Jean, unless I've been very remiss, it isn't possible to glean such attributes in PDF files. At this stage, Window-Eyes doesn't even announce heading levels and lists, whereas another screen reader does. Given that a properly constructed PDF contains tags for these elements and many more, it's disappointing that better access isn't available. I briefly raised this with a GW-MICRO staff member recently. He rightly pointed out that most PDFs aren't properly constructed. As one of my missions in life is to get people to construct PDFs correctly, this is a frustrating chicken and egg situation. It would be a bit like screen reader developers saying that we'll add support for alt attributes in HTML files once more people include them and web developers saying they'll be more conscientious about alt attributes once they're supported. Screen reader support for well constructed PDFs has improved, but there's a fair way to go before it matches that of HTML and Word files. That's a shame, as PDFs have a lot to offer in the best circumstances.
Andrew Andrew Downie Project Officer, Adaptive Technologies Knowledge Sharing Services Centre for Learning Innovation 51 Wentworth Road, Strathfield NSW 2135 Ph: (02) 9715 8347 [email protected] www.cli.nsw.edu.au NSW Department of Education and Training From: Jean Menzies [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Sunday, 5 July 2009 04:09 To: Window Eyes List Subject: Acrobat Reader When I open a PDF file in Acrobat Reader version 9, I'm wanting to hear all the text attributes such as bold, italics, graphic text, etc. I have attributes turned on and have checked in verbosity settings and everything seems to be checked appropriately for the set file. However, I don't hear the attributes that I know are there. What might I be missing? Jean "Experience is not what happens to you; it's what you do with what happens to you." --(Aldous Huxley) If you reply to this message it will be delivered to the original sender only. If your reply would benefit others on the list and your message is related to GW Micro, then please consider sending your message to [email protected] so the entire list will receive it. All GW-Info messages are archived at http://www.gwmicro.com/gwinfo, and can be searched through and sorted using the search form at the bottom of the page. If you wish to unsubscribe from this list, send a message to [email protected] and include leave gw-info in the body of the message. ********************************************************************** This message is intended for the addressee named and may contain privileged information or confidential information or both. If you are not the intended recipient please delete it and notify the sender. ********************************************************************** If you reply to this message it will be delivered to the original sender only. If your reply would benefit others on the list and your message is related to GW Micro, then please consider sending your message to [email protected] so the entire list will receive it. All GW-Info messages are archived at http://www.gwmicro.com/gwinfo, and can be searched through and sorted using the search form at the bottom of the page. If you wish to unsubscribe from this list, send a message to [email protected] and include leave gw-info in the body of the message.
