[community] Alternatives to PDF

Wed Jun 10 23:25:52 UTC 2020

Teresa, Brandon, Rezvan, Nell, Pina, Lisa, all:

My practice has been similar to Brandon's over the years (described in his comment below): If I really need to make a document accessible for screen reader technology, I convert the document into a webpage if the context where it will be used permits that. For example, for years, I would convert assigned readings for courses into HTML documents within the Learning Management Systems (Canvas in this case) for many of my courses. That way I could examine the code and make sure that descriptions were provided in all of the appropriate places, tables were configured, etc. This is not overly arduous but it can take time if you are teaching a large number of classes at one time or are less familiar with WCAG, etc. (and/or if there is no institutional support for this and/or if you are doing this solo).

These days, if I am running short on time (too short for the HTML technique) I sometimes post things in MS Word if I can (following the recommended practices noted in the thread below). And like others, if I don't have time for the HTML conversion, and if Word is not an option, I run reading through the Adobe Abrocat tools. However, because I can't examine the code itself, I've sometimes been skeptical about the result. To get around this, I try to test it with screen reader software (VoiceOver in my case) but I am a novice screen reader user myself (as a sighted computer user, I only use screen reader software when my eyes are tired or when I need to test documents prior to posting them).

This is too bad about the problems that Pina pointed out with ePub readers. My understanding is that epub is essentially a bundled up version of HTML and so this is a missed opportunity by the industry.

Several of my students/former students (including Brandon below) introduced me to VoiceDream Reader a few years ago (an audio epub reader) which I found to be an amazing epub reader on iPhone and I used it non-stop until my iPhone bit the dust. As I mentioned, I am a novice screen reader user and experienced no usability problems with Voice Dream.

I've talked about this document problem (and worries re: pdf) a number of times with students, former students and colleagues in industry and the future probably lies with epub, at least as I think about it while writing this message. If the epub readers are truly missing the boat, then this is a great opportunity for some developers out there (possibly someone on this list!).

Imagine an epub tool with an interface that was akin to a word processor, but with a split-pane (or similar interface) where an author could examine the HTML code (a bit like some LaTeX editing tools, but without the accessibility problems off LaTeX [at least the last time that I checked]).

Best regards,

Peter

Ps: Certainly there are some epub readers that make better use of what is possible. Does anyone have recommendations?

------------------------------------

Peter Coppin, MFA, PhD

Director, Inclusive Design Graduate Program

Associate Professor, Faculty of Design

OCAD University

Director of the Accessible Graphics Initiative (AGI)/Perceptual Artifacts Lab (PAL): Where theories of perception and cognition mix with inclusive design

100 McCaul Street, Toronto, Canada  M5T 1W1

www.ocadu.ca <http://www.ocadu.ca/>

________________________________
From: community <community-bounces at lists.idrc.ocadu.ca> on behalf of Rezvan Boostani <boostani.rezvan at gmail.com>
Sent: June 10, 2020 3:14 PM
To: Brandon Keith Biggs <brandonkeithbiggs at gmail.com>; Teresa Lee <teresa.lee at alumni.utoronto.ca>
Cc: community at lists.idrc.ocadu.ca <community at lists.idrc.ocadu.ca>
Subject: Re: [community] Alternatives to PDF

Hi all,
Humber college has very straightforward online module on creating
accessible files in different applications including word, InDesign and
PowerPoint the following is the link to this module:
http://humber.ca/makingaccessiblemedia/modules/05/11.html
The whole online course is titled "Accessible Design in Digital Media" and
it has 6 different modules for diverse digital content and it is available
at the following link: http://humber.ca/makingaccessiblemedia/index.html
There is also a resource for graphic designers to produce
accessible content by The Association of Registered Graphic Designers of
Ontario. The following is the link to this handbook:
https://www.rgd.ca/database/files/library/RGD_AccessAbility_Handbook.pdf
Best,
Rezvan

On Wed, Jun 10, 2020, 1:17 PM Brandon Keith Biggs <
brandonkeithbiggs at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello,
> I use HTML or web pages.
> I don't know if Indesign does Word documents, but that would work as well.
> Thanks,
>
> Brandon Keith Biggs <http://brandonkeithbiggs.com/>
>
>
> On Wed, Jun 10, 2020 at 6:00 AM L Snider <lsnider at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Hi Teresa,
> >
> > Some people are creating EPUBs, and they can be made very accessible.
> > However, the EPUB viewers/readers themselves are still problematic in
> > terms of accessibility. This is why EPUB, in my view, will never gain
> > traction because the viewer has to be accessible. The only one that
> > was fairly good may come back but most people I know didn't use it.
> > Also, currently (as of the date of my email), InDesign produces some
> > of the most accessible PDFs possible. This applies to the newest
> > version of InDesign, not previous versions prior to 2019. In my
> > personal opinion it is the best out there today. Of course, PDFs can
> > be problematic for many people, but in my view businesses won't stop
> > using them any time soon.
> >
> > Hope that helps.
> >
> > Cheers
> >
> > Lisa
> >
> > On Wed, Jun 10, 2020 at 9:50 AM Teresa L <teresa.lee at alumni.utoronto.ca>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > Good morning all!
> > >
> > > Just wanted to field for your input on PDF alternatives. What do you do
> > within your organization when PDFs cannot be accessible due to known
> issues
> > with InDesign - especially for a large document?
> > >
> > > Thanks always for your support!
> > >
> > > Kindly,
> > > Teresa
> > >
> > >
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