Creating accessible PDFs
One day training course
Course outline
The following is an outline of a typical PDF accessibility training day. However, please note that courses can be tailored to individual requirements.
Session 1 — Optimising source documents in Word, OpenOffice Writer or InDesign
This session covers techniques for structuring source documents correctly using Word/OpenOffice Writer or InDesign. It also highlights potential problems in document production processes and demonstrates how to avoid them. Topics include:
- Using styles to create 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 — 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
- 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
Accessible PDF forms
Please note that PDF forms can be included in a one-day course. However, as the basics of PDF forms accessibility take a minimum of half a day to cover properly, this topic is more often included in our advanced two-day course, or as a dedicated one-day creating accessible PDF forms course.
Paul Bennun, The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association
"The accessible PDF course was a real eye-opener. The practical advice given will be a great help in keeping all our documentation accessible … An excellent course. Eloquently delivered by a presenter capable of catering for an audience of varying knowledge levels. A definite thumbs up."
Further information
For further information please call us on 01932 355 222 or 07918 952 874.
