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The Problem
A dobes cu r r en t a ppr oa ch t o a ccessibilit y is t o m a k e t a g s a v a ila ble w it h in t h e la t est -g en er a t ion PDF specifica t ion . Usin g t h ese t a g s, desig n pr ofession a ls m a y pr ov ide a lt . t ex t la y ou t s a n d codin g t h a t ca n deliv er a v ia ble ex per ien ce for a ssist iv e t ech n olog y u ser s t h eor et ica lly . W h ile t ex t docu m en t s m a y , a t sig n ifica n t ex pen se a n d t r ou ble, w or k w ell w it h t a g s, t h e r ea lit y is t h a t on ly t h e v er y sim plest for m s a r e r ea lly u sa ble w it h t a g s a lon e. W h ile t h e fa ct t h a t t a g s a r e t ech n ica lly ca pa ble of r en der in g docu m en t t ex t t o a scr een r ea der m a y for m a lly qu a lify PDFs for Sect ion 5 0 8 com plia n ce, t h a t poin t sh ou ld n ot be con fu sed w it h t h e qu est ion of fu n ct ion a l a ccessibilit y . Con t en t a u t h or s a r e r a r ely fa m ilia r w it h t h e r equ ir em en t s of su ccessfu l a ccessibilit y pu blish in g , a n d h a v e lit t le r ea son t o lea r n . Not on ly a r e t h ey u n lik ely t o r eceiv e a n y t ech n ica l or fu n ct ion a l t r a in in g on t h e su bject , bu t in t h e v a st m a jor it y of ca ses, con t en t a u t h or s w on t ev en g et a n ex pen siv e scr een r ea der w it h w h ich t o sa m ple (da r e w e a dd, t est ) t h eir cr ea t ion s. A s a r esu lt , t h eir PDF files w ill be, a s a lw a y s, bu ilt t o pr in t , w it h m ea n in g fu l a ccessibilit y a dist a n t secon da r y or t er t ia r y con sider a t ion . In a n y ev en t , t h e issu e of t a g s is n ea r -m oot beca u se a s PDF cr ea t ion soft w a r e pr olifer a t es, pr ofession a l con t en t a u t h or s u sin g A dobe pr odu ct s a n d edu ca t ed on a ccessibilit y issu es w ill g en er a t e on ly a m odest fr a ct ion of PDF docu m en t s. If t a g s a r e r equ ir ed t o fa cilit a t e a ccessibilit y , t h en PDF h a s lit er a lly n o ch a n ce of becom in g k n ow n a s a ccessible. Ma y be Rea der cou ld a u t o-t a g on t h e fly ? Plea se. It w ou ld be a m a jor m ir a cle if 2 0 per cen t of a ll docu m en t s cou ld be m ea n in g fu lly a u t o-t a g g ed on open in g . Effect iv e t a g s a r e bor n of m a n y con sciou s ch oices, t h ey a r e n ot a defa u lt ev en t . T h e in ev it a ble r esu lt of a t a g s-on ly st r a t eg y is sim ply t h a t con t en t a u t h or s w ill ig n or e t h e issu e en t ir ely , ch oose a differ en t for m a t , or sim ply du m b-dow n t h eir docu m en t s. In a ll su ch ca ses, PDF loses.
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pu blic docu m en t a u t h or s n ot on ly t o w or k w it h in a ccessibilit y st a n da r ds su ch a s Sect ion 5 0 8 bu t be seen t o do so. A s t h ey ex pa n d elect r on ic docu m en t u sa g e a n d w eb en a blem en t for t h eir lin e-ofbu sin ess pr ocesses, g ov er n m en t s w ill in cr ea sin g ly fa v ou r solu t ion s t h a t in clu de a ccessibilit y a s a cor e com pet en cy . Sect ion 5 0 8 , w h ich h a s g iv en A dobe t h e sw ea t s, is a ct u a lly a pr et t y ea sy st a n da r d. T h e Ca n a dia n g ov er n m en t specifica t ion (W CA G pr ior it y 2 ) is m u ch t ou g h er !
Conclusion
Blin d u ser s r epr esen t t h e g r ea t est t ech n ica l ch a llen g e for elect r on ic docu m en t a ccessibilit y . T h is u ser popu la t ion k eeps t h e a ssist iv e t ech n olog y v en dor s h on est , beca u se t h e blin d u n der st a n d u sa bilit y in a w a y t h a t on e ca n on ly im a g in e by t u r n in g off t h e m on it or a n d st ill t r y in g t o w or k . Bu t t h a t sh ou ld n ot m ea n t h a t r esolv in g t h e n eeds of t h e blin d is t h e on ly r ea son a ble g oa l in pr om ot in g docu m en t a ccessibilit y .
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In a t t em pt in g t o a ddr ess t h e n eeds of t h e blin d, w h ose t ir eless w or k pr odu ced Sect ion 5 0 8 in t h e fir st pla ce, A dobe a im ed t h eir solu t ion a t a st r ict ly leg a l in t er pr et a t ion of t h e code, w h ich fu n da m en t a lly m isses t h e poin t for blin d a n d n on -blin d a lik e. It is t h is: Ult im a t ely , u sa bilit y is t h e poin t a t w h ich a ccessibilit y cla im s a r e sor t ed fr om a ccessibilit y fa ct s. On ly t h e n a r r ow est of in t er pr et a t ion s w ou ld con clu de t h a t Sect ion 5 0 8 defin es a ccessibilit y a s m a k in g a ll t h e t ex t on t h e pa g e a v a ila ble t o a ssist iv e t ech n olog y . If A dobe per sist s in t h e t a g s-on ly st r a t eg y , or g a n iza t ion s n eedin g t o im pr ov e t h eir a ccessibilit y pr ofile w ill t en d t o opt for cost -effect iv e u sa bilit y (HT ML) ov er ex pen siv e u n cer t a in t y (PDF). A dobe ca n n ot a ffor d t h a t . A ccessibilit y solely v ia t h e t a g s pa r a dig m w a s a m isst ep in t h e r ig h t dir ect ion . T h a t pr og r ess m ea n s lit t le in t h e cu r r en t or for eseea ble a ccessibilit y m a r k et pla ce. T h e per cept ion w ill r em a in t h a t PDF is n ot pa r t icu la r ly a ccessible beca u se in t o t h e for eseea ble fu t u r e, on ly a sm a ll per cen t a g e of PDF files w ill in clu de u sa ble t a g s. T o a ch iev e bot h sh or t -t er m su ccess a n d pr ot ect lon g -t er m v ia bilit y , A dobe sh ou ld ser iou sly con sider t h e A ccessibilit y for t h e Ma sses st r a t eg y for v er sion 6 .1 . By Duff Johns on A ssist iv e T ech n olog y , Sect ion 5 0 8 , Un iv er sa l A ccessibilit y
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