Adobe 62000112DM User Guide - Page 307

ADOBE ACROBAT 3D VERSION 8 300 User Guide 1. Consider accessibility before you convert a document to PDF. 2. Add fillable form fields and descriptions, and set the tab order. 3. Tag the PDF. 4. Add other accessibility features to the PDF. 5. Evaluate the PDF and repair tagging problems. Though these stages are presented in an order that suits most needs, you may perform tasks in these stages in a different order or iterate between some of the stages. In all cases, you should first examine the document, determine its intended purpose, and use that analysis to determine the workflow that you apply. 6. Consider accessibility before you convert a document to PDF. Whenever possible, think about accessibility when you create the source files in an authoring application, such as a word-processing or page-layout application. Typical tasks to do in the authoring application include adding alternate text to graphics, optimizing tables, and applying paragraph styles or other document-structure features that can be converted to tags. For more information, see "Creating a tagged PDF from an authoring application" on page 302. Note: If you intend to design PDF forms, Adobe recommends using Adobe LiveCycle Designer, which is dedicated to the design of interactive and static forms. LiveCycle Designer adds structure tags to forms, improving accessibility. 7. Add fillable form fields and descriptions, and set the tab order. If your document includes form fields, you must make form fields interactive (fillable) and include descriptions for the form fields. Use Forms > Run Form Fields Recognition to automatically detect form fields and make them fillable. For more information on detecting form fields and making them fillable, see "Creating new forms" on page 212. Acrobat Professional and Acrobat 3D have a Forms toolbar that provides numerous tools for creating fillable form fields, such as buttons, check boxes, list boxes, and text boxes. When you create a field, you can type a description for it in the Tooltip box in the General tab of the field's Properties dialog box. Screen readers will read this text aloud to the user. You can also use the TouchUp Reading Order tool to add descriptions to form fields. For information on setting the tab order to use document structure, see "Set form-field tabbing order in Acrobat" on page 221. 8. Tag the PDF. Improve the accessibility of PDFs by adding tags in Acrobat. If a PDF doesn't contain tags, Acrobat may attempt to tag it automatically when users read or reflow it, and the results may be disappointing. If you provide users with a tagged PDF, the logical structure tree sends the contents to a screen reader or other assistive software or hardware in an appropriate order. For best results, tag a document when converting it to PDF from an authoring application. Alternatively, you can tag a PDF any time in Acrobat.