Ensure access restrictions on PDF documents don’t lock users out
no. 129
Make sure password protected PDF documents don’t block screen reader users
Unless prevented to do so, the PDF format naturally allows assistive technologies to convey the document’s content to the end user. Because screen readers need to copy or extract the document’s text in order to convert it to speech, applying access restrictions to a document (specifying that no part of a PDF is to be copied, printed, extracted, commented on, or edited) will prevent screen readers from being able to operate the expected text to speech conversion. Locking screen readers out consequently results in users being unable to access the content, unless the author enables screen reader access when password restrictions are set on a PDF.
To do so, simply make sure that whenever access restrictions are set in the document properties of a PDF using Adobe Acrobat Pro, that the option to “enable text access for screen reader devices for the visually impaired” under the Password Security Settings dialog box is checked. This option will override the document’s security settings only for the purpose of giving assistive technologies, such as screen readers, access to the content. It will [...]