Upcoming Changes to the Standards: A look at PDF/UA-2

Handouts

Presented at 11:45am in Plaza Court 1 on Friday, November 19, 2021.

#33926

Speaker(s)

  • Paul Rayius, Vice President of Training, CommonLook

Session Details

  • Length of Session: 1-hr
  • Format: Lecture
  • Expertise Level: Intermediate
  • Type of session: General Conference

Summary

The ISO is expected to release PDF/UA-2 in January of 2022. This presentation will discuss the upcoming changes to the accessibility standard and how to prepare for it.

Abstract

The ISO 14289-1 also known as PDF/UA is an international standard for ensuring PDF files are accessible was released back in 2012. The ISO has released the specifications for PDF 2.0 in 2017 and 2020 and now PDF/UA-2 is expected to be released in early 2022. There will be new PDF tags, changes to requirements for heading levels and additional new features. This session will discuss the upcoming changes and how to prepare for them.

Keypoints

  1. Document accessibility standards continue to advance, be prepared for PDF/UA-2
  2. Learn the key differences and how PDF/UA-2 is designed to make documents more accessible
  3. Understanding the differences between PDF/UA-1 and the new PDF/UA-2 standard

Disability Areas

Vision

Topic Areas

Accessible Educational Materials, Assistive Technology, Legal, Uncategorized, Web/Media/App Access

Speaker Bio(s)

Paul Rayius

Since 2013, Paul has helped a variety of organizations, including healthcare, government agencies (local, state and federal), financial institutions, and colleges and universities meet their PDF accessibility needs. In addition to his expertise with the CommonLook suite of tools for testing, creating and remediating PDFs, he is also well versed in accessibility standards including Section 508 (including the “refreshed” standard), Health and Human Services (HHS), WCAG 2.0, WCAG 2.1, and PDF/UA. Paul is a member of the IAAP (International Association of Accessibility Professionals) and serves on various committees including helping to develop the Accessible Document Specialist certification. In addition, he is a member of the PDF Association and participates in writing the ISO 32000 (PDF) and ISO 14289 (PDF/UA) standards, as well as working with the PDF/UA Competence Center, the PDF/UA Technical Working Group, and serving as co-chair for the Accessibility Service Bureau Working Group. Paul also participates in, and moderates, several online accessibility groups and forums. Prior to joining the CommonLook team, Paul graduated with a BMe in Instrumental Music Education from Florida State University and taught middle school band for 11 years. In his spare time, he enjoys various outdoor activities and is an avid lacrosse player and geocacher.

Handout(s)

CommonLook - PDF Accessibilty: Problem Solved!