Select the hamburger Menu (Windows), or the File menu (macOS) > Export a PDF > Text (Accessible).
Reading PDFs with reflow and accessibility features Part 2
Navigate and control the application with the keyboard
You can navigate by using the keyboard instead of the mouse. Several keyboard access features are available in Mac OS; see the documentation for your operating system for details. In Windows, some of the keyboard shortcuts used to navigate in Acrobat differ from the keyboard shortcuts used in other Windows applications.
When you open Acrobat within a web browser, keyboard commands are mapped to the web browser first. Consequently, some keyboard shortcuts are not available in Acrobat or are available only after you shift the focus to the PDF.
For information about accessibility features, see www.adobe.com/accessibility.
Enable single-key accelerators
You can select some tools and perform some actions with single-key accelerators. Most keyboard shortcuts in Acrobat don’t require that you enable single-key accelerators.
Open the Preferences dialog box from the hamburger menu (windows) or select Acrobat in the upper left (macOS). Under Categories, select General, and then select Use single-key accelerators to access tools.
Note
Some screen readers do not work with Acrobat single-key accelerators.
Scroll automatically
The automatic scrolling feature makes it easier to scan through long PDFs, especially reflowed documents. You can scroll through pages without using keystrokes or mouse actions.
- From the hamburger menu (Windows), select View > Page display > Automatically scroll.
- From the top left (macOS), select View > Page display > Automatically scroll.
Stop automatic scroll
When the PDF is scrolling, you can stop the automatic scrolling:
- From the hamburger menu (Windows), select View > Page display > Automatically scroll.
- From the top left (macOS), select View > Page display > Automatically scroll.
Automatically scroll settings
To change the scrolling speed to a specific speed, press a number key (9 for fastest, 0 for slowest).
To increase or decrease the scrolling speed, press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key, depending on the scrolling direction.
To reverse the scrolling direction, press the minus sign (-) key.
To jump to the next or previous page, press the Left Arrow or Right Arrow key.
Save as accessible text for a braille printer
Note
This document uses the term “braille printer” to refer to any device that is used to convert accessible text to a form that a person with blindness or low vision can use.
You can save a PDF as accessible text to print on a braille printer. Accessible text can be imported and printed out as formatted grade 1 or 2 braille documents by using a braille translation application. See the documentation included with the braille translator for more information.
A text version of a PDF contains no images or multimedia objects. However, the text version of an accessible PDF contains alternate text descriptions for such objects if they have been provided.
Reflow a PDF
You can reflow a PDF to temporarily present it as a single column that is the width of the document pane. This reflow view can make the document easier to read on a mobile device or magnified on a standard monitor, without scrolling horizontally to read the text.
You cannot save, edit, or print a document while it is in Reflow view.
In most cases, only readable text appears in the reflow view. Text that doesn’t reflow includes forms, comments, digital signature fields, and page artifacts, such as page numbers, headers, and footers. Pages that contain both readable text and form or digital signature fields don’t reflow. Vertical text reflows horizontally.
Acrobat temporarily tags an untagged document before reflowing it. As an author, you can optimize your PDFs for reflow by tagging them yourself. Tagging ensures that text blocks reflow and that content follows the appropriate sequences, so readers can follow a story that spans different pages and columns without other stories interrupting the flow.
To quickly check the reading order of a document, view it in Reflow view.
(Acrobat Pro) If the tagged PDF doesn’t reflow the way you want, see if the content order or reading order of the PDF file contains inconsistencies. Also check the tagging process. You can use the Content pane or the Reading Order tool to resolve reflow problems.
Reflow a tagged PDF
Select the hamburger Menu (Windows) and go to View or select View from the upper left (macOS). Then select Zoom > Reflow.
If the Page Display setting is Two Page View before you choose Reflow view, the Page Display setting automatically becomes Single Page View when the document is reflowed. If the Page Display setting is Two Page Scrolling before you choose Reflow view, the Page Display setting automatically becomes Enable Scrolling when the document is reflowed.
Return to unreflowed view
When in Reflow view, select the hamburger Menu (Windows) and go to View or select View from the upper left (macOS). Then select Zoom > Reflow.
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