This guide can be used in four ways:

• By people with disabilities who need to access PDF documents.
• By people who want to use the accessibility tools to customize their reading of PDF documents.
• By trainers and teachers working with people using assistive technology.
• By authors of accessible PDF documents who want to test their files for accessibility.

Each of the sections in this guide explores specific preferences and accessibility tools built into Adobe Reader 6.0.

Section One: Getting Started

This section has basic information on settings that can be modified in the computer operating system to enhance computer use. There is also information on the Adobe Reader 6.0 Preferences options, as well as how to quickly check PDF documents for accessibility before reading them.

Section Two: Using the Read Out Loud Text-to-Speech Tool

This section provides information on modifying the speech settings to use Read Out Loud in Adobe Reader 6.0, then provides the keystrokes for reading documents. Read Out Loud is a Text-to-Speech (TTS) tool built into Adobe Reader 6.0. It reads text contained within a document window. This functionality is different from “screen reader” technology, which includes access for text within a window, general navigation of a computer and access for menu items, dialog boxes, or message boxes.

Section Three: Enhancing On-Screen Viewing

This section provides step-by-step instructions on how to change the text color and background color of PDF documents. For people using screen magnification software, consult the Help files for the screen magnification software for additional information.

Section Four: Using Keyboard Commands

This section provides detailed information on using keyboard commands in Adobe Reader 6.0. For people with a mobility impairment, the single key accelerators can be used in combination with a mouse to access or switch tools. There are also strategies on using generic application keyboard commands in Adobe Reader 6.0 to read PDF documents.

Section Five: Accessing Multimedia Captioning

This section provides instructions on modifying settings for access to multimedia captioning.

Section Six: Using Screen Readers

This section provides support and strategies for people who use screen readers. If you use a screen reader, consult the screen reader Help files for specific information.

Appendix A: Accessibility Basics

This appendix is an overview of the elements of accessible documents, with examples of the kinds of document structure and elements that enhance PDF document accessibility.

Appendix B: Complete List of Adobe Reader 6.0 Keyboard Commands

This resource is a complete list of Adobe Reader 6.0 keyboard commands including single key accelerators and generic keyboard commands.

If you author documents and convert them to PDF files, consult the companion booklet to this one: “Creating Accessible PDF Documents, A Guide for Content Authors.” (PDF: 4.3M) It is a step-by-step guide to creating and optimizing PDF files for people with disabilities such as blindness or low vision, mobility impairments, and learning disabilities.

Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) and accessibility

PDF is a standard on the World Wide Web and is also used to distribute electronic documents over corporate networks, via e-mail, and on digital media. Virtually any electronic document or scanned image can be turned into a PDF file using Adobe Acrobat® software. These files can then be read by anyone using free Adobe Reader 6.0 software. Many corporations, educational institutions, and government agencies use PDF to distribute documents to the public or to groups within their organizations. Its support for accessible electronic forms, digital signatures, and electronic mark-ups make it the ideal platform for converting yesterday’s paper-based business processes to fully interactive digital processes.

Adobe is committed to providing solutions that improve the accessibility of both the Adobe Acrobat software and the information contained in Adobe PDF files. In 1997, Adobe introduced the access.adobe.com Web site, which offered free PDF-to-text translation services. In 2001, Adobe enhanced the PDF specification to allow the creation of “tagged” PDF files in Adobe Acrobat software, allowing the insertion of logical document structure into the file. Logical structure refers to the organization of a document, such as the title page, chapters, sections, and subsections. Tagging a PDF file makes significant improvements to the accessibility of the document, by providing a mechanism to indicate the precise reading order and improving navigation, particularly for longer, more complex documents. Tagged PDF files also enable content reflow on smaller devices, such as PDAs and cell phones.

For more information on accessible tagged PDF, visit http://access.adobe.com.

People using assistive technology to read PDF documents may still encounter some that are not accessible.

There are two major reasons for a lack of accessibility in PDF documents:

• Many publishers aren’t aware of the necessary techniques for optimizing PDF documents for accessibility.
• Many PDF documents were created before the specification was enhanced.

Some of the specific accessibility issues are:

• Documents that contain only scanned images of text, which means that the text is not available to assistive technologies such as screen readers
• Documents that contain no tags because the author either owns older versions of Acrobat that do not support tagging, or isn’t aware of the tools provided
• PDF forms without fillable fields. These forms cannot be filled out online and must be printed to hard copy for manual completion.

For more information on creating accessible PDF documents, see “Appendix A: Accessibility Basics”.

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