<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style=""><span style="font-size:large">Im</span><font size="4">portant - please read thread below and vote for fixing so Adobe sees our frustration at <a href="https://acrobat.uservoice.com/forums/590923-acrobat-for-windows-and-mac/suggestions/44183082-accessibility-errors-with-pdf-maker-update-sept-20" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" style=""><span class="gmail_default" style=""></span>https://acrobat.uservoice.com/forums/590923-acrobat-for-windows-and-mac/sugg</a></font></div><div class="gmail_default" style=""><font size="4"><a href="https://acrobat.uservoice.com/forums/590923-acrobat-for-windows-and-mac/suggestions/44183082-accessibility-errors-with-pdf-maker-update-sept-20" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" style="">estions/44183082-accessibility-errors-with-pdf-maker-update-sept-20</a>. </font></div><div class="gmail_default" style=""><font size="4"><br></font></div><div class="gmail_default" style=""><font size="4">Krista</font></div><div class="gmail_default" style=""><div class="gmail_quote"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large"></span><br></div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><div><font size="4" face="tahoma, sans-serif">Krista Greear</font></div><div><font size="4" face="tahoma, sans-serif">Accessibility and Inclusivity Crusader </font></div></div><div><div><span style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:large">ATHEN Executive Council Vice President</span><span style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:large"> </span></div></div><div><div><font face="tahoma, sans-serif" size="4"><a href="https://athenpro.org/" target="_blank">Access Technology Higher Education Network</a></font></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">---------- Forwarded message ---------<br>From: <span dir="auto"><<a href="mailto:chagnon@pubcom.com">chagnon@pubcom.com</a>></span><br>Date: Wed, Sep 22, 2021 at 11:57 AM<br>Subject: [WebAIM] Serious bugs in latest Acrobat update: DO NOT UPDATE<br>To: WebAIM Discussion List <<a href="mailto:webaim-forum@list.webaim.org">webaim-forum@list.webaim.org</a>><br></div><br><br>Last week, Adobe updated Acrobat and with it, the PDF Maker plug-in for MS<br>
Office that is used to export PDFs from Word and other office apps on<br>
Windows.<br>
<br>
Several key bugs in PDF Maker have shown up since, namely:<br>
<br>
* Alt-text added in Word is dropped in the exported PDF and replaced<br>
with code gibberish. (Yes, all the Alt-text you worked hard on is gone!)<br>
<br>
* Every frigging line, border, and background fill on table cells,<br>
text boxes, paragraph borders, and hyperlinks is tagged in the Tag Tree with<br>
<P>PathPathPathPathPathPath.one "path" for each border on each cell in a<br>
table.<br>
<br>
* And there's no way to roll back to the previous version of Acrobat<br>
and recover your tools. Once updated, you are S O L.<br>
<br>
Three actions to take:<br>
<br>
1. Vote to fix these bugs on Adobe's UserVoice website. <br>
If you can, please also add a comment about how accessibility is required<br>
for you and your organization by your country's and state's laws. (Adobe's<br>
staff don't understand these laws about civil rights and equal access to<br>
information.) We need a few hundred votes on this page for Adobe to pay<br>
attention to the problem, so spread this message to your colleagues. <br>
The website is at<br>
<a href="https://acrobat.uservoice.com/forums/590923-acrobat-for-windows-and-mac/suggestions/44183082-accessibility-errors-with-pdf-maker-update-sept-20" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large"></span>https://acrobat.uservoice.com/forums/590923-acrobat-for-windows-and-mac/sugg<br>
estions/44183082-accessibility-errors-with-pdf-maker-update-sept-20</a> <br>
<br>
2. Until this is fixed, use Microsoft's built-in utility to export<br>
accessible tagged PDFs, and skip the Acrobat Ribbon (which is the Adobe PDF<br>
Maker plug-in) altogether. I'll have a blog / tutorial on this by the<br>
weekend, but in the meantime, here are the quick instructions:<br>
<br>
a. Make an accessible Word document as usual, with styles, Alt-text,<br>
etc.<br>
<br>
b. File / Save As / and then choose PDF in the File Type field. This<br>
triggers Microsoft's built-in export utility, not Adobe's.<br>
<br>
c. Set your options, file location, and file name.<br>
<br>
3. And don't upgrade to the latest version of Acrobat. The version<br>
that is buggy (well, more than usual) is 2021.007.XXXX, and the versions of<br>
PDF Maker that are installed with it are PDF Maker 21 Library 21.7.123 and<br>
Library 21.7.112.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
- - -<br>
<br>
Bevi Chagnon | Designer, Accessibility Technician | Chagnon@PubCom.com<br>
<mailto:<a href="mailto:Chagnon@PubCom.com" target="_blank">Chagnon@PubCom.com</a>> <br>
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