[Athen] Creating Accessible PDF Forms in Word

chagnon at pubcom.com chagnon at pubcom.com
Tue Sep 18 07:45:17 PDT 2018


There are dozens of different types of PDFs: archival, press-quality for the printing industry, engineering, PDF/UA for accessibility are just some of the most common ones.



Each type is made to the specific requirements (or standards) of its industry.



The term “tagged PDF” means that yes, it has semantic markup tags similar to those in HTML, such as H1 for top-level heading, P for body text, etc. The tags for accessibility are defined in the ISO standards ISO 32000 for PDF and ISO 14289-1. Here’s a good synopsis from the Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000350.shtml



Although tags in a PDF are crucial for accessibility, there are other features that the PDF must have in order to be fully accessible to all A T.



—Bevi Chagnon

— — —

Bevi Chagnon, founder/CEO | <mailto:Bevi at PubCom.com> Bevi at PubCom.com

— — —

PubCom: Technologists for Accessible Design + Publishing

consulting • training • development • design • sec. 508 services

Upcoming classes at <http://www.pubcom.com/classes> www.PubCom.com/classes

— — —

<https://mailchi.mp/ff5bd323ea45/newsletter-accessibility-fonts-design-upcoming-classes-2901237> Latest blog-newsletter – Accessibility Tips at <http://www.PubCom.com/blog> www.PubCom.com/blog



From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu> On Behalf Of Robert Spangler
Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2018 8:39 AM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list at u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: [Athen] Creating Accessible PDF Forms in Word



When you say save it as a tagged PDF, is this something you're doing in Word? Also, trying to wrap my mind around tagged PDF - is this when you use markup tags like in HTML to designate paragraphs, headings and such? Finally, if it's just a form, what remediation would be needed?



Thanks for everyone's responses!





On Mon, Sep 17, 2018 at 5:38 PM Karlen Communications <info at karlencommunications.com <mailto:info at karlencommunications.com> > wrote:

I create the form template in Word, save it as a tagged PDF, make any remediation and then add the form controls. I find this saves time.



No, the process is not accessible because of AT being in virtual view. It is a visual and mouse dependent activity.



I have a self paced online course on how to create accessible PDF forms, but again the process is not accessible.

https://karen-mccall.teachable.com/p/accessible-fillable-pdf-forms



Cheers, Karen

Sent from my iPad


On Sep 17, 2018, at 5:11 PM, Robert Spangler <rspangler1 at udayton.edu <mailto:rspangler1 at udayton.edu> > wrote:

OK so you're saying that one would have to do this directly using Adobe Acrobat Pro or Abbyy FineReader?

I am assuming that this process would not be accessible since it involves editing a PDF.





On Mon, Sep 17, 2018 at 5:09 PM Karlen Communications <info at karlencommunications.com <mailto:info at karlencommunications.com> > wrote:

As far as I know, you have to add the form controls in the PDF document. Neither the old ActiveX or the newer Content Controls are converted as form controls in a PDF document.



Cheers, Karen

Sent from my iPad


On Sep 17, 2018, at 4:44 PM, Robert Spangler <rspangler1 at udayton.edu <mailto:rspangler1 at udayton.edu> > wrote:

Hello:



I am able to create forms with fields and other controls by using the developer tab, which I had to enable in Word options. I am able to create these forms then use the restrict editing feature to make them fillable only. When I go to save as PDF, however, the fields are not retained. Is it possible to create fillable PDF forms in Word and, if so, could someone please explain? I understand that Adobe Pro could also be used to do this but if we can do it from Word this would be better. Thanks!




--

Robert Spangler
Disability Services Technical Support Specialist
rspangler1 at udayton.edu <mailto:rspangler1 at udayton.edu>
Office of Learning Resources (OLR) - RL 023
Ryan C. Harris Learning & Teaching Center (LTC)
University of Dayton | 300 College Park | Dayton, Ohio 45469-1302
Phone: 937-229-2066

Fax: 937-229-3270

Ohio Relay: 711 (available for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing)

Web Site: http://go.udayton.edu/learning

_______________________________________________
athen-list mailing list
athen-list at mailman12.u.washington.edu <mailto:athen-list at mailman12.u.washington.edu>
http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list

_______________________________________________
athen-list mailing list
athen-list at mailman12.u.washington.edu <mailto:athen-list at mailman12.u.washington.edu>
http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list






--

Robert Spangler
Disability Services Technical Support Specialist
rspangler1 at udayton.edu <mailto:rspangler1 at udayton.edu>
Office of Learning Resources (OLR) - RL 023
Ryan C. Harris Learning & Teaching Center (LTC)
University of Dayton | 300 College Park | Dayton, Ohio 45469-1302
Phone: 937-229-2066

Fax: 937-229-3270

Ohio Relay: 711 (available for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing)

Web Site: http://go.udayton.edu/learning

_______________________________________________
athen-list mailing list
athen-list at mailman12.u.washington.edu <mailto:athen-list at mailman12.u.washington.edu>
http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list

_______________________________________________
athen-list mailing list
athen-list at mailman12.u.washington.edu <mailto:athen-list at mailman12.u.washington.edu>
http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list






--

Robert Spangler
Disability Services Technical Support Specialist
rspangler1 at udayton.edu <mailto:rspangler1 at udayton.edu>
Office of Learning Resources (OLR) - RL 023
Ryan C. Harris Learning & Teaching Center (LTC)
University of Dayton | 300 College Park | Dayton, Ohio 45469-1302
Phone: 937-229-2066

Fax: 937-229-3270

Ohio Relay: 711 (available for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing)

Web Site: http://go.udayton.edu/learning

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/pipermail/athen-list/attachments/20180918/8a09ec93/attachment.html>


More information about the athen-list mailing list