David Berman Communications
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Making PDF files accessible: remediation for WCAG, Revised Section 508, ADA, and PDF/UA

Making PDF files accessible: WCAG and PDF/UA conformance remediation

Duration

1 day (overview lecture) or 2 days (advanced) or 3 days (mastery)

Objectives

Upon completion, participants will be able to use Adobe Acrobat Pro (or Kofax, Nuance, or Foxit) to successfully create an accessible PDF file that conforms to both WCAG and PDF/UA standards, thus complying with Revised Section 508 (aka Section 508 Refresh), WCAG 2.0 AA, WCAG 2.1 AA, EN 301 549, and various other regulations worldwide.

Recommended pre-knowledge

  • Familiarity with Adobe Acrobat Pro, Kofax, Nuance, or Foxit
  • Any of our other accessible PDF courses

Course Outline

  • Introduction
    • Review of WCAG 2.0 and WCAG 2.1
    • Introduction to PDF/UA
  • Creating accessible PDFs from existing PDFs
    • Working with text structures (headings, lists, and tables)
    • Working with images (placement and alt text)
    • Working with layout and reading order
    • Working with Headers and Footers including page numbering and sections
  • Additional accessibility features
    • Creating artifacts for decorative and/or repetitive elements
    • Setting document properties and metadata
  • Testing with automated tools and compliance methodologies
    • Testing and repairing with the Acrobat Accessibility Checker
    • Testing and repairing with PAC 3
    • Using the WCAG checklist
  • Introduction to functional testing
    • Using keyboard navigation
    • Using zoom and reflow
    • Replacing the document colors
    • Using a screen reading device
    • Involving real users

What You Get

When David Berman Communications hosts this course*, regular ticket holders receive:

  • a complimentary, comprehensive 160+ page learning guide, detailing every applicable accessibility standard (also
    available separately for $97, with optional 1-on-1 distance coaching)
  • a thirty-minute one-on-one personal coaching tele-session with David or one of his experts within a month
  • the option to attend this course again in the future, as a refresherat no additional cost
  • the option to attend the first half on one date and the second half at a future date
  • a money-back guarantee: if, after coaching and refresher, you don’t think you’ve got your money’s worth, we’ll refund your entire fee
(*If you are attending one of our courses hosted by another organization, confirm which of these items apply.)

Register (at https://davidberman.com/register ) or call 1-613-728-6777… or bring this event to your site: for a keynote, half-day, or full-day event, customized for your group.

 

About the Course Developer

David Berman is the principal of David Berman Communications. He has over 25 years of experience in graphic design and strategic communications. He has worked extensively in adapting the printed word for electronic
distribution, including software interface development.

David was appointed a high-level advisor to the United Nations on how design and accessible IT can help fulfill the Millennium Development Goals more rapidly.

He has extensive experience as a senior consultant in applying accessibility and standards to government Web sites, as well as to private sector clients such as IBM, both as a strategist and compliance testing leader. He regularly teaches accessibility principles as part of his professional development workshops, and developed a custom two-day workshop for the National Research Council on common look and feel. His plain writing, design, and accessibility work include award-winning projects for the City of Ottawa, the Ontario government, and Canada’s federal government.
Clients include IBM, Justice Canada, HRDC, Canada Revenue Agency, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Region of Ottawa-Carleton and the Ontario Literacy Coalition.

David has been featured in the Financial Post, the Globe And Mail, the Ottawa Citizen, the Montreal Gazette, Marketing, Applied Arts, HOW, and Communication Arts magazines, as well as ABC and CBC.

In addition to operating as one of the leading design strategists in Canada’s capital, David ranks #1 on speakerwiki.org on this topic for a reason. His arc as an internationally-celebrated expert speaker has brought him to over 30 countries. David is a National Professional Member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS) and the Global Speakers Federation (GSF).

David is currently Ethics Chair of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, was named a Fellow (the highest professional honour for graphic designers in Canada) in 1999, and has served as a director and sustainability chair of Icograda, the world body for graphic and communications design.

Who Should Attend

This course is targeted to all project managers, webmasters, production coordinators, IT professionals, involved in developing accessible documents.

This course delivers knowledge required for WCAG Level AA awareness training as documented in the Government of Canada’s Accessibility Responsibility Breakdown (WCAG 2.0) .

Language:

English (French available upon request)

Duration:

Two-day or three-day course (one-day version lecture presentation available) (we also provide this course customized on-site for your organization).

 

“I love David’s approach.”

-Carole Dubuc, Canadian Armed Forces

“Clear, concise, and very useful.”

-Annette Kallevig

“Excellent, eye-opening, and not preachy!”

-Carrie Walker-Boyd, Canadian Food Inspection Agency

 

Subscribe to our e-news to be notified when we schedule new instances of this topic.

 

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Reviewed July 19, 2022

Schedule

“Really enjoyed your session.”

– Jim Dixon

“I love David’s approach.”

– Carole Dubuc, Canadian Armed Forces

 

ACCESSIBILITY EVENTS LOCATION HOST/REGISTRATION FEE*
Day of your choice: Custom one-on-one or one-to-many Your place or our online classroom Let’s collaborate! Call us now TBA
November 16, 2023 Online David Berman Communications Starting from $199 CAD
November 17, 2022 Online David Berman Communications Starting from $199 CAD
November 18, 2021 Online David Berman Communications Starting from $199 CAD
November 12, 2020 Online David Berman Communications Starting from $249 CAD
November 26, 2019 Online David Berman Communications Starting from $249 CAD
June 13, 2019 Online David Berman Communications Starting from $249 CAD
December 5, 2018 Online David Berman Communications Starting from $249 CAD
June 13, 2018 Online David Berman Communications Starting from $249 CAD
November 15, 2017 Online David Berman Communications Starting from $249 CAD
June 14, 2017 Online David Berman Communications (sponsored by CPL, RGD, Editors Canada) TBA
May 19, 2017 Ottawa, ON David Berman Communications TBA
April 3 – 5, 2017 Australia W4A TBA
May 11, 2017 Online The Institute for Performance and Learning TBA
February 14, 2017 Ottawa, ON BioTalent Canada TBA
November 3 – 5, 2016 Wellington, New Zealand Clarity 2016
Sept 14, 2016 Online eXplorance Free
August 17, 2016 Ottawa, ON Spruce Creative TBA
June 29, 2016 Toronto, ON Attend online or in person at OCAD University IDRC, 49 McCaul, Toronto
in The Red Lab, room
$299-625
June 18, 2016 Reno, Nevada TypeWell, in conjunction with the TECHWell 2016 Conference $299-650
May 20, 2016 Ottawa, ON Carleton University $299-625
Tue May 10, 2016 National Press Club, Washington, DC Center for Plain Language $250 USD
Spring 2016, (date tba) Dublin Ireland TBA TBA
November 20, 2015
(postponed)
Vancouver (Downtown)
SFU Downtown Campus
West Hastings Street
NL Thompson Associates $299-597
November 19, 2015
(postponed)
Victoria (Downtown),
Harbour Towers Hotel and Suites
345 Quebec Street
NL Thompson Associates $299-597
October 15, 2015 Ottawa, ON Art Beyond Sight Conference
October 12, 2015 Dublin, Ireland National Disability Authority private
October 2, 2015 (postponed) TBA David Berman Communications $299-597
October 1, 2015 Ottawa, ON Webinar: 11½ Free Tools for Testing Website Accessibility Free & available online
August 8 Toronto Keynote at Accessibility Innovation Showcase, Parapan Am Games Free
July 9, 2015 (postponed) Ottawa, ON TBA $299-597
June 29, 2015 Toronto, ON OCAD University IDRC, 49 McCaul, Toronto
in The Red Lab, room number 4904
$299-625
June 17, 2015 Ottawa, ON Webinar: Demystifying WCAG 2.0 Free & available online
April 25, 2015 (Tentative) Brussels, Belgium Inspirit and David Berman TBA
January 15, 2015 Ottawa, ON Webinar: Spotlight on Digital Accessibility for Your Marketing Campaign Free
January 14, 2015 Ottawa, ON Webinar: Solving Web Accessibility: Leaving No One Behind Free
December 2, 2014 Toronto, ON 108 Ideaspace

 

$357-697
November 10, 2014 Brussels, Belgium TBA TBA
November 5 or 8, 2014 Toronto, ON TBA TBA
October 9, 2014 Toronto, ON David Berman Communications $299-597
Wed July 16, 2014 (postponed) Ottawa, ON Carleton University $299-597
July 12-15, 2014 Ottawa Convention Centre, Ottawa, ON International Summit on Accessibility 2014 TBA
May 26, 2014 Bergen, Norway Den Norske Dataforenings Servicekontor NOK 1000£ – 4450£
May 20, 2014 Queensway Carleton Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario David Berman Communications $299-$597
Fri December 13, 2013 Montreal, QC eXplorance Inc by invitation
November 2013 (tentative) Toronto, ON TBA TBA
Fri November 8, 2013 City Hall, Toronto, ON DesignThinkers 2013 $299-597
Fri November 1, 2013 Room 2228, River Building,
Carleton University,
Ottawa, ON
David Berman Communications $299-597
Wed August 28, 2013 Carleton University David Berman Communications Free
Thu July 25, 2013 Carleton University David Berman Communications Free
Fri June 21, 2013 Room 2228,
River Building,
Carleton University
Ottawa, ON
David Berman Communications $299-597
Fri May 31, 2013 Carleton University David Berman Communications Free
Mon April 22, 2013 Cornwall, ON St. Lawrence College $390
Monday Apr 8 – 9, 2013 Toronto, ON St. Lawrence College $390
Wed February 27, 2013 Hamilton, ON David Berman / T-Base Communications $549-649
Fri February 22, 2013 Ottawa, ON David Berman Communications $354-649
Mon January 21, 2013 St Lawrence College, Kingston, ON St. Lawrence College $390
Thu January 10, 2013 London, ON David Berman / T-Base Communications $549-649
Thu December 13, 2012 Ottawa, ON Transportation Safety Board of Canada private
Thu November 22, 2012 River Building,
Carleton University
Ottawa, ON
David Berman Communications $354-649
Fri November 16, 2012 (postponed) Ottawa, ON David Berman Communications $549-649
Wed November 14, 2012 Ottawa, ON Ministère du Patrimoine canadien private
Thu November 8, 2012 Markham, ON David Berman / T-Base Communications $549-649
Wed November 7, 2012 Mississauga, ON David Berman / T-Base Communications $549-649
Fri October 26, 2012 Ottawa, ON OCDSB / T-Base Communications private
Thur October 25, 2012 Ottawa, ON OCDSB / T-Base Communications private
Wed October 17, 2012 Ottawa, ON OCDSB / T-Base Communications private
Tue October 9, 2012 (all day) (postponed) San Francisco, CA David Berman / T-Base Communications $549-649
Wed September 12, 2012 (all day) (postponed) Boston, MA David Berman / T-Base Communications $549-649
Tue-Wed July 17-18, 2012 Niagara Falls, ON Web Accessibility Matters private
Mon May 14, 2012 (morning) Delta Hotel, Winnipeg, MB Manitoba Libraries Conference $65-$130
Wed May 9, 2012 Strathcona Hotel, Toronto, ON T-Base Communications $549-$649
Tue May 8, 2012 (all day) Strathcona Hotel, Toronto, ON David Berman / T-Base Communications $549-649
Thu May 3, 2012 (all day) Toronto, ON Accessible Media Inc. private
Tue April 23, 2012 (all day) Hotel Pennsylvania, New York City, NY David Berman / T-Base Communications $549-649
Fri March 23, 2012 Adobe Canada, Ottawa T-Base Communications $549-649
Fri March 23, 2012 (Accessible PDF by Design – related all day course) Adobe Canada, Ottawa David Berman / T-Base Communications $549-649
Wed March 21, 2012 (7:00pm speech) Capital Hill Hotel, Ottawa, ON Editors Association of Canada, National Capital Chapter Free: EAC members, $10: non-members
Thurs March 9, 2012 Ottawa, ON Public Health Agency/T-Base Communications private event
Fri February 10, 2012 (morning) Ottawa, ON Canada Revenue Agency private
Thu January 19, 2012 (all day) Ottawa Convention Centre, Ottawa, ON David Berman / T-Base Communications $495-595
Mon-Tue January 9-10, 2012 Toronto, ON BMO / T-Base Communications private
Tue November 29, 2011 (all day) Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto, ON David Berman / T-Base Communications SOLD OUT
Thu November 23, 2011 Ottawa, ON National Research Council private
Wed November 3, 2011 Ottawa, ON National Research Council private
Wed October 5, 2011 Lord Elgin Hotel, Ottawa, ON David Berman / T-Base Communications $319-595
Fri September 9, 2011 Indigo Hotel, Ottawa, ON Correctional Service Canada private
Thu August 18, 2011 Adobe headquarters, Ottawa, ON David Berman Communications /RGD Ontario $249-495
Fri June 17 2011 Adobe headquarters, Ottawa, ON David Berman Communications /RGD Ontario $249-495
Thu April 7, 2011 Ottawa Public Library, Ottawa, ON RGD Ontario $395-495
Tue March 29, 2011 Ottawa, ON CFIA HR by invitation
Thu February 17, 2011 Ottawa, ON CFIA Public Affairs by invitation
Wed April 14, 2010 Ottawa, ON David Berman Communications $495
March 2010 Montreal, PQ eXplorance Inc. by invitation
Wed October 28, 2009 Beijing, China Icograda World Congress 2009 see host site
Thu April 30, 2009 San Francisco, CA Voices That Matter Web Design Conference speaker breakfast
Thu April 2, 2009 Delhi, India World Summit Award Grand Jury by invitation
Thu November 13, 2008 Ottawa, ON David Berman Communications $495
Mon July 6, 2008 Daegu Exhibition Conference Centre, Daegu, Korea Icograda Design Week in Daegu 2008 see host site
Tue April 29, 2008 Ottawa, ON David Berman Communications $495
Thu March 13, 2008 Tunney’s Pasture, Ottawa, ON Statistics Canada private event
Tue February 19, 2008 Tunney’s Pasture, Ottawa, ON Health Canada private event
Wed November 7, 2007 Minto Business Centre, Ottawa, ON David Berman Communications $495
Thu November 9, 2006 Minto Business Centre, Ottawa, ON David Berman Communications $495
Thu February 16, 2006 Minto Business Centre, Ottawa, ON David Berman Communications SOLD OUT
Tue December 6, 2005 Oslo, Norway Norwegian Design Council SOLD OUT
Thu October 20, 2005 Minto Business Centre, Ottawa, ON David Berman Communications SOLD OUT
Thu June 9, 2005 Minto Business Centre, Ottawa, ON David Berman Communications $495
Tue December 22, 2004 Tunney’s Pasture, Ottawa, ON Health Canada private event

*Discount packages for non-profits, and travel subsidies available. Additional discounts available for groups over 3 people. Call (613) 728-6777 for details.

All prices, offerings, and dates subject to change without notice.

To register for a course given by our own organization, register online or call (613) 728-6777.

Event Schedule (all events)

*Discount packages for non-profits, and travel subsidies available. Additional discounts available for groups over 3 people. Call (613) 728-6777 for details.

All prices, offerings, and dates subject to change without notice.

To register for a course given by our own organization, register
online
or call (613) 728-6777.

Event Schedule (all events)

“Very understandable and fun.”

– Liz Breines, Ministry of Trade and
Industry, Oslo (Norway)

“Highly valuable.”

– Maureen Quirouet, Parliament of Canada

Resources

RESOURCES FOR ATTENDEES

For the convenience of course attendees, we provide this list of hypertext links and books cited in this course’s learning guide roughly in the order they appear in the course and learning guide:

Legislation, lawsuits, and standards

Canada
USA
Other countries
Global

Accessibility guidelines

Assistive technologies and techniques

Visual difficulties
Dexterity/mobility/motor difficulties

 

Hearing difficulties

iOS Accessibility

Android, Windows Phone Accessibility

WCAG 2.0 (including Success Criteria Level A and AA, in order)

Guideline 1.1: Text Alternatives
Guideline 1.2: Time-based Media
Guideline 1.3: Adaptable
Guideline 1.4: Distinguishable
Guideline 2.1: Keyboard Accessible
Guideline 2.2: Enough Time
Guideline 2.3: Seizures
Guideline 2.4: Navigable
Guideline 3.1: Readable
Guideline 3.2: Predictable
Guideline 3.3: Input Assistance
Guideline 4.1: Compatible, etc.

Testing tools for web and mobile

WCAG 2.1 (including the new Success Criteria Level A and AA, in order)

Document standards, techniques and testing

 

Instructional design software: Adobe Captivate

Instructional design software: Articulate Storyline

Instructional design software: other

Accessible virtual classroom platforms

Introduction to Online Learning and Accessibility

Accessible content management

White papers

Other accessibility links

 

Register

Choose the registration approach that’s easiest for you:

  • use our secure form below (for credit cards, PayPal, or purchase orders)
  • … or call 613-728-6777 to register over the phone
  • … or download our registration form PDF, and fax it back to 613-482-4777
  • …or register at Eventbrite

Course Registration Form:

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2 Responses to “Making PDF files accessible: remediation for WCAG, Revised Section 508, ADA, and PDF/UA”

  1. Matt Duke says:

    I’ve been using Adobe and FOXIT to make some DOCX files PDF Accessible. However, The auto-tagging gets the order tree and tagging all messed up, requiring significant manual work. When I manually tag OR try to fix the problems by dragging the order to the right place, or try to fix lists or image selection to be correct it often creates even more problems. I think these tools are inadequate/buggy, or maybe just require a high learning curve. I’ll have content get hidden and I can’t unhide it unless I drag it back out of the correct order. Or I’ll have situations where it won’t allow me to delete an image selection and reselect it properly. So now I’m looking into much more expensive and less time consuming and less buggy tools like CommonLook and Equidox. I’m curious what tools you would recommend using for situations where Adobe and FOXIT just won’t work, or are taking way too much time to remediate. Do you teach on these alternatives?

    • David Berman says:

      Hi Matt,
      We feel your pain: it shouldn’t be so difficult to do the right thing. And the tag editor is equally challenging in Foxit, Acrobat, and several other tools.
      We do indeed teach a workflow that can avoid having to use more expensive tools such as CommonLook and Equidox.
      Part of the solution is work we’ll have you do within the docx file, part of it is our nuanced approach on how best export from Office to the PDF, and then what do in your PDF Editor. There are some other third-party tools that are less expensive than Commonlook that you may wish to try out, that we can introduce you too. Having said that, CommonLook is a fine tool, and Equidox has some excellent features (especially for simpler files, for beginners). Please email us at info@davidberman.com to setup a deeper discussion? – David


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