In our previous presentation, we discussed the tips and what you need to remember when creating an accessible PDF. In continuation with that topic, here are the essential characteristics to create your own accessible PDF. Source: https://deftpdf.com/blog/characteristics-of-an-accessible-pdf

1. CHARACTERISTICS OF AN
ACCESSIBLE PDF

2. 2
What you need to know
what does it take for a PDF to be compliant to
assistive technology and section 508 accessibility.

3. 3
1 The Standards

4. 4
Characteristics
a. PDF should be Searchable.
b. Fonts should be simple and should be easy for readers to map.
c. Interactive form fields with labels and error messages should be in place.
d. PDFs should have navigation
e. Language should be indicated

5. 5
Characteristics
f. No encryption required
g. It should have tags
h. Images, graphics, and media should have alternate text
i. Visual presentation of the content needs to be simplified
j. If there is audio or video, controls should be present and easy to navigate

6. 6
2 Elaboration

7. 7
7
PDF should be Searchable
1. The content’s characters should be machine-readable; not scanned or image-only.
2. Scanned files, though containing characters visually, will be read by assistive
technology as a graphic representation instead of letters and numbers.
3. Scanned documents cannot be edited, searched, select, copy or manipulate
content and therefore cannot be read by assisting software.
4. It needs to be converted using OCR tools.

8. 8
8
Fonts should be easy to map
1. When a reader or software cannot map the font to Unicode characters due to lack
of information in the font, (being an unrecognized font) then the software will not
be able to read it for the user.

9. 9
9
Interactive Form fields
1. Forms need to show identification, prevent users from making errors on the form,
2. It should present tips on form completion.
3. Interactive form fields are elements where readers can input their answers.
4. For it to be accessible, it needs to have a defined tab order – meaning the user
can click TAB to jump from one form field to another.
5. It also needs to be labeled so that the user will be able to identify what they are
filling out.

10. 10
10
Navigation
1. Table of contents or bookmarks is the most helpful addition as it helps users
navigate through the whole document using a keyboard.
2. Links and headings also assist users and help them identify sections or parts of the
content.
3. Having everything consistently identified is important.
4. This saves them time and allows them to jump from one topic to another within the
document.

11. 11
11
Language
1. Authors can set the language in PDF documents.
2. By doing so, screen readers or speech synthesizers will be able to read the content
correctly in whatever language and pronunciation are required.

12. 12
12
Encryption
1. Don’t put encryption, or at least allow copying, converting, or extracting to be
performed on the document.
2. If an author restricts access to the PDF file, a problem may possibly arise from their
screen reader and may not be able to access, convert the content to braille or
read it for the impaired.

13. 13
13
Tags
1. PDF documents should have tags as tags help structure the document.
2. With tags, the reading order can be properly executed by the assistive software.
3. Tags help identify parts such as headings, paragraphs, or tables.

14. 14
14
Alternate text
1. Alternate text should be added on media.
2. These are short lines of description added to the image inserted on the document.
3. It defines, describes, and replaces the media when the assistive technology “reads”
it.
4. Authors must also avoid including images of text and using text alone.

15. 15
15
Color
1. It must not be reliant on color
2. The readers will still be able to understand the document even if the color is
changed or turned grayscale.
3. It also needs to be in the right contrast for clarity and blinking or flashing objects
should be avoided.
4. This is a rule that is implemented for the cognitively challenged and the color blind.

16. 16
16
Audio and video controls
1. Audio and video controls should be present and easy to navigate.
2. Remember, not all readers can just use a mouse to click pause.

17. Have other needs? Look
through our free tools in
our homepage or look
into our blog for more
details!
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