by 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 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 […]
View PostPerhaps the single most common myth about PDF files is the idea that they are “unchangeable”. WRONG. It’s the single most common misunderstanding about the most common of file-formats. In reality, PDF files are easy to change. They are also easy to annotate with comments, encrypt, digitally sign, make interactive, communicate with servers and much […]
View PostWe hear this question a lot, so you’d think we’d have written about it by now! Not infrequently, you might like to add a web link to a PDF file, but have a specific page appear instead of the first page when the PDF opens. This may be particularly useful for frequently-accessed reference documents, or […]
View PostWhat’s the purpose of PDF? Why can’t I just send Word or Excel files; why should I bother converting to PDF? Very few “love” PDF, but we all need it, because PDF is electronic paper. Not everyone understands exactly why the PDF format is so popular, but for the efficient and reliable delivery of final-form […]
View PostOn May 13, the founders of Adobe Systems stepped up to the microphone to deliver a response to Steve Jobs’ open letter about Flash. They say Adobe has acted on open standards while Apple offers mere words. At the outset, I must acknowledge that I owe my livelihood to the genius of these two gentlemen. […]
View Post(Duff Johnson gave this testimony at the US Access Board’s public hearing in Washington DC on May 12, 2010) Mr. Chairman, members of the U.S. Access Board, it is an honor to be here today to discuss the refresh of Section 508 as it pertains to the PDF file-format. I am here to offer my […]
View PostIt’s pretty sad that Congress itself isn’t yet up to speed on Section 508, to say nothing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). On April 22, a subcommittee of the House of Representatives Committee for the Judiciary displayed it’s own disability. It seems this committee of Congress can’t meet a simple requirement for equal […]
View PostWe get this question a lot, especially from our legal customers: “How do we avoid creating PDFs that contain potentially harmful, embarrassing or confidential metadata?” THE ANSWER: Stop creating metadata in the first place, or delete it all before delivery, there’s help either way. PDF metadata can include information such as a drafting title, file-name, […]
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