-text elements in your document, such as figures and multimedia elements,
won’t be recognized by a screen reader or Read Out Loud feature unless they are
accompanied by alternate text. When you reviewed the Recognition Report, you
noticed that the figure is missing Alt text. Using Acrobat Pro, you’ll add alternate
text now. First, though, you’ll close the Tags panel.
1 Click the Tags button to close the Tags panel.
2 In the Accessibility panel, click TouchUp Reading Order. Acrobat opens the
TouchUp Reading Order panel.
You could use this panel to create tags: Simply drag a rectangle around an area of
content and then click the tag you want to apply. For example, drag around a head-
ing, and then click Heading 1 to apply that tag. However, you’ve already added tags
in this document, so you don’t need to use the TouchUp Reading Order panel.
Tip: The Recognition
Report is a temporary
file and can’t be
saved. The Full Check
feature generates an
accessibility report that
you can save.
Tip: If the Show
Tables And Figures
option is selected in the
TouchUp Reading Order
panel, the Alt text will
be displayed in a label
in the document pane.
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ADOBE ACROBAT X CLASSROOM IN A BOOK
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3 Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) the figure in the document
pane, and choose Edit Alternate Text from the context menu.
4 In the Alternate Text dialog box, enter Figure shows Hand tool being used
to drag the artboard across the Illustrator window. 周en click OK.
5 Click Close to close the TouchUp Reading Order panel.
6 To check your alternate text, choose View > Read Out Loud > Activate Read
Out Loud. 周en choose View > Read Out Loud > Read 周is Page Only. You’ll
hear your alternate text. To stop the reading, press Ctrl+Shift+E (Windows) or
Command+Shift+E (Mac OS).
Notice that both the alternate text and the caption are read. If you want only
the alternate text to be read, combine the figure and caption elements using the
TouchUp Reading Order panel.
7 Choose File > Close to close your work without saving your changes.
For an in-depth guide to creating accessible PDF documents, visit
http://access.adobe.com.
Using the Acrobat accessibility features
Many people with vision and motor impairments use computers, and Acrobat has
a number of features that make it easier for these users to work with Adobe PDF
documents. 周ese features include:
•
Automatic scrolling
•
Keyboard shortcuts
•
Support for several screen-reader applications, including the text-to-speech
engines built into Windows and Mac OS platforms
•
Enhanced onscreen viewing
From the Library of Debbie Duff
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