PDF Survival Guide
By Hodges, Brad; Voice of the Nation's Blind,Publication Date: May 2005
Article provides a guide for people with visual disabilities to consider when downloading and/or reading PDF files. PDF files can be created from either word processing or desktop publishing applications, in which case they can contain both text and graphical elements. The files can also be created by scanning a hardcopy page, though these pages only contain an image of a page. These image-only PDF files do not contain the necessary information to be read by screen readers or Braille output programs, and are completely inaccessible unless they first undergo the optical character recognition process. The author outlines several steps people with visual disabilities can take to make PDF files more accessible. For example, the most current version of Adobe reader can be downloaded for free from the Adobe website at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. If the Adobe Reader installer detects that the user is running some sort of a screen access program, it will launch the Accessibility Setup Assistant, which allows the user to run the accessibility tools once the application is installed.
Published by:
National Federation of the Blind (Web Site: http://www.nfb.org )
Link to text: http://www.voiceofthenationsblind.org/articles/135/pdf-survival-guide
