Let’s step back a moment, and get metaphysical about electronic content. Can we do that? Whatever else they might possess, electronic documents always possess two things: objects and semantics. Document “objects” are the physical characters, images, lines, bullets and other features that consume ink or toner when printed. Document “semantics” define the logical relationships between the aforementioned objects. Most […]
View PostPDF is one of the most common file-formats on the planet. Why is it so pervasive? Why is it PDF that serves mankind as the undisputed universal electronic equivalent of paper, and not some other technology? A large part of the answer lies in the fact that PDF is extraordinarily sophisticated; clever and robust enough to […]
View PostEnsuring PDFs are compliant with Section 508 means enabling content for use by devices that suit the needs of a wide variety of disabled users. For those implementing Section 508, it’s important to know what this really means. This document is a PDF-specific guide to the Section 508 regulations, as adapted from § 1194.22 Web-based […]
View PostTime for a fresh look Last March we reviewed a crop of free PDF readers available for Windows. This time, we add a new contender to the list (Nitro’s PDF Reader) and check for updates to the software reviewed in our previous survey. Bloatware? Really? It’s a sad fact that the quality of PDF files […]
View PostWhy PDF “reading order” is irrelevant to accessibility Introduction This article attempts to explain the concept of “reading order” in PDF files. Why is this necessary? End users are often frustrated by inconsistent and often illegible results when attempting to read PDF files on mobile devices, search for PDF content online, or when using assistive […]
View PostThe latest International Standard for PDF is almost here! Today in Schaumburg, near Chicago, Illinois, Adobe’s Greg Pisocky, Appligent’s Duff Johnson and Microsoft’s Cherie Ekholm together offered a presentation describing ISO/DIS 14289, better known as PDF/UA (Universal Accessibility). This page includes a very basic overview of the new Standard. Scroll down for the ATIA presentation. The […]
View Postby Duff Johnson Over nine years ago, we were first in the world to offer tagging and Section 508 compliance services for PDF files. So you can imagine that we’ve been very, very interested in the subject of accessibility checker software for PDF files for a very long time. Until recently, Adobe Acrobat Professional’s Accessibility […]
View PostWhile I work in technology, my wife works for the Boston Public Market Association. She stays a healthy distance from my rantings about PDF, servers, user interfaces, accessibility and the like. That said, my wife had a problem the other day which offered an exemplary use-case for PDF. It reminded me anew of why PDF […]
View PostIf you’re reading this, chances are that you already know that PDF documents can include fillable form-fields. In a PDF form, users may type text, toggle checkboxes and radio-buttons, select from combo-boxes, click buttons, run JavaScript, and so on. Organizations around the world have used PDF forms to great effect for everything from product specifications […]
View PostThis article offers some key best-practices for scanning business documents. AIIM’s Standards Program has developed more formal materials for this purpose, but ISO standards cost money, and most users just want some straightforward (and fast) advice on how to set up their scanning software to avoid 10 MB monster files from a couple of pages. That’s […]
View PostPlease join Appligent Document Solutions CEO Duff Johnson in Rome for the PDF/A Competence Center’s Fourth International PDF/A Conference on September 29–October 1, 2010 in Rome, Italy. The conference offers lectures by international experts, tracks for different areas of focus and interest in PDF/A as well as workshops on the practical use of PDF/A. PDF/A Competence […]
View PostAs stated in the Introduction to ISO 19005-1, the primary purpose of PDF/A is to provide: “… a mechanism for representing [PDF] electronic documents in a manner that preserves their visual appearance over time, independent of the tools and systems used for creating, storing, or rendering the files.” The text goes on to identify a […]
View PostThe New York Times’ David Pogue points out in his latest Personal Tech column that with iOS 4, the iPhone now includes text-to-speech conversion for iBooks and PDF files – a pretty stunning feature, when you think about it. In principle, to listen to an annual report or an product manual instead of reading it, users […]
View PostThere are many ways to extract text from a PDF file for use in other documents. Choose carefully; not all PDF viewers are alike! Here we provide a quick review of how the leading free PDF viewers get the job done. To select text that spans columns PDF files sometimes seem REALLY stupid because a […]
View PostThe other day we got this question: “I just discovered the Sticky Notes feature, and I love it! How do I share my notes with others without sending them the whole file?” It’s a common enough question, and it’s worth answering, because the answer isn’t obvious and there are a few wrinkles. Sticky notes are […]
View PostI was discussing a PDF forms development project the other day. I had one of those moments when the clouds part and you see straight through to the other side. I guess for some, that might be heaven. For me, at the moment, it was the realization that annotations can also be a form. Indeed […]
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