Accessibility Improvements in Adobe Acrobat XI
Our article on Abode Acrobat accessibility has recently been updated to include accessibility improvements made in Acrobat XI, the newest version of Acrobat Professional. While I often experience my fair share of frustration with Acrobat, it is the only program that I am aware of that makes accessibility improvements with each new version. Acrobat XI is no exception—it includes several new and improved features that make it much easier to create accessible PDF files.
Alternative text for images
Adding alternative text to images has always been a frustrating process in Acrobat. It usually entails viewing the document with the TouchUp Reading Order tool and searching for images that display the text “Figure – No alternate text exists.” You then have to right click on the image, select “Edit Alternate Text…”, and then type the alternative text in the provided box. This is very inefficient and time consuming, especially if a page has numerous images, or small images with overlapping alternative text. Acrobat XI now includes a “Set Alternate Text” option that allows you to add alternative text to all the images in your document [...]