Edit comment LC-2537 for Accessibility Guidelines Working Group

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Comment LC-2537: Comment Shortname:; Commenter: Sabastien Delorme <sdelorme@atalan.fr>; Message-id:; Section of the document concerned:

or; Refinement of the section concerned:; Status:
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Commenter's response (URI):; Comment:
Example 4: Checking the reading order using Reflow in Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro
Example 5: Checking the reading order using the Order panel in Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro

Theses two examples explain how checking the reading order with the reflow mode and the order panel.
But I encountered many problems with these features and the reader order.

The Order navigation panel in Acrobat Pro is designed for checking and correcting the reading order of tagged content on a page. However, in Acrobat Pro 10 (and previous versions), this tool is very difficult to use as it manages both the reading order of content and the order objects visually overlay each other on the page.

The numbering used on the Order navigation panel does not correspond to the reading order but to the order the different content layers on the page overlay each other. So, when you want to check the reading order of content by a screen reader, the displayed numbering may be inaccurate.

For example :
** Document 1 http://www.pdf-accessible.com/IMG/pdf/test-ordre-14.pdf
In this document :
- reflow order is "ordre matus balatum belli"
- Order panel shows the order is "ordre matus balatum belli"
- and the reading order is well "ordre matus balatum belli"

** Document 2 http://www.pdf-accessible.com/IMG/pdf/test-ordre-15.pdf
In this document :
- reflow order is "ordre matus balatum belli"
- Order panel shows the order is "ordre matus balatum belli"
- BUT the reading order is "balatum belli ordre matus"

So, it is disturbing to test the reading order with Order panel or reflow mode.
Because the reading order is only testable with certainty on the Tags panel.

I tried to explain this in a better way on AcceDe PDF manual (page 46) :
http://www.pdf-accessible.com/IMG/pdf/making-PDF-accessible-Acrobat.pdf

Proposed Change:
It is difficult to delete theses two examples because in many cases the reading order, reflow mode and the Order panel will be the same.

But for example with inDesign documents it's could totally different.

I propose a new example
"Checking the reading order using the Tags panel in Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro"; Related issues: (space separated ids); WG Notes: I've done some preliminary testing on this and the Order panel and Tags panel are independent but unpredictably related to each other in many ways. If things are moved around in the tag panel they do not change in the order panel but if moved in the order panel the tags panel changes, but tag artifacts often are created when the order is shifted... In the tests I conducted the behaviour in the tags panel was not what I would expect. When I clicked and dragged a tag to change the order in the document I ended up with artifacts, new empty tags. In some cases a copy was created, (that may be only for read only docs). I was using Acrobat pro 10. I think at the very least we have some unusual user agent issues. I think we need to do a bit more experimenting or perhaps Andrew or Loretta can provide guidance or help us clarify this issue in our techniques. I think at least we should log some user agent issues on this as this process is currently quite "clunky" from what I can tell. (I'll hit submit to save this but would like it to remain in the issues list, given that it needs more work.) 9/19: I did not include the following change in the proposal: "Authors are encouraged to refer to the PDF technology notes (http://trace.wisc.edu/wcag_wiki/index.php?title=PDF_Technology_Notes) for links to other resources for authoring and editing PDF documents for accessibility." Every example in every PDF technique is prefaced with, "This example is shown with Adobe Acrobat Pro. There are other software tools that perform similar functions. See the list of other software tools in PDF Authoring Tools that Provide Accessibility Support (http://trace.wisc.edu/wcag_wiki/index.php?title=PDF_Technology_Notes)." Additional caveats seem unnecessary.; Resolution: [DONE] 1. Add the following text at the end of Example 6: Note: Reordering content with the Order panel is most appropriate for simple text content within a PDF since modifications made with the order panel can affect not only the reading order but the underlying structure of content contained within the PDF. This may impact the z-order for content on a page, including making some content become hidden behind other content. Authors should save their work before using the order panel and verify that the changes do not have adverse effects on the document. [DONE] 2. Add the following 2 items to the Resources section: - Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Help: http://help.adobe.com/en_US/acrobat/pro/using/WS58a04a822e3e50102bd615109794195ff-7ce6.w.html - Making PDF documents accessible with Adobe Acrobat Pro: http://www.pdf-accessible.com/IMG/pdf/making-PDF-accessible-Acrobat.pdf [DONE] 3. Add Example 7: Example 7: Repairing the reading order using the Tags panel in Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro This example is shown with Adobe Acrobat Pro. There are other software tools that perform similar functions. See the list of other software tools in PDF Authoring Tools that Provide Accessibility Support (http://trace.wisc.edu/wcag_wiki/index.php?title=PDF_Technology_Notes). To correct the reading order in Example 5, use the Tags panel: 1. Either: o Drag-and-drop the <H1> tag to precede the required-field text (tagged <H2>), or o Cut-and-paste the <H2> tag to follow the <H1> tag. In the following image, the reading order is correct for the text and header. That is, the content elements <H1> and <H2> have been switched into the correct reading order. Image: tab-order-PDF3.jpg (attached) alt text: Image showing the corrected reading order In Adobe Acrobat Pro. The tags <H1> and <H2> have been switched and are now in the correct order.; (Please make sure the resolution is adapted for public consumption)