Hi,

    Certainly if a document can be printed out it can be retyped or
scanned--processes which become less attractive as the document grows
larger.  but some documents are not allowed to be printed out.

As for extracting text:  We already know that in the previous version of
acrobat Reader we could read many files with the plug-in, but often even
then we could not save them as text files or send them to be converted by
e-mail because of security settings.  the settings in acrobat Five simply
make things even more difficult, but this is because the decision is now
more firmly than ever in the hands of the authors.  we must educate and
persuade them to let us read the documents with our screen readers.  If we
want to retype them, we could certainly do so by listening to what we hear
or reading it in braille and typing it little by little.  I will leave any
moralizing out of it, as we have to each follow our own inner voices.  But
if we want to read the documents at all, we have to give the authors reason
to think that we are going to play fair.  Once a file has become a plain
text file, it can be sent to anyone from anywhere.  This also can happen
with pdf files, but some of them are only readable on the computer for which
they were originally bought.  This complicated matter, which pits consumers'
rights against authors' rights, is going to take a lot of work to settle.
Meanwhile, it does lead to the question of whether all improvements are
always what they're cracked up to be.  Have you noticed, for instance, that
in the new acrobat reader there doesn't seem to be a way to hold one's place
when closing a file?  I always liked that ability in Reader four with the
plug-in.  Believe me, I am keeping that older version as long as it will
work with any files.

Ilene
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Zielinski" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, May 27, 2001 3:34 AM
Subject: Re: PDF security and screen readers?


> Hi Paul,
>
> I don't know all the ins and outs of pdf, but wouldn't a person be able to
> simply scan the printout of a pdf document, (after printing it on their
> printer first), hence getting the text into their computer?  Now I am not
> suggesting that this is an alternative method for blind people, just
> pointing out that it would be even easier for a sighted person to get the
> text without bothering to type it into their computer manually.
>
> Is this scenario possible?
>
> Steve
>
>
> On Sat, 26 May 2001, Paul Magill wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> I'm trying to understand the reasoning behind Adobe's new document
> security system, which is going to cause us so much hassel.
>
> By this, I mean giving authors the ability to prevent others extracting
> information from their  documents, particularly the text content that we
> need.
>
> If they are trying to protect the layout/artistic qualities of the
> document, scanners and photocopiers are not going to be troubled by the
> PDF files security settings.
>
> If they are trying to protect the text content, that is stop people
> misusing part or all of the original text, then how does preventing us
> from extracting a .TXT version acheeve that.
>
> Anyone that wanted to "mess" with the original text would simply retype
> it from the printed document.  Then whatever would be done with the copy
> or modified version would go ahead without regard for the security
> settings in the .PDF file.
>
> In the light of the 508 provisions, How can Adobe justify withdrawing
> the ability to extract a .TXT version of a document, when anyone except
> a blind person can readily produce one by retyping it from the printout.
>
> I think that while Adobe should continue to negotiate with the various
> screen reader manufacturers for a solution, they should also look
> seriously at their reasoning behind preventing .TXT versions being
> extracted from their .PDF files.
>
>
>
> Awaiting justification from Adobe,
> Paul from Australia.
>
>
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>
> --
> +----------------------------+
> |  Steve Zielinski  (N8UJS)  |
> |      [log in to unmask]      |
> +----------------------------+
>
>
> VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
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>


VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
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[log in to unmask]  In the body of the message, simply type
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 VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
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