[Athen] Update: PDF Maker problems

[Karen McCall]

I just bought Kofax PowerPDF - My instance of Nuance PowerPDF wouldn't install. Kofax bought the print part of Nuance in 2018 or 2019 so my guess is that Nuance is no longer supporting even the install of PowerPDF.

I bought the PowerPDF Advanced which has the tagging capability. Standard does not.

On an untagged PDF with headings, lists and page numbers in a coloured box, everything got tagged as a <P> even the lists. This means that for this 10 page document with at least 4 lists on each page, the lists are going to have to be manually tagged.

There is no Content Panel in PowerPDF.

For the untagged document, when I opened the Reading Order Panel (which you have to do EVERY time you want to use it - it is not added to the Navigation Pane)  and tried to designate both the page number and the image the page number was in/on, I was able to artifact the page number but the <Figure> tag was still in the Reading Order Panel but not in the Tags Tree and when I tried further remediation to get rid of the <Figure> tag, PowerPDF crashed. I was using standard remediation techniques - nothing strange or outside of what I would normally try.

For a tagged PDF that I use as my benchmark accessible Word document then use the conversion tools to create the PDF, parts of table gridlines and decorative images were "stuck" to text and without a Content Panel, I couldn't remove them. They didn't show up in the Reading Order Panel but did show up in the Tags Tree. For example: "PathIntroductionPathPathPath".

When Kofax purchased the Nuance PowerPDF I did call them and ask about their continued commitment to accessible PDF and patiently went over tags and their importance. Even their developers had no clue what I was talking about and they didn't seem interested in further discussions.

Am trying to find a Foxit website where I can get Foxit. I had the Foxit for Business and was working with them on accessibility/tags but they lost interest and my complimentary copy ran out. I can find all sorts of third party download sites but want to purchase from Foxit.

One final note...for this post...on PowerPDF. Kofax hasn't improved the visibility of the "Autotag" button. It is a tiny button with no label to the left of the settings/Options button just above the Tags Tree. It has an even tinier plus sign on it so the visibility of the button looks like a "glitch" in the software rather than a functional button. If you right click on No Tags Available, you can only add a Tags Root. However, the PowerPDF Ribbon in Word does create a tagged PDF by default.

Kofax PowerPDF Advanced is $179 USD or 238 CAD and is a one time payment. If there is a significant upgrade you would pay for it.

Will keep you updated on my research.

Cheers, Karen
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