[Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat

[Philip Kiff]

Bevi's detailed response covers most questions raised - and more. I 
would add a small clarification to the thread about AxesPDF QuckFix 
along with a couple additional notes about software offerings.

Mark wrote:


> We are exploring the use of AxesPDF (https://www.axes4.com/ 

> <https://www.axes4.com/>). It doesn’t require Acrobat Pro, and in my 

> experience is easier to use than Acrobat Pro.


While AxesPDF Quick Fix does not require Acrobat Professional, it is not 
intended as a replacement for all the PDF editing capabilities of 
Acrobat Professional. It makes "remediating" PDFs easier: it performs 
some fixes very quickly - often with one click of a button. And it 
provides a better interface for editing tag properties than Acrobat 
does. But if you are trying to edit a poorly built PDF to make it 
accessible, then you will find that there are some essential functions 
that still require Acrobat Professional. A couple critical examples 
include: inserting new tags, changing the order of tags, or changing the 
level of nested tags.

So yes, CommonLook PDF is installed as a plug-in to Acrobat 
Professional, so you will need Acrobat even to install it. But 
realistically, you will find that you need Acrobat Professional to use 
alongside AxesPDF QuickFix as well even though axesPDF QuickFix installs 
as a stand-alone program.

Bevi wrote:


>   * CommonLook PDF, is especially good with correcting tables. And you

>     need training in how to use it.

>   * AxesPDF Quick Fix is meh, IMHO. And you need training in how to

>     use it.

>

I have used AxesPDF extensively and am happy with it, but I don't doubt 
Bevi's asssessment of it as compared to CommonLook PDF. I would note, 
however, that the pricing of CommonLook can be difficult to discover (no 
prices are listed on their website) and that if you are not a non-profit 
or government agency, their pricing is prohibitively expensive in some 
cases. In my case, the annual price of CommonLook PDF quoted to me was 
quite literally more than 10 times the published price of a license for 
AxesPDF QuickFix.

CommonLook PDF:
https://commonlook.com/accessibility-software/pdf/

axesPDF QuickFix:
https://www.axes4.com/axespdf-quickfix-overview.html

Lastly, while not necessarily the right choice for many, there are 
Microsoft Word add-ins from each of the two companies listed above. With 
the right training, and with the right templates, each of these add-ins 
can make it possible to generate fully accessible, PDF/UA compliant PDFs 
directly from Microsoft Word, without needing Acrobat Professional. Bevi 
notes that Microsoft Word can create a generally accessible PDF from a 
basic file. These add-ins improve the output from a Word file to make it 
more fully comply with the current standards. Though both of these 
add-ins cost about the same as a license for Microsoft Office itself.

axesPDF for Word:
https://www.axes4.com/axespdf-for-word-overview.html

CommonLook Office:
https://commonlook.com/accessibility-software/office/

Phil.

Philip Kiff
D4K Communications


On 2020-12-07 22:09, foreigntype at gmail.com wrote:

> Thanks for a good, detailed and honest response Bevi.

>

> Wink

>

> On Mon, Dec 7, 2020 at 5:03 PM <chagnon at pubcom.com 

> <mailto:chagnon at pubcom.com>> wrote:

>

>     Andrea D. asked:

>

>     “Are there any good tools to use if you’re forced to start with a

>     PDF file?”

>

>     Note: this is a long, detailed answer.

>

>     Sure, but it’s going to depend on:

>

>      1. How complex the document is,

>      2. Whether it was created in InDesign, Word, or PowerPoint … or

>         something else. Reading orders get botched up with documents

>         from InDesign and PowerPoint, unless the creator has had

>         specific training in how to make them accessible. And those

>         from non-Adobe/non-Microsoft programs just don’t get

>         accessibility at all and are a ripping mess to correct.

>      3. And whether it has maths and STEM in it.

>

>     Therefore, there is no magic wand that will fix all your files

>     with one magic keystroke.

>

>     Today, anyone using MS Word should be able to generate a simple

>     accessible Word document and matching accessible PDF without any

>     extra effort, other than using a good accessible Word template and

>     having a 2-3 hour training session in how to do it. It’s not

>     rocket science!

>

>     Stop the hemorrhaging of your institution’s funds!  Get your staff

>     trained immediately and reduce the drain of money and time.

>     Remediate the original source file when you can, and especially if

>     it will be re-used later for another document. Invest your time

>     wisely for maximum benefit.

>

>     OK, *so when you can’t remediate the source file and it’s a doozie

>     of a PDF*, some of the tools we find helpful are:

>

>       * Acrobat’s built-in remediation tools, like AutoTag and

>         Preflight. And you need training in how to use them.

>       * CommonLook PDF, is especially good with correcting tables. And

>         you need training in how to use it.

>       * AxesPDF Quick Fix is meh, IMHO. And you need training in how

>         to use it.

>       * Outside remediation cloud-based technologies. Today, vendors

>         are crawling out of the woodwork claiming that their A I

>         (artificial intelligence) will magically create accessible

>         PDFs in seconds and cost you pennies. Artificial Intelligence

>         is not yet very intelligent, especially for those problematic

>         documents. We still need humans to determine what’s in a PDF,

>         how it should be tagged and presented, and what a logical

>         reading is for that document. My firm recommends only a

>         handful of companies to our clients, and if you’re interested,

>         contact me off list for our recommendations. I’m not here in

>         Athen to promote one over the other.

>

>     Bottom line: start fixing the problem rather than buying expensive

>     band aids. Otherwise you’ll eventually run out of money.

>

>     *— — —*

>

>     Bevi Chagnon *| *Designer, Accessibility Technician*|*

>     Chagnon at PubCom.com <mailto:Chagnon at PubCom.com>

>

>     *— — —*

>

>     *PubCom: Technologists for Accessible Design + Publishing*

>

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

>

>     *Upcoming classes* at www.PubCom.com/*classes*

>     <http://www.pubcom.com/classes>

>

>     *— — —*

>

>     Latest blog-newsletter

>     <https://mailchi.mp/e694edcdfadd/class-discount-3266574> – *Simple

>     Guide to Writing Alt-Text

>     <https://www.pubcom.com/blog/2020_07-20/alt-text_part-1.shtml>*

>

>     *From:* Andrea L. Dietrich <adietrich at cornell.edu

>     <mailto:adietrich at cornell.edu>>

>     *Sent:* Monday, December 7, 2020 4:25 PM

>     *To:* chagnon at pubcom.com <mailto:chagnon at pubcom.com>; Access

>     Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list at u.washington.edu

>     <mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu>>

>     *Subject:* RE: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat

>

>     Using Microsoft’s built-in tools is great if you’re starting from

>     scratch building the document. But often we work on remediating

>     preexisting PDF files (I work a lot with document conversion for

>     students, and we get publisher PDFs.) Are there any good tools to

>     use if you’re forced to start with a PDF file? Or is it better to

>     convert the PDF to Word, fix up the order and such, and then turn

>     that into a PDF?

>

>     -Andi :)

>

>     *From:* athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu

>     <mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu>> *On Behalf

>     Of *chagnon at pubcom.com <mailto:chagnon at pubcom.com>

>     *Sent:* Monday, December 7, 2020 3:03 PM

>     *To:* 'Access Technology Higher Education Network'

>     <athen-list at u.washington.edu <mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu>>

>     *Subject:* Re: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat

>

>     We find that Microsoft’s built-in PDF export utility (in Office

>     365) does a much better job, comparable to Acrobat’s PDF Maker

>     plug-in which comes with Acrobat Pro.

>

>     In most cases, MS’s matches Acrobat’s conversion. And it’s free.

>

>     But your IT department will have to make sure they keep MS Office

>     up to date: earlier versions of their PDF export utility were awful.

>

>     Another alternative is FoxIt’s PDF plugin, but given that FoxIt

>     makes the one built into Microsoft Office, why would you pay for

>     what’s essentially the same product?

>

>     Question: wouldn’t it make more sense (and cents!) to train your

>     faculty and staff in how to make accessible documents? Doing the

>     job right from the start is always more cost effective than

>     remediating everything after it’s made.

>

>     It’s a teach-a-person-to-fish strategy.

>

>     *— — —*

>

>     Bevi Chagnon *| *Designer, Accessibility Technician*|*

>     Chagnon at PubCom.com <mailto:Chagnon at PubCom.com>

>

>     *— — —*

>

>     *PubCom: Technologists for Accessible Design + Publishing*

>

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

>

>     *Upcoming classes* at www.PubCom.com/*classes*

>     <http://www.pubcom.com/classes>

>

>     *— — —*

>

>     Latest blog-newsletter

>     <https://mailchi.mp/e694edcdfadd/class-discount-3266574> – *Simple

>     Guide to Writing Alt-Text

>     <https://www.pubcom.com/blog/2020_07-20/alt-text_part-1.shtml>*

>

>     *From:* athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu

>     <mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu>> *On Behalf

>     Of *Greenfield, Mark

>     *Sent:* Monday, December 7, 2020 11:39 AM

>     *To:* Access Technology Higher Education Network

>     <athen-list at u.washington.edu <mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu>>

>     *Subject:* Re: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat

>

>     We are exploring the use of AxesPDF (https://www.axes4.com/

>     <https://www.axes4.com/>). It doesn’t require Acrobat Pro, and in

>     my experience is easier to use than Acrobat Pro.   Remediating

>     PDFs has been an ongoing challenge for us because we don’t have a

>     campus-wide license for Acrobat Pro and most faculty don’t have it.

>

>     Mark

>

>     Mark A. Greenfield

>     Web Accessibility Officer

>

>     Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

>     406 Capen Hall

>     State University of New York at Buffalo

>     Buffalo, N.Y.  14260

>

>     telephone: (716)645-2811

>     e-mail: markgr at buffalo.edu <mailto:markgr at buffalo.edu>

>

>     *From: *athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu

>     <mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu>> on behalf

>     of "Hayman, Douglass" <dhayman at olympic.edu

>     <mailto:dhayman at olympic.edu>>

>     *Reply-To: *Access Technology Higher Education Network

>     <athen-list at u.washington.edu <mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu>>

>     *Date: *Monday, December 7, 2020 at 11:12 AM

>     *To: *Access Technology Higher Education Network

>     <athen-list at u.washington.edu <mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu>>

>     *Subject: *Re: [Athen] [EXTERNAL] - Accessible PDFs without Acrobat

>

>     Rachel,

>

>     My institution provided me with a laptop to work from home which

>     has both Microsoft Office and also Acrobat Pro to let me work on

>     remediation of documents.  Are your remote staff having to use

>     their own computers?

>

>     Doug Hayman

>

>     IT Accessibility Coordinator

>

>     Information Technology

>

>     Olympic College

>

>     dhayman at olympic.edu <mailto:dhayman at olympic.edu>

>

>     (360) 475-7632 (currently working remotely and don’t have access

>     to this phone)

>

>     *From:* athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu

>     <mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu>> *On Behalf

>     Of *Rachel Ford

>     *Sent:* Monday, December 7, 2020 7:56 AM

>     *To:* athen-list at mailman12.u.washington.edu

>     <mailto:athen-list at mailman12.u.washington.edu>

>     *Subject:* [EXTERNAL] - [Athen] Accessible PDFs without Acrobat

>

>     CAUTION: This email came from a non-OC system or external source.

>     Beware of phishing and social engineering!

>

>     Hello All,

>

>     With our faculty working from home, I’ve run into an issue where

>     some faculty don’t have access to Acrobat Pro to create accessible

>     PDFs. Does anyone have a good alternative to Acrobat or just

>     generally using PDFs? Any suggestions would be really helpful.

>

>     Thank you,

>

>     Rachel Ford

>

>     Web Accessibility Manager

>

>     Henry Ford College

>

>     _______________________________________________

>     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

>     <http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list>

>

> -- 

> Wink Harner Assistive Technology Consulting and Training Alternative 

> Text Production Portland OR. foreigntype at gmail.com 

> <mailto:foreigntype at gmail.com> 480-984-0034

>

> _______________________________________________

> athen-list mailing list

> athen-list at mailman12.u.washington.edu

> http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/pipermail/athen-list/attachments/20201209/7417b9bb/attachment.html>