There is lots of advice on just what is involved in making electronic documents like Microsoft Word documents and PDF files accessible and that, as it turns out, may be a bit of a problem. While Accessibility is universally acknowledged to be a good and desirable thing, you would be hard pressed to find […]
View PostPDF/UA is the ISO standard for accessible PDF technology. The PDF Association’s PDF/UA Competence Center has released an algorithm encompassing all “shall” statements in ISO 14289-1 (PDF/UA). This document, the Matterhorn Protocol, provides the definitive technical blueprint for accessible PDF files. There’s already an implementation of the Matterhorn Protocol in PAC 2.0, the free accessibility checker […]
View PostPDF/UA is the ISO standard, ISO 14289-1 published in 2012, that provides a set of guidelines for producing universally accessible PDF documents as well as specifications for compliant assistive technology (such as screen readers, screen magnifiers, or joysticks) and PDF reading software. If the PDF/UA technical and semantic requirements are followed, universally accessible files can be created […]
View PostMillions of US citizens must use assistive technology (AT) to read electronic content. A decade ago this month, the US Federal government’s Section 508 regulations went into effect to ensure equal access to information. Just as intended, the regulations – applicable to both the Federal government and its contractors – accelerated commercial activity around meeting […]
View PostHighlights from last week’s meetings in Salt Lake City. Determining the future trajectory of a technology – if you’re interested in the technology and in the uses to which that technology is put – can be fascinating. If your business or institution has a significant investment in electronic document technology, then you’ll probably find it useful to […]
View PostFew know it yet, but a new paradigm for document capture begins in 2011. This is the year in which PDF/A and PDF/UA become cornerstone International Standards for electronic documents in the decades and centuries ahead. This is the year in which document capture begins its fourth paradigm – semantics. My old company started life as […]
View PostPDF is one of the most common file-formats on the planet. Why is it so pervasive? Why is it PDF that serves mankind as the undisputed universal electronic equivalent of paper, and not some other technology? A large part of the answer lies in the fact that PDF is extraordinarily sophisticated; clever and robust enough to […]
View PostThe latest International Standard for PDF is almost here! Today in Schaumburg, near Chicago, Illinois, Adobe’s Greg Pisocky, Appligent’s Duff Johnson and Microsoft’s Cherie Ekholm together offered a presentation describing ISO/DIS 14289, better known as PDF/UA (Universal Accessibility). This page includes a very basic overview of the new Standard. Scroll down for the ATIA presentation. The […]
View Post(Duff Johnson gave this testimony at the US Access Board’s public hearing in Washington DC on May 12, 2010) Mr. Chairman, members of the U.S. Access Board, it is an honor to be here today to discuss the refresh of Section 508 as it pertains to the PDF file-format. I am here to offer my […]
View PostI recently returned from 4 days in Orlando, Florida, where committees of the International Standards Organization (ISO) met to discuss, among other things, the future and direction of the PDF format (ISO 32000) and various subset PDF standards, including PDF/A (Archive), PDF/E (Engineering) and PDF/UA (Universal Accessibility). PDF Standards set technical benchmarks for PDF technology […]
View PostAlmost 4 1/2 years after initiation of the PDF/UA (Universal Accessibility) project, ISO has now granted “Approved Work Item” (AWI) status to PDF/UA, the first formal step in the ISO process which ends (we hope) in an ISO Standard for accessible PDF. From this point forward, the US and International Committees for PDF/UA will be […]
View PostNearly four years in the making, AIIM’s PDF/UA Committee today agreed to submit their draft standard to ANSI to be submitted to ISO as an ISO NWI (New Work Item). It’s the first formal step from the Working Group’s document to begin the full international process. AIIM and Adobe launched the PDF/UA effort knowing that […]
View PostThe PDF/Universal Accessibility (PDF/UA) Committee met at the AIIM Conference and Expo in Boston this past week. If you are interested, you can read the agenda from the public portion of PDF/UA’s Wiki. We welcomed new members and had a productive day-and-a-half of meetings covering a wide range of issues, from MathML to table structure, […]
View PostAIIM’s PDF/UA Committee needs your help! PDF/UA (Universal Accessibility) is tasked with developing a Standard for accessible PDF with a goal of eventual adoption by the ISO. The Committee is made up of volunteers (don’t I know it!), and members may be of Observer or Voting status. Voting status requires participation. The Committee’s Wiki is […]
View PostAdobe’s Current Strategy (as described on access.adobe.com) Enhance the PDF format with MSAA-aware capabilities (tags) that document developers may use to improve accessibility. This approach is rooted in the belief that accessibility is operationally defined as the ability to interact with the user’s choice of screen reader software. Usability is not part of this definition. […]
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