Can be navigated using a keyboard or other assistive devices.Other key aspects of an accessible PDF are: It must be universally accessible by screen readers like JAWS or NVDA, text-to-speech tools, screen magnification and other assistive technologies, so they can easily read and navigate its content. These legislative rules require businesses to provide equivalent access for people with vision disabilities, cognitive differences, mobility impairments, and other conditions – or risk legal action being taken against them.Īn accessible PDF makes it easy for people with disabilities to access, and navigate the document, while meeting standards such as WCAG 2.0, PDF/UA and Section 508. These barriers violate accessibility standards such as Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Section 508, the ISO PDF/Universal Accessibility Standards, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as well as other localized non-discrimination laws. However, while they’re considered a ‘universal’ document which everyone can access through free software, they often present significant challenges to people who use assistive technology. Many of those technologies have been replaced by newer, more modern solutions, whereas the ubiquitous PDF remains a stalwart file format across the digital world.Ĭuriously, it’s the agnostic characteristics that inspired PDFs, which also make it the perfect format for accessible documents and accessible PDFs. The most extraordinary part of the PDF story is that it’s outlasted other ‘assumed’ gold-standard technologies – both software and hardware. If this problem can be solved, then the fundamental way people work will change.” These documents should be viewable on any display and should be printable on any modern printers. “ What industries badly need is a universal way to communicate documents across a wide variety of machine configurations, operating systems and communication networks. Its prime goal was to allow file sharing across and between companies, while strictly maintaining the document structure and integrity.

Adobe created the PDF in the early 1990s, as an agnostic file format to accurately render, read and print documents, no matter the software or operating system.

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