Introduction

Purpose of this document

This document is designed to assist people with disabilities — such as blindness, low vision, or mobility impairment — to have the best experience possible as they read Adobe® PDF documents and complete PDF forms that may or may not have been designed for optimal accessibility. Such users often rely on third-party assistive technology to aid them while working on computers.

This document tells you how to navigate Adobe Reader® 7.0 by using the keyboard and how to customize the accessibility features of Adobe Reader to enhance your reading experience with a screen reader or other assistive technology. It also describes how to use the application's built-in Read Out Loud feature in lieu of a screen reader. In addition, this document contains general information about what accessibility is, what makes a PDF document accessible or inaccessible, and how to determine the extent to which a PDF document is accessible.

If you create PDF documents and want to make them accessible to people with disabilities, please also consult this guide's companion document, Creating Accessible PDF Documents with Adobe Acrobat 7.0: A Guide for Publishing PDF Files for Use by People with Disabilities. You can download the document at http://www.adobe.com/accessibility.

Audiences for this document

This document is primarily for four audiences:

  • People with disabilities who are reading Adobe PDF documents or completing PDF forms
  • People who are using assistive technology, such as a screen reader or screen magnifier, to read PDF documents
  • People who are creating accessible PDF documents and who want to understand how their target readers will interact with their PDF documents in Adobe Reader
  • Trainers or teachers who work with people who use assistive technology to read PDF documents

Software described in this document

This document is for users of Adobe Reader 7.0 software. However, the procedures and features described in this document also apply when you are reading Adobe PDF documents in Adobe Acrobat® 7.0 Professional, Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Standard, and versions of Adobe Reader that are designed for handheld devices.

Note: While the features are the same in Acrobat and Adobe Reader, a few of the menu and command names differ between the programs. Instructions in this document refer to the menu and command names in Adobe Reader.

Requirements for accessibility with Adobe Reader 7.0

Required version of Adobe Reader 7.0 for full accessibility

There are two versions of Adobe Reader 7.0: Basic and Full. The complete set of accessibility features described in this document is available in the Full version of Adobe Reader 7.0. Download the latest Full version of Adobe Reader.

Required versions of Adobe Reader for handheld devices

If you intend to read Adobe PDF documents by downloading them to a handheld device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), you need a compatible version of Adobe Reader. You can download the appropriate Adobe Reader application for the following PDAs:

System requirements for Adobe Reader 7.0

You can use Adobe Reader 7.0 on a computer that is running Apple® Mac OS® X v. 10.2.8 or later, Microsoft® Windows® 2000 with Service Pack 2, or Windows XP® (Professional, Home, and Tablet PC editions).

For more information, visit the Adobe Reader system requirements website.

Requirements for use with a screen reader or magnifier

Adobe Reader 7.0 supports assistive technology products, such as screen readers and screen magnifiers. If you are using a screen reader or screen magnifier, you also need a version of the assistive technology software that works with Adobe Reader 7.0. Read the documentation for your assistive technology software or contact the vendor for more information about system requirements, compatibility requirements, and instructions for using this technology.