[community] Alternatives to PDF

Thu Jun 11 01:04:29 UTC 2020

Hi Brandon,

EDGE was great but they pulled support about in October 2019, which was disappointing.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-ca/help/4517840/microsoft-edge-download-an-epub-app-to-keep-reading

So we are back at square one for viewers that most people can use.

Most people I know have major issues with most, except Voice Dream Reader can be okay for some. Ibooks isnt bad, but has some issues, and most people I know use PC of some sort. It depends which technologies you are using as well. 

They are trying to rebuild Readium, which was accessible for most screen reader users, but I believe that is still in the works. However, I never got a chance to test it with other tech and now hopefully they will have it work with voice control on mac and pc.

Cheers

Lisa

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jun 10, 2020, at 9:46 PM, Brandon Keith Biggs <brandonkeithbiggs at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Hello,
> The best Epub reader out there, surprisingly, is Microsoft Edge, like the
> Edge browser...
> I have heard that IBooks is the best option on Mac.
> There are quite a few options, such as Voice Dream Reader, QRead, and Adobe
> Digital Editions, that can handle less complex content, that does not
> include interactivity or multimedia.
> But if you have a document that is just text and images, then Epub is
> perfect, everyone has an Epub reader on their machine, unless they are
> using Linux or Android.
> There is a new addon you can download to make Epubs from word:
> https://daisy.org/activities/software/wordtoepub/
> 
> I would not dismiss Epub out of hand. PDFs sadly are required still for
> many communications, but when there is an option, Epub is perfect.
> Thanks,
> 
> Brandon Keith Biggs <http://brandonkeithbiggs.com/>
> 
> 
>> On Wed, Jun 10, 2020 at 4:25 PM Peter Coppin <pcoppin at faculty.ocadu.ca>
>> wrote:
>> 
>> 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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