I've been searching the web far and wide for some kind of guide that explicitly shows examples of proper tag-tree structure. I am a production artist who has wrestled with accessibility over the last six months, and I've mostly come out on top. However, I don't have a background in programming and can't make heads or tails of html examples, which seem to be the only examples I can find.
A wish list of examples:
Lists: I make a lot of lists accessible. Is there a difference in tagging between ordered lists and unordered lists? How do you tag a list with 3 levels. Or 4?
TOCs: Another example are TOCs, linked and unlinked. I'm not sure if I'm using the correct tags. (I use "Header1TOC", "Header2TOC", etc. I'm able to make linked TOCs accessible to a point, but the user can't access the links even though I treat them the same way I treat other links, which ARE accessible. It hasn't been too much of a problem since our headers are very well organized, but still.
Tables: How do you tag a table that spans across a spread? Not a table that continues to a second page, but a table whose headers go all the way across the spread. I tried doing this with the usual Table tag followed by a THead and TBody (TRs, etc. within those sections), but Acrobat doesn't recognize the table structure.
Span tag: Do I need to use a CharacterSpan tag if I have bold or italic formatting?
I've been pulling my hair out trying to find these sorts of examples on the web. Anyone know of any?
With respect to examples - it's a good point. We'll ask out clients if it's OK for us to post some examples on our site.
To answer your specific questions...
Lists: There's no difference in tagging ordered vs. unordered lists. Nested lists aren't a problem; go ahead and add a list under an existing list-item.
ToC structures don't add much; feel free to use a list here as well. Not sure why your links aren't accessible, there shouldn't be a problem there.
Tables that span two pages in width terms are an INTERESTING problem. I invite you to send us your PDF and let us examine it. We'll return it to you with the table tagged as we think it should be tagged, no charge.
Span tag: You don't need to mark Bold and Italics, as these are font characteristics, and need not be tagged with an inline style change.
I hope that helps.
Duff Johnson
w - http://www.duff-johnson.com
t - http://www.twitter.com/duffjohnson