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Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 09:42:10 -0700
From: "T. V. Raman" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Adobe And TRACE Launch Enhanced PDF Access Via  Email
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Adobe And TRACE Launch Enhanced PDF Access Via  Email
--New service enables conversion via email attachments
(http://access.adobe.com)

Adobe Systems and the TRACE Research Center are happy to
announce a new service to enhance the accessibility of PDF
documents to visually impaired users.

Ever since we launched our popular server-based
accessibility solutions on http://access.adobe.com in
March 1997, the single most oft voiced request has been the need
to convert PDF documents on a local disk or CDROM to ASCII
or HTML.  In response, we have set up a a conversion service
hosted by the TRACE Research Center (http://trace.wisc.edu).

You can send PDF documents as email attachments to:

    [log in to unmask] -- for plain text
    [log in to unmask] --  for HTML

and receive the result of the conversion in the reply.

Adobe would like to thank Dr. Gregg Vanderheiden and the
TRACE Research Center for helping us host this service.

Attached is a summary of accessibility services provided by
Adobe.  Our WWW site (http://access.adobe.com) has been
revised in conjunction with the launch of this new service;
please take a momement to visit us and refresh your
bookmarks.


--Raman (and the access.adobe.com team)


                         ----------------------------
Welcome To Access At Adobe!
                         ----------------------------

Please visit http://access.adobe.com

This page is your launching point for learning more about
universal access to Adobe products.  The primary focus at present
is enhancing the accessibility of PDF.

  Portable Document Format (PDF) is a platform-independent means
  of exchanging visually rich documents.  PDF is fast becoming a
  pervasive means of communicating richly formatted information
  on electronic networks including the Internet and its most
  popular segment, the World Wide Web (WWW).  PDF documents are
  rich in visual layout, and are popular among users capable of
  appreciating the high-fidelity visual presentation.  However,
  visually impaired users have found PDF documents hard to
  access.  Conventional screen reading technologies ---software
  that enables a visually impaired user listen to the contents of
  a computer display--- prove ineffective when reading the rich
  visual presentation.

In the last two years, Adobe has been working on a
  platform-independent solution aimed at enhancing the
  accessibility of PDF to visually impaired users on diverse
  computing platforms.  This new strategy relies on standard
  WWW protocols and clients to bring PDF accessibility to
  the standard HTML browser that users already use for
  surfing the WWW.  We have implemented a PDF2HTML
  translator that converts textual content from PDF
  documents to HTML.  You can now use this conversion
  technology to more readily access PDF documents using your
  favorite WWW browser and screen access application.  1)
  You can submit a URL to any PDF file you wish to read
  using an interactive WWW form. The document will be
  converted to HTML and presented in your WWW browser.

2) You can mail a URL to a PDF document in the body of an email
message to [log in to unmask] (for plain text) or to
[log in to unmask] and have the convertor mail back the result of
translating the PDF file.

3) You can mail a URL to a PDF document or attach the PDF
document itself as a MIME attachment in the body of an email
message to [log in to unmask] (for plain text) or to
[log in to unmask] and have the convertor mail back
the result of translating the PDF file.

 For a detailed description of these accessibility services, read
http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/access.html

Note: All of these services are based on tools I developed for my
own use at Adobe; I have been using these tools on a daily basis
for over nine months now and find them indispensable for my work.
I hope they are equally helpful to readers on this list.

--Raman (and the access.adobe.com team)

--
Best Regards,
--raman

      Adobe Systems                 Tel: 1 (408) 536 3945   (W14-612)
      Advanced Technology Group     Fax: 1 (408) 537 4042
      (W14 129) 345 Park Avenue     Email: [log in to unmask]
      San Jose , CA 95110 -2704     Email:  [log in to unmask]
      http://labrador.corp.adobe.com/~raman/        (Adobe Intranet)
      http://cs.cornell.edu/home/raman/raman.html    (Cornell)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Disclaimer: The opinions expressed are my own and in no way should be taken
as representative of my employer, Adobe Systems Inc.
____________________________________________________________