In the previous post you learned which Programs you need to create an accessible PDFYou have already learned that the creation process is basically divided into 3 steps, whereby the first two steps usually do not run strictly one after the other, but in a continuous alternation:
- document creation
- accessibility test
- post-processing and fine-tuning
In this article, you will learn how to create an accessible PDF. Please note that this article only covers the approach explained, but does not yet contain any concrete execution instructions. However, you will find in each chapter further links to articles with more detailed instructionsAll links open in a new window, so you can always return to this parent guide.
Step 1: Document creation
As with any other document, start by creating the document. For this, you should use well-known word processing programs. The most well-known programs are Microsoft Word and Adobe InDesign - although the latter has even more functionality than a pure word processing program.
In both programs, you should always make sure that the document is well structured. This means that you should use all templates. In Word, for example, this means that you should use font templates, color templates, format templates, etc. throughout. Using these templates automatically creates a clean document structure. For example, if you use the correct heading format templates for all headings in the document, the corresponding heading tags will be automatically created later during PDF export.
Only if you structure the document correctly will you create a PDF that is as accessible as possible when exporting and avoid hours of correction work in the third step (which, by the way, you have to do every time you make changes to the content of the document and have to export it again as a PDF after the changes).
Start now with step 1: Creation of a barrier-free document in Word or InDesign.
Step 2: Accessibility Check
As already mentioned, you should not carry out the accessibility check at the very end of document creation, but every now and then. The reason for this is simple: you can see early on whether your document structure is clean and can make changes early on if necessary, instead of having to format everything again at the end.
To perform the check, you need to export the document from the word processor as a PDF (the export process is explained in the linked instructions in step 1) and then evaluate it with suitable software. Please note that the software can only evaluate the machine-verifiable criteria of the Matterhorn Protocol. All other criteria require human review
Continue to step 2: Checking the PDF for accessibility
Step 3: Post-processing and fine-tuning
Once you have finished creating the document, run an accessibility check again (see step 2). The software will provide you with a detailed report in which all error messages are explained in more detail. In addition, each error message usually refers to the incorrect location in the document.
Basically, it is now necessary to eliminate all errors. For this purpose, the List of common errors very helpful. When correcting errors, it is important to ensure that all errors are corrected in the original document or in the word processing program as far as possible. If, for example, the PAC2024 Checker reports that a graphic has no alternative text, then you should definitely integrate the alternative text into the document in Word or InDesign. You could also integrate the alternative text directly into the PDF in the tag of the graphic in the Adobe Acrobat software, but this would mean that you would have to repeat this step every time you make changes to the content of the original document, for example. Because as soon as you export the modified document from Word as a PDF, for example, the information about the alternative text is missing again. Expert users of word processing programs usually know immediately which errors can be corrected directly in the word processing program and which errors have to be corrected in another program.
Once you have corrected all errors in the test report as far as possible in the text editing program, you can change the remaining properties in programs such as Adobe Acrobat to achieve a positive PAC2024 test report. Then manually check all criteria that cannot be checked by machine (see linked article in step 2) and correct any errors again.
Continue to step 3: Correction of errors from the test report (and correction of any other non-machine-checkable errors from step 2)
You have now successfully created an accessible PDF!
If you decide that you would rather have your documents prepared by an expert, please feel free to contact me.
