Why Accessible PDFs Make Sense
Published on June 13, 2019 at 10:00 am
Did you know that accessible Portable Document Formats (PDFs) make sense in more ways than one? They make sense to assistive technology devices and they make sense in an all-inclusive business strategy. But what does that really mean?
Imagine you need to download and read a document from a website. (Hard to imagine; I know. But, bear with me…) The download goes smoothly, the file saves in the correct folder, opens with ease, and you’re ready to read the information you’ve worked so hard to get. (Where’s the “sarcastic font” when you need it?) But, you can’t make sense of the PDF you’ve downloaded. It starts with a paragraph that’s clearly mid-thought. Then there’s text on top of a graphic but the colors are so similar you can’t decipher what it’s trying to say. Headings, paragraphs, tables, and other important information you can’t read are randomly strewn throughout the document. How are you supposed to make sense of this jumbled mess? And, why on earth would a company have this on their website for their customers to download?
This is essentially what happens when someone with a visual, neurological, or [...]