Advanced PDF accessibility
Two day training course
Typical course outline
Session 1 — Word/OpenOffice Writer
This session addresses the importance of structuring source documents correctly in Microsoft Word or OpenOffice Writer. It also highlights potential problems in various document production processes and demonstrates how to avoid them. Topics include:
- Creating properly structured templates
- Headings, lists and links
- Tables of contents
- Images and alt text
- Designing data tables for accessibility and usability
- Colour contrast issues and understanding colour blindness
- Footnotes
- Text formatting issues
- Meta data
- Bookmarks
- Converting to a tagged PDF
Session 2 — InDesign
This session covers the many techniques now available for building accessibility into Adobe InDesign documents. Topics include:
- Paragraph styles and accessibility
- Artifacts
- Images and alt text
- Lists
- Fixing hyperlink problems and using hyperlink destinations
- Designing tables for accessibility and usability
- Colour contrast issues and understanding colour blindness
- Footnotes
- Text formatting issues
- Tables of contents and bookmarks
- The tags pane
- The structure panel
- Meta data
- Exporting to a tagged PDF
Session 3 — Acrobat Professional
This session looks at the various accessibility tools available in Acrobat Professional and provides practical examples of common PDF accessibility problems and solutions. Topics include:
- Understanding the document view, Reflow view, and the tags output
- The TouchUp Reading Order tool, order panel and tag tree
- Headings
- Tables of contents
- Links and destinations
- Lists
- Images and alt text
- Fixing footnotes, abbreviations and acronyms, URLs and the language of parts
- Data tables: from simple to complex and beyond
- JavaScript accessibility enhancements
- Editing the Role Map (and its limitations)
- Adding meta data and specifying document language
- How and why to avoid opening PDFs in a browser
- OCR: dealing with scanned documents
- File size optimisation
- Document security
- … and much more
Optional
- Accessible audio
- Video with closed captions
Session 4 — forms
This session covers the creation and distribution of fully accessible interactive forms using LiveCycle Designer and/or Acrobat. Topics include:
- Acrobat or LiveCycle Designer forms?
- Creating accessible text fields, radio buttons, check boxes and dropdowns
- Adding submit, reset, print and help buttons/rollovers
- Understanding the design implications of screen reader forms mode
- Forms mode workarounds
- Tab order
- Tagging
- WCAG 2.0 compliance
- Design options for print and online
- Validation
- Performing calculations
- Adding meta data
- … and much more
Session 5 — workshop
The final session gives delegates the opportunity to apply techniques covered in the course to a wide range of documents, including their own publications. This typically includes a review of mapping the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) to PDF authoring, editing and document production techniques as well as a tutorial on using a screen reader such as JAWS or Window-Eyes.
Jayne Miles, Website Manager, Dover District Council
"Thank you Ted for the accessible PDF course. I learned so much about all the hidden Acrobat features as well as all the other accessibility tools around.
I would recommend two days for anyone wanting to gain a thorough knowledge. It really is an excellent course."
Further information
For further information please call us on 01932 355 222 or 07918 952 874.
