PDF/UA Processor LWG in Paris
The PDF/UA Processor LWG will continue the work of developing a processor and AT specification to help drive better accessible PDF experiences for all!
Springtime in Paris; it’s such a romantic time, and there’s really no better time for the PDF/UA Processor Liaison Working Group (LWG) to meet in person! We are excited to come together, as part of PDF Week Paris 2023, on May 3, 2023, from 9am to 10:45am (CET).
As mentioned in the PDF Association article about this working group, PDF accessibility specifications have not kept up with current-generation software and, as a result, end-users are not always provided an equivalent experience. Commonly used web technologies, meanwhile, have evolved, and now target delivery of consistent results across platforms and devices. This has been made possible, in part, due to the development and adoption of high-quality APIs that have allowed AT to work across platforms. The same, however, cannot be said for PDF processors and AT and, even worse, some accessibility vendors use entirely implementation-specific approaches.
The goal of this Liaison Working Group, then, is to bridge that gap. Work is well underway taking the existing mapping of ARIA roles and HTML elements to various accessibility APIs, and then drawing connections between those roles and elements to tags and other objects in PDFs.
During our time together in Paris, we’ll continue the work that we have begun with the intent of coming closer to a processor and AT specification that, without reinventing wheels, will provide a better accessible PDF experience for all!
It's not just this LWG; most of the PDF Association's working groups dealing with Tagged PDF are meeting in Paris as well, so there's lots of opportunity to sit in on other areas of focus.
Of course, if you’re not able to join us in Paris, there will be the availability to attend remotely as well!
Follow this link for more information about the PDF/UA Processor LWG.