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marcink-lwR9iu
Level 2
October 14, 2022
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Accessibility and dynamic forms

  • October 14, 2022
  • 2 replies
  • 2101 views

Hi

I'm trying to wrap my head around how to create accessible, dynamic forms.

It is like cursed - I searched like 2 whole days on google, but I couldn't find a decisive answer. Adobe itself says the screen reader must be running, only then can Acrobat access tags in a dynamic PDF.

I tried that - and failed (I'm using the NVDA screen reader).

When I open the Tags panel in Acrobat, no tags are visible, and the properties window also shows: Tagged PDF: No

 

Can anyone shed some light on this question?

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Best answer by Pulkit_Jain_

@marcink-lwr9iu 

For dynamic PDF forms, Accessibility tags are generated dynamically when the form is opened in Acrobat (and NOT when you save the form from Designer), provided a screen reader (ADA-compliant) application is already running. Otherwise, for performance reasons, accessibility tags are not generated. This is the way dynamic PDF forms are designed to be.

 

I believe you should be able to hear the content of the pdf shared using JAWS, so please run the JAWS/NVDA reader first and then open the dynamic PDF. 

Hope this helps!

2 replies

Mayank_Gandhi
Adobe Employee
Mayank_GandhiAdobe Employee
Adobe Employee
October 14, 2022

@marcink-lwr9iu I remember vaguely that you can tag static pdf in acrobat.

 Static PDF forms are different in that tags are generated at save time rather than load (run) time which explains why you see tags in the Static PDF but don't in the Dynamic PDF

 

    Pulkit_Jain_
    Adobe Employee
    Pulkit_Jain_Adobe EmployeeAccepted solution
    Adobe Employee
    October 15, 2022

    @marcink-lwr9iu 

    For dynamic PDF forms, Accessibility tags are generated dynamically when the form is opened in Acrobat (and NOT when you save the form from Designer), provided a screen reader (ADA-compliant) application is already running. Otherwise, for performance reasons, accessibility tags are not generated. This is the way dynamic PDF forms are designed to be.

     

    I believe you should be able to hear the content of the pdf shared using JAWS, so please run the JAWS/NVDA reader first and then open the dynamic PDF. 

    Hope this helps!

      M
      marcink-lwR9iuAuthor
      Level 2
      October 17, 2022

      Thank, that sums it up nicely.

       

      Now - WCAG 2.1 requires PDF to be tagged. I am aware, that dynamic forms will be tagged when I open the form, but there are 2 issues I see with WCAG compliance:

      1. Up front, the screen reader sees an untagged form

      2. I can not show a custom title in the window title.

       

      How do I go about this 2 issues?

       

      thanks

        Pulkit_Jain_
        Adobe Employee
        Pulkit_Jain_Adobe Employee
        Adobe Employee
        October 17, 2022

        @marcink-lwr9iu

        For point#1, this is how the pdf form is supposed to work. I don't see any reference to this reported issue here- https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/.

        For point#2, please elaborate on the use case/ask.

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