PDF/UA (PDF/Universal Accessibility)

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PDF/UA (PDF/Universal Accessibility)

PDF/UA (PDF/Universal Accessibility) formally ISO 14289, is an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 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 application. 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.

On February 18, 2015 the US Access Board announced its Proposed Rule for US federal policy on accessibility, commonly known as Section 508. The proposed rule identifies PDF/UA as equivalent to WCAG 2.0 for "appropriate content.

Requirements for conforming PDF files

  • Complete tagging of "real content" in logical reading order
  • Tags must correctly represent the document's semantic structures (headings, lists, tables, etc.)
  • Problematic content is prohibited, including illogical headings, the use of color/contrast to convey information, inaccessible JavaScript, and more
  • Meaningful graphics must include alternative text descriptions
  • Security settings must allow assistive technology access to the content
  • Fonts must be embedded, and text mapped to Unicode

Requirements for conforming PDF processors

  • The ability to fully process tags and artifacts in PDF files
  • The ability to announce relevant actions to users
  • The ability to process and represent digital signatures, annotations and Optional Content
  • The ability to navigate the document by a variety of means

Requirements for conforming assistive technology (AT)

  • The ability to represent information provided by a PDF/UA conforming reader to the AT user
  • The ability to navigate the document by a variety of means

The formal name of PDF/UA is "ISO 14289-1 Document management applications -- Electronic document file format enhancement for accessibility -- Part 1: Use of ISO 32000-1 (PDF/UA-1).

PDF Association Activities

The PDF Association helps promote PDF/UA in a variety of ways.

PDF/UA Competence Center
In 2011 the PDF Association created the PDF/UA Competence Center as a way for vendors to develop educational resources and share experiences regarding implementation of PDF/UA. The Matterhorn Protocol (see below) is a product of the PDF/UA Competence Center.
In 2012 and 2013 the PDF Association helped raise money and awareness for NV Access's NVDA to further development of the world's first PDF/UA conforming screen reader.
In August 2013 the PDF Association's PDF/UA Competence Center published the Matterhorn Protocol, a set of 31 checkpoints and 136 failure conditions to help software developers make it easier for document authors to create fully accessible PDF files and forms.
In June 2014 the PDF Association's PDF/UA Competence Center published the first iteration of the PDF/UA Reference Suite, a set of reference-quality documents conforming to PDF/UA-1.
In December 2015 the PDF Association's PDF/UA Competence Center unveiled the first public draft of its Tagged PDF Best Practice Guide. Publication is expected by the summer of 2016.

The PDF Association conducted numerous educational seminars on PDF/UA throughout Europe, North America and Australia in 2012 and 2013. A book, "PDF/UA in a Nutshell" was produced in both English and German. An informational brochurewas also produced in both languages.

While some instructors may be nervous about posting native Word documents to their courses they need to be reassured that the ease with which they update their course materials through D2L is not shared by students. The student cannot overwrite instructor files in the class space unless the instructor (or their Curriculum Assistant) has explicitly granted students that permission, such as an instructor might grant to a TA. It is true that students can modify downloaded Word documents more easily than PDF documents but the fact remains that even PDF documents are trivial to change with a little knowledge and readily available software.

Using any kind of document protection system is strongly discouraged because such mechanisms can cause accessibility issues. If an instructor wishes to (and their document allows it), in the Office 365 line of products most allow setting a "Mark as Final" flag (File > Info > Protect... [Document, Presentation, Workbook] > "Mark as final"; remove the flag the same way). This merely notes an intent, any user of the flagged document can "Edit Anyway." Regardless, the D2L system tracks the most recent file replacement date and instructors need to be aware that it is always a good idea to have their final syllabus in place before the class starts. And should they need to change it, or any class file, those changes must be announced by the instructor through D2L, not just silently slid in. There is no automatic alert to students of a class file change.

Instructors also need to be very aware that for documents they intend students to download, modify, and return, those documents need to be in final form before students are allowed access to them. In other words, the instructor should keep files in draft mode or in a hidden module until they are ready to release them to students. These practices are exactly the same for Word as they always have been for PDF files so security and document "version" issues remain exactly the same as they always have been PDF documents are trivial to change with a little knowledge and readily available software.

Using any kind of document protection system is strongly discouraged because such mechanisms can cause accessibility issues. If an instructor wishes to (and their document allows it), in the Office 365 line of products most allow setting a "Mark as Final" flag (File > Info > Protect... [Document, Presentation, Workbook] > "Mark as final"; remove the flag the same way). This merely notes an intent, any user of the flagged document can "Edit Anyway." Regardless, the D2L system tracks the most recent file replacement date and instructors need to be aware that it is always a good idea to have their final syllabus in place before the class starts. And should they need to change it, or any class file, those changes must be announced by the instructor through D2L, not just silently slid in. There is no automatic alert to students of a class file change.

Instructors also need to be very aware that for documents they intend students to download, modify, and return, those documents need to be in final form before students are allowed access to them. In other words, the instructor should keep files in draft mode or in a hidden module until they are ready to release them to students. These practices are exactly the same for Word as they always have been for PDF files so security and document "version" issues remain exactly the same as they always have been.

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