WVU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Project

WVU Electronic Theses and Dissertations http://www.wvu.edu/~thesis/

Document Formats and Access for
Individuals with Disabilities

Some documents on this web site are provided in PDF format. A PDF viewer is required to view or print documents in this format. Because PDF files are not readable by screen readers, individuals using text-to-speech systems (screen readers) may wish to convert PDF files to HTML or plain text format. A user has several options:

1. Though not intended to be fully featured PDF to HTML conversion tools, Adobe offers free Internet and email services that convert Web-based PDF files to formats that screen reading programs support. Adobe offers several ways to convert PDF files:

Adobe offers a Web server that converts Web-based PDF files to HTML http://access.adobe.com. This only requires a Web browser. A URL to a PDF document is typed into an electronic form at http://access.adobe.com/access_f orm.html and the user selects the "Get This PDF Document As HTML" button. The PDF document will be converted on-the-fly to HTML and returned immediately in the browser application.

If the PDF is on the Internet, the URL of the PDF in the body of an email message can be mailed to pdf2txt@adobe.com (for plain text) or to pdf2html@adobe.com (for HTML). The convertor will email back the translation of the PDF file.

Adobe offers a free plug-in for Adobe Acrobat Reader (Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT) that enables screen reading programs to interpret the content in PDF files. For more information, or to download the Acrobat Access plug-in, visit http://access.adobe.com/access _plugin.html.

        2. A new service hosted by Trace Research Center allows the conversion of PDF documents that are not on the Internet by sending the PDF as a MIME attachment to an email message. The URL of the PDF can be mailed or the PDF document can be attached attach to the email message and sent to pdf2txt@sun.trace.wisc.edu (for plain text) or to pdf2html@sun.trace.wisc.edu (for HTML). The convertor will mail back the translation of the PDF file.
        3. BCL Computers has launched (for public use) a free Web site and service at http://www.gohtm.com that allows users to upload PDF files. The GoHTM site converts the submitted document, complete with images and hyperlinks. The resulting file is automatically emailed in compressed format to the user.

        For additional information on accessibility for people with disabilities, visit the Job Accommodation Network, a service of the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, located on the campus of West Virginia University.

Last Modified 27 Sep 2004
jhagen2@wvu.edu