hi! i am using adobe pro 9. i am attempting to make a 39 page ppt an accessible pdf. i do not have authority to edit the raw source file (ppt) although i do have access to it.
i have successfully tagged and edited each page of the pdf thru the touch up reading order - also adjusted reading order, set language, etc.
the read out loud feature indicates accessible content on all pages ( i know the adobe pro read out loud feature does not adequately represent a screen reader)
MY PROBLEM: upon running the FULL CHECK feature, i am getting an error: 36 elements with alternate text but no page content.
when i do a search for the unmarket content - i am finding only 13 elements in question. i have tried tagging them, i have tried to make sure i am on the corrent page tag so it's added to the correct structure - but to no avail. there are only 7 images in the entire file that have alt tags assigned. the rest of the content is text. i am thinking these 36 elements are related to the original ppt background - although i have specified that appear as "background".
i have tried deleting specific pages and resaving the file in an attempt to isolate the unmarked content (36 instances). no luck.
any assistance you can offer would be greatly appreciated! thanks in advance!!!
Alternate Descriptions (Alt) (aka 'Alternate Text') is one of the permitted entries in the root dictionary of the structure tree.
An important distinction, as one might preceive it to be an attribute being assigned to a structure element
because of the way it is incorporated when performing manual tagging/editing of a PDF.
To enhance usability [b]Alt[/b] can be specified for the following:
-| A structure element
-| A marked-content sequence
-| Any type of annotation not already having a text representation
Commonly, [b]Alt[/b] is used with the structure element [b]Figure[/b].
When manually tagging the PPT output PDF, something such as a PPT shadow may have been tagged as a [b]Figure[/b] and this PDF structure element has [b]Alt[/b] assigned (a text string entered).
If, during manual editing, the item (such as the shadow) becomes designated as 'Background' (an artifact) with TORU the "container" (the 'box' you see in the Tag panel's rendition of the structure tree) is removed.
(Page content is unchanged - logical structure remains; but the "connectivity" between them, as provided by the structure tree, has been removed.)
However, the [b]Figure[/b] element (tag) still resides in the structure tree; and with it the [b]Alt[/b] entry that is placed in this element.
To remove the, now undesired, [b]Alt[/b] try walking down the structure tree to located and
deleted the [b]Figure[/b] elements that have no Container (content).
Typically, you'd see no " [+] " preceeding the element's entry in the structure tree.
Just an observation, but I suspect the task of providing an accessible PDF from PPT might be somewhat easier if the
output PDF was created with the Adobe PDFMaker (configured to support accessibility).
This certainly was the case while doing some trials with PowerPoint 2007 and Acrobat 9 Pro Extended
(I'd expect Pro 9 to perform equally well as, in this regard, the 'extended' aspect is not a variable).
I encountered no problems with Adobe PDFMaker's handling of my use of 'shadow's.
However, my trial files where not heavily layered with visually decorative "noise".
Regardless, it would be preferrable to place the source PPT file on a box with Office and
Acrobat Pro installed. Using the Adobe PDFMaker (properly configured) would give you a far cleaner tagged output PDF.
Certainly there would be some manual work to do the final 'sand and buff' of the PDF.
This final, focused work up is preferrable to reiterive work overs of an untagged PDF.
Too much pruning in the structure tree can result in a maimed PDF.
All of PowerPoint 2007's 'Insert' features park bounding boxes around what is inserted and all 'boxes' permit access to the "Size and Position" dialog, via the context menu, which has the "Alt Text" tab where Alternative text may be entered.
However, not all entered alternative text will "pass through" to the PDF. Word Art, for example, goes into what is effectively a text box & alternate text entered for these do not pass through to the PDF.The PPT file's output PDF could also be developed by use of the Microsoft "Save As" to PDF or XPS feature with Options configured to output an accessible (tagged) ouput PDF.
However, in my trials, I found the PDF to be rather unsatisfactory as, when compared to the output from Adobe's PDFMaker, it was significantly less complete in its tagging.
If you can post the PDF (&, perhaps the PPT) to, say, acrobat.com (free accounts available) and then provide the link here it would be easier to delve into it for specifics.Be well...
Be well...