Using the tools in the computer operating system

Both the Microsoft® Windows® and the Apple® Macintosh® operating systems have some accessibility tools built in for convenience. The operating system is often a good place to start customizing access to information.

Working in the Windows® operating system

Use Adobe Reader 6.0 on a Windows 98SE®, Windows ME®, Windows NT®, Windows® 2000, or Windows XP® system. For more detailed information on these operating systems, visit http://www.adobe.com/products/reader/productinfo/systemreqs/index.html.

The Windows XP or Windows 2000 operating system has several built-in tools that provide increased or alternate access to information on the computer screen.

• Narrator is a light version of a screen reader.
• Magnifier is a screen magnification tool.
• Speech is a voice recognition tool.

Choose Start > All Programs > Accessories to use tools such as Narrator, Magnify, or Speech. Windows XP also has tools that are specific to people with disabilities. These tools include:

• Sticky Keys for one-handed typing. This tool allows one key to be held down, then a second key can be moved to and pressed. The result is the same as if the keys were acting as a keyboard shortcut. For example Alt + F for File.
• Sounds allows the customization of auditory feedback from applications.
• Display provides access to high contrast color schemes that are used by the operating system to display information.
• MouseKeys allows the keyboard to act as a mouse or pointing device.

Press Start > Control Panel > Accessibility to access Keyboard, Sound, Display, Mouse, and General options. The image below is the Accessibility Options dialog box in the Windows operating system.

The Accessibility Options dialog box

For more information on the accessibility tools in the Windows XP or Windows 2000 operating system, visit http://www.microsoft.com/enable.

Working in the Macintosh® operating system

On a Macintosh computer, Mac OS® version 10.2.2 or later is required to use Adobe Reader 6.0.

To modify accessibility preferences, choose System Preferences > Universal Access and then select the category to change (for example, keyboard, mouse, or keyboard shortcuts).

In Universal Access preferences, under “Keyboard & Mouse” is a panel for keyboard shortcuts in which the level of keyboard access needed can be selected, or full access can be chosen.

The preference panel for the level of keyboard access needed

For more information on the accessibility tools in Mac OS, visit http://www.apple.com/disability.

Setting preferences in Adobe Reader 6.0

All of the Adobe Reader 6.0 tools have settings that can be customized.

To change any of the Adobe Reader 6.0 settings, do one of the following:

• Choose Edit > Preferences.
• Press Alt + E for Edit, then N for Preferences (Windows only).
• Press Ctrl + K (Windows) or Command + K (Mac OS).

Note that if the JAWS® for Windows screen reader is used, there may be a key conflict with Ctrl + K. If this conflict is encountered, use the JAWS PassKey (Insert + 3) before pressing Ctrl + K.

The Preferences dialog box is divided into two sections. On the left side is a list of the categories or items that can be changed. For example, some of the categories are Accessibility, Internet, Reading, and Multimedia. On the right side of the dialog box are the elements within the selected category that can be modified. For example in the Accessibility options, the text color or the background color of a PDF document can be changed. When the Preferences dialog box is opened, focus is on the last category modified. Press the first letter of any category name to quickly move to the category in which you wish to make changes.

The Accessibility category in the Preferences dialog box

Preference categories

The following is a list of the categories in the Adobe Reader 6.0 Preferences dialog box. Each section of this guide will identify the tools that will optimize accessibility of PDF documents.

• Accessibility
• Digital Signatures
• Forms
• Full Screen
• General
• Identity
• Internet
• JavaScript
• Multimedia
• Page Display
• Reading
• Search
• Smoothing
• Startup
• Trust Manager
• Units
• Updates

Accessibility quick check

An accessibility quick check can be performed on PDF documents to help determine how accessible a document might be. This tool provides a general indication of document accessibility. Files that check as accessible may still have problems, and files that have no structure may be readable depending on their use.

To use the Quick Check tool, do one of the following:

• Choose Document > Quick Check.
• Press Alt + D for Documents, then Q for Quick Check (Windows only).

The Quick Check tool will go through the document and provide an accessibility report on it. Below are two examples of Quick Check results, one from an inaccessible PDF document and one from an accessible tagged PDF document.

Example 1: A Quick Check with accessibility issues detected

Example 2: A Quick Check with no accessibility issues detected

• Printable version (PDF: 1.2M)