Hi alan,

I've spent a lot of time working with pdf documents and can tell you
that it is possible to navigate a tagged complex pdf document including
tables in pdf using acrobat reader 5.1 and jaws 4.5.  The table
navigation features of jaws work quite well when attempting to navigate
a tagged pdf document.  I do find however, that if the document is
hugely complex, the screen reader can get lost.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Alan Cantor" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, December 23, 2002 12:44 PM
Subject: Complex data tables in tagged PDF


Hello screen reader mavens and web accessibility afficionados,

I am trying to get a sense of the relative accessibility of data tables
(not layout tables) in different web-based formats.

When reading a tagged PDF file using the most recent versions of Jaws
and Window-Eyes, are complex data tables as accessible as those written
in HTML? Is it possible to craft a PDF data table that provides as much
contextual information as an HTML table, e.g., headers for columns,
headers for rows (when required), and so on?

Overall, I know that HTML is much more accessible than PDF, both in
terms of accessibility and number of people who can access it. But I
need to understand the potential for accessible tagged PDF.

Alan

Alan Cantor
Project Manager
Strategic e-Government Implementation
e-Government, OCCS
416-212-1152
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