In this webinar, we will walk you through a step-by-step guide to creating accessible PDFs. This webinar is presented by Michele Landis, co-Founder and CRO at Accessible360, and David Herr, VP of Marketing and Strategic Alliances at CommonLook.

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How to Create Accessible PDFs

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Agenda
 Introductions
 Why focus on PDF?
 What is an accessible PDF?
 Step-by-step guide to creating accessible PDFs
 Why accessible PDFs matter
 Q&A

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Introductions
David Herr, CPACC
Director of Marketing
CommonLook
Michele Landis
Co-Founder and CRO
Accessible360

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Audit Process
Remediation
Support
Maintain
Audit
Your Environment
Compliance Governance
scope | advise
training | live QA
re-check | monitor | a new build
CONFIDENTIAL
Letter of Conformance

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New Build Design & Development Process
Build Launch
Accessibility In
Preview
New Designs Accessible & Compliant
support | advise train | test | QA support | monitor
CONFIDENTIAL

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One Company Covers All Accessibility Services
Building the Best
Accessibility Platform
Document
Remediation
Print
Audits & New Build
Support of websites
mobile apps, IoT etc.
Document
Remediation
Electronic/Digital

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Why Focus on PDFs?
 PDFs are everywhere—online and offline as forms, documents, guides
and other key materials.
 Can be read on multiple devices and in most operating systems.
 Files produced from the top client software and service vendors, like
Microsoft, can be saved as PDFs.
 Includes versatile and interactive components like images, videos,
fillable forms and links.
 They can be secured, signed and shared in a variety of ways.
 PDF files are the third most used file format on the Internet.

8. PDFS CAN’T BE
MADE ACCESSIBLE.
They CAN!
In fact, oftentimes more
accessible than Word.
Myths and Facts about Document Accessibility
You can have inaccessible
content on your site as long as
there’s a phone number to call
or an “alternative format.”
There are some instances
with web pages where
this might be true. For
PDFs, it’s not the case
because they can be
made accessible.
“Providing an
alternate version is a
fallback option for
conformance to
WCAG and the
preferred method of
conformance is to
make all content
directly accessible.”
~ Understanding
Conformance, W3C

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Myth – Going Away PDF Growth
SOURCE: PDF Association
https://www.pdfa.org/pdfs-popularity-online/

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 Adding Tags using Adobe Acrobat
Pro DC provides only partial
accessibility for PDFs and is difficult
to use without extensive training.
 Different organizations must follow
guidelines and requirements for
PDF accessibility according to their
country, state, industry, etc. And this
creates complexity.
 PDF accessibility is hard without the
right skills, tools and knowledge.
So, what’s the problem?

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What is an Accessible PDF?

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Anatomy of an Accessible PDF

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Step-by-Step Guide to Creating
Accessible PDFs

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Adobe Acrobat Pro DC
 The most common tool for PDF tagging
 A couple of ways to go about tagging
1) Use Reading Order tool
2) Add tags to simply navigate to and open
the Tags pane
Then: you can either:
• Right-click on No Tags available or
• Select it and then use the keyboard to
open its context menu
• Choose Add Tags to Document
Tags and Reading Order

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 PDF metadata refers to searchable
fields within the document’s properties
that identify what the document is
about.
 Some of the components that make up
metadata are:
 Title
 Author
 Subject
 Keywords
 Document Language
Metadata

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WCAG Criterion 1.4.1
“Color is not used as the only visual
means of conveying information,
indicating an action, prompting a
response, or distinguishing a visual
element”
 Contrast ratios have similar
guidelines.
 Need to test documents for use of
color and contrast
Color and Contrast

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Alternative Text (Alt-Text)

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Why Lists Can Create Accessibility Issues

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 Tables in documents can present some
real accessibility issues in PDFs. If you’re
an author putting a table into your
document—make sure it’s constructed
well and it’s not too complex. Also,
 Verify that the content belongs inside a
table. If you’re remediating a PDF, make
sure to linearize tables that are just used
for formatting.
 Make sure that <TH> cells are marked
correctly, including with the proper
scope. Link the data cells to the header
cells as needed.
Tables

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Other Tagging Steps
 Learn how assistive technologies (AT) work, so you can make
“best practice” decisions.
 Remove Empty Tags.
 Add the <Document> tag.
 Create bookmarks to match the headings in the document.
 Run an accessibility check. Test against the standards.

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 CommonLook PDF Validator
 Free plugin for Adobe Acrobat Pro
 Provides a full listing of the accessibility checkpoints that
passed or failed so you can quickly drill down to the areas
that need to be addressed
 Tests to any required PDF standard including Section
508*, WCAG 2.0 AA, HHS and PDF/UA as well as ISO32000-
1:2008
 PAC3
 Another free tool for testing PDF documents
 It lets you test PDF documents against the PDF/UA
standard (only) and provides an accessibility report
 The PDF report that is produced is not PDF/UA compliant
Verification (Testing for Compliance)

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 Review goals, business
environment, and
requirements
 Select standard(s) to
test for compliance
 Audit/test digital
assets against
standard(s)
 Set priorities for
document
remediation
 Develop document
accessibility policy for
future
 Leverage Phase 1 data
 How document
accessibility and
compliance is attained
 Decide internal,
outsourced, or hybrid
remediation approach
 Acquire tools and
training OR begin
work with vendor
 Integrate accessibility
into design,
development, and
testing process
 Prepare best practice
document accessibility
checklists and
processes
 Scale up document
accessibility program
 (Perhaps) increase
strength of internal
solutions
 Increase capacity
through training
 Raise exposure and
awareness through
communications
 Provide accessibility
guidance to other
departments, etc.
 Continue to monitor
for compliance with
accessibility laws,
standards, and
regulations
 Test and report on PDF
holdings: # of PDFs
and % in compliance
 Reports will guide
document creation
and future
remediation projects
Multi-Phase Document Accessibility Plan
1 2 3 4 5
Assess and Plan Fix Errors Be Proactive Train and Expand Monitor, Always

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Starting on the Path to Document Compliance?
It’s time to take action …
 After verification, many organizations use outsourced
remediation services, to fix documents, while getting up to
speed on accessibility standards and practices.
 If there is ample time and resources, in-house capacity is built
through investments in software and staff training.

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 Comprehensive process addressing
all checkpoints
 Methodical and consistent
 Process optimized over 20 years of
remediation and hundreds of clients
 100% Accurate – no false positives
 Industry standard certified
CommonLook reports for every
remediated file
 Fully guaranteed
If you outsource your document remediation
make sure you are getting what you are paying for!

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Why Accessible PDF’s Matter

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Equal Access for People With Disabilities
Made Possible by the Web, but Accessibility Barriers Exist
Muscular dystrophy, arthritis, injury etc.
 Keyboard only
 Speech to text
Learning disability, dyslexia, ADHD etc.
 Digital content layout
 Information organization
Low vision, blind, color blind etc.
 Screen readers
 Braille display
Deaf, hearing impaired, noisy places
 Closed/open captions
 Transcripts

29. Disability is part of the
human condition. Almost
everyone will be temporarily
or permanently impaired at
some point in life.
“

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Compliance With Laws & Standards Helps Mitigate Legal Risk
Competitive Advantage
Marketshare
Meet Growing Demand
Differentiation
Brand Value
Ease of Use and Access
Progressive Image
Reputation
Legal Risk
Complaints
Litigation Costs
Damages
Access
Meet the Needs
of All users
Document
Accessibility
Drivers

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Massive quantities of
documents are added
to websites each year.
PDFs remain the most
popular “final-form”
electronic format.
Documents are often
the last area of a
website to be reviewed
for accessibility.
The critical challenge
is ensuring that
documents are
accessible and usable
by everyone.

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Q & A