DocuMotor

PDF/UA

DocuMotor supports both PDF and PDF/UA-1 as output types for the finalized documents.

PDF/UA (Portable Document Format/Universal Accessibility) is a technical standard established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that focuses on ensuring the accessibility of PDF documents.

PDF/UA is a set of guidelines and requirements designed to make PDF documents accessible to individuals with disabilities, particularly those using assistive technologies such as screen readers or braille displays. It addresses various accessibility aspects, including document structure, navigation, text alternatives, color contrast, and more. PDF/UA-1 is required for WCAG 2.0 and Section 508 compliance.

Automating documents to support accessibility does present some issues that cannot always be addressed automatically, but requires document creators to perform manual accessibility checks, as these play a crucial role in uncovering potential accessibility barriers that may not be detected by automated solutions. Automated solutions often lack the contextual understanding required to assess elements like meaningful alternative text, logical reading order, or accurate document structure.

With DocuMotor we recommend that creators check the output of their automated templates and remediate issues identified in the checkup inside the template. Our PDF generation capabilities utilize our own custom LibreOffice stack, this may in edge cases cause differences between for example a Word document, and it’s generated PDF.

For automation of accessible documents, we recommend keeping layouts and structures of the document simple to ensure a good experience for readers. Certain documents, especially those with complex layouts, large amounts of tables with complex table structures of merged cells, or intricate graphical elements, often require manual touch-up using specialized accessibility tools to ensure a satisfactory accessibility compliance.

DocuMotor does not validate or verify the legal limitations associated with the fonts used in the documents. Custom fonts may require additional setup.

Document structure compatibility (docx)

DocuMotor supports the following elements of the main document:

Document

  • Title

Text

  • Paragraphs
  • Lists
  • Headings

Outline levels from headings in the document:

  • Heading 1 (Outline level 1)
  • Heading 2 (Outline level 2)
  • Heading 3 (Outline level 3)
  • …

Images

Must have either an alternative text or the “Mark as decorative”-setting for PDF/UA-1 compliance.

  • Inline images and floating images
  • Alternative text
  • “Mark as decorative”, converted to PDF artifact

Shapes

Unless shapes have an alternative text defined, they are treated as artifacts.

  • Inline and floating shapes
  • Alternative text
  • “Mark as decorative” or no alternative text, converted to PDF artifact
  • Text inside shapes

Tables

  • “Header Row” and/or “First Column” option, converted to PDF THs
  • Alternative text, converted to PDF Summary
  • Multiple page span single table.
  • Text inside tables

Charts

Must have an alternative text for PDF/UA-1 compliance.

  • Inline and floating charts
  • Alternative text

Links

  • Tagged
  • “ScreenTip”, converted to PDF alternative text