Next up at #MSUa11y: "PDF Accessibility Panel" hosted by Grace Morris, Madeleine Ferguson, & Grey Pierce.
I'm particularly hype for this bc of my work at @WCMSU: text documents are kinda our thing. Engagement for this session is supposed to be pretty high; I'll tweet when I can!
@WCMSU We're supposed to be asking questions.
1Q: What PDF conversion tools would panelists recommend?
A: Apparently, saving a .doc as a PDF isn't great if the .doc itself wasn't made accessibly -- using headers, etc. So that's why PDFs sometimes don't work well w/ screen readers.
@WCMSU Q1, A2: Scanned images aren't accessible, FYI. The reading device can only make sense of what it already sees on the page. So... it ain't accessible. Can't read formatting, etc.
@WCMSU Q2: Panelists just did something awesome: collectively, they didn't know the answer to a question & so they said:
"Let's do some research. Give us your contact info, & we will get this information to you."
Transparency! Vulnerability! #MSUa11y!
@WCMSU Panelists recommend using pre-made slides that have title features built in. They're already accessibly formatted, usually, and when you convert them to PDFs they're easier for screen readers.
HOWEVER: Adobe's conversion tool MISIDENTIFIES stuff sometimes, so do your own audit!
@WCMSU If converting a ppt to pdf usually results in a doc audit where Acrobat says things are fine/accessible but are not...
Consider how layers, elements, etc. interplay.
Consider how images, diagrams, etc. are being read.
Don't assume the checker-tool will be right.
@WCMSU Q3: Adobe Acrobat Pro, etc: How is it prohibitive? What are other options.
A: PDFS ARE TERRIBLE, say panelists! Adobe is best we have, but.. still no bueno. Avoid PDFs!
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