Hi Kathy,

Unfortunately, the process to make accessible PDF files is so long-winded
that I'm afraid few folks take the time to do it. Webaim has a good
description of how to do it, and it involves over a dozen steps, and I
don't think a blind person could do it with a screen reader as it involves
centering cross-hairs on fields. I think it's easier to launch a shuttle.


Joseph J. Lazzaro
HTTP://JoeLazzaro.Com

On Mon, 24 Feb 2003, Kathleen Cahill wrote:

> Hello everyone;
>
> I'm wondering what some of you are telling your web developers regarding
> PDFs these days.  We have a number of departments who put up course
> information in PDF; however, the information in the PDF also contains
> diagrams, charts and math notation.  Even if we recommended that these
> documents were put up in HTML format, there would still be accessibility
> issues around making the non-textual elements accessible.  Are any of you
> recommending that PDFs be converted into accessible versions?  How well is
> it working?  Are people able to follow the instructions from Adobe
> regarding the creation of accessible PDFs?
>
> Many thanks,
> Kathy
>
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> Kathy Cahill
> MIT Adaptive Technology (ATIC) lab
> 77 Mass. Ave. 7-143
> Cambridge MA 02139
> (617) 253-5111
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>