Office Application Accessibility Review: Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro | Accessible Digital Office Document (ADOD) Project

Version
Date of Current Version: 16 February 2011
Latest Version (HTML): http://inclusivedesign.ca/accessible-office-documents/acrobat9-review

Contents
Usage Notes
Review Results
Screen Reader Test 1. Accessing an Existing Test Document
Acknowledgments

Usage Notes

Overview

At the time of testing (February, 2011), Acrobat 9 Pro was found to be relatively accessible using keyboard navigation. In addition, screen reader testing was inconclusive.

Testing Details

Screen reader testing was performed using two popular screen readers for Windows 7, JAWS 11 and NVDA 2010.2.
Keyboard navigation testing was performed on Windows 7.

Disclaimer

This document is provided for information purposes only and is neither a recommendation nor a guarantee of results.
If errors are found, please report them to: adod-comments@idrc.ocad.ca.

Review Results

This table summarizes the result of our reviews using the “ADOD Assessment Framework: Success criteria for assessing the accessibility of office application user interfaces”

ADOD Assessment Framework: Success criteria for assessing the accessibility of office application user interfaces	Result
[ADOD-Office-Applications-UI 7.1] Use all applicable operating system and accessibility standards and conventions that are important or essential to accessibility. The techniques for this checkpoint include references to checklists and guidelines for a number of platforms and to general guidelines for accessible applications. ADOD Note: The Checkpoint is very general, and includes: Supporting relevant accessibility API(s); Web-based tools conforming to WCAG; Keyboard access; Providing keyboard shortcuts where recommended for a platform; Respecting platform settings (such as “high contrast” modes); and Providing documentation.	Yes. Screen reader support is confirmed by testing (see below). Most features are keyboard accessible. Some keyboard shortcuts used to navigate in Acrobat differ from the keyboard shortcuts used in other Windows applications. You can select some tools and perform some actions with single-key accelerators. Most keyboard shortcuts in Acrobat don’t require that you enable single-key accelerators. Respects platform settings including Windows “high contrast” mode.
[ADOD-Office-Applications-UI 7.2] Allow the author to change the presentation within editing views without affecting the [office document]. This allows the author to edit the document according to personal requirements, without changing the way the document is rendered when published.	Yes. “Zoom” feature and “Accessibility Setup Assistant” tool to define accessibility preferences.
[ADOD-Office-Applications-UI 7.3] Allow the author to edit all properties of each element and object in an accessible fashion.	Mostly. Some features for tagging and labeling elements require the user to drag the mouse across the document pane to select and move content.
[ADOD-Office-Applications-UI 7.4] Ensure that the editing view allows navigation via the structure of the document in an accessible fashion.	Yes. Via the “Bookmarks” feature or the “TouchUp Reading Order” tool.
[ADOD-Office-Applications-UI 7.5] Enable editing of the structure of the document in an accessible fashion.	Mostly. Some features for tagging and labeling elements require the user to drag the mouse across the document pane to select and move content.
[ADOD-Office-Applications-UI 7.6] Allow the author to search within editing views.	Yes. Via the “Find” feature.

Screen Reader Test 1. Accessing an Existing Test Document

In this test, the evaluator used a screen reader to explore a pre-existing test document that had been created by a sighted colleague, following the “Authoring Techniques for Accessible Office Documents: Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro”. The test document included the elements in the left-hand column (i.e., heading, table of contents, etc.).

Able to Access?	JAWS 11	NVDA 2010.2
Headings	Yes.	Yes.
Table of contents	Yes. The last item showed “Error! Bookmark not defined.” Instead of a page number.	Yes. The last item showed “Error! Bookmark not defined.” Instead of a page number.
Image with “alt” text	Yes. The image was at the top of the document and not under the Image heading.	Yes. The image was at the top of the document and not under the Image heading.
Table	Yes.	Yes.
Formatted text	Yes. Using the JAWS text attributes command (JAWS key + f). JAWS did not identify the color.	Yes. Using the NVDA text attributes command (NVDA key + f). NVDA did not identify the color.
Numbered pages	No. Using Document > Header & Footer > Update the following message was displayed Acrobat cannot find any headers or footers in this file. If you see header or footer information, it was not added in Acrobat and cannot be detected as such. “	No. Using Document > Header & Footer > Update the following message was displayed Acrobat cannot find any headers or footers in this file. If you see header or footer information, it was not added in Acrobat and cannot be detected as such. “
Search function	Yes. After performing the search it was necessary to press F6 to return to the document.	Yes. After performing the search it was necessary to press F6 to return to the document.
Other Comments by the Screen Reader Tester:	Using Acrobat Pro or Acrobat Reader it did not seem possible to find the second page of the document.	Using Acrobat Pro or Acrobat Reader it did not seem possible to find the second page of the document.

Acknowledgments

This document was produced as part of the Accessible Digital Office Document (ADOD) Project (http://inclusivedesign.ca/accessible-office-documents).
This project has been developed by the Inclusive Design Research Centre, OCAD University as part of an EnAbling Change Partnership project with the Government of Ontario and UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).

Partner logos: UNESCO-United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the Government of Ontario and the Inclusive Design Research Centre (OCAD University)

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