Adobe Acrobat 8 Standard

Prevent security settings from interfering with screen readers

A document author can specify that no part of an accessible PDF is to be copied, printed, extracted, commented on, or edited. This setting could interfere with a screen reader’s ability to read the document, because screen readers must be able to copy or extract the document’s text in order to convert it to speech.

To maintain document security while allowing screen readers access to text, use one of the following settings:

  • For low-encryption-level security, select Enable Copying Of Text, Images, And Other Content in the Password Security - Settings dialog box.
  • For high-encryption-level security, select Enable Text Access For Screen Reader Devices For The Visually Impaired in the Password Security - Settings dialog box. This option overrides the document’s security settings only for the purpose of giving assistive software, such as screen readers, access to the content.

    For instructions on how to set document security, see Set passwords for PDFs.

    If your assistive technology product is registered with Adobe as a Trusted Agent, you can read PDFs that might be inaccessible to another assistive technology product. Acrobat recognizes when a screen reader or other product is a Trusted Agent and overrides security settings that would typically limit access to the content for accessibility purposes. However, the security settings remain in effect for all other purposes, such as to prevent printing, copying, extracting, commenting, or editing text.