What is PDF Accessibility

PDF Accessibility (typically called PDF/UA which stands for “User Accessibility” or ADA stands for “Americans with Disabilities Act”)means the PDF document contains features that make it more accessible for people with disabilities, such as mobility impairments, blindness, and low vision.

PDF/UA

PDF/UA is the informal name for ISO 14289, the International Standard for accessible PDF technology. A technical specification intended for developers implementing PDF writing and processing software, PDF/UA provides definitive terms and requirements for accessibility in PDF documents and applications. For those equipped with appropriate software, conformance with PDF/UA ensures accessibility for people with disabilities who use assistive technology such as screen readers, screen magnifiers, joysticks and other technologies to navigate and read electronic content.

– Wikipedia: PDF/UA

ADA Compliance

ADA compliance refers to the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements that companies and organizations make every effort to make education accessible to those with disabilities including those who are visually and audibly impaired.

Format Details

PDF/UA and ADA Compliance is not a separate file-format, but instead uses the PDF format and features invented by Adobe Systems to ensure documents are accessible to all users.

Some of the features of a PDF/UA or ADA compliant PDF include:

Searchable text
Bookmarks for documents over 9 pages
Document tags
Alt Text used to describe an image to one visually impaired
Logical reading order (left-to-right) in tables
No background images or watermarks
Table rows that don’t split across pages
Document Title
Form fields with tool-tips (descriptions)

Accessibility in PDF Studio

These features and/or settings built into PDF Studio make reading PDF documents more accessible to users.

Accessibility Display Preferences - additional options to change color of documents for higher contrast and easier reading
Invert Colors Mode - inverts document and text colors to create higher contrast for easier reading
Zooming - increase the size of the document when viewing to see content easier
Pan and Zoom Tool - displays a window highlighting the currently viewed area within the document
Loupe Tool - draggable rectangle that zooms in on the PDF to show an enlarged view
Keyboard Shortcuts - keyboard hotkeys to start application tools without the menu or toolbar
Highlight Form Fields - highlight all fields in the form, making them easier to locate
Layout and Magnification Preferences - set the default view of documents opened within the application
Navigation Tools - use bookmarks, page thumbnails and keyboard shortcuts to easily navigate the document

Operating System Accessibility tools

Accessibility tools in Windows

Windows operating systems have 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.

For more information on the accessibility tools in the Windows, see the Microsoft Accessibility website.

Accessibility tools in Mac OS

macOS has built-in tools that provide increased or alternate access to information on the computer screen.

For more information on the accessibility tools in the Mac operating system, see the Apple Accessibility website.

Accessibility tools in Linux

Accessibility tools are not available in all Linux distributions. Check your Linux version documentation for more information on what is available.

Below are some known Linux distros with accessibility tools.