I am using Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro, working wit h a newsletter created in InDesign version 4. My first accessibility check showed no problems. Trying to improve flow and clarity, I modified and moved many tags. I don't think I added any new alternate text but I did edit some "actual text." I changed some tags to artifacts. Then I did a full accessibility check. The check found "2 element(s) with alternate text but no page content" -- but their location is not shown.
I do not wish to look through hundreds of tags to find which has no page content, but even if I wanted to do it, I do not understand how to do it! How can I tell if an "element" has page content? When I "walk the tags," I often cannot tell (see) what is highlighted on the page, even though I have selected "highlight content" -- so that method seems unreliable. And when I look at a tag, there is no information that I can see about if it is on a page. When I look in the order or content panels, each shows me my 4 pages, and there is nothing shown that is not on a page. There is a "find" feature in the tags panel, but none of the things it can search for seem relevant.
So -- anybody know how can I find the elements that lack page content? Any help would be appreciated.
Or -- can I just ignore the accessibility error? My only concern is 508 compliance; I do not care about Adobe's reading order (which I understand is not relevant to 508 compliance but just to Adobe's built-in voice read-out-loud feature).
cannot find "element(s) with alternate text but no page content"
2010-09-15 11:13:18
My Product Information:
Acrobat Pro 9.0, Windows
Acrobat Pro 9.0, Windows
2010-09-16 13:53:23
#2
Thanks very much for your detailed response. I will check it out!
2011-08-22 14:21:38
#3
My observations on this have been that documents that are accessible, that is, can be read by a screen reader including alternate text, will not pass an Acrobat accessibility check. In other words, a document that passes an Acrobat check is probably accessible, but not all documents that are accessible will pass an Acrobat check.
2011-11-28 09:43:22
#4
I found that looking through the tags and removing hypen-space tags and/or empty table tags can fix the error.
Since output PDF reflects the layout/format/logical hierarchy of the content mastered in the authoring application
it is good to be "one" with the applicable application.
Less post-processing work on output PDF if as much as possible is done upfront.
Alt Text - no page content
May indicate that one of the artifacts has Alt Text provided.
When using Alt Text, Actual Text, Replacement Text:
If there are any child elements to the element that uses one of these
then that content will be unavailable to screen readers.
"Page content" bounded by a structure element may be viewed in the structure tree.
"Highlight" of tags -
When a parent element is selected, all child elements are included.
Walk down through [i]each[/i] element (tag).
As you do, you will observe the highlight to become discrete to specific elements
(which also delineates an element's associated "page content").
"Find"
Yah, not intuitive. But, then that is typically the case for sophisticated tools having simple names.
Becoming most familiar with just what the items are (in context of ISO 32000 - or the PDF References)
facilitates effective usage of this tool.
"Full Check"
Nope, it sure does not "check all" for Section 508 compliance.
But, if the PDF cannot pass Full Check it just is not going to cut it vis-a-vis Section 508 compliance.
Once a PDF has a Full Check "green light" then the rest of the work begins.
Tags in the structure tree -
Select a tag, right click for the context menu, select Properties.
This is the entry to the "under-the-hood" nitty gritty.
Keep in mind that Section 508 will change in the not so distant future.
More rigorous and a closer relationship to WCAG 2.0
Also, as the Department of Justice's group that "enforces" Section 508 continues
to build its inventory of case law via litigation it becomes more evident that
"compliance" is working its way closer to the "is it usable" criteria.
Not at the point of the UK's laws; but, things [i]are[/i] changing.
So, if Accessible PDF for Section 508 is a deliverable someone needs
to be aboard (and doing a 'look-see') who is well grounded in
--| the what and how of Acrobat use,
--| ISO 32000,
--| the current Section 508 requirements/WCAG 1.0 and
--| the pending Section 508 requirements/WCAG 2.0
Particularly true if the "accessible" PDFs delivered have any associated exposure
to legal accountability.
Be well...
Be well...