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Content | Type of Tag |
|---|---|
Coastal Comforts Employee Handbook | Heading 1 |
Table of Contents | Table of Contents, Table of Contents Item, Link, Link - OBJR, Paragraph, Heading 1 |
Part 1: Introduction | Heading 2 |
Subsections | Heading 3 |
Paragraphs | Paragraph |
Part 2: Employment Policies | Heading 2 |
Subsections | Heading 3 |
Paragraphs | Paragraph |
Form Fields | Form and Form - OBJR |
Image | Figure |
Step 4: Form Fields
We only have a couple of form fields to add in our project.
Now that we are in Acrobat with our file, we need to create our form fields for each of the line. Acrobat can create these fields for you and place them on the lines. To add the form fields,
Go to the All Tools pane on the left side of the screen and click on the Prepare a Form Tool.
The Choose an Option to Create a Form page will open. Be sure that you are on the Select a File option. Select your untagged PDF, and leave the option for This Document Requires Signatures unchecked. We will add a signature line ourselves later on.
The option for Form Field Auto Detection should be left as on.
Click the blue Create Form button.
Now your tool has added form fields to your entire PDF document. Field Names and Tooltips are also added, but you should check those to be sure they are accurate.
This tool will automatically add form fields to your document and your PDF will be open in Form Editing Mode. One thing to keep in mind is that the tool will only create text box form fields. If you only use form fields for typing in text, that is okay, but if you need to create check boxes, or dates, or other complex form fields, you will need to make those manually. Field Names and Tooltips are also added automatically, but you may want to edit them.
4a: Replacing Form Fields
Now that your form fields have been created, you need to check them all. All of our form fields are text fields. This means that you can type in letters and numbers in the boxes. The issue is that a text field is not necessary for every field. On the left side of the screen, the Prepare a Form Tool is open, there are 10 different form field options including,
Text Box
Check Box
Radio Buttons
List of Choices
Dropdown List
Action Button
Image Field
Date Field
Signature Field
Barcode Field
When you are looking at your form fields, ask yourself: Does it make sense to have this type of form field for this question? In our example, Full Name has a text field, this makes sense. However, Position Applied For also has a text field. While you could use a text field for this, it is better to use a dropdown menu field. This is because having a dropdown menu can allow you give people options of different positions to choose from instead of users typing in a job that is not available.
You can delete your form field by right clicking on the field and clicking the Delete button in the expansion menu.
To replace your field, click on the Dropdown List button. Then click by your line to create your box.
Finally, click and drag your field to make the box go from one end of the line to the other.
Repeat this process for the rest of the fields you want replaced. In our example, the following forms were changed.
| Info |
|---|
Note from the author: In our example, there are also many form fields that could be replaced with a date field. I would not recommend using this type of field because it is easier to type in a date in a text field. You will ability to specify the format of the dates in the text field, which we will cover later. If you use a date field, you will have to use a screen reader to access a calendar then go through the calendar one day at a time to find the correct day. This is much more time consuming and not recommended. |
4b: Tab Order
Now that all of your form fields have been completed, you need to test the tab order of your PDF. A user may not be able to use the mouse to click from one form field to another. A good alternative to access the form fields is by using the Tab Key. To test your PDF, click the Preview Button and hit the Tab Key several times. What should happen is that the first form field at the top of the PDF should be highlighted first. Then by clicking the Tab Key again, the form next to or underneath the first form field will be highlighted. If a form field is skipped, that means the Tab Order is out of order.
Step 5: Accessibility Checker
You have now reached the last step of our process before testing with a screen reader. We need to use Adobe’s Accessibility Checker. The accessibility checker will scan our entire document, from the tags, to the font used, to the color contrast, and many other accessibility attributes. After it is done checking, the accessibility checker will give us a notification on what issues need to be fixed and what fulfills accessibility requirements.
Keep in mind though, that while accessibility checkers are very good, they should not be completely depended on. Think of them as a first step for testing accessibility. If you want to see if your document is completely accessible, it is recommended to test it with a screen reader. When you have all of the issues fixed in Acrobat’s Accessibility Checker, feel free to double check it using PAC 2021 and compare the results.
Step 6: Testing with a Screen Reader
Use NVDA or another screen reader to test your PDF. Everything in your PDF should be read by the screen reader in order. If anything is skipped, be sure to fix the reading order or tab order or any additional issues you may run into. Once you are done, the PDF should be fully accessible, and you can share it with your student, or other faculty that need it.
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