Hello all, I just wanted to share my experience these tools. I tried the www.zamzar.com online service, and it did not create an accessible pdf. Although it did convert Word doc files to a pdf file, the pdf was not tagged and thus not accessible. To be a little "techie", the difference is that Acrobat Standard/Pro uses a plugin called "PDF Maker" for the conversion from doc to pdf, which does the accessible tagging. Whereas, Zamzar uses another conversion tool called "e-PDF Converter" or "Creator v2.1", which does not covert to tags.
I also tried GhostWord, which is a free software download, and the first thing I noticed is that the most recent file is from 2004. This is problematic because many of the tagging features necessary for accessible PDFs where not really in the market then. When I tried to open the installation file for the most recent version (2.1), I keep getting the error message "The Compressed Folder is invalid or corrupted". The other problem I noticed is that it will only work with Word 2000 or Word 98. So, it looks like GhostWord is not an option. If there is anyone out there that knows of any other software they know of for doc to accessible pdf conversion, please let me know. Thanks! Mark Mark Stimson, Ph.D. Document Accessibility Specialist www.DocumentAccessibility.com www.AccessIngenuity.com -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Brian Lee Sent: Wednesday, July 01, 2009 6:39 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [JAWS-Users] accessible PDF's Hello Robert, There is a web site that will convert word documents to PDF. There is no charge for the service. It is usually quite fast and takes only a few minutes. When conversion is done an Email with a download link is sent to the person who uploaded the file to be converted. The site is www.zamzar.com There use to be a program called "GhostWord" for converting Microsoft Office 2003 files to PDF. I have not used it, but apparently the program installs as a printer and works similarly to those that convert from PDF to other formats. It should be available on www.sourceforge.net. Again, I have not tried it and I don't know how well it works. However, I have used www.zamzar .com and received PDF files back quite quickly. Take care. Brian Lee [email protected] ----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert kingett" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, July 01, 2009 3:31 PM Subject: [JAWS-Users] accessible PDF's > how do I make my PDF accessible without adobe acrobat? I also have ms word > 2003. is there a way I can just save my doc files as PDF, and have it > accessible? > You may contact me by any of the following > > Cell # 904 302 9932 > Email: [email protected] > MySpace: www.myspace.com/kingettrobert > Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rkingett > YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/nightwatcher3344 > > AIM: kingettblue > Skype: kingettblue > MSN: [email protected] > Yahoo messenger: kingettblue, but I prefer it more if you add my msn > screen > name to your yahoo list. > > In my spare time I write stories. I am a aspiring author. one of the > places > where you can find and read and review my work even if you do not have an > account us at Fictionpress. > > http://www.fictionpress.com/u/534188/shadowdog1 > > I Host a podcast called the 4 Yo information podcast. You can check out > the > site at > > http://www.freewebs.com/4yoinformation/ > > And I also do another podcast called the Accessibility in Mind Podcast. > Check out the site at > > http://www.gcast.com/u/kingettblue/main > > > For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: > http://www.jaws-users.com/help/ For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: http://www.jaws-users.com/help/ __________ NOD32 4206 (20090701) Information __________ This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. http://www.eset.com For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: http://www.jaws-users.com/help/
