Here is a compilation of the latest information on converting Adobe Acrobat files from portable document format to accessible text. ---------- Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 11:47:02 -0500 From: "T. V. Raman" To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: Adobe And TRACE Launch Enhanced PDF Access Via Email Adobe And TRACE Launch Enhanced PDF Access Via Email --New service enables conversion via email attachments (http://access.adobe.com) Adobe Systems and the TRACE Research Center are happy to announce a new service to enhance the accessibility of PDF documents to visually impaired users. Ever since we launched our popular server-based accessibility solutions on http://access.adobe.com in March 1997, the single most oft voiced request has been the need to convert PDF documents on a local disk or CDROM to ASCII or HTML. In response, we have set up a a conversion service hosted by the TRACE Research Center (http://trace.wisc.edu). You can send PDF documents as email attachments to: pdf2txt@sun.trace.wisc.edu -- for plain text pdf2html@sun.trace.wisc.edu -- for HTML and receive the result of the conversion in the reply. Adobe would like to thank Dr. Gregg Vanderheiden and the TRACE Research Center for helping us host this service. Attached is a summary of accessibility services provided by Adobe. Our WWW site (http://access.adobe.com) has been revised in conjunction with the launch of this new service; please take a momement to visit us and refresh your bookmarks. --Raman (and the access.adobe.com team) ---------------------------- Welcome To Access At Adobe! ---------------------------- Please visit http://access.adobe.com This page is your launching point for learning more about universal access to Adobe products. The primary focus at present is enhancing the accessibility of PDF. Portable Document Format (PDF) is a platform-independent means of exchanging visually rich documents. PDF is fast becoming a pervasive means of communicating richly formatted information on electronic networks including the Internet and its most popular segment, the World Wide Web (WWW). PDF documents are rich in visual layout, and are popular among users capable of appreciating the high-fidelity visual presentation. However, visually impaired users have found PDF documents hard to access. Conventional screen reading technologies ---software that enables a visually impaired user listen to the contents of a computer display--- prove ineffective when reading the rich visual presentation. In the last two years, Adobe has been working on a platform-independent solution aimed at enhancing the accessibility of PDF to visually impaired users on diverse computing platforms. This new strategy relies on standard WWW protocols and clients to bring PDF accessibility to the standard HTML browser that users already use for surfing the WWW. We have implemented a PDF2HTML translator that converts textual content from PDF documents to HTML. You can now use this conversion technology to more readily access PDF documents using your favorite WWW browser and screen access application. 1) You can submit a URL to any PDF file you wish to read using an interactive WWW form. The document will be converted to HTML and presented in your WWW browser. 2) You can mail a URL to a PDF document in the body of an email message to pdf2txt@adobe.com (for plain text) or to pdf2html@adobe.com and have the convertor mail back the result of translating the PDF file. 3) You can mail a URL to a PDF document or attach the PDF document itself as a MIME attachment in the body of an email message to pdf2txt@sun.trace.wisc.edu (for plain text) or to pdf2html@sun.trace.wisc.edu and have the convertor mail back the result of translating the PDF file. For a detailed description of these accessibility services, read http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/access.html Note: All of these services are based on tools I developed for my own use at Adobe; I have been using these tools on a daily basis for over nine months now and find them indispensable for my work. I hope they are equally helpful to readers on this list. --Raman (and the access.adobe.com team) -- Best Regards, --raman Adobe Systems Tel: 1 (408) 536 3945 (W14-612) Advanced Technology Group Fax: 1 (408) 537 4042 (W14 129) 345 Park Avenue Email: raman@adobe.com San Jose , CA 95110 -2704 Email: raman@cs.cornell.edu http://labrador.corp.adobe.com/~raman/ (Adobe Intranet) http://cs.cornell.edu/home/raman/raman.html (Cornell) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer: The opinions expressed are my own and in no way should be taken as representative of my employer, Adobe Systems Inc. ---------- From the web page http://access.adobe.com Welcome to Access.Adobe.Com Access.Adobe.Com is a tool that allows blind and visually impaired users to read any document in Adobe PDF format. The tool converts PDF documents into simple HTML or ASCII text which can then be read by a number of common screen reading programs that synthesize the HTML as audible speech. Access.Adobe.Com is not intended as a fully featured PDF to HTML conversion tool. To find tools of this type, go to the PDF Zone Web site. There are three ways to use Access Adobe: * By form submission * By email * By an Acrobat for Windows plug in The variety of workflows is to help you accomplish the task in the most convenient way for you. For more information about Access.Adobe.Com: * Go to an overview of Access Adobe * Go to choosing a PDF conversion tool * Go to Frequently Asked Questions about Access Adobe * Go to a detailed white paper on Access Adobe You can also go to more information on each of the tools: * How to use the Access.adobe.com by form * How to use the Access.adobe.com by email * How to use the Access plug in for Windows To find out more about Adobe Systems, Incorporated, please visit our web site at http://www.adobe.com. Copyright (c) 1998 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Legal notices and trademark attributions. ---------- Overview of Access.adobe.com Why Convert Acrobat (PDF) Documents to HTML? Converting Acrobat documents to a simple type of HTML will allow you to read the documents in an application you are already familiar with - your World Wide Web Browser. During the conversion process, the PDF accessibility issues for the blind are solved by extracting the text of the document in an approximate reading order, then formatting the resulting HTML document as a single column. In addition to getting text in reading order when an Acrobat (PDF) document is converted, the electronic navigation features associated with PDF are preserved. First, all of the existing hypertext links are converted into HTML links. This includes intra-document links as well as links to other document on the Internet. Additionally, when the Acrobat document is converted to HTML, some extra HTML links are created to enable easy navigation between Acrobat pages. The very first line of the document will contain at least two of these special links: * Document Body is a special link to take you to the start of the body of the document. * Page Navigation Panel is a special link that takes you to a part of the document that contains links that point to each page of the document. For example, if the document has five pages, the Page Navigation Panel would have 1 2 3 4 5 , which would all be linked to their respective pages. If the PDF document contains Acrobat bookmarks (these are different than the bookmarks associated with the Netscape browser and are like an electronic table of contents feature), then the PDF to HTML convertor will place a third special link on the first line of the converted document: * The Document Outline link points to another special area of the document which contains links created from the original Acrobat bookmarks. Lastly, between each page of the document, links are inserted to make it easy for you to move to the next and previous page. Want to try out the convertor? This link points to an example Acrobat document that you can read as HTML. The Three access.adobe.com Services The access.adobe.com services allow you to easily get any Acrobat (PDF) document on the Internet as simple HTML in three ways. The first way is by form submission. Using this method, you submit the URL of a PDF document to adobe.access.com through your Web browser. The converted document is then returned immediately to your browser window. To read more about this go to the Forms page. Alternately, you can submit the URL of any PDF document on the web to either of two e-mail addresses at adobe, and the document will be converted to HTML or ASCII text, and mailed back to you, in a matter of minutes. To find out how to e-mail a URL to access.adobe.com, go to the mail conversion page. NOTE: Both the form submission and the e-mail submission require that your PDF documents be on the Web. If your Acrobat documents are not available on the Internet, you can use the third method, an Acrobat Access plug on for Microsoft Windows, to convert PDF documents from a hard drive. This plug in is only available for Windows. Take a look at the Acrobat Access plug in for Microsoft Windows. For even more detailed information on Access.Adobe.Com, go to the detailed white paper. ---------- Choosing the best Tool for Converting your PDF There are three ways to convert your PDF for screenreaders. Which tool you choose depends on whether the PDF is on the Internet, the format you want the PDF to be converted to (HTML or ASCII text), and your computer platform (Macintosh, Windows, or UNIX). The three tools for converting PDFs are: * Conversion using the Form (easiest and quickest) * Conversion using Email (if you only have email) * Conversion using the Access Plug-in (Windows users only) Conversion using the Form If the PDF is on the Internet, you can submit the URL (web address) using a Form to convert the PDF to HTML. The PDF document will be converted on-the-fly to HTML, and will be returned to you immediately in your browser application. This is the easiest and quickest option. The best way to understand this is try it out! There are two forms available for you to try: simple and advanced. How to convert the PDF using the Form. Conversion using Email If the PDF is on the Internet, you can submit the URL (web address) via Email to convert the PDF to HTML or ASCII text. You will receive the converted results in the body of a new mail message, in a matter of minutes. This is the best way to get a text version of the PDF. How to convert the PDF using email. Conversion using the Access Plug-in (for Windows 3.1, Windows 95 and NT users only) If the Acrobat files you want to read are not on the Internet and you are a user of Microsoft Windows 3.1, Windows 95, or Windows NT, the Acrobat Access plug-in is the solution for you. (A "plug-in" is a piece of software that works with the standard Acrobat product and enhances its capability.) ---------- Access Adobe Frequently Asked Questions To help you find answers to commonly asked questions, we have provided answers to the following frequently asked questions: * What happened to the graphics and text formatting in my PDF? * When converting by e-mail, is it possible to include multiple lines pointing to different Web addresses (URLs) in a singe e-mail? * Can I use the e-mail tool to convert the PDF files on my hard drive? * What can I do to convert a file that was e-mailed to me if I am working on a Mac? Will Adobe release a plug-in for the Mac? * I tried to convert a form that was in PDF but the resulting file was unusable; what can I do? * Are Adobe's accessibility tools available for both Mac and Windows? * Is there any charge for using Adobe's access tools on the Web and e-mail? * We have blind employees at our company, is there a way to obtain this technology for our internal use? * Can we post a link to your conversion page from our Web site? * How do I enter a URL to the PDF file I want converted? * I converted my PDF file to HTML without an error, but the results seem incomplete, or "Jumbled up". What is wrong? * The PDF file I want to convert is protected by a password. How do I get past this protection? * How do I submit PDF files that are on an FTP server? * Can I submit a file via mail as a mime attachment? Still Need Help? If the FAQ page does not help you, you can report a bug. 1. What happened to the graphics and text formatting in my PDF? Answer: The Access conversion technology was developed to allow blind and visually impaired users to read PDF documents with speech synthesis software. For this reason, graphic elements are stripped from the PDF and text is reformatted during conversion. For information regarding other conversion technologies, try posting a query on the Adobe Acrobat forum on the Adobe User-to-user forums. You can also get other PDF to HTML conversion options at the PDF Zone Web site at http://www.emerge.pdfzone.com. 2. When converting by e-mail, is it possible to include multiple lines pointing to different Web addresses (URLs) in a singe e-mail? Answer: No, at this time that is not possible. To convert PDFs with different URLs, you must send a separate e-mail for each. 3. Can I use the e-mail tool to convert the PDF files on my hard drive? Answer: No. The e-mail conversion service only works with PDF files that are posted on the Web. To use this tool, copy the URL (Web address) of the PDF file into the body of the email message, and the converted document will be sent back automatically through e-mail. If you have a PDF file on your local drive and are working in Windows, you can use the Access plug-in in conjunction with the Acrobat Reader to convert the files locally. For more information on the Access plug-in for Windows, go to the Access plug-in page. 4. What can I do to convert a file that was e-mailed to me if I am working on a Mac? Will Adobe release a plug-in for the Mac? Answer: At this time there is no way to convert a PDF file that is on the desktop of a Mac. If you have a friend or colleague working on the Windows platform, there is an Access plug-in available for use with the Acrobat Reader. The plug-in uses the same conversion technology, but most users have complained that it is difficult to learn both the Reader and the Access keyboard commands. We have no plans to develop a Macintosh access plug-in. We believe that access.adobe.com server provides a better solution for making PDF accessible to blind and visually impaired users. After the introduction of the Windows version of the access plug-in, we found that, while many users had downloaded the Plug-in, only a few were actually using it. The primary reason we have found, is that given the current state of the art in screen reading technology, it is still very difficult for blind people to pick up any Windows application and just start using it. The situation is not significantly better on the Mac. So, instead of forcing blind users to learn Acrobat to be able to read PDF, we decided to give them PDF in a format that they can read in an application that they already know how to use: their web browser or their email. For this reason, we are focusing our efforts on refining the Access.adobe.com server rather than developing another plugin. We do expect to provide a solution at some time for converting files that are not on the Web. For more information about the Windows plug-in, go to access_plugin.html. To download the Acrobat Reader, visit http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/alternate.html 5. I tried to convert a form that was in PDF but the resulting file was unusable; what can I do? Answer: Check to make sure that the form is not an image-only PDF, that is, a bit-map image contained in a PDF file. Many organizations convert their old forms to PDF files by simply scanning them into Acrobat, rather than creating a PDF with searchable text. These documents can then be printed, completed and sent back to the organization, but they are not convertible because they do not really contain any true text. Unfortunately, there is no way to get around the problem. Only text elements can be converted. 6. Are Adobe's accessibility tools available for both Mac and Windows? Answer: Adobe has developed a number of options for blind and visually impaired users to read documents that are posted as PDF files on the Internet or even a local intranet. All but one of these options are accessible on both Windows and Macintosh platforms. The one exception is the Acrobat Reader plug-in, which is only available for Windows. To see an overview of the available tools, go to Access Tools page. 7. Is there any charge for using Adobe's access tools on the Web and e-mail? Answer: Adobe has developed these conversion tools as a free service to allow blind and visually impaired users to read PDF files. 8. We have blind employees at our company, is there a way to obtain this technology for our internal use? Adobe has developed a version of our tools for organizations to use for the benefit of their blind employees. If your organization serves blind users and could benefit from this product, please read the license agreement at http://access.adobe.com/access_license.html and e-mail us at access-b@adobe.com if you have further questions. 9. Can we post a link to your conversion page from our Web site? Answer: Adobe offers the PDF conversion tools for the benefit of blind and visually impaired users and we are glad to allow any organization to post links on their Web pages to these tools for that purpose. We only ask two things: * Please make sure that the link indicates that the tools are for blind and visually impaired users. Do not label it as a PDF to HTML conversion tool. * Please credit Adobe for the conversion technology and provide a link to http://access.adobe.com/index.html to point users to our full range of PDF conversion options for blind users. Please note that these tools are not intended to be used for general PDF to HTML conversion and we do not encourage companies or individuals to access them for that purpose. If the user traffic is too heavy due to sighted users making simple conversions then blind users have diminished access to the tool we designed specifically for their benefit. Also, the tools are designed to create the kind of simple HTML document that can be easily read by standard speech-synthesis software and will not retain the graphic images or text formatting of the original PDF. For general PDF to HTML conversion, we recommend that you look for suitable tools on the PDF Zone Web site at http://www.emerge.pdfzone.com. Finally, we do license the Access server to organizations that feel they have enough blind users to warrant it. It is a fairly easy process. You can view the license agreement at http://access.adobe.com/access_license.html and can e-mail us again at access-b@adobe.com if you have any questions. 10. How do I enter a URL to the PDF file I want converted? Answer: To ensure that the access.adobe.com conversion forms or the conversion e-mail accounts can find and open the file you want converted, you will have to enter a functional URL (Web address). A URL consists of 3 parts, and has the following format: protocol://servername.com/:port/path The first part is the server protocol for the server where the PDF file you want to convert is located. If it is on a real web server the protocol is "http". Otherwise, it's either "ftp", "gopher" or "wais". If you do not know which server protocol the server your working with uses, your network administrator will probably be able to help you figure it out. The second part is the server name. That is the network name of the machine the web server is located on. With some SLIP or PPP connections, there might not even be a network name, just a number; something like 134.7.14.109. You can use this number as the network name. If the server has been installed on a port other than the default of 80 you will have to include the port number. Once again, if you do not know this information, your network administrator should be able to help you. The third part of the URL is the path. The root of this path begins with the directory containing the "Home Page" through which you gained access to the file, and ends with the full name of the file. This file name must include the .PDF file extension. TIP: Most web browsers display and/or provide some way to copy or otherwise get access to the full URL of the link you are currently pointing at with your mouse. For instance, Netscape will allow you to copy the URL to the clipboard if you click the right mouse button on a link. URLs copied in this way can then be pasted into the URL field in the access.adobe.com conversion form. 11. I converted my PDF file to HTML without an error, but the results seem incomplete, or "Jumbled up". What is wrong? Answer: The problem is probably that the text in the converted HTML file has NOT been correctly re-organized to follow the reading order of the "stories" in the original PDF document. The performance of access.adobe.com as far as reading order depends a great deal on the characteristics of the PDF document. The visual richness of the typical PDF document presents a special challenge when trying to organize the text it contains into a logical reading order. It can have a complex, layout that includes images with captions, side bars, multiple columns of text, story threads that end in the middle of one page and continue several pages later, text on a curve, vertical text, and sometimes even invisible text! The PDF file format does not include any document structure information, so the translation software has to guess at the structure based on content. There is a setting on the "Advanced PDF to HTML Conversion Form" that effects the way the conversion software analyzes the reading order of the PDF document. If your current results were obtained with the "Simple PDF to HTML Conversion Form", try using the advanced form, and select "Alternative Reading Order" in the "Reading Order" list box. This may improve the reading order in the resultant HTML file. Go to the advanced form page to try this out. NOTE: Adobe's long term plan for providing logical document structure information in the PDF file will solve reading order problems. For more information, see the detailed white paper about Acrobat Access. 12. The PDF file I want to convert is protected by a password. How do I get past this protection? Answer: This depends on how the file was password protected. Unfortunately, access.adobe.com can not handle Password, or User Name and Password security schemes that are implemented on other web servers. If however, the password protection is specific to the PDF file, using the "Advanced PDF to HTML Conversion Form" may allow access.adobe.com to open the file. Adobe Acrobat Exchange allows a user to save a PDF file with password protection. The password is stored in the PDF file, and the Acrobat Reader will put up a dialog asking you to enter the password whenever you try to open it. Access.adobe.com provides support for getting past this form of password protection. There is a "Password" field on the "Advanced PDF to HTML Conversion Form", where you can enter the password for the file you are converting. Provided with the correct password, access.adobe.com should be able to convert the file to HTML. If possible contact the person who originally posted the PDF file, and find out if it has a password, and if so, what that password is. Then go to the "Advanced PDF to HTML Conversion Form" and enter the URL for the file, and the password. Go to the advanced form page to try this out. 13. How do I submit PDF files that are on an FTP server? Answer: In order to convert files on an ftp server you must use either the form based or E-Mail based conversion methods, and submit a valid URL to the file you want to convert. For instance in order to convert file foo.pdf on ftp server bar, you would specify the URL as "ftp://bar/foo.pdf". 14. Can I submit a file via mail as a mime attachment? Answer: The two PDF conversion mail addresses (pdf2html and pdf2txt) at adobe.com do not currently support sending the PDF file as a Mime attachment. You must include a URL to the document you want to convert in the body of the mail message. Still Need Help? If the FAQ page does not help you, you can report a bug. ---------- Adobe Acrobat Access White Paper: PDF and the Visually Disabled PDF and Adobe(R) Acrobat(R) Viewers for the Visually Disabled February 14th, 1997 Liz McQuarrie Adobe Systems Incorporated Adobe's Portable Document Format, the native file format of the Adobe Acrobat products, is a final form description language for documents that is not tied to any operating system or application. PDF provides the document graphic richness of Adobe PostScript(R) and allows publishers to retain the look and feel of their publications. On the World Wide Web, PDF is becoming increasingly popular for documents that need the layout richness that HTML currently does not provide. Corporations are also using PDF to distribute electronic documents over corporate networks, via e-mail, or on CD-ROM. For the visually disabled, however, there are some accessibility issues associated with PDF and the use of Adobe Acrobat viewers (Reader and Exchange(R)) for viewing PDF files. This document describes Adobe's plans for making both the Adobe Acrobat viewing products and the PDF file format accessible for the visually disabled. Overview of Acrobat and PDF Accessibility Plans Adobe has the following plans to make PDF and the Adobe Acrobat products accessible to the visually disabled: * Provide on-the-fly conversion of any PDF document on the Internet to HTML using a World Wide Web server. This service, called access.adobe.com, is available now. * Offer Adobe Acrobat Access on Microsoft(R) Windows(R) for reading PDF documents that are not on the Internet. The plug-in will allow users to access Acrobat for Windows through cooperation with Windows screen reading programs, as well as output to formatted ASCII and HTML. A Beta version of Acrobat Access is also available now. * Enhance the PDF format and Adobe Acrobat for Logical Document Structure. For visually disabled users, the PDF structure project will deliver a higher quality reading order. Adobe Acrobat Viewers and Microsoft Windows Screen Readers Screen reader programs allow the visually disabled to interact with the Windows interface by interpreting what is happening on the display and outputting that information to speech synthesis or refreshable Braille output devices. Although screen reader programs for DOS have been around for many years, screen reader programs for Microsoft Windows providing reasonable performance and functionality have only been introduced in the last year or so. Limited Screen Model and PDF Documents The delay in the availability of Windows screen readers is due to a number of factors. First, it is quite an intellectual challenge to present what is happening on the Windows display to a visually disabled person in a meaningful way. This is because with Windows (or any other GUI-based operating system), there may be multiple applications open simultaneously, each of which has a title bar, menus, and several child windows for their data. Each application also has many visual controls to present such as icons, scroll bars, and dialog boxes that include check boxes, buttons, and list boxes. To keep track of what is happening on the screen, Windows screen readers build what is referred to as an off-screen model in memory and then allow the user to navigate through the screen model. For example, from the screen reader, the user can select a particular application window to interact with. Then once an application is selected, the user can navigate and read text in the window. Reading text usually involves using commands like "Next Line," which reads the next line down the page, and "Previous Word," which reads the word immediately to the left of the current word. The current screen models for Windows for handling the text that is in an application-specific window are very similar to the models developed for DOS. These models can typically only represent text in simple documents, where the document contains a single column of text that flows left to right and top to bottom on the page. They cannot properly represent documents with more complex layout, such as a multi-column newspaper or documents with text that is not horizontal, such as a tax form that contains vertical labels. When the screen reader program encounters such complex layout in an application, it will likely make mistakes. For example, in a multi-column document, the screen reader would probably read the first line in the first column, followed by the first line in the second column, running the columns together as if they were on the same line. Because many PDF documents have such rich layout, the use of Windows screen readers with Acrobat on these documents will not produce useful output for the visually disabled person. For the future, Adobe is participating in discussions with Microsoft Windows screen reader vendors regarding a new Application Programming Interface to screen readers in Windows that will more fully support complex documents. Conflicts Between the Acrobat Viewers and the Screen Readers The second factor that has delayed development of capable Windows screen reader programs is that there are no easy operating system "hooks" (or entry points) in the current operating system (Windows 3.1) for developers to use to build the screen readers. Microsoft has begun adding such hooks to Windows 95. The net result of this oversight is that developers of Windows screen readers have each independently invented incompatible techniques for capturing screen state for alternative output devices. Also, the Windows version of the Adobe Acrobat Viewer technically pushes the Windows environment in order to render visually beautiful documents with fonts that are very close to the author's original fonts. This fact often causes the Acrobat viewer products to be incompatible with many screen readers. Screen readers are not able to read any text in the Acrobat document windows, regardless of the layout. (Note that Acrobat Access solves this problem.) Access.adobe.com: PDF to HTML Conversion on a World Wide Web Server Access.adobe.com is a new way to get accessible Acrobat (PDF) documents. Instead of reading PDF, you can read HTML versions of any PDF document on the Internet by having it converted on-the-fly for you on the access.adobe.com World Wide Web server. Now you can read Acrobat documents using your already familiar Web browser. All you need is either an Internet email account or the ability to get to the World Wide Web and you can read any Acrobat document on the Internet. Note that you have three different options for utilizing the access.adobe.com services to convert Acrobat PDF documents to HTML. This choice of options allows you to pick the service that is most convenient for you. What if your Acrobat documents are not available on the Internet? Please take a look at the Acrobat Access plug-in for Microsoft Windows below. The Solution for Documents That are Not on the Internet: Acrobat Access To make PDF documents that are not on the Internet accessible to visually disabled users of Microsoft Windows, Adobe has developed a special plug-in for Acrobat. (A "plug-in" is software that works with the standard Acrobat product and enhances its capability.) This plug-in is called Acrobat Access. Acrobat Access presents an alternative view of the open document in a separate window. This view contains the text in as close to reading order as possible, including presenting multi-column documents as a single column and "straightening" all non-horizontal text. Acrobat Access interacts with the primary Acrobat document display as seamlessly as possible and allows the use of all standard Acrobat features, such as access to annotations and hypertext links. Also, Acrobat Access allows users to export from PDF to HTML 2.0, as well as to formatted ASCII. A Beta version of the Acrobat Access for Windows is available now free of charge on Adobe's Web site. Acrobat Access works with both the free Acrobat Reader product as well as Acrobat Exchange. Acrobat Reader 3.0 is the latest Acrobat release, and can also be downloaded for free from Adobe's Web site. Extensions to PDF for Document Logical Structure The third area of interest regarding PDF and the visually disabled concerns document logical structure. ("Logical structure" refers to the organization of the document, such as title page, chapters, sections, and subsections.) Although standard ASCII may be adequate for disabled users' access to short documents, access to longer, more complex documents is greatly enhanced by an understanding of the document's logical structure. Many advocates for the visually disabled feel that documents based on SGML are best suited for accessibility because of SGML's strength in representing document logical structure in a portable way. Documents based on SGML, however, continue to be a small percentage of those that a visually disabled person may encounter on a day-to-day basis. Document Structure Knowledge Leads to a Better Acrobat Access Acrobat Access will be greatly enhanced by knowledge of the document's logical structure being able to do a much better job of displaying the document in reading order. Consider, for example, a PDF document that is a newspaper, where the first page contains the beginnings of three articles, each of which is continued on a separate page. With a knowledge of the document structure, Acrobat Access will be able to follow a single article from beginning to end, much like a sighted person would flip the newspaper page to continue the article until complete. Also, Acrobat Access could do an even better job of exporting to HTML by supporting a richer set of HTML tags. Availability of Structure in PDF A shipping date for products from Adobe that include document logical structure in PDF is not currently scheduled. ---------- How to Use Access.adobe.com by Form Converting documents by filling out a form in your browser The access.adobe.com PDF to HTML conversion by form is just one of three options for getting accessible Acrobat documents over the Internet. With access.adobe.com PDF to HTML conversion by form, all you have to do is type in a URL to a PDF document into an electronic form and select the Get This PDF Document As HTML button. The PDF document will be converted on-the-fly to HTML, and will be returned to you immediately in your browser application. The best way to understand this is try it out! There are two forms available for you to try: * The simple form. Just type in the URL and submit the form. * The advanced form. This form gives you some extra conversion options for formatting the converted HTML document. Tip: Once you find the form that you want to use regularly, make a bookmark or favorites pointer to it in your browser application so you can go back to the form easily. Tip: Some URLs are very long and cumbersome to type. Cutting and pasting the URL into the form will save you some keystrokes. Need Help? If you have a problem or need help with this tool, please see the FAQ page. If the FAQ page does not help you, you can report a bug. If this option doesn't work for you, try another Access service to convert the PDF. ---------- Access.adobe.com Conversion by Simple Form With access.adobe.com PDF to HTML conversion by form, all you have to do is type in a URL to a PDF document into an electronic form and select the Get This PDF Document As HTML button. The PDF document will be converted on-the-fly to HTML, and will be returned to you immediately in your browser application. Enter an URL to any Acrobat (PDF) document below: URL: | <___> The advanced form gives you some extra conversion options for formatting the converted HTML document. Need Help? If you have a problem or need help with this tool, please see the FAQ page. If the FAQ page does not help you, you can report a bug. If this option doesn't work for you, try another Access service to convert the PDF. ---------- Access.adobe.com PDF Conversion by Advanced Form With access.adobe.com PDF to HTML conversion by form, all you have to do is type in a URL to a PDF document into an electronic form and select the Get This PDF Document As HTML button. The PDF document will be converted on-the-fly to HTML, and will be returned to you immediately in your browser application. If you have never used the advanced form, see more information about the conversion options below. Enter an URL to any Acrobat (PDF) document below: URL: <___> First Page: <___> By default, the entire document is converted. Last Page: <___> Reading Order: (_)Default Reading Order (_)Alternative Reading Order Reflow paragraphs? [_] Check if paragraphs are to be reflowed Filter? [_] Check if non-printable characters are to be filtered Password: <___> Required if document is protected The simple form provides fewer conversion options for formatting the converted HTML document. More Information about the conversion options: Here is some more information to help you with the advanced features of the HTML to PDF conversion. Please note that the only form field that you must supply is the URL to the PDF document. URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or address of the PDF document that you wish to convert. This is the only required field. First and Last Page: By default, the access.adobe.com PDF to HTML convertor converts the entire document. Some PDF documents, however are very large, so this option allows you to limit the number of pages that you convert at a time. Reading Order: The short explanation is that if you don't like the way the document reads, try the alternate reading order. A more detailed explanation of reading order is also available in the White Paper. Reflow Paragraphs: By default, the access.adobe.com does not try to reflow the document text to fit neatly into your document window. The advantage of not reflowing is that the reading order of tables and lists are preserved. On the other hand, some documents may read better when the paragraphs are reflowed. Filter: The PDF document may contain characters in the documents original font that do not map to a standard character set that screen reading programs can handle. If you find a particular document that when converted, contains many unprintable characters, you may want to try to filter the document during the conversion. Password: Some Acrobat documents are protected with a password. You must supply the password in order to convert these documents. Need Help? If you have a problem or need help with this tool, please see the FAQ page. If the FAQ page does not help you, you can report a bug. If this option doesn't work for you, try another Access service to convert the PDF. ---------- Access.adobe.com Conversion by Email There are two PDF conversion email addresses that can be used to convert PDF files to a form that is more accessible to screen reading software. The first mail address, pdf2html@adobe.com, converts PDF documents to HTML. The second mail address, pdf2txt@adobe.com, converts PDF documents to ASCII text. To use either of these mail addresses, simply enter the URL to the PDF file you wish to convert into the body of a mail message, and send it to the desired mailbox. * Use pdf2html@adobe.com to convert a PDF to HTML. * Use pdf2txt@adobe.com to convert a PDF to ASCII text. Tip: Some URLs are very long and cumbersome to type. Cutting and pasting the URL into the mail message will save you some keystrokes. Need Help? If you have a problem or need help with this tool, please see the FAQ page. If the FAQ page does not help you, you can report a bug. If this option doesn't work for you, try another option to convert the PDF. ---------- Acrobat Access Plug-in for Windows If the Acrobat files you want to read are not on the Internet and you are a user of Microsoft Windows 3.1, Windows 95, or Windows NT, the Acrobat Access plug-in is the solution for you. (A "plug-in" is a piece of software that works with the standard Acrobat product and enhances its capability.) NOTE: If the Acrobat files that you wish to read are on the Internet, then Adobe recommends you use the form or email options to get HTML or text versions of these files converted for you. For more information, see the page about choosing the best Access service. * System Requirements * Step 1: Install Acrobat Reader * Step 2: Install the Acrobat Access Plugin * Step 3: Set Up Your Web Browser * Step 4: Getting Started System Requirements * 386- or 486-based personal computer (486 recommended) * Microsoft Windows 3.1, Microsoft Windows for Workgroups, Microsoft Windows 95, or Microsoft Windows NT(R) 3.51 or 4.0 * 4 MB application RAM * 3 MB hard-disk space, plus 2 MB TEMP space available during installation * For Web integration, any Web browser that allows you to configure a helper application by mime type Step 1: Install Acrobat Reader Acrobat Access is designed to work with the latest version of the Acrobat Reader software, which is distributed free by Adobe Systems Incorporated. There are two versions of Acrobat Reader: a version for Windows 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups (16-bit), and a version for Windows 95 and Windows NT 3.51(32-bit) or 4.0. Be sure to download the appropriate one. The Acrobat Reader is available for downloading on the Adobe web site. IMPORTANT: Please ignore any installation instructions regarding the configuration of the Netscape(TM) Navigator(TM) Web browser with Acrobat. Instead, there are the special instructions for configuring any Web browser for use with Acrobat and the Acrobat Access plug-in that you will find later in this document. Step 2: Install the Acrobat Access Plug In To install Acrobat Access, choose the installation instructions for your operating system: * Microsoft Windows 3.1/Windows for Workgroups * Windows 95/Windows NT 3.51 or 4.0 Microsoft Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups Instructions: To install the 16-bit Acrobat Access plug-in for use only with Microsoft Windows 3.1 or Microsoft Windows for Workgroups: * Download the archive file accs16b2.exe to the plug_ins subdirectory where your Acrobat file is installed. Download accs16b2.exe (359,415 bytes) updated 20 December 1996 TIP: By default, the Acrobat Reader will install into the c:\acrobat3\read16 directory. The path, therefore the plug_ins directory, is probably c:\acrobat3\read16\plug_ins. * Execute the accs16b2.exe file by either 1) selecting it from the File Manager and pressing Enter or Return. or 2) executing it from a MS DOS(R) window. This will invoke the WinZip program, which will ask you where you would like to extract the files to. Note that by default, WinZip will extract the files into C:\TEMP\ADOBE . You will need to change that to extract the files to the reader plug-ins directory, which by default will be: C:\acrobat3\read16\plug_ins. Once you change the directory to extract to, press OK. The following files will be placed in the plug_ins directory: access.txt (Information on installing and getting started with Access) access16.api (An executable dll for Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups) infer16.api (Also an executable dll) feedback.txt (An ASCII feedback form) bug form.txt (An ASCII bug form) accessky.pdf (A quick reference to Access) access.pdf (An online help file for Access in PDF format) * The PDF help files need to be located in the help subdirectory where the Acrobat Reader is installed. 1) Go to the subdirectory where the Acrobat Reader is installed, usually c:\acrobat3\read16: C: CD \ACROBAT3\READ16 2) Copy the two PDF files from the plug_ins subdirectory to the help subdirectory: COPY PLUG_INS\*.PDF HELP * Installation requires approximately 1.5 MB of free hard-disk space. Go to step three. Microsoft Windows 95 or Microsoft Windows NT 3.51 or 4.0 Instructions: To install the 32-bit Acrobat Access plug-in for use only with Microsoft Windows 95 , Microsoft Windows NT 3.51 or 4.0: * Download the archive file accs32b2.exe to the plug_ins subdirectory where your Acrobat Reader is installed. Download accs32b2.exe (459,632 bytes) updated 20 December 1996 TIP: By default, the Acrobat Reader will install into the c:\acrobat3\ reader directory. The path, therefore, to the plug_ins directory is probably c:\acrobat3\reader\plug_ins. * Execute the accs32b2.exe file by either 1) selecting it from the Windows Explorer and pressing Enter or Return or 2) executing it from an MS DOS window. This will invoke the WinZip program, which will ask you where you would like to extract the files to. Note that by default, WinZip will extract the files into C:\TEMP\ADOBE . You will need to change that to extract the files to the reader plug-ins directory, which by default will be: C:\acrobat3\reader\plug_ins. Once you change the directory to extract to, press OK. The following files will be placed in the plug_ins directory: access.txt (Information on installing and getting started with Access) access32.api (An executable dll for Windows 95 and Windows NT) infer32.api (Also an executable dll) feedback.txt (An ASCII feedback form) bug form.txt (An ASCII bug form) accessky.pdf (A quick reference to Access) access.pdf (An online help file for Access in PDF format) * The pdf help files need to be located in the help subdirectory where the Acrobat Reader is installed. 1) Go to the subdirectory where the Acrobat Reader is installed, usually c:\acrobat3\reader: C: CD \ACROBAT3\READER 2) Copy the pdf files from the plug_ins subdirectory to the help subdirectory: COPY PLUG_INS\*.PDF HELP * Installation requires approximately 1.5 MB of free hard-disk space. Step 3: Set Up Your Web Browser With Acrobat Reader and Acrobat Access Software If you have a Web browser and would like to set up your browser to view PDF documents, this section provides instructions on how to configure the browser. The Acrobat Reader has a special feature for viewing PDF files a page at a time in the browser window. Unfortunately, limitations of the Netscape Application Programming Interface (API) do not allow us to offer that capability to users of Acrobat Access. Instead, Acrobat Reader will be integrated with your browser as an external viewer or helper application. Choose the instructions for the Web browser you are using: * Configure Netscape Navigator 4.x * Configure Netscape Navigator 3.x * Configure Netscape Navigator 2.x * Configure AOL or Microsoft Internet Explorer To configure Navigator 4.x to use Acrobat as an external viewer: * Choose Edit > Preferences. * In the left pane, select Navigator, then select Applications. * Click New Type. * Type the following information in the text fields: * For the Description of Type, use "Portable Document Format." * For the File Extension, use "pdf." * For the MIME Type, use "application/pdf." * Click Browse, then locate the Acrobat Reader 3.0x or Acrobat Exchange 3.0x application file and click Open. * Click OK to close the New Type dialog box. * Restart Navigator. Go to step four. To configure Navigator 3.x to use Acrobat as an external viewer: * Start Navigator. * Choose Options > General Preferences, then select Helpers. * If "application/pdf" is listed in the File Type scroll box, select it and go to step 7. * Click Create New Type. * Type "application" in the Mime Type text box. * Type "pdf" in the Mime Subtype text box, then click OK. * Click Browse. * Locate and select the Acrobat Reader 3.0x or Acrobat Exchange 3.0x application file, then click Open. * Type "pdf" in the Extensions text box. * Select Launch Application, then click OK. * Restart Navigator. Go to step four. To configure Navigator 2.x to use Acrobat as an external viewer: * Start Navigator, then choose Options > General Preferences. * In the General Preferences dialog box click the Helpers tab. * If Application/pdf is listed in the File Type scroll box, select it and go to step 6. * Click Create New Type. * Type "application" in the Mime Type text box, then type "pdf" in the Mime Subtype text box, and then click OK. * In the General Preferences dialog box, click Browse. * Locate and select the Acrobat Reader 3.0x or Acrobat Exchange 3.0x application file, then click Open. * Select Application from the list of Actions, then click OK. * Restart Navigator. Go to step four. To configure Internet Explorer or AOL to use Acrobat as an external viewer: * Exit Internet Explorer or AOL. * Choose Start > Find > Files Or Folders. * Type "pdf*.ocx," choose your local hard drive from the Look In pop-up menu, and then click Find Now. Make a note of the pathname to each Pdf*.ocx file on your system. * Choose Start > Run. * Type "regsvr32 -u X:\[path]\pdf*.ocx" in the Open text box, where "X" is the drive and "[path]" is the path to a Pdf*.ocx file. For example: regsvr32 -u C:\Acrobat3\Exchange\ActiveX\pdf42.ocx * Click OK. * Repeat steps 4-6 for every Pdf*.ocx file installed on your system. * Delete the Pdf*.ocx and Pdf.tlb files from the Acrobat3\Exchange\ActiveX and Acrobat3\Reader\ActiveX directories or from the Reader\ActiveX directory. You must delete all the Pdf*.ocx files; if you rename or move the files, Internet Explorer or AOL can still use them. * If Netscape Navigator is installed, locate the Nppdf32.dll file in the Netscape\Navigator\Program\Plugins directory or the Netscape\Communicator\Program\Plugins directory, and then move or rename the file. (Internet Explorer and AOL can use the Nppdf32.dll file if it cannot locate a Pdf.ocx file.) * Restart Windows. * Start Internet Explorer or AOL; the browser will start an Acrobat viewer in a separate window to display PDF files. If you're using Internet Explorer 3.0x or earlier, continue with steps 12-20. * Choose View > Options, then select Programs. * Click File Types. * Select Adobe Acrobat Document in the Registered File Types scroll box, then click Edit. If Adobe Acrobat Document is not listed, select New Type. * Type "Adobe Acrobat Document" in the Description text box. * Type "application/pdf" in the Content Type (MIME) text box. * Type "pdf" in the Default Extension for Content text box. * Select Open from the list of Actions and then click Edit. If Open is not listed, click New. * Click Browse, locate and then select the Acrobat Reader 3.0x or Acrobat Exchange 3.0x application file, then click Select. * Select Use DDE, then click OK to close each dialog box. Step 4: Getting Started With Acrobat Access Once you have Acrobat Reader and the Acrobat Access plug-in installed, here are a few pointers to get you started. * Launch the Acrobat Reader. Instructions for Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups: From the Program Manager, select the Adobe Acrobat Program Group. Then, select the Acrobat Reader program item and press Enter or Return. Instructions for Windows 95 or Windows NT: Select the Start button from the Task Bar. From the pop-up menu, select Programs, and then Adobe Acrobat, and finally select Acrobat Reader and press Enter or Return. * To read the Access help file, choose the following menu sequence from the Acrobat menu: * Help * Plug-in Help * Acrobat Access This menu sequence will open the Acrobat Access help file, which is a PDF document. TIP: If you don't see help for Acrobat Access in the plug-in help menu, you may have had some installation problems. Please try to reinstall Acrobat Access. TIP: If you get an error opening the help file, you may not have copied the help file to the help directory. You can instead open the file directly from the following directory: c:\acrobat3\reader\plug_ins\access.pdf * Finally, to bring up the Access view of this document, press +Q simultaneously. At this point, your screen reading program should be able to read the Access view of the help file. The help file covers all of the features of Acrobat Access, including how to set up Acrobat so that the Access view is the default document view. More Tips: You are only one key stroke away from a quick reference for all of the Access commands: * + 9 opens a quick reference for Access. Need Help? If you have a problem or need help with this tool, please see the FAQ page. If the FAQ page does not help you, you can report a bug. If this option doesn't work for you, try another Access service to convert the PDF. ---------- End of Document