Reading PDF Documents with Adobe Reader 6.0 
A Guide for People with Disabilities

© 2004 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved.
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either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. JAWS® is either a registered trademark or 
trademark of Freedom Scientific Blind/Low vision Group. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Introduction
Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) and accessibility 2
Orientation to the Adobe Reader 6.0 interface 2
Main document window 4
Status bar 5
Searching documents 6
Getting help 7
Section One: Getting Started
Using the tools in the computer operating system 9
Setting preferences in Adobe Reader 6.0 11
Accessibility quick check 13
Section Two: Using the Read Out Loud Text-to-Speech Tool
Testing the default reading settings 14
Setting Reading preferences 15
Reading a PDF document using Read Out Loud 17
Section Three: Enhancing On-Screen Viewing
Setting on-screen enhancement preferences 18
Background 20
Setting document or page mode 21
Navigating in page mode 22
Additional preference settings to enhance 
on-screen viewing 22
Using other Adobe Reader accessibility tools with 
on-screen enhancements to read PDF documents 25
Section Four: Using Keyboard Commands
Setting the single key accelerator preference 29
Using single key accelerators in Adobe Reader 6.0 30

Using Adobe Reader 6.0 generic keyboard commands 31
Main document window 33
Status bar 34
Searching documents 35
Getting help 36
Additional preference settings to use with 
keyboard commands 37
Using other Adobe Reader accessibility tools with 
keyboard commands to read PDF documents 41
Section Five: Accessing Multimedia Captioning
Setting multimedia preferences 44
Setting captioning preferences 45
Additional preference settings to use with captioning 45
Using other Adobe Reader accessibility tools to read 
PDF documents 48
Section Six: Using Screen Readers
Setting preferences for use with screen readers 52
Background 53
Additional preference settings to use with screen readers 55
Navigation using keyboard commands 56
Main document window 58
Status bar 59
Searching documents 59
Getting help 61
Using other Adobe Reader accessibility tools with screen 
readers to read PDF documents 62
Saving a document for Braille translation 62
Appendix A: Accessibility Basics
Creating accessible content 63
Appendix B: Complete List of Adobe Reader 6.0 Keyboard Commands
Single key accelerators 68
Keys for moving through a document 69
Keys for general navigation 70
Keys for working with navigation tabs 71
Keys for navigating the Help menu 71
Keys for navigating the How To window 72

Introduction
Welcome to Adobe Systems Incorporated’s “Reading PDF Documents with Adobe® Reader® 6.0, A Guide for People 
with Disabilities.” This is a step-by-step guide designed to assist people with disabilities such as blindness or low 
vision to work more effectively with PDF files.
This guide can be used in four ways:
•By people with disabilities who need to access PDF documents.
•By authors of accessible PDF documents who want to test their files for accessibility.
•By people who want to use the accessibility tools to customize their reading of PDF documents.
•By trainers and teachers working with people using assistive technology.
Each of the sections in this guide explores specific preferences and accessibility tools built into Adobe Reader 6.0. 
Section One: Getting Started. 
This section has basic information on settings that can be modified in the computer 
operating system to enhance computer use. There is also information on the Adobe Reader 6.0 Preferences options, 
as well as how to quickly check PDF documents for accessibility before reading them.
Section Two: Using the Read Out Loud Text-to-Speech Tool. 
This section provides information on modifying the 
speech settings to use Read Out Loud in Adobe Reader 6.0, then provides the keystrokes for reading documents.
Read Out Loud is a Text-to-Speech (TTS) tool built into Adobe Reader 6.0. It reads text contained within a document 
window. This functionality is different from “screen reader” technology, which includes access for text within a 
window, general navigation of a computer and access for menu items, dialog boxes, or message boxes.
Section Three: Enhancing On-Screen Viewing. 
This section provides step-by-step instructions on how to change the 
text color and background color of PDF documents. For people using screen magnification software, consult the 
Help files for the screen magnification software for additional information.
Section Four: Using Keyboard Commands. 
This section provides detailed information on using keyboard 
commands in Adobe Reader 6.0. For people with a mobility impairment, the single key accelerators can be used in 
combination with a mouse to access or switch tools. There are also strategies on using generic application keyboard 
commands in Adobe Reader 6.0 to read PDF documents.
Section Five: Accessing Multimedia Captioning. 
This section provides instructions on modifying settings for access 
to multimedia captioning.
Section Six: Using Screen Readers. 
This section provides support and strategies for people who use screen readers. 
If you use a screen reader, consult the screen reader Help files for specific information. 
Appendix A: Accessibility Basics. 
This appendix is an overview of the elements of accessible documents, with 
examples of the kinds of document structure and elements that enhance PDF document accessibility.
Appendix B: Complete List of Adobe Reader 6.0 Keyboard Commands. 
This resource is a complete list of Adobe 
Reader 6.0 keyboard commands including single key accelerators and generic keyboard commands.
If you author documents and convert them to PDF files, consult the companion booklet to this one: “Creating Accessible 
PDF Documents, A Guide for Content Authors.” It is a step-by-step guide to creating and optimizing PDF files 
for people with disabilities such as blindness or low vision, mobility impairments, and learning disabilities.

Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) and accessibility
PDF is a standard on the World Wide Web and is also used to distribute electronic documents over corporate 
networks, via e-mail, and on digital media. Virtually any electronic document or scanned image can be turned into 
a PDF file using Adobe Acrobat® software. These files can then be read by anyone using free Adobe Reader 6.0 
software. Many corporations, educational institutions, and government agencies use PDF to distribute documents 
to the public or to groups within their organizations. Its support for accessible electronic forms, digital signatures, 
and electronic mark-ups make it the ideal platform for converting yesterday’s paper-based business processes to fully 
interactive digital processes.
Adobe is committed to providing solutions that improve the accessibility of both the Adobe Acrobat software and 
the information contained in Adobe PDF files. In 1997, Adobe introduced the access.adobe.com Web site, which 
offered free PDF-to-text translation services. In 2001, Adobe enhanced the PDF specification to allow the creation of 
“tagged” PDF files in Adobe Acrobat software, allowing the insertion of logical document structure into the file. 
Logical structure refers to the organization of a document, such as the title page, chapters, sections, and subsections. 
Tagging a PDF file makes significant improvements to the accessibility of the document, by providing a mechanism 
to indicate the precise reading order and improving navigation, particularly for longer, more complex documents. 
Tagged PDF files also enable content reflow on smaller devices, such as PDAs and cell phones.
For more information on accessible tagged PDF, visit http://access.adobe.com.
People using assistive technology to read PDF documents may still encounter some that are not accessible. 
There are two major reasons for a lack of accessibility in PDF documents:
•Many PDF documents were created before the specification was enhanced.
•Many publishers aren’t aware of the necessary techniques for optimizing PDF documents for accessibility. 
Some of the specific accessibility issues are:
•Documents that contain only scanned images of text, which means that the text is not available to assistive 
technologies such as screen readers
•Documents that contain no tags because the author either owns older versions of Acrobat that do not support 
tagging, or isn’t aware of the tools provided
•PDF forms without fillable fields. These forms cannot be filled out online and must be printed to hard copy for 
manual completion.
For more information on creating accessible PDF documents, see “Appendix A: Accessibility Basics” on page 63.
Orientation to the Adobe Reader 6.0 interface
For best results when reading PDF documents, be sure to use the most current version of Adobe Reader 6.0 as well 
as the most current version of any assistive technology required. To download the latest version of Adobe Reader 6.0, 
go to http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/alternate.html#601uxall. Note that multiple versions of the Adobe 
Reader 6.0 download exist. 
Keyboard commands listed in this section work on either Windows or Mac OS unless otherwise specified. For a 
complete list of keyboard commands, see “Appendix B: Complete List of Adobe Reader 6.0 Keyboard Commands” 
on page 68.

Opening a PDF document in Adobe Reader 6.0
When Adobe Reader 6.0 is first launched, no document is open.
To open PDF documents, press Ctrl + O for Open on a Windows® system or Command + O for Open on Mac OS. 
The first time a document is opened, the How To window is visible on the right side of the application window.
The Adobe Reader 6.0 Windows interface with the How To window visible
The Adobe Reader 6.0 Windows interface with the How To window visible
The How To window provides help on general tasks without having to search the Help files. 
To view the document window without obstruction:
•To turn off the How To window for the current document press F4. This key is a toggle, so pressing F4 again will 
bring the How To window back in view when needed. 
•To turn off the How To window at startup, clear the “Show How To Window at Startup” check box in the How To 
window. When this tool is needed, press F4 to show it.
Title, menu and toolbars
At the top of the Adobe Reader 6.0 interface is the title bar containing the application name and the name of the 
current document. 

Under the title bar is the menu bar containing items such as File, Edit, View, Document, Tools, Window, and Help. 
On a Windows system, pressing the Alt key will move focus to the menu bar. Pressing the Alt key in combination 
with the keyboard shortcuts in the menu bar will move focus to a specific menu bar item. For example, Alt + F will 
move focus to and open the File menu. The keyboard shortcuts are the letters that are underlined. Escape will remove 
focus from the menu bar and will return focus to the document window. 
The menu bar can be hidden by pressing F9. This key is a toggle so pressing F9 again will show the menu bar.
Beneath the menu bar are the toolbars. Toolbars can be accessed on Windows using the keyboard by pressing the Alt 
key to move focus to the menu bar, then pressing Ctrl + Tab to move to the first toolbar. Ctrl + Tab will move focus 
through other visible toolbars. Pressing Ctrl + Shift + Tab will move focus to the previous toolbar. 
On Mac OS, if Full Keyboard Access is enabled in the system preferences, Control + F5 (the default keyboard 
command) will move focus to the first toolbar.
To move through toolbar items, press the Tab key to move forward and Shift + Tab to move backward. Pressing Enter 
on a toolbar icon will activate that function. Escape will remove focus from the toolbar and return focus to the 
document window.
To move focus to a toolbar in a browser, press Shift + F8 on a Windows system. There is no equivalent Mac OS 
keystroke. 
On a Windows system, toolbars can be turned on or off by pressing Alt + V for View, then T for toolbars and pressing 
the Enter key on the name of a toolbar. If a toolbar is turned on or “checked,” it will be turned off or “unchecked,” 
and if the selected toolbar is unchecked, pressing the Enter key will check it or turn it on.
Main document window
Below the toolbars is the main document area for reading documents. This area can have up to three components. 
A document must be open to view the Navigation pane. It is on the left side of the screen.
Navigation pane 
To reveal the Navigation pane, do one of the following:
•Choose View > Navigation Tabs > Open Navigation Pane.
•Choose Alt + V for View, then N, then O for Open Navigation Pane (Windows only).
•Press F6. 
The Navigation pane is located on the left side of the document window and, when it is closed, only the tabs for items 
are visible. The Navigation pane tabs include Bookmarks and Comments. F6 is a toggle, so pressing F6 will show or 
hide the Navigation pane. If the Navigation pane is open, pressing Shift + F6 moves focus between the document and 
the Navigation pane.
To move through items in the open Navigation pane within the selected tab, use the Tab key. The Tab key moves focus 
to and shows the category in the active Navigation pane tab.
To move between tabs in the Navigation pane, for example from Bookmarks to Pages, use Ctrl + Tab or Ctrl + Shift 
+ Tab (Windows only), or the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key when focus is on the tab itself (Windows or Mac OS). 
The Left Arrow key highlights the top tab. The Right Arrow key highlights the bottom tab in an open Navigation 
pane (Windows or Mac OS). 

In the Bookmarks tab of the Navigation pane, expand all bookmarks by pressing Shift + * or collapse all bookmarks 
by pressing the Forward Slash key (/). Using the Left Arrow or Right Arrow key on a particular bookmark will 
collapse or expand the bookmark respectively.
Document window
The main document window is in the center of the screen. When the mouse is moved over this area, the Hand tool, 
which is the default reading tool, is visible. 
To cycle through open documents if the focus is on a document on a Windows system, press Ctrl + F6 (there is no 
corresponding shortcut for Mac OS). Pressing Ctrl + F4 or Ctrl + W (Windows) or Command + W (Mac OS) will 
close the current document. To close all open documents, press Ctrl + Shift + W (Windows) or Command + Shift + 
W (Mac OS).
Pressing Alt + F6 will move focus to the next open palette or dialog box. (There is no Mac OS equivalent for this.)
To move among fields in a document, press the Tab key to move to the next field or Shift + Tab to move focus to the 
previous field.
To access the context menu reading a document, press either the AppKey or Shift + F10.
A useful browser keyboard command is Ctrl + I (Windows) or Command + I (Mac OS), which opens the Properties 
dialog box.
How To window
The third component of the main document window is the How To window. As previously mentioned, the How To 
window is displayed by default. Pressing F4 will either show or hide useful Help topics. The How To window contains 
links to helpful information on performing general tasks. At the top of the How To window is a “navigation bar” with 
a left and right arrow to move backward and forward through topics. 
To use keyboard commands to move through the topics on Windows, press Ctrl + Shift + Tab. (There is no corresponding 
shortcut for Mac OS.) This key combination moves focus to the How To navigation bar. Press the Enter 
key on an item, for example on the Back or Forward buttons.
To move focus between the How To window and the main document window, press Shift + F4.
Status bar
The last component of the Adobe Reader 6.0 interface is the Status bar. The Status bar is at the very bottom of the 
Adobe Reader 6.0 window. Moving from left to right, information is available on the page size, page numbering, and 
available views of the document.
In the center of the Status bar is a document navigation tool. It shows the current page, the total number of pages in 
the document, and provides arrow icons to move quickly through pages in the document.
On the right side of the Status bar are icons for viewing the document in Single Page, Continuous, Continuous 
Facing, or Facing mode.
Move through a document using keyboard commands such as Ctrl + Shift + Page Up (Windows) or Command + 
Shift + Page Up (Mac OS) to move to the first page of a document, or Ctrl + Shift + Page Down (Windows) or 
Command + Shift + Page Down (Mac OS) to move to the last page of a document. Page Up and Page Down will 
move forward one screen and backward one screen respectively.

Pressing Ctrl + Shift + N (Windows) or Command + Shift + N (Mac OS) brings up the Go To page dialog box in 
which a specific page number can be entered.
Searching documents
In Adobe Reader 6.0, it is easy to find specific items in documents by using the Search tool. Activate the Search 
window by pressing Ctrl + F (Windows) or Command + F (Mac OS). If the How To window is visible, the How To 
items are replaced by the Search items. If the How To window is hidden, the Search window opens on the right side 
of the screen.
The Adobe Reader 6.0 interface with the Search window visible
The Adobe Reader 6.0 interface with the Search window visible
By default the focus is on the “enter keyword” text box. This is where you enter the keyword(s) that will be searched 
for in a document.
Use the Tab key to move through the options for searching for items in a PDF document. The current document or 
all documents in a specific folder can be searched. Searches can be for whole words, be case sensitive, or be through 
bookmarks or comments. There are also links to search PDFs on the Internet, use Advanced Search options, or access 
the complete Adobe Reader 6.0 Help files.
Successful search results will appear as links in the results box in the Search window. Either select the link to move 
to it in the document or press F3 to move to and highlight the next search result in the document.

The table below shows the other Search tool keyboard shortcuts.
Windows 
Mac OS
Press Ctrl + ] to search the next document.
Press Command + ] to search the next document.
Press Ctrl + [ to search the previous document.
Press Command + [ to search the previous document.
Press Ctrl + G to search for the next result.
Press Command + G to search for the next result.
Press Ctrl + Shift + G to search for the previous result.
Press Command + Shift + G to search for the previous 
result.
Press F4 to close the Search window.
Press F4 to close the Search window.
Getting help
It is easy to get help in Adobe Reader 6.0. One option is to use the How To window to obtain assistance on general 
everyday tasks in Adobe Reader 6.0. Another option is to choose the Help topic on the menu bar. The easiest way to 
obtain help using keyboard commands is to press F1.
Pressing F1 will open a new window with the complete Adobe Reader 6.0 Help files available. 
The Help window is divided into four parts:
•The title bar
•A toolbar
•A navigation pane on the left side that allows searches by Contents, Search keywords, or an alphabetical Index
•A document window on the right side containing the Help file that was requested
The Adobe Reader 6.0 Help window
The Adobe Reader 6.0 Help window
Pressing Shift + F8 will move focus to the toolbar in the Help window. The toolbar has tools to move forward, 
backward, print topic, and increase or decrease magnification. Use the Tab key to move through these options.

When a Help topic is chosen, focus in the Navigation pane moves to the current panel contents. Press the Tab key to 
move back to the Navigation pane before using the Left Arrow key and Right Arrow key to switch the active panel 
(Contents, Search or Index). Move among the active panels more directly using Ctrl + Tab (Windows only). 
Press the Left Arrow or Right Arrow key in the Navigation pane to move through the Contents, Search, or Index tabs. 
Press the Tab key to move into the options. Then use the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key to move through the topics. 
Press Enter to open the topic in the Help document window on the right.
To temporarily hide the Navigation pane, press F6. This key is a toggle, so pressing F6 again will open the Navigation 
pane.
Press Ctrl + 4 to reflow the Help document for easier reading. On Windows, Ctrl + plus sign (+) increases the magnification 
and Ctrl + minus sign (-) decreases the magnification. On Mac OS, Command + plus sign (+) increases the 
magnification and Command + minus sign (-) decreases the magnification.
Pressing Alt + F4 or Ctrl + W (Windows) or Command + W (Mac OS) closes the Help window. 

Section One: Getting Started
Section one contains basic information on settings that can be modified in the computer’s operating system to 
enhance the use of a computer. It also contains step-by-step instructions on where to find the Adobe Reader 6.0 
Preferences settings and how to quickly check PDF documents for accessibility before reading them.
Using the tools in the computer operating system
Both the Microsoft® Windows® and the Apple® Macintosh® operating systems have some accessibility tools built in 
for convenience. The operating system is often a good place to start customizing access to information.
Working in the Windows® operating system:
Use Adobe Reader 6.0 on a Windows 98SE®, Windows ME®, Windows NT®, Windows® 2000, or Windows XP® 
system. For more detailed information on these operating systems, visit 
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/acrrsystemreqs.html.
The Windows XP or Windows 2000 operating system has several built-in tools that provide increased or alternate 
access to information on the computer screen.
•Narrator is a light version of a screen reader. 
•Magnifier is a screen magnification tool. 
•Speech is a voice recognition tool.
Choose Start > All Programs > Accessories to use tools such as Narrator, Magnify, or Speech.
Windows XP also has tools that are specific to people with disabilities. These tools include:
•Sticky Keys for one-handed typing. This tool allows one key to be held down, then a second key can be moved to 
and pressed. The result is the same as if the keys were acting as a keyboard shortcut. For example Alt + F for File. 
•Sounds allows the customization of auditory feedback from applications. 
•Display provides access to high contrast color schemes that are used by the operating system to display information. 
•MouseKeys allows the keyboard to act as a mouse or pointing device.
Press Start > Control Panel > Accessibility to access Keyboard, Sound, Display, Mouse, and General options. The 
image below is the Accessibility Options dialog box in the Windows operating system.

The Accessibility Options dialog box in the Windows operating system
The Accessibility Options dialog box
For more information on the accessibility tools in the Windows XP or Windows 2000 operating system, visit 
http://www.microsoft.com/enable. 
Working in the Macintosh® operating system:
On a Macintosh computer, Mac OS® version 10.2.2 or later is required to use Adobe Reader 6.0.
To modify accessibility preferences, choose System Preferences > Universal Access and then select the category to 
change (for example, keyboard, mouse, or keyboard shortcuts).
In Universal Access preferences, under “Keyboard & Mouse” is a panel for keyboard shortcuts in which the level of 
keyboard access needed can be selected, or full access can be chosen.

The preference panel for the level of keyboard access needed
The preference panel for the level of keyboard access needed
For more information on the accessibility tools in Mac OS, visit http://www.apple.com/disability. 
Setting preferences in Adobe Reader 6.0
All of the Adobe Reader 6.0 tools have settings that can be customized. 
To change any of the Adobe Reader 6.0 settings, do one of the following:
•Choose Edit > Preferences.
•Press Alt + E for Edit, then N for Preferences (Windows only).
•Press Ctrl + K (Windows) or Command + K (Mac OS).
Note that if the JAWS® for Windows screen reader is used, there may be a key conflict with Ctrl + K. If this conflict 
is encountered, use the JAWS PassKey (Insert + 3) before pressing Ctrl + K.
The Preferences dialog box is divided into two sections. On the left side is a list of the categories or items that can be 
changed. For example, some of the categories are Accessibility, Internet, Reading, and Multimedia. On the right side 
of the dialog box are the elements within the selected category that can be modified. For example in the Accessibility 
options, the text color or the background color of a PDF document can be changed. When the Preferences dialog box 
is opened, focus is on the last category modified. Press the first letter of any category name to quickly move to the 
category in which you wish to make changes.

The Accessibility category in the Preferences dialog box
The Accessibility category in the Preferences dialog box
Preference categories
The following is a list of the categories in the Adobe Reader 6.0 Preferences dialog box. Each section of this guide will 
identify the tools that will optimize accessibility of PDF documents.
•Accessibility 
•Digital Signatures 
•Forms 
•Full Screen 
•General 
•Identity 
•Internet 
•JavaScript 
•Multimedia 
•Page Display 
•Reading 
•Search 
•Smoothing 
•Startup 
•Trust Manager 
•Units 
•Updates

Accessibility quick check
An accessibility quick check can be performed on PDF documents to help determine how accessible a document 
might be. This tool provides a general indication of document accessibility. Files that check as accessible may still 
have problems, and files that have no structure may be readable depending on their use.
To use the Quick Check tool, do one of the following:
•Choose Document > Quick Check.
•Press Alt + D for Documents, then Q for Quick Check (Windows only).
The Quick Check tool will go through the document and provide an accessibility report on it. Below are two 
examples of Quick Check results, one from an inaccessible PDF document and one from an accessible tagged PDF 
document.
Example 1: A Quick Check with accessibility issues detected
Example 1: A Quick Check with accessibility issues detected
Example 2: A Quick Check with no accessibility issues detected
Example 2: A Quick Check with no accessibility issues detected

Section Two: Using the Read Out Loud 
Text-to-Speech Tool
This section will provide information for modifying the speech settings for the Read Out Loud tool in Adobe Reader 
6.0 and detail the keystrokes for reading documents using Read Out Loud.
Read Out Loud is a Text-to-Speech (TTS) tool that is built into Adobe Reader 6.0. It reads text contained within a 
document window. This functionality is different from “screen reader” technology, which not only reads text within 
a document but also lets visually impaired users navigate their computer and access menu items, dialog boxes, or 
message boxes.
To use Read Out Loud, you will need:
•Adobe Reader 6.0 or later
•The Text-to-Speech engine installed in the operating system
Note that other voices may be available. Consult the operating system manual or Help files for more information on 
the operating system Text-to-Speech tool. 
Checking document accessibility
Before reading a PDF document, it is a good idea to check the anticipated accessibility of the document. If the 
document is not accessible, it may not be read at all or it may be read in the wrong order.
To use Quick Check, do one of the following:
•Choose Document > Quick Check.
•Press Alt + D for Documents, then Q for Quick Check (Windows only).
Testing the default reading settings
Before making modifications to Read Out Loud, test the voice settings. The few keystrokes below will start and stop 
Read Out Loud. Additional keystrokes are provided in the section on reading with this tool.
To test the default reading settings:
•Choose View > Read Out Loud > Read This Page Only, or use the keyboard shortcut Shift + Ctrl + V (Windows) 
or Shift + Command + V (Mac OS).
•Choose View > Read Out Loud > Stop to stop reading, or use the keyboard shortcut Shift + Ctrl + E (Windows) 
or Shift + Command + E (Mac OS).
Setting Reading preferences
To open the Preferences dialog box, do one of the following:
•Choose Edit > Preferences.
•Press Alt + E for Edit, then N for Preferences (Windows only).

•Press Ctrl + K (Windows) or Command + K (Mac OS).
Press the letter R to move to the Reading category, if it is not already selected. From the keyboard, press the Tab key 
to move into the options. If using the mouse, click on the option to be changed.
Volume
To make changes to the default volume using the keyboard, choose Alt + V for Volume, then use the Up Arrow or 
Down Arrow key to increase or decrease volume.
Note that volume can be controlled from the computer sound card. On Windows systems, select the volume icon in 
the system tray (lower right side of the computer screen next to the clock). On Mac OS, the volume is controlled by 
three volume keys on the keyboard (Up, Down, and Off).
Default voice
Every TTS software has a default voice. However, a different voice can be selected by clearing the Voice check box, 
which reveals the list of possible Voices. Choose a different voice by using the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key. 
To change the volume options on a Windows system:
1 Press Alt + U to move to and uncheck “Use Default Voice.” 
2 If the Tab key is used to navigate, once focus is on “Use Default Voice,” press the spacebar to either select or deselect 
the check box. 
To change the volume options on Mac OS:
Press the Tab key to move to the option, then select it by pressing the spacebar.
Speech attributes
Modifying the speech attributes means altering the rate or speed at which the voice reads or the pitch of the selected 
voice. By default, the Use Default Speech Attributes check box is selected. Clearing this check box enables the options 
for changing the rate and pitch of the voice. 
To change the speech attributes on a Windows system:
1 Press Alt + A to change the value of this check box. Clearing the check box enables the pitch and speed options.
2 Press Alt + P for Pitch. 
3 Press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key to increase or decrease the pitch of the voice respectively.
4 Press Alt + W to change the reading speed. The rate or speed at which Read Out Loud reads documents is set in 
Words Per Minute. Type in the number of words per minute that are comfortable.
To change the speech attributes on Mac OS:
Press the Tab key to move to the option, then select it by pressing the spacebar.
Reading order
Left-to-right, top-to-bottom reading order and Use reading order in raw print stream are much faster than Infer 
reading order from document because they only deal with text and take a much simpler analysis strategy. Infer 
reading order from document should return more accurate results, but may be slower.

To change reading order settings on a Windows system:
1 Press Alt + R and choose one of the following options: 
•Left-to-right, top-to-bottom reading order
•Infer reading order from document (recommended) 
•Use reading order in raw print stream
2 To override the reading order in tagged documents, press Alt + O. This is not a default setting.
To change reading order settings on Mac OS:
Press the Tab key to move to the option, then select it by pressing the spacebar. 
The Reading category in the Preferences dialog box
The Reading category in the Preferences dialog box
There are additional settings for Adobe Reader 6.0 that can enhance on-screen viewing and can be used in combination 
with Read Out Loud. For more information on using on-screen enhancements, see “Section Three: 
Enhancing On-Screen Viewing” on page 18. 
Reading a PDF document using Read Out Loud
There are two ways to access the Read Out Loud tool in Adobe Reader 6.0.

The following chart shows the keyboard shortcuts for accessing Read Out Loud:
Windows
Mac OS
From the View menu: 
•Choose Alt + V for View, then A for Read Out Loud, 
and then O for Read this page only. 
•Choose Alt + V for View, then A for Read Out Loud, 
and then E for Read to end of document.
•Choose Alt + V for View, then A for Read Out Loud, 
and then P to Pause reading. Note that if reading is 
paused, this command changes to Resume reading. 
Press the letter R to Resume reading.
•Choose Alt + V for View, then A for Read Out Loud, 
and then S to Stop reading. 
From the View menu: 
•Choose View > Read Out Loud > Read this page only. 
•Choose View > Read Out Loud > Read to end of document.
•Choose View > Read Out Loud > Pause reading. Note 
that if reading is paused, this command changes to 
Resume reading.
•Choose View > Read Out Loud > Stop to stop reading. 
Keyboard commands are: 
•Ctrl + Shift + V to Read this page only.
•Ctrl + Shift + B to Read to end of document. 
•Ctrl + Shift + C to Pause or Resume reading. 
•Ctrl + Shift + E to Stop reading. 
Keyboard commands are: 
•Command + Shift + V to Read this page only.
•Command + Shift + B to Read to end of document. 
•Command + Shift + C to Pause or Resume reading. 
•Command + Shift + E to Stop reading. 
Other accessibility tools such as Reflow or Full Screen can be used with Read. For more information on using other 
accessibility tools with Read Out Loud, see “Using other Adobe Reader accessibility tools with on-screen enhancements 
to read PDF documents” on page 25.

Section Three: Enhancing On-Screen 
Viewing
This section provides step-by-step instructions on how to change the text color and background color of PDF 
documents. 
To enhance on-screen viewing of documents, use features such as:
•Reflow 
•Form field hover colors 
•Automatic scrolling 
•Full screen
If you use screen magnification software with Adobe Reader 6.0, consult the screen magnification Help files for 
specific support for reading PDF documents.
You will need the following:
•Adobe Reader 6.01 or later 
•A version of the screen magnification software that works with Adobe Reader 6.0.1 or later
Checking document accessibility
Before reading a PDF document, it is a good idea to check the anticipated accessibility of the document. If the 
document is not accessible, it may not be read at all or it may be read in the wrong order.
To use Quick Check, do one of the following:
•Choose Document > Quick Check.
•Press Alt + D for Documents, then Q for Quick Check (Windows only).
Setting on-screen enhancement preferences
To open the Preferences dialog box, do one of the following:
•Choose Edit > Preferences.
•Press Alt + E for Edit, then N for Preferences (Windows only). 
•Press Ctrl + K (Windows) or Command + K (Mac OS).
Note that if the JAWS for Windows screen reader is used with screen magnification software, there may be a key 
conflict with Ctrl + K. If this conflict is encountered, use the JAWS PassKey (Insert + 3) before pressing Ctrl + K.
When the Preferences dialog box opens, focus will be on the last category modified. Press the first letter of any 
category to quickly move to it. Press the Tab key to move focus to the options for the current category. In this case, 
press the letter A for the Accessibility category.

Accessibility category 
By default, the document colors appear as the author defined them. Adobe Reader 6.01 lets readers replace the 
document colors, increasing the contrast between text and background. Windows users also have the option to adopt 
any Windows color scheme established by the operating systems accessibility options.
The following table shows the steps to change the document colors in Adobe Reader 6.0 when the Accessibility 
category is selected in the Preferences dialog.
Windows
Mac OS
Press Alt + R to replace document colors.
Press Tab to move to the Replace document colors 
check box.
This enables two options:
•Press Alt + W to use system colors, for example, a 
high-contrast black color scheme.
•Press Alt + C to choose text and background colors 
that provide the best contrast.
This enables two options:
•Press Tab to move to use system colors, for example, 
a high-contrast black color scheme.
•Press Tab to move to choose a text and background 
color that provide the best contrast.
Under Custom color, press: 
•Alt + B to move to the background color palette, 
then press Enter to display the palette colors. Use the 
arrow keys or the mouse to choose a color. 
•Alt + T to move to the document text color palette, 
then press Enter to display the palette colors. Use the 
arrow keys or the mouse to choose a color.
Under Custom color, press: 
•Tab to move to the background color palette, then 
press Enter to display the palette colors. Use the arrow 
keys or the mouse to choose a color. 
•Tab to move to the document text color palette, then 
press Enter to display the palette colors. Use the arrow 
keys or the mouse to choose a color.
Within the Replace Document Colors, are the options 
to: 
•Replace only the color of black text (Alt + O). This is 
the default. For all text to appear using customized colors, 
clear this option. 
•Change the color of line art (Alt + L). This is the 
default. For line art images to retain their colors, clear 
this option. 
Within the Replace Document Colors, are the options 
to: 
•Replace only the color of black text (press Tab to 
move to this option). This is the default. For all text to 
appear using customized colors, clear this option. 
•Change the color of line art (press Tab to move to this 
option). This is the default. For line art images to retain 
their colors, clear this option. 

The Accessibility category in the Preferences dialog box
The Accessibility category in the Preferences dialog box
Document or page mode settings (Reading category)
The amount of a PDF document that assistive technology holds in its memory buffer depends on whether Adobe 
Reader 6.0 is processing the entire document (document mode) or just a single page (page mode). If screen magnification 
is used, this preference may affect the way this assistive technology works. Consult the screen magnification 
vendor for recommended settings for this Adobe Reader preference option.
Background
When assistive technology is used, and an entire document is in the memory buffer, all of the assistive technology’s 
facilities can be used to navigate the document. For instance, some assistive technologies provide screen reader users 
with ways to obtain a list of links, navigate to the next active item, or find a word in the document. Screen reader 
users can use these tools on the entire document, which is much more efficient. This is “document” mode. Screen 
reader users are likely to be more familiar with the navigation tools of their assistive technology than the navigation 
tools of individual applications.
Some assistive technologies, such as screen magnification software, are only concerned with presenting the information 
that is visible on the screen. It is much faster if the assistive technology only receives visible information, so 
it doesn’t have to sort through all the parts of the document that are not visible (page mode).
If the PDF file is not tagged, the structure must be synthesized for the parts of the document that are sent to the 
assistive technology. For large documents it can take a very long time to synthesize the structure. Adobe Reader 6.0 
limits the amount of time it spends per page, but for a document that is hundreds of pages long, the synthesis can 
still add up to a very long delay. During this time, assistive technology will not be responding and may appear to be 

hung. Because screen reader users won’t know how large the file is until it is opened, they may not know that this is 
what is occurring. And if screen reader users don’t want to read the entire document, they may not need to have all 
of it analyzed when it is opened.
Setting document or page mode
Document or page mode is controlled by options in the Reading category of the Preferences dialog box. 
The default is document mode for documents of 10 pages or less, and page mode for documents larger than 10 pages. 
To use page mode, select the Deliver Data In Pages When Document Exceeds check box. If selected, specify the 
maximum size of the document for document mode. To always use page mode, set that value to one page. Because 
all documents are at least one page long, they would always use page mode. If document mode is preferred, analyzing 
very long documents can be avoided by setting this value to a suitably large page count, for example, 100 pages.
The Reading category in the Preferences dialog box
The Reading category in the Preferences dialog box
This preference can be changed at any time, and it will take effect immediately. If a document is being read in page 
mode and document mode is preferred, change the preference setting. The assistive technology will download the 
new information as soon as it is available. Adobe Reader users can also switch from document to page mode, but 
since the assistive technology will not read information in the Preferences dialog box until Adobe Reader 6.0 is done 
downloading the document, this feature can’t be used to cancel the analysis of a long document as it is loading.
The settings will be retained.

Navigating in page mode
It is necessary to use the tools in Adobe Reader 6.0 to navigate PDF documents when using page mode. Adobe Reader 
users also need to be aware that assistive technology only knows about the current page. At the bottom of a page, 
advance to the next page by using the Reader commands (for example, Page Down or Ctrl + Page Down to advance 
to the next page). 
To navigate to locations in the document or the table of contents, use Bookmarks in the Navigation pane. Advance 
to the next active item (form field, link, etc.) with Adobe Reader 6.0 by using the Tab key. However, you should make 
sure that these keystrokes are interpreted by Adobe Reader 6.0, not by the assistive technology software.
When in page mode, screen reader users may receive a message that indicates that the document is empty, even 
though there is text in the document. Adobe Reader 6.0 provides this message when it detects an empty page. If page 
mode is used, note that the message only applies to the current page, and that the next page may contain information. 
Advance to the next page to confirm this.
Setting read order options (Accessibility category)
Left-to-right, top-to-bottom reading order and Use reading order in raw print stream are much faster than Infer 
reading order from document. If one of these choices is selected, Adobe Reader users may want to use document 
mode all of the time, or may want to set the threshold to a very large document size. Use caution when using Infer 
reading order from document even though it is the recommended setting.
Additional preference settings to enhance on-screen viewing
There are other settings in Adobe Reader 6.0 that can be modified to enhance the display of a PDF document. These 
include settings in the Forms, Full Screen, and Startup categories in the Preferences dialog box.
Forms category
When the Forms category is selected in the Preferences dialog box, the background and hover colors of form fields 
can be changed. The hover color appears when the mouse is positioned or “hovering” over a form field. Changing 
the color of form fields helps identify them more easily in PDF documents when fields are filled out online. 
The following chart shows the keyboard shortcuts for modifying the colors of form fields.
Windows
Mac OS
To change the background and hover colors of form 
fields, press Alt + H. 
To change the background and hover colors of form 
fields, Tab to this option.
Press Alt + B for Background to move to the background 
color palette and press Enter to view the color 
choices. Use either the mouse or the arrow keys to 
move through the colors. 
Press the Tab key to move to the background color palette 
and press Enter to view the color choices. Use 
either the mouse or the arrow keys to move through 
the colors. 
Auto-Complete doesn’t have a keyboard shortcut. 
Selecting this option enables the computer to remember 
numerical information. If Auto-Complete is turned 
on, as a sequence of numbers is being typed, Adobe 
Reader 6.0 will automatically make suggestions of previously 
used numbers to choose from.
Tab to this option, then choose either Basic or 
Advanced, then use Alt + N to choose “Remember 
numerical data.”
Auto-Complete doesn’t have a keyboard shortcut. 
Selecting this option enables the computer to remember 
numerical information. If Auto-Complete is turned 
on, as a sequence of numbers is being typed, Adobe 
Reader 6.0 will automatically make suggestions of previously 
used numbers to choose from.
Tab to this option, then choose either Basic or 
Advanced, then use Alt + N to choose “Remember 
numerical data.”

Full Screen category
A full-screen view of a PDF document will hide the toolbars and status bar so that only the document is visible. This 
doesn’t enlarge the document, but isolates it on the screen so it has the main focus.
Note that the following settings only affect Adobe Reader 6.0 while in Full Screen mode.
To change the options for full-screen view on a Windows system:
1 Press Alt + A to automatically advance the page X seconds. This is not a default setting.
2 Loop after last page by pressing Alt + L. This is not a default setting. Pressing Page Down on the last page of a 
document will loop back to the first page of the document.
3 By default, the Escape key exits Full Screen mode. Use Alt + E to turn off this option.
4 By default, the left mouse button can be used to move forward one page and the right mouse button to move 
backward one page. Use Alt + F to turn off this option.
5 Ignore All Transitions is not turned on, but you can turn it on by pressing Alt + I. The default transition is to 
Replace a Page. To change this option, press Alt + D. (Transitions are similar to those in slide presentations in which 
slides dissolve, have a horizontal blind effect, a box in effect, or reveal part of the information on a page.) Transitions 
are only visible in full-screen view of a document.
6 By default, the mouse cursor is hidden after delay. Press Alt + C to change this option.
7 By default, the background of a full-screen view is black. Access the color palette to change this option by pressing 
Alt + B.
To change the options for full-screen view on Mac OS:
Press the Tab key to move to the option, then select it by pressing the spacebar. 
The background color in a full-screen view of a PDF document is not the background of the document, it is the 
background of the screen surrounding the document page. 
Note that the colors chosen in the Accessibility category for viewing PDF documents are retained in a full-screen 
view.

The Full Screen options in the Preferences dialog box
The Full Screen category in the Preferences dialog box
Internet category
If it is preferable not to open PDF documents in a browser window, this default option can be turned off. This means 
that when a PDF document is opened on a Web site, the document will be displayed in a separate Adobe Reader 
window rather than being displayed in the Web browser.
Choosing not to display the PDF document in the browser can improve the behavior of the PDF file with assistive 
technology, such as screen readers. Try changing this preference setting if the assistive technology appears to have 
difficulty reading PDF documents in the Web browser.
To change how a PDF document is displayed on a Windows system:
In the Internet category of the Preferences dialog box, press Alt + D to turn off Display PDF in Browser.
To change how a PDF document is displayed on Mac OS:
In the Internet category of the Preferences dialog box, press the Tab key to move to the option, then select it by 
pressing the spacebar. 
Startup category
Choose whether to view the Adobe Reader 6.0 splash screen as the application starts up. By default, this option is 
turned on. 
To turn off the splash screen on startup on a Windows system:
Press Alt + S in the Internet category of the Preferences dialog box.

To turn off the splash screen on startup on Mac OS:
Press the Tab key to move to the option, then select it by pressing the spacebar. 
Document place marker in the Startup category
A place marker can be set in a PDF document. If a place marker is set for a document, when the document is next 
opened, it will be positioned to the marker location. This preference is controlled by the Reopen Document to Last 
Viewed Page option, and by default it is set only for eBooks. 
To turn on place markers in PDF documents on a Windows system:
Press Alt + V in the Startup category of the Preferences dialog box and choose one of the following:
•eBooks only
•Marked files and eBooks only
•All Files
To turn on place markers in PDF documents on Mac OS:
Press the Tab key to move to the option, then select it by pressing the spacebar. 
If place marker is turned on in a PDF document, the following message appears when the PDF document is closed. 
Choose Yes To All, Yes, or No when asked whether to reopen to this page the next time this document is opened.
The placemarker message box
The place marker message box
Using other Adobe Reader accessibility tools with on-screen enhancements 
to read PDF documents
Now that we’ve modified some of the settings, let’s look at how to use them. We’ll also look at other tools that can be 
used while reading PDF documents. 
Automatic scroll
This tool scrolls through a PDF document at a speed comfortable for the reader. For people using screen magnification, 
this tool doesn’t have the flexibility of the scrolling or panning available in screen magnification software.
This tool is particularly useful with reflowed documents because it scrolls vertically, not horizontally. Without the 
reflow feature activated, it may be difficult to use this automatic scroll feature on multi-column documents.

The following chart shows the keyboard shortcuts for using automatic scroll.
Windows
Mac OS
•Choose View > Automatically Scroll.
•Press Shift + Ctrl + H.
Pressing Shift + Ctrl + H again will stop the scrolling.
•Choose View > Automatically Scroll.
•Press Shift + Command + H.
Pressing Shift + Command + H again will stop the 
scrolling.
Reflow 
This tool transforms tagged PDF documents into a single column that fits within the width of the window. 
The following chart shows the keyboard shortcuts to reflow a document.
Windows
Mac OS
Choose Alt + V for View, then R for Reflow, or Ctrl + 4. 
Once in reflow mode, Ctrl + plus sign (+) increases 
magnification and Ctrl + minus sign (-) decreases 
magnification.
Choose Alt + V for View, then R for Reflow, or 
Command + 4. 
Once in reflow mode, Command + plus sign (+) 
increases magnification and Command + minus sign
(-) decreases magnification.
Full screen and other document views
If the default settings for Full Screen aren’t comfortable for reading, see the previous “Additional preference settings 
to enhance on-screen viewing” on page 22.
The following table shows the full-screen keyboard shortcuts.
Windows
Mac OS
Ctrl + L activates Full Screen. 
Command + L activates Full Screen.
Escape key exits Full Screen. 
Escape key exits Full Screen. 
Ctrl + 0 shows Fit Page (or full-screen view). 
Command + 0 shows Fit Page (or full-screen view). 
Ctrl + 1 shows Actual Size. This keyboard command can 
be used while in full-screen mode.
Command + 1 shows Actual Size. This keyboard command 
can be used while in full-screen mode.
Ctrl + 2 shows Fit Width. 
Command + 2 shows Fit Width. 
Ctrl + 3 shows Fit Visible. This keyboard command can 
be used while in full-screen mode.
Command + 3 shows Fit Visible. This keyboard command 
can be used while in full-screen mode.
While in full-screen view, readers can press Ctrl + 4 to 
reflow a document.
While in full-screen view, readers can press Command 
+ 4 to reflow a document.
There are also icons on the toolbar for Fit Page, Fit Width, and Actual Size. 

A full-screen view of a PDF document with high contrast settings
A full-screen view of a PDF document with high contrast settings
Zoom
Use the Zoom tool in a document to increase or decrease the magnification of the entire page. 
A strategy for those using the mouse is to choose the Zoom tool from the toolbar, draw a rectangle around part of a 
page and it will automatically magnify that section. This method can also be used to decrease the magnification by 
choosing the Zoom Out tool. By choosing Dynamic Zoom, the scroll wheel of a mouse can be used to adjust a zoom 
view. Return to the original view by choosing 100% in the zoom list box on the toolbar.
image of the Zoom toolbar in Adobe Reader 6.0
The Zoom section of the toolbar

The following table shows the keyboard shortcuts to increase and decrease magnification, or to choose a document 
view.
Windows
Mac OS
Choose Alt + V, then Z. Use the Up Arrow or Down 
Arrow key to select from the list.
Choose View > Zoom. Use the Up Arrow or Down 
Arrow key to select from the list.
To use the Zoom tool from the keyboard:
•Zoom in with Ctrl + plus sign (+).
•Zoom out with Ctrl + minus sign (-).
•Zoom in temporarily with Ctrl + spacebar, then Click. 
To use the Zoom tool from the keyboard:
•Zoom in with Command + plus sign (+). 
•Zoom out with Command + minus sign (-).
•Zoom in temporarily with Command + spacebar, 
then Click.
image of the Zoom To dialog box in Adobe Reader 6.0
The Zoom To dialog box

Section Four: Using Keyboard Commands
People who have a mobility impairment might want to use the single key accelerators to access or switch tools. Adobe 
Reader 6.0.1 also provides robust support for keyboard shortcut access to most tools. 
For those using screen magnification or screen reading software with Adobe Reader 6.0, consult the screen magnification 
Help files for specific support for reading PDF documents.
Some considerations:
•You should use Adobe Reader 6.0.1 or later. 
•The Mac OS 10.1.2 (and later) includes more keyboard access features than earlier versions.
•For those using screen magnification or screen reading software, the assistive technology version should work with 
Adobe Reader 6.01 or later. Consult the assistive technology vendor for this information.
•In Windows, some of the keyboard shortcuts used to navigate in Adobe Reader 6.0 may differ from those used in 
other Windows applications. 
Checking document accessibility
Before reading a PDF document, it is a good idea to check the anticipated accessibility of the document. If the 
document is not accessible, it may not be read at all or it may be read in the wrong order.
To use Quick Check, do one of the following:
•Choose Document > Quick Check.
•Press Alt + D for Documents, then Q for Quick Check (Windows only).
Setting the single key accelerator preference
In the history of Adobe Reader 6.0 development, single key accelerators were established to improve keyboard access. 
Although these can still be turned on and used, many generic keyboard shortcuts can be used without turning on 
the single key accelerators.
To open the Preferences dialog box, and turn on the single key accelerators, do one of the following:
•Choose Edit > Preferences.
•Press Alt + E for Edit, then N for Preferences (Windows only).
•Press Ctrl + K (Windows) or Command + K (Mac OS).
Note that if the JAWS for Windows screen reader is used with screen magnification software, there may be a key 
conflict with Ctrl + K. If this conflict is encountered, use the JAWS PassKey (Insert + number 3) before pressing 
Ctrl + K.
When the Preferences dialog box opens, focus will be on the last category modified. Press the first letter of any 
category to quickly move to it. In this case, press the letter G for the General category. Press the Tab key to move focus 
to the options for the General category.

The table below shows the keyboard shortcuts for turning on the single key accelerators in the Preferences dialog box.
Windows
Mac OS
Press Alt + I to turn on the single key accelerators. 
Press Tab to turn on single key accelerators to access 
tasks.
Using single key accelerators in Adobe Reader 6.0
Below is a description of the single key accelerators. Single key accelerators are those keys that only work if this option 
is turned on in the General Preferences category. For a complete list of keyboard shortcuts, see “Appendix B: 
Complete List of Adobe Reader 6.0 Keyboard Commands” on page 68.
The following single key accelerators are the same on either Windows or Mac OS. Information on using generic 
keyboard commands will follow.
Hand tool
The Hand tool, an image of a hand, indicates general reading mode. The single key accelerator to activate the Hand 
tool is the letter H.
Temporarily select the Hand tool by pressing and holding down the spacebar.
Select Text tool
Adobe Reader 6.0 has tools for selecting text or images. The Select Text tool is the default. The other selection tool is 
Select Image. To activate the current selection tool press the letter V. When the letter V is pressed, if the Select Text 
tool is the active one, the hand will be replaced by a flashing cursor. This allows movement through the document, 
character by character, word by word, or the beginning or end of lines. Select characters, words, or lines by holding 
down the Shift key (Windows) or the Command key (Mac OS) in combination with navigation keys.
To cycle through the selection tools (Select Text or Select Image), press Shift + V. Note that choosing Select Image, 
requires the cursor to be positioned over an image. Press the left mouse button to select the image.
Snapshot tool
The Snapshot tool can be used by pressing the letter G. This tool is used in conjunction with the mouse. Once 
invoked, position the cursor over an area of the document, holding down the left mouse button, to crop or select an 
area of the document to be captured. Once the mouse button is released, a message appears stating that the cropped 
area has been copied to the Clipboard. Paste the information into documents in other applications.
Zoom tool
Cycle through the zoom tools (Zoom In, Zoom Out, Dynamic Zoom) by pressing Shift + Z. 
Use the mouse to select an area in the document on which to use the zoom tool.
Pressing the letter Z by itself will activate the current zoom tool.
To temporarily select the Zoom In tool, press Ctrl + spacebar (Windows) or Command + spacebar (Mac OS). Once 
the mouse button is released, the original tool is active again.
To temporarily select the Dynamic Zoom tool (when Zoom In or Zoom Out is selected), press the Shift key by itself. 
Use the mouse to zoom in or out of the view of the document. 

Using single key accelerators in Adobe Acrobat 6.0
These tools assume that the security on a document permits their use. Some authors may have set security levels on 
a document that do not permit the use of these tools.
Stamp tool
The Stamp tool is activated by pressing the letter K. Once the Stamp tool is activated, position the mouse over the 
area of the document where the stamp is to appear, and press the left mouse button. For more information on editing 
and moving stamps, see the Adobe Acrobat 6.0 Help files.
Highlighting tool
To use the current Highlighting tool, press the letter U. The cursor changes to an Iron beam with a dotted box around 
it. Position the cursor over the text to be highlighted, hold down the left mouse button, drag it over the desired text. 
The text is highlighted once the mouse button is released. Note that this tool can’t be used in combination with the 
Select Text tool.
Press Shift + U, to cycle through Highlighting tools (Highlighter, Cross-Out Text, Underline Text). 
Note tool
A note or comment can be created by activating the Note tool. Once activated, use the mouse to highlight the element 
to make a note on. Releasing the left mouse button will create the note and put the focus in the new note. The single 
key accelerator for this tool is the letter S. After a note or comment is created, press the Escape key to exit it and return 
to the document. Note that this tool can’t be used in combination with the Select Text tool. 
To move focus to a comment, press the Tab key. Then press the spacebar to open it. Pressing the spacebar again will 
close it (as long as the note or comment icon in the document has focus). Press the Escape key to remove focus from 
a note or comment.
Attach File tool
Use the Attach File tool by pressing the letter J. This key changes the cursor to a thumb tack. Position the cursor over 
the area of the document where the attached file icon should appear, press the left mouse button to open the Select 
a File to Attach dialog box. Choose the file and click the Select button. A dialog box appears asking what the icon for 
the attached file should look like (graph, paperclip, attachment, or tag).
Using Adobe Reader 6.0 generic keyboard commands
For best results when reading PDF documents, be sure to use the most current version of Adobe Reader 6.0 as well 
as the most current version of any assistive technology required. To download the latest version of Adobe Reader 6.0, 
go to http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/alternate.html#601uxall. Note that multiple versions of the Adobe 
Reader 6.0 download exist. 
Keyboard commands listed in this section work on either Windows or Mac OS unless otherwise specified. For a 
complete list of keyboard commands, see “Appendix B: Complete List of Adobe Reader 6.0 Keyboard Commands” 
on page 68.

Opening a PDF document in Adobe Reader 6.0
When Adobe Reader 6.0 is first launched, no document is open.
To open PDF documents, press Ctrl + O for Open (Windows) or Command + O (Mac OS). The first time a 
document is opened, the How To window is visible on the right side of the application window.
The Adobe Reader 6.0 interface with the How To window visible
The Adobe Reader 6.0 interface with the How To window visible
The How To window provides help on general tasks without having to search the Help files. 
To view the document window without obstruction:
•To turn off the How To window for the current document press F4. This key is a toggle, so pressing F4 again will 
bring the How To window back in view when needed. 
•To turn off the How To window at startup, clear the Show How To Window at Startup check box in the How To 
window. When this tool is needed, press F4 to show it.

Title, menu and toolbars
At the top of the Adobe Reader 6.0 interface is the title bar containing the application name and the name of the 
current document. 
Under the title bar is the menu bar containing items such as File, Edit, View, Document, Tools, Window, and Help. 
On a Windows system, pressing the Alt key will move focus to the menu bar. Pressing the Alt key in combination 
with the keyboard shortcuts in the menu bar will move focus to a specific menu bar item. For example, Alt + F will 
move focus to and open the File menu. The keyboard shortcuts are the letters that are underlined. Escape will remove 
focus from the menu bar and will return focus to the document window. 
The menu bar can be hidden by pressing F9. This key is a toggle, so pressing F9 again will show the menu bar.
Beneath the menu bar are the toolbars. On Windows, toolbars can be accessed using the keyboard by pressing the 
Alt key to move focus to the menu bar, then pressing Ctrl + Tab to move to the first toolbar. Ctrl + Tab will move 
focus through other visible toolbars. Pressing Ctrl + Shift + Tab will move focus to the previous toolbar. 
On Mac OS, if Full Keyboard Access is enabled in the system preferences, Control + F5 (the default keyboard 
command) will move focus to the first toolbar.
To move through toolbar items, press the Tab key to move forward and Shift + Tab to move backward. Pressing Enter 
on a toolbar icon will activate that function. Escape will remove focus from the toolbar and return focus to the 
document window.
To move focus to a toolbar in a browser, press Shift + F8 on a Windows system. There is no equivalent Mac OS 
keystroke. 
On a Windows system, toolbars can be turned on or off by pressing Alt + V for View, then T for toolbars and pressing 
the Enter key on the name of a toolbar. If a toolbar is turned on or “checked”, it will be turned off or “unchecked” 
and if the selected toolbar is unchecked, pressing the Enter key will check it or turn it on.
Main document window
Below the toolbars is the main document area for reading documents. This area can have up to three components. 
A document must be open to view the Navigation pane. It is on the left side of the screen.
Navigation pane 
To reveal the Navigation pane, do one of the following:
•Choose View > Navigation Tabs > Open Navigation Pane.
•Choose Alt + V for View, then N, then the letter O for Open Navigation Pane (Windows only).
•Press F6. 
The Navigation pane is located on the left side of the document window and, when closed, only the tabs for items 
are visible. The Navigation pane tabs include Bookmarks and Comments. F6 is a toggle, so pressing F6 will show or 
hide the Navigation pane. If the Navigation pane is open, pressing Shift + F6 moves focus between the document and 
the Navigation pane.
To move through items in the open Navigation pane within the selected tab, use the Tab key. The Tab key moves focus 
to and shows the category in the active Navigation pane tab.
To move between tabs in the Navigation pane, for example from Bookmarks to Pages, use Ctrl + Tab or Ctrl + Shift 
+ Tab, or the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key when focus is on the tab itself. The Left Arrow key highlights the top tab. 
The Right Arrow key highlights the bottom tab in an open Navigation pane.

In the Bookmarks tab of the Navigation pane, expand all bookmarks by pressing Shift + * or collapse the selected 
bookmarks by pressing the Forward Slash key (/). Using the Left Arrow or Right Arrow key on a particular bookmark 
will collapse or expand the bookmark respectively.
Document window
The main document window is in the center of the screen. When the mouse is moved over this area, the Hand tool, 
which is the default reading tool, is visible. 
To cycle through open documents if the focus is on a document on a Windows system, press Ctrl + F6 (there is no 
corresponding shortcut for Mac OS). Pressing Ctrl + F4 or Ctrl + W (Windows) or Command + W (Mac OS) will 
close the current document. To close all open documents, press Ctrl + Shift + W (Windows) or Command + 
Shift + W (Mac OS).
Pressing Alt + F6 will move focus to the next open palette or dialog box. (There is no Mac OS equivalent for this.)
To move among fields in a document, press the Tab key to move to the next field or Shift + Tab to move focus to the 
previous field.
To access the context menu reading a document, press either the AppKey or Shift + F10.
A useful browser keyboard command is Ctrl + I (Windows) or Command + I (Mac OS), which opens the Properties 
dialog box.
How To window
The third component of the main document window is the How To window. As previously mentioned, the How To 
window is displayed by default. Pressing F4 will either show or hide useful Help topics. The How To window contains 
links to helpful information on performing general tasks. At the top of the How To window is a “navigation bar” with 
a left and right arrow to move backward and forward through topics. 
To use keyboard commands to move through the topics, press Ctrl + Shift + Tab (Windows only). This key combination 
moves focus to the How To navigation bar. Press the Enter key on an item, for example on the Back or Forward 
buttons.
To move focus between the How To window and the main document window, press Shift + F4.
Status bar
The last component of the Adobe Reader 6.0 interface is the Status bar. The Status bar is at the very bottom of the 
Adobe Reader 6.0 window. Moving from left to right, information is available on the page size, page numbering, and 
available views of the document.
In the center of the Status bar is a document navigation tool. It shows the current page, the total number of pages in 
the document, and provides arrow icons to move quickly through pages in the document.
On the right side of the Status bar are icons for viewing the document in Single Page, Continuous, Continuous 
Facing, or Facing mode.
Move through a document using keyboard commands such as Ctrl + Shift + Page Up (Windows) or Command + 
Shift + Page Up (Mac OS) to move to the first page of a document, or Ctrl + Shift + Page Down (Windows) or 
Command + Shift + Page Down (Mac OS) to move to the last page of a document. Page Up and Page Down will 
move forward one screen and backward one screen respectively.

Pressing Ctrl + Shift + N (Windows), or Command + Shift + N (Mac OS), brings up the Go To Page dialog box, in 
which a specific page number can be entered.
Searching documents
In Adobe Reader 6.0, it is easy to find specific items in documents by using the Search tool. Activate the Search 
window by pressing Ctrl + F (Windows) or Command + F (Mac OS). If the How To window is visible, the How To 
items are replaced by the Search items. If the How To window is hidden, the Search window opens on the right side 
of the screen.
The Adobe Reader 6.0 interface with the Search window visible
The Adobe Reader 6.0 interface with the Search window visible
By default the focus is on the “enter keyword” text box. This is where the keyword(s) are entered that will be searched 
for in a document.
Use the Tab key to move through the options for searching for items in a PDF document. Current document or all 
documents in a specific folder can be searched. Searches can be for whole words, can be case sensitive, or can be 
through bookmarks or comments. There are also links to search PDFs on the Internet, use Advanced Search options, 
or access the complete Adobe Reader 6.0 Help files.
Successful search results will appear as links in the results box in the Search window. Either select the link to move 
to it in the document or press F3 to move to and highlight the next search result in the document.

The table below shows the other Search tool keyboard shortcuts.
Windows 
Mac OS
Press Ctrl + ] to search the next document.
Press Command + ] to search the next document.
Press Ctrl + [ to search the previous document.
Press Command + [ to search the previous document.
Press Ctrl + G to search for the next result.
Press Command + G to search for the next result.
Press Ctrl + Shift + G to search for the previous result.
Press Command + Shift + G to search for the previous 
result.
Press F4 to close the Search window.
Press F4 to close the Search window.
Getting help
It is easy to get help in Adobe Reader 6.0. One option is to use the How To window to obtain assistance on general 
every day tasks in Adobe Reader 6.0. Another option is to choose the Help topic on the menu bar. The easiest way to 
obtain help using keyboard commands is to press F1.
Pressing F1 will open a new window with the complete Adobe Reader 6.0 Help files available. 
The Help window is divided into four parts:
•The title bar
•A toolbar
•A navigation pane on the left side that allows searches by Contents, Search keywords, or an alphabetical Index
•A document window on the right side containing the Help file that was requested
The Adobe Reader 6.0 Help window
The Adobe Reader 6.0 Help window
Pressing Shift + F8 will move focus to the toolbar in the Help window. The toolbar has tools to move forward, 
backward, print topic, and increase or decrease magnification. Use the Tab key to move through these options.

When a Help topic is chosen, focus in the Navigation pane moves to the current panel contents. Press the Tab key to 
move back to the Navigation pane before using the Left Arrow key and Right Arrow key to switch the active panel 
(Contents, Search, or Index). Move among the active panels more directly using Ctrl + Tab (Windows only). 
Press the Left Arrow or Right Arrow key in the Navigation pane to move through the Contents, Search, or Index tabs. 
Press the Tab key to move into the options. Then use the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys to move through the 
topics. Press Enter to open the topic in the Help document window on the right.
To temporarily hide the Navigation pane, press F6. This key is a toggle, so pressing F6 again will open the Navigation 
pane.
Press Ctrl + 4 to reflow the Help document for easier reading.On Windows, Ctrl + plus sign (+) increases the magnification 
and Ctrl + minus sign (-) decreases the magnification. On Mac OS, Command + plus sign (+) increases the 
magnification and Command + minus sign (-) decreases the magnification.
Pressing Alt + F4 or Ctrl + W (Windows) or Command + W (Mac OS) closes the Help window.
Additional preference settings to use with keyboard commands
There are other settings in Adobe Reader 6.0 that can be modified to enhance the reading of a PDF document. These 
include settings in the Forms, Full Screen, and Startup categories in the Preferences dialog box.
Forms category
While the Forms category is selected in the Preferences dialog, the background and hover color of form fields can be 
changed. The hover color appears when the mouse is positioned or “hovering” over a form field. Changing the color 
of form fields helps identify them more easily in PDF documents when fields are filled out on-line. 
The following chart shows the keyboard shortcuts for modifying the colors of form fields.
Windows
Mac OS
To change the background and hover color of form 
fields, press Alt + H. 
To change the background and hover color of form 
fields, Tab to this option.
Press Alt + B for Background to move to the background 
color palette, and press Enter to view the color 
choices. Use either the mouse or the arrow keys to 
move through the colors. 
Press the Tab key to move to the background color palette, 
and press Enter to view the color choices. Use 
either the mouse or the arrow keys to move through 
the colors. 
Auto-Complete doesn’t have a keyboard shortcut. 
Selecting this option enables the computer to remember 
numerical information. If Auto-Complete is turned 
on, Adobe Reader 6.0 will automatically make suggestions 
of previously used numbers to choose from as a 
sequence of numbers is being typed.
Tab to this option, then choose either Basic or 
Advanced, then use Alt + N to choose “Remember 
numerical data.”
Auto-Complete doesn’t have a keyboard shortcut. 
Selecting this option enables the computer to remember 
numerical information. If Auto-Complete is turned 
on, Adobe Reader 6.0 will automatically make suggestions 
of previously used numbers to choose from as a 
sequence of numbers is being typed.
Tab to this option, then choose either Basic or 
Advanced, then use Alt + N to choose “Remember 
numerical data.”
Full Screen category
A full-screen view of a PDF document will hide the toolbars and status bar so that only the document is visible. This 
doesn’t enlarge the document, but isolates it on the screen so it has the main focus.
Note that the following settings only affect Adobe Reader 6.0 while in Full Screen mode.

To change the options for full-screen view on a Windows system:
1 Press Alt + A to automatically advance the page X seconds. This is not a default setting. 
2 Loop after last page by pressing Alt + L. This is not a default setting. Pressing Page Down on the last page of a 
document will loop back to the first page of the document. 
3 By default, the Escape key exits Full Screen mode. Use Alt + E to turn off this option.
4 By default, the left mouse button can be used to move forward one page and the right mouse button to move 
backward one page. Use Alt + F to turn off this option.
5 Ignore All Transitions is not turned on, but can be by pressing Alt + I. The default transition is to Replace a Page. 
To change this option, press Alt + D. (Transitions are similar to those in slide presentations where slides dissolve, 
have a horizontal blind effect, a box in effect, or reveal part of the information on a page.) Transitions are only visible 
in full-screen view of a document.
6 By default, the mouse cursor is hidden after delay. Press Alt + C to change this option. 
7 By default, the background of a full-screen view is black. Access the color palette to change this option by pressing 
Alt + B. 
To change the options for full-screen view on Mac OS:
Press the Tab key to move to the option, then select it by pressing the spacebar.
The background color in a full-screen view of a PDF document is not the background of the document, it is the 
background of the screen surrounding the document page. 
Note that the colors chosen in the Accessibility category for viewing PDF documents are retained in a full-screen 
view.

The Full Screen category in the Preferences dialog box
The Full Screen category in the Preferences dialog box
Internet category
If it is preferable not to open PDF documents in a browser window, this default option can be turned off. This means 
that when a PDF document is opened on a Web site, the document will be displayed in a separate Adobe Reader 
window rather than being displayed in the Web browser.
Choosing not to display the PDF document in the browser can improve the behavior of the PDF file with assistive 
technology, such as screen readers. Try changing this preference setting if the assistive technology appears to have 
difficulty reading PDF documents in the Web browser.
To change how a PDF document is displayed on a Windows system:
In the Internet category of the Preferences dialog box, press Alt + D to turn off Display PDF in Browser.
To change how a PDF document is displayed on Mac OS:
In the Internet category of the Preferences dialog box, press the Tab key to move to the option, then select it by 
pressing the spacebar.

Startup category
Choose whether to view the Adobe Reader 6.0 splash screen as the application starts up. By default, this option is 
turned on. 
To turn off the splash screen on startup on a Windows system:
Press Alt + S in the Internet category of the Preferences dialog box.
To turn off the splash screen on startup on Mac OS:
Press the Tab key to move to the option, then select it by pressing the spacebar.
Document place marker in the Startup category
A place marker can be set in a PDF document. If a place marker is set for a document, when the document is next 
opened, it will be positioned to the marker location. This preference is controlled by the Reopen Document to Last 
Viewed Page option, and by default it is set only for eBooks. 
To turn on place markers in PDF documents on a Windows system:
Press Alt + V in the Startup category of the Preferences dialog box and choose one of the following:
•eBooks only
•Marked files and eBooks only
•All Files
To turn on place markers in PDF documents on Mac OS:
Press the Tab key to move to the option, then select it by pressing the spacebar.
If place marker is turned on in a PDF document, the following message appears when the PDF document is closed. 
Choose Yes To All, Yes, or No when asked whether to reopen to this page the next time this document is opened.
Image of the placemarker message box
The place marker message box

Using other Adobe Reader accessibility tools with keyboard commands to 
read PDF documents
Now that we’ve modified some of the settings, let’s look at how to use them. We’ll also look at other tools that can be 
used while reading PDF documents.
Automatic scroll
This tool scrolls through a PDF document at a speed comfortable for the reader. For people using screen magnification, 
this tool doesn’t have the flexibility of the scrolling or panning available in screen magnification software.
This tool is particularly useful with reflowed documents because it scrolls vertically, not horizontally. Without the 
reflow feature activated, it may be difficult to use this automatic scroll feature on multi-column documents.
The following chart shows the keyboard shortcuts for using automatic scroll.
Windows
Mac OS
•Choose View > Automatically Scroll.
•Press Shift + Ctrl + H.
Pressing Shift + Ctrl + H again will stop the scrolling.
•Choose View > Automatically Scroll.
•Press Shift + Command + H.
Pressing Shift + Command + H again will stop the 
scrolling.
Reflow 
This tool transforms tagged PDF documents into a single column that fits within the width of the window. 
The following chart shows the keyboard shortcuts to reflow a document.
Windows
Mac OS
Choose Alt + V for View, then R for Reflow, or Ctrl + 4. 
Once in Reflow mode, Ctrl + plus sign (+) increases 
magnification and Ctrl + minus sign (-) decreases magnification.
Choose Alt + V for View, then R for Reflow, or Command 
+ 4. 
Once in Reflow mode, Command + plus sign (+) 
increases magnification and Command + minus sign(-) 
decreases magnification.
Full screen and other document views
If the default settings for Full Screen aren’t comfortable for reading, see the previous “Additional preference settings 
to enhance on-screen viewing” on page 22.
The following table shows the full-screen keyboard shortcuts.
Windows
Mac OS
Ctrl + L activates Full Screen. 
Command + L activates Full Screen.
Escape key exits Full Screen. 
Escape key exits Full Screen. 
Ctrl + 0 shows Fit Page (or full-screen view). 
Command + 0 shows Fit Page (or full-screen view). 
Ctrl + 1 shows Actual Size. This keyboard command can 
be used while in full-screen mode.
Command + 1 shows Actual Size. This keyboard command 
can be used while in full-screen mode.
Ctrl + 2 shows Fit Width. 
Command + 2 shows Fit Width. 

Ctrl + 3 shows Fit Visible. This keyboard command can 
be used while in full-screen mode.
Command + 3 shows Fit Visible. This keyboard command 
can be used while in full-screen mode.
While in full-screen view, readers can press Ctrl + 4 to 
reflow a document.
While in full-screen view, readers can press Command 
+ 4 to reflow a document.
There are also icons on the toolbar for Fit Page, Fit Width, and Actual Size. 
Image of a Full Screen view of a PDF document
A full-screen view of a PDF document with high contrast settings
Zoom
Use the Zoom tool in a document to increase or decrease the magnification of the entire page. 
A strategy for those using the mouse is to choose the Zoom tool from the toolbar, and draw a rectangle around part 
of a page to automatically magnify that section. This method can also be used to decrease the magnification by 
choosing the Zoom Out tool. By choosing Dynamic Zoom, the scroll wheel of a mouse can be used to adjust a zoom 
view. Return to the original view by choosing 100% in the zoom list box on the toolbar.
The Zoom section of the toolbar
The Zoom section of the toolbar

The following table shows the keyboard shortcuts to increase and decrease magnification, or to choose a document 
view.
Windows
Mac OS
Choose Alt + V, then Z. Use the Up Arrow or Down 
Arrow key to select from the list.
Choose View > Zoom. Use the Up Arrow or Down 
Arrow key to select from the list.
To use the Zoom tool from the keyboard:
•Zoom in with Ctrl + plus sign (+).
•Zoom out with Ctrl + minus sign (-).
•Zoom in temporarily with Ctrl + spacebar, then Click. 
To use the Zoom tool from the keyboard:
•Zoom in with Command + plus sign (+).
•Zoom out with Command + minus sign (-).
•Zoom in temporarily with Command + spacebar, 
then Click.
image of the Zoom To dialog box in Adobe Reader 6.0
The Zoom To dialog box

Section Five: Accessing Multimedia 
Captioning
To access multimedia captioning, modify the settings using the instructions found in this section.
Checking document accessibility
Before reading a PDF document, it is a good idea to check the anticipated accessibility of the document. If the 
document is not accessible, it may not be read at all or it may be read in the wrong order.
To use Quick Check, do one of the following:
•Choose Document > Quick Check.
•Press Alt + D for Documents, then Q for Quick Check (Windows only).
Setting multimedia preferences
To open the Preferences dialog box, do one of the following:
•Choose Edit > Preferences.
•Press Alt + E for Edit, then N for Preferences (Windows only).
•Press Ctrl + K (Windows) or Command + K (Mac OS).
Note that if the JAWS for Windows screen reader is used with screen magnification software, there may be a key 
conflict with Ctrl + K. If this conflict is encountered, use the JAWS PassKey (Insert + number 3) before pressing 
Ctrl + K.
When the Preferences dialog box opens, focus is on the last category modified. Press the first letter of any category 
to quickly move to it. For this option, press the letter M for the Multimedia category. Press the Tab key to move focus 
to the options in that category

Setting captioning preferences
There are several options in the Multimedia category that can be selected to provide additional information, specifically 
captioning and/or subtitles. 
The following table shows the keyboard shortcuts to activate these features in the Multimedia category of the Preferences 
dialog box.
Windows
Mac OS
Press Alt + S to turn on subtitles if they are present in a 
document.
Press Tab move to the subtitles option. Turning this 
option on will provide subtitles if they are present in a 
document.
Press Alt + T to turn on supplemental text captioning 
when available. 
Press Tab to move to the supplemental text option. 
Turning on supplemental text captioning will provide 
this information when available. 
If captioning is available in different languages, press 
Alt + G to choose the current language.
If captioning is available in different languages, press 
the Tab key to move to and choose the current language.
Additional preference settings to use with captioning
Other settings in Adobe Reader 6.0, not related to captioning, can be modified to enhance the reading of a PDF 
document. These include settings in the Forms, Full Screen, and Startup categories in the Preferences dialog box.
Forms category
While the Forms category is selected in the Preferences dialog box, the background and hover color of form fields 
can be changed. The hover color appears when the mouse is positioned or “hovering” over a form field. Changing 
the color of form fields helps identify them more easily in PDF documents when fields are filled out on-line. 
The following chart shows the keyboard shortcuts for modifying the colors of form fields.
Windows
Mac OS
To change the background and hover color of form 
fields, press Alt + H. 
To change the background and hover color of form 
fields, Tab to this option.
Press Alt + B for Background to move to the background 
color palette, and press Enter to view the color 
choices. Use either the mouse or the arrow keys to 
move through the colors. 
Press the Tab key to move to the background color palette, 
and press Enter to view the color choices. Use 
either the mouse or the arrow keys to move through 
the colors. 
Auto-Complete doesn’t have a keyboard shortcut. 
Selecting this option enables the computer to remember 
numerical information. If Auto-Complete is turned 
on, Adobe Reader 6.0 will automatically make suggestions 
of previously used numbers to choose from as a 
sequence of numbers is being typed.
Tab to this option, then choose either Basic or 
Advanced, then use Alt + N to choose “Remember 
numerical data.”
Auto-Complete doesn’t have a keyboard shortcut. 
Selecting this option enables the computer to remember 
numerical information. If Auto-Complete is turned 
on, Adobe Reader 6.0 will automatically make suggestions 
of previously used numbers to choose from as a 
sequence of numbers is being typed.
Tab to this option, then choose either Basic or 
Advanced, then use Alt + N to choose “Remember 
numerical data.”

Full Screen category
A full-screen view of a PDF document will hide the toolbars and status bar so that only the document is visible. This 
doesn’t enlarge the document, but isolates it on the screen so it has the main focus.
Note that the following settings only affect Adobe Reader 6.0 while in Full Screen mode.
To change the options for full-screen view on a Windows system:
1 Press Alt + A to automatically advance the page X seconds. This is not a default setting.
2 Loop after the last page by pressing Alt + L. This is not a default setting. Pressing Page Down on the last page of a 
document will loop back to the first page of the document.
3 By default, the Escape key exits Full Screen mode. Use Alt + E to turn off this option. 
4 By default, the left mouse button can be used to move forward one page and the right mouse button to move 
backward one page. Use Alt + F to turn off this option.
5 Ignore All Transitions is not turned on, but can be by pressing Alt + I. The default transition is to Replace a Page. 
To change this option, press Alt + D (Transitions are similar to those in slide presentations where slides dissolve, have 
a horizontal blind effect, a box in effect, or reveal part of the information on a page.) Transitions are only visible in 
full-screen view of a document.
6 By default, the mouse cursor is hidden after delay. Press Alt + C to change this option.
7 By default, the background of a full-screen view is black. Access the color palette to change this option by pressing 
Alt + B.
To change the options for full-screen view on Mac OS:
Press the Tab key to move to the option, then select it by pressing the spacebar.
The background color in a full-screen view of a PDF document is not the background of the document, it is the 
background of the screen surrounding the document page. 
Note that the colors chosen in the Accessibility category for viewing PDF documents, are retained in a full-screen 
view.

The Full Screen category in the Preferences dialog box
The Full Screen category in the Preferences dialog box
Internet category
If it is preferable not to open PDF documents in a browser window, this default option can be turned off. This means 
that when a PDF document is opened on a Web site, the document will be displayed in a separate Adobe Reader 
window rather than being displayed in the Web browser.
Choosing not to display the PDF document in the browser can improve the behavior of the PDF file with assistive 
technology, such as screen readers. Try changing this preference setting if the assistive technology appears to have 
difficulty reading PDF documents in the Web browser.
To change how a PDF document is displayed on a Windows system:
In the Internet category of the Preferences dialog box, press Alt + D to turn off Display PDF in Browser.
To change how a PDF document is displayed on Mac OS:
In the Internet category of the Preferences dialog box, press the Tab key to move to the option, then select it by 
pressing the spacebar.
Startup category
Choose whether to view the Adobe Reader 6.0 splash screen as the application starts up. By default, this option is 
turned on. 
To turn off the splash screen on startup on a Windows system:
Press Alt + S in the Internet category of the Preferences dialog box. 

To turn off the splash screen on startup on Mac OS:
Press the Tab key to move to the option, then select it by pressing the spacebar.
Document place marker in the Startup category
A place marker can be set in a PDF document. If a place marker is set for a document, when the document is next 
opened, it will be positioned to the marker location. This preference is controlled by the Reopen Document to Last 
Viewed Page option, and by default it is set only for eBooks. 
To turn on place markers in PDF documents on a Windows system:
Press Alt + V in the Startup category of the Preferences dialog box and choose one of the following:
•eBooks only
•Marked files and eBooks only
•All Files
To turn on place markers in PDF documents on Mac OS:
Press the Tab key to move to the option, then select it by pressing the spacebar.
If place marker is turned on in a PDF document, the following message appears when the PDF document is closed. 
Choose Yes To All, Yes, or No when asked whether to reopen to this page the next time this document is opened.
Image of the placemarker message box
The place marker message box
Using other Adobe Reader accessibility tools to read PDF documents
Now that we’ve modified some of the settings, let’s look at how to use them. We’ll also look at other tools that can be 
used while reading PDF documents. 
Automatic scroll
This tool scrolls through a PDF document at a speed comfortable for the reader. For people using screen magnification, 
this tool doesn’t have the flexibility of the scrolling or panning available in screen magnification software.
This tool is particularly useful with reflowed documents because it scrolls vertically, not horizontally. Without the 
reflow feature activated, it may be difficult to use this automatic scroll feature on multi-column documents.

The following chart shows the keyboard shortcuts for using automatic scroll.
Windows
Mac OS
•Choose View > Automatically Scroll.
•Press Shift + Ctrl + H.
Pressing Shift + Ctrl + H again will stop the scrolling.
•Choose View > Automatically Scroll.
•Press Shift + Command + H.
Pressing Shift + Command + H again will stop the 
scrolling.
Reflow 
This tool transforms tagged PDF documents into a single-column that fits within the width of the window. 
The following chart shows the keyboard shortcuts to reflow a document.
Windows
Mac OS
Choose Alt + V for View, then R for Reflow, or Ctrl + 4.
Once in reflow mode, Ctrl + plus sign (+) increases 
magnification and Ctrl + minus sign (-) decreases magnification.
Choose Alt + V for View, then R for Reflow, or 
Command + 4.
Once in reflow mode, Command + plus sign (+) 
increases magnification and Command + minus 
sign (-) decreases magnification.
Full screen and other document views
If the default settings for Full Screen aren’t comfortable for reading, see the previous “Additional preference settings 
to enhance on-screen viewing” on page 22.
The following table shows the full-screen keyboard shortcuts.
Windows
Mac OS
Ctrl + L activates Full Screen.
Command + L activates Full Screen.
Escape key exits Full Screen.
Escape key exits Full Screen. 
Ctrl + 0 shows Fit Page (or full-screen view).
Command + 0 shows Fit Page (or full-screen view). 
Ctrl + 1 shows Actual Size. This keyboard command can 
be used while in full-screen mode.
Command + 1 shows Actual Size. This keyboard 
command can be used while in full-screen mode.
Ctrl + 2 shows Fit Width.
Command + 2 shows Fit Width. 
Ctrl + 3 shows Fit Visible. This keyboard command can 
be used while in full-screen mode.
Command + 3 shows Fit Visible. This keyboard 
command can be used while in full-screen mode.
While in full-screen view, readers can press Ctrl + 4 to 
reflow a document.
While in full-screen view, readers can press 
Command + 4 to reflow a document.
There are also icons on the toolbar for Fit Page, Fit Width, and Actual Size. 

Image of a Full Screen view of a PDF document
A full-screen view of a PDF document with high contrast settings
Zoom
Use the Zoom tool in a document to increase or decrease the magnification of the entire page. 
A strategy for those using the mouse is to choose the Zoom tool from the toolbar, draw a rectangle around part of a 
page and it will automatically magnify that section. This method can also be used to decrease the magnification by 
choosing the Zoom Out tool. By choosing Dynamic Zoom, the scroll wheel of a mouse can be used to adjust a zoom 
view. Return to the original view by choosing 100% in the zoom list box on the toolbar.
image of the Zoom toolbar in Adobe Reader 6.0
The Zoom section of the toolbar

The following table shows the keyboard shortcuts to increase and decrease magnification, or to choose a document 
view.
Windows
Mac OS
Choose Alt + V, then Z. Use the Up Arrow or Down 
Arrow key to select from the list. 
Choose View > Zoom Use the Up Arrow or Down Arrow 
key to select from the list.
To use the Zoom tool from the keyboard:
•Zoom in with Ctrl + plus sign (+).
•Zoom out with Ctrl + minus sign (-).
•Zoom in temporarily with Ctrl + spacebar, then Click. 
To use the Zoom tool from the keyboard:
•Zoom in with Command + plus sign (+).
•Zoom out with Command + minus sign (-).
•Zoom in temporarily with Command + spacebar, 
then Click.
image of the Zoom To dialog box in Adobe Reader 6.0
The Zoom To dialog box

Section Six: Using Screen Readers
This section provides support and strategies for people who use screen readers. It also provides instructions for 
people who want to export text for use with Braille printers or other assistive technology. For those who use a screen 
reader, consult the screen reader Help files for specific keyboard support for PDF documents. This section contains 
general Adobe Reader 6.0 keyboard shortcuts for reading PDF documents.
If you are a screen reader user, you will need the following:
•Adobe Reader 6.01 or later 
•A version of the screen reader that works with Adobe Reader 6.0
Checking document accessibility
Before reading a PDF document, it is a good idea to check the anticipated accessibility of the document. If the 
document is not accessible, it may not be read at all or it may be read in the wrong order.
To use Quick Check, do one of the following:
•Choose Document > Quick Check.
•Press Alt + D for Documents, then Q for Quick Check (Windows only).
Setting preferences for use with screen readers
To open the Preferences dialog box, do one of the following:
•Choose Edit > Preferences.
•Press Alt + E for Edit, then N for Preferences (Windows only).
•Press Ctrl + K (Windows) or Command + K (Mac OS).
Note that if the JAWS for Windows screen reader is used, there may be a key conflict with Ctrl + K. If this conflict is 
encountered, use the JAWS PassKey (Insert + 3) before pressing Ctrl + K.
In the Preferences dialog box, use the first letter of the category to move focus to that category. Press the letter M for 
Multimedia to move to that category, if it is not already selected. Press the Tab key to move focus into the Multimedia 
options.
Multimedia category
In Adobe Reader 6.0, if video descriptions of multimedia have been provided, they can be accessed. Activate this 
feature while the Multimedia category is selected in the Preferences dialog box by doing the following.
The table below shows the keyboard shortcuts for changing multimedia options.
Windows
Mac OS
Press Alt + A to turn on the audio description, video 
description, or descriptive video that will be provided 
when available. 
Press Tab to move to the audio/video description support.

Document or page mode settings (Reading category)
The amount of a PDF document that assistive technology holds in its memory buffer depends on whether Adobe 
Reader 6.0 is processing the entire document (document mode) or just a single page (page mode). If screen magnification 
is used, this preference may affect the way this assistive technology works. Consult the screen magnification 
vendor for recommended settings for this Adobe Reader preferences option.
Background
When assistive technology is used, and an entire document is in the memory buffer, all of the assistive technology’s 
facilities can be used to navigate the document. For instance, some assistive technologies provide screen reader users 
with ways to obtain a list of links, navigate to the next active item, or find a word in the document. Screen reader 
users can use these tools on the entire document, which is much more efficient. This is “document” mode. Screen 
reader users are likely to be more familiar with the navigation tools of their assistive technology than the navigation 
tools of individual applications.
Some assistive technologies, such as screen magnification software, are only concerned with presenting the information 
that is visible on the screen. It is much faster if the assistive technology only receives visible information, so 
it doesn’t have to sort through all the parts of the document that are not visible (page mode).
If the PDF file is not tagged, the structure must be synthesized for the parts of the document that are sent to the 
assistive technology. For large documents it can take a very long time to synthesize the structure. Adobe Reader 6.0 
limits the amount of time it spends per page, but for a document that is hundreds of pages long, the synthesis can 
still add up to a very long delay. During this time, assistive technology will not be responding and may appear to be 
hung. Because screen reader users won’t know how large the file is until it is opened, they may not know that this is 
what is occurring. And if screen reader users don’t want to read the entire document, they may not need to have all 
of it analyzed when it is opened.
Setting document or page mode
Document or page mode is controlled by options in the Reading category of the Preferences dialog box. 
The default is document mode for documents of 10 pages or less, and page mode for documents larger than 10 pages. 
To use page mode, select the Deliver Data In Pages When Document Exceeds check box. If selected, specify the 
maximum size of the document for document mode. To always use page mode, set that value to one page. Because 
all documents are at least one page long, they would always use page mode. If document mode is preferred, analyzing 
very long documents can be avoided by setting this value to a suitably large page count, for example, 100 pages.

Image of the Reading category in the Prefernces dialog box
The Reading category in the Preferences dialog box
This preference can be changed at any time, and it will take effect immediately. If a document is being read in page 
mode and document mode is preferred, change the preference setting. The assistive technology will download the 
new information as soon as it is available. Users can also switch from document to page mode, but since the assistive 
technology will not read information in the Preferences dialog box until Adobe Reader 6.0 is done downloading the 
document, this feature can’t be used to cancel the analysis of a long document as it is loading.
The settings will be retained.
Navigating in page mode
It is necessary to use the tools in Adobe Reader 6.0 to navigate PDF documents when using page mode. Users also 
need to be aware that assistive technology only knows about the current page. At the bottom of a page, advance to 
the next page by using the Reader commands (for example, Page Down or Ctrl + Page Down to advance to the next 
page). 
To navigate to locations in the document or the table of contents, use Bookmarks in the Navigation pane. Advance 
to the next active item (form field, link, etc.) with Adobe Reader 6.0 by using the Tab key. However, users should 
make sure that these keystrokes are interpreted by Adobe Reader 6.0, not by the assistive technology software.
When in page mode, screen reader users may receive a message that indicates that the document is empty, even 
though there is text in the document. Adobe Reader 6.0 provides this message when it detects an empty page. If page 
mode is used, note that the message only applies to the current page, and that the next page may contain information. 
Advanced to the next page to confirm this.

Setting read order options (Accessibility category)
The Left-to-Right, Top-to-Bottom and the Print Stream Reading Orders are much faster than the Infer Reading 
Order from Document. If one of these choices is selected, users may want to use document mode all of the time, or 
may want to set the threshold to a very large document size. Use caution when using the Infer Reading Order from 
Document even though it is the recommended setting.
Additional preference settings to use with screen readers 
There are other settings in Adobe Reader 6.0 that can be modified to enhance the reading of a PDF document using 
a screen reader. These include settings in the Internet and Startup categories in the Preferences dialog box.
Internet category
If it is preferable not to open PDF documents in a browser window, this default option can be turned off. This means 
that when a PDF document is opened on a Web site, the document will be displayed in a separate Adobe Reader 
window rather than being displayed in the Web browser.
Choosing not to display the PDF document in the browser can improve the behavior of the PDF file with assistive 
technology, such as screen readers. Try changing this preference setting if the assistive technology appears to have 
difficulty reading PDF documents in the Web browser.
To change how a PDF document is displayed on a Windows system:
In the Internet category of the Preferences dialog box, press Alt + D to turn off Display PDF in Browser.
To change how a PDF document is displayed on Mac OS:
In the Internet category of the Preferences dialog box, press the Tab key to move to the option, then select it by 
pressing the spacebar.
Startup category
Choose whether to view the Adobe Reader 6.0 splash screen as the application starts up. By default, this option is 
turned on. 
To turn off the splash screen on startup on a Windows system:
Press Alt + S in the Internet category of the Preferences dialog box. 
To turn off the splash screen on startup on Mac OS:
Press the Tab key to move to the option, then select it by pressing the spacebar.
Document place marker in the Startup category
A place marker can be set in a PDF document. If a place marker is set for a document, when the document is next 
opened, it will be positioned to the marker location. This preference is controlled by the Reopen Document to Last 
Viewed Page option, and by default it is set only for eBooks. 

To turn on place markers in PDF documents on a Windows system:
Press Alt + V in the Startup category of the Preferences dialog box and choose one of the following:
•eBooks only
•Marked files and eBooks only
•All Files
To turn on place markers in PDF documents on Mac OS:
Press the Tab key to move to the option, then select it by pressing the spacebar.
If place marker is turned on in a PDF document, the following message appears when the PDF document is closed. 
Choose Yes To All, Yes, or No when asked whether to reopen to this page the next time this document is opened.
Image of the placemarker message box
The place marker message box
Navigation using keyboard commands
For best results when reading PDF documents, be sure to use the most current version of Adobe Reader 6.0 as well 
as the most current version of any assistive technology required. To download the latest version of Adobe Reader 6.0, 
go to http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/alternate.html#601uxall. Note that multiple versions of the Adobe 
Reader 6.0 download exist. 
Keyboard commands listed in this section work on either Windows or Mac OS unless otherwise specified. For a 
complete list of keyboard commands, see “Appendix B: Complete List of Adobe Reader 6.0 Keyboard Commands” 
on page 68.
Opening a PDF document in Adobe Reader 6.0
When Adobe Reader 6.0 is first launched, no document is open.
To open PDF documents, press Ctrl + O for Open (Windows) or Command + O (Mac OS). The first time a 
document is opened, the How To window is visible on the right side of the application window.

The Adobe Reader 6.0 interface with the How To window visible
The Adobe Reader 6.0 interface with the How To window visible
The How To window provides help on general tasks without having to search the Help files. 
To view the document window without obstruction:
•To turn off the How To window for the current document press F4. This key is a toggle, so pressing F4 again will 
bring the How To window back in view when needed. 
•To turn off the How To window at startup, clear the “Show How To Window at Startup” check box in the How To 
window. When this tool is needed, press F4 to show it.
Title, menu and toolbars
At the top of the Adobe Reader 6.0 interface is the title bar containing the application name and the name of the 
current document. 
Under the title bar is the menu bar containing items such as File, Edit, View, Document, Tools, Window, and Help. 
On a Windows system, pressing the Alt key will move focus to the menu bar. Pressing the Alt key in combination 
with the keyboard shortcuts in the menu bar will move focus to a specific menu bar item. For example, Alt + F will 
move focus to and open the File menu. The keyboard shortcuts are the letters that are underlined. Escape will remove 
focus from the menu bar and will return focus to the document window. 
The menu bar can be hidden by pressing F9. This key is a toggle so pressing F9 again will show the menu bar.

Beneath the menu bar are the toolbars. Toolbars can be accessed on Windows using the keyboard by pressing the Alt 
key to move focus to the menu bar, then pressing Ctrl + Tab to move to the first toolbar. Ctrl + Tab will move focus 
through other visible toolbars. Pressing Ctrl + Shift + Tab will move focus to the previous toolbar. 
On Mac OS, if Full Keyboard Access is enabled in the system preferences, Control + F5 (the default keyboard 
command) will move focus to the first toolbar.
To move through toolbar items, press the Tab key to move forward and Shift + Tab to move backward. Pressing Enter 
on a toolbar icon will activate that function. Escape will remove focus from the toolbar and return focus to the 
document window.
To move focus to a toolbar in a browser, press Shift + F8 on a Windows system. There is no equivalent Mac OS 
keystroke. 
On a Windows system, toolbars can be turned on or off by pressing Alt + V for View, then T for toolbars and pressing 
the Enter key on the name of a toolbar. If a toolbar is turned on or “checked”, it will be turned off or “unchecked” 
and if the selected toolbar is unchecked, pressing the Enter key will check it or turn it on.
Main document window
Below the toolbars is the main document area for reading documents. This area can have up to three components. 
A document must be open to view the Navigation pane. It is on the left side of the screen.
Navigation pane 
To reveal the Navigation pane, do one of the following:
•Choose View > Navigation Tabs > Open Navigation Pane.
•Choose Alt + V for View, then N, then the letter O for Open Navigation Pane (Windows only).
•Press F6. 
The Navigation pane is located on the left side of the document window and, when it is closed, only the tabs for items 
are visible. The Navigation pane tabs include Bookmarks and Comments. F6 is a toggle, so pressing F6 will show or 
hide the Navigation pane. If the Navigation pane is open, pressing Shift + F6 moves focus between the document and 
the Navigation pane.
To move through items in the open Navigation pane within the selected tab, use the Tab key. The Tab key moves focus 
to and shows the category in the active Navigation pane tab.
To move between tabs in the Navigation pane, for example from Bookmarks to Pages, use Ctrl + Tab or Ctrl + Shift 
+ Tab (Windows only), or the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key when focus is on the tab itself (Windows or Mac OS). 
The Left Arrow key highlights the top tab. The Right Arrow key highlights the bottom tab in an open Navigation 
pane.
In the Bookmarks tab of the Navigation pane, expand all bookmarks by pressing Shift + * or collapse all bookmarks 
by pressing the Forward Slash key (/). Using the Left Arrow or Right Arrow key on a particular bookmark will 
collapse or expand the bookmark respectively.
Document window
The main document window is in the center of the screen. When the mouse is moved over this area, the Hand tool, 
which is the default reading tool, is visible. 

To cycle through open documents if the focus is on a document on a Windows system, press Ctrl + F6. (There is no 
corresponding shortcut for Mac OS.) Pressing Ctrl + F4 or Ctrl + W (Windows) or Command + W (Mac OS) will 
close the current document. To close all open documents, press Ctrl + Shift + W (Windows) or Command + Shift + 
W (Mac OS).
Pressing Alt + F6 will move focus to the next open palette or dialog box. (There is no Mac OS equivalent for this.)
To move among fields in a document, press the Tab key to move to the next field or Shift + Tab to move focus to the 
previous field.
To access the context menu reading a document, press either the AppKey or Shift + F10.
A useful browser keyboard command is Ctrl + I (Windows) or Command + I (Mac OS), which opens the Properties 
dialog box.
How To window
The third component of the main document window is the How To window. As previously mentioned, the How To 
window is displayed by default. Pressing F4 will either show or hide useful Help topics. The How To window contains 
links to helpful information on performing general tasks. At the top of the How To window is a navigation bar with 
a left and right arrow to move forward and backward through topics.
To use keyboard commands to move through the topics, press Ctrl + Shift + Tab (Windows only). This key combination 
moves focus to the How To navigation bar. Press Enter on the Back or Forward buttons, for example, to move 
to the previous or next topic.
To move focus between the How To window and the main document window, press Shift + F4.
Status bar
The last component of the Adobe Reader 6.0 interface is the Status bar. The Status bar is at the very bottom of the 
Adobe Reader 6.0 window. Moving from left to right, information is available on the page size, the page numbering, 
and available views of the document.
In the center of the Status bar is a document navigation tool. It shows the current page, the total number of pages in 
the document, and provides arrow icons to move quickly through pages in the document.
On the right side of the Status bar are icons for viewing the document in Single Page, Continuous, Continuous 
Facing, or Facing mode.
Move through a document using keyboard commands such as Ctrl + Shift + Page Up (Windows) or Command + 
Shift + Page Up (Mac OS) to move to the first page of a document, or Ctrl + Shift + Page Down (Windows) or 
Command + Shift + Page Down (Mac OS) to move to the last page of a document. Page Up and Page Down will 
move forward one screen and backward one screen respectively.
Pressing Ctrl + Shift + N (Windows) or Command + Shift + N (Mac OS) brings up the Go To Page dialog box, in 
which a specific page number can be entered.
Searching documents
In Adobe Reader 6.0, it is easy to find specific items in documents by using the Search tool. Activate the Search 
window by pressing Ctrl + F (Windows) or Command + F (Mac OS). If the How To window is visible, the How To 
items are replaced by the Search items. If the How To window is hidden, the Search window opens on the right side 
of the screen.

The Adobe Reader 6.0 interface with the Search window visible
The Adobe Reader 6.0 interface with the Search window visible
By default the focus is on the “enter keyword” text box. This is where you can enter the keyword(s) that will be 
searched for in a document.
Use the Tab key to move through the options for searching for items in a PDF document. Current document or all 
documents in a specific folder can be searched. Searches can be for whole words, can be case sensitive, or can be 
through bookmarks or comments. There are also links to search PDFs on the Internet, use Advanced Search options, 
or access the complete Adobe Reader 6.0 Help files.
Successful search results will appear as links in the results box in the Search window. Either select the link to move 
to it in the document or press F3 to move to and highlight the next search result in the document.
The table below shows the other Search tool keyboard shortcuts.
Windows 
Mac OS
Press Ctrl + ] to search the next document.
Press Command + ] to search the next document.
Press Ctrl + [ to search the previous document.
Press Command + [ to search the previous document.
Press Ctrl + G to search for the next result.
Press Command + G to search for the next result.
Press Ctrl + Shift + G to search for the previous result.
Press Command + Shift + G to search for the previous 
result.
Press F4 to close the Search window.
Press F4 to close the Search window.

Getting help
It is easy to get help in Adobe Reader 6.0. One option is to use the How To window to obtain assistance on general 
everyday tasks in Adobe Reader 6.0. Another option is to choose the Help topic on the menu bar. The easiest way to 
obtain help using keyboard commands is to press F1.
Pressing F1 will open a new window with the complete Adobe Reader 6.0 Help files available. 
The Help window is divided into four parts:
•The title bar
•A toolbar
•A navigation pane on the left side that allows searches by Contents, Search keywords, or an alphabetical Index
•A document window on the right side containing the Help file that was requested
Adobe Reader 6.0 Help window
The Adobe Reader 6.0 Help window
Pressing Shift + F8 will move focus to the toolbar in the Help window. The toolbar has tools to move forward, 
backward, print topic, or increase or decrease magnification. Use the Tab key to move through these options.
When a Help topic is chosen, focus in the Navigation pane moves to the current panel contents. Press the Tab key to 
move back to the Navigation pane before using the Left Arrow key and Right Arrow key to switch the active panel 
(Contents, Search, or Index). Move among the active panels more directly using Ctrl + Tab (Windows only).
Press the Left Arrow or Right Arrow key in the Navigation pane to move through the Contents, Search, or Index tabs. 
Press the Tab key to move into the options. Then use the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key to move through the topics. 
Press Enter to open the topic in the Help document window on the right.
To temporarily hide the Navigation pane, press F6. This key is a toggle, so pressing F6 again will open the Navigation 
pane.
Press Ctrl + 4 to reflow the Help document for easier reading. On Windows, Ctrl + plus sign (+) increases the magnification, 
and Ctrl + minus sign (-) decreases the magnification. On Mac OS, Command + plus sign (+) increases the 
magnification and Command + minus sign (-) decreases the magnification.

Pressing Alt + F4 or Ctrl + W (Windows) or Command + W (Mac OS) closes the Help window.
Using other Adobe Reader accessibility tools with screen readers to read PDF 
documents
Two useful tools are Reflow and saving the document as a text file. If a PDF document is saved as a text file, it can be 
translated into Braille using Braille translation software. You can then send the file to a Braille embosser to have it 
printed in Braille. 
Reflow 
This tool transforms tagged PDF documents into a single column that fits within the width of the window. 
The following chart shows the keyboard shortcuts to reflow a document.
Windows
Mac OS
Choose Alt + V for View, then R for Reflow, or Ctrl + 4. 
Once in Reflow mode, Ctrl + plus sign (+) increases 
magnification, and Ctrl + minus sign (-) decreases magnification.
Choose Alt + V for View, then R for Reflow, or Command 
+ 4. 
Once in Reflow mode, Command + plus sign (+) 
increases magnification, and Command + minus 
sign (-) decreases magnification.
Saving a document for Braille translation
To create a Braille copy of a document, or to extract the text for reading on alternate devices or applications, choose 
to Save as Text. A plain text file is created without images or multimedia objects. 
The table below shows the keyboard shortcuts for saving a document as a text file.
Windows
Mac OS
•Press Alt + F, then V for Save as Text.
•Locate the drive and folder to save the file to.
•Press Alt + S to activate the Save button. 
•Choose File > Save as Text.
•Locate the drive and folder to save the file to.
•Press Tab to the Save button and press Enter. 

Appendix A: Accessibility Basics
Publishing accessible content in HTML, Adobe PDF, or other format requires much more than simply representing 
the original document accurately. Sighted people can look at a printed page and easily discern the difference between 
titles, subtitles, columns of text, headers, footers, and so on. Visual clues, such as location of the text on the page, 
bold text, and large font sizes help determine the structure of a document so they can read and navigate it easily.
Although this guide uses screen readers as an example of assistive technology that aids individuals who are blind or 
visually disabled, other disabilities may require the use of assistive technology:
Low Vision/Visual Impairment. 
People use screen magnification software that both magnifies the information on 
the screen and provides auditory feedback. 
Blindness. 
People use screen reading software that provides auditory feedback on all elements of the operating 
system and applications. People who are blind or deaf/blind can also use refreshable Braille displays to interact with 
the computer.
Learning Disabilities. 
People with cognitive or learning disabilities use Text-to-Speech software to provide auditory 
feedback for content, or may require larger fonts or highlighted text in synchronization with auditory feedback to 
isolate individual words or phrases.
Mobility Impairments. 
People with mobility impairments use alternate input devices such as on-screen keyboards 
or voice recognition software to navigate the computer’s operating system and applications.
Note: The difference between screen reading and Text-to-Speech (TTS) software is that screen reading software provides 
feedback on essential computer activities, menu bars, and dialog and message boxes, as well as content, while 
Text-to-Speech software provides feedback on the document content only.
Creating accessible content
Although continuous improvements are being made in the software tools that check for accessibility and create more 
accessible documents, authors play an important role in creating accessible documents. In addition to the traditional 
editorial issues of content accuracy, spelling, grammar, artwork, and formatting, authors need to think about accessibility 
as well.
Authors of digital documents planning for the evolution of technology need to also be aware of formatting conventions 
used by native applications. This typically means authors need to use styling conventions available in word 
processing and desktop publishing applications. This is preferable to using character formatting conventions to 
convey structural information. Authors should refrain from using bold face text and modified font sizes to indicate 
a paragraph heading and should instead apply a style such as Heading 1 to achieve the same effect. This approach 
enables planning for future accessibility.

A document containing both content and structure
A document containing both content and structure
To improve accessibility of PDF documents, authors should: 
•Define structure such as headers and columns.
•Add navigation and explanatory information.
Creating accessible documents means authoring documents with both content and structure in mind. 
To make documents more accessible and readable by people using assistive technology, apply the following techniques:
•Use styles to indicate the logical order of the elements of a document. For example headings, tables, form fields, 
and so on.
•Rely on multiple formatting conventions to indicate emphasis. For example, combine color with bold face type or 
underlining.
•Provide Alternative Text for graphical elements.
•Use applications that produce accessible content.
To improve the accessibility of PDF documents, applications should: 
•Retain and encode both content and structure. 
•Deliver the information effectively to assistive technology. 
•Provide useful tools to help optimize documents. 
•To the extent possible, be usable by those with disabilities. 
•Assist in the conversion of legacy files. 
Creating accessible content and documents is a team effort.

Elements of accessible PDF documents
Authors of PDF documents should be aware of enhancements they can make to optimize document accessibility. 
Reading order. 
For a screen reader or Text-to-Speech software to effectively read information on a page, a logical 
structure must be provided to help assistive technology determine in what order the text on the page is meant to be 
read. This order can be ambiguous in the case of multicolumn text, sidebars, pulled quotes inserted in the middle of 
or between columns, tables, and the like. By tagging and identifying the various blocks of text and other page 
elements that make up the layout, tagged Adobe PDF provides a means of supplying this structure, and defining the 
intended reading order of the page.
Alternate text for images. 
Graphic representations such as illustrations, drawings, charts, and graphs cannot be 
interpreted by a screen reader. By supplying alternate text for images, people with visual or learning disabilities have 
improved access to the information the image is meant to impart. Alternate text functions as an “audio caption” for 
people who cannot see the document but must rely on an alternate sense, in this case hearing, to listen to the 
document. 
Alternate text for links. 
By including alternate text for links, people using screen readers will hear “Go to Access 
Adobe.com” instead of http://access.adobe.com; or “Acrobat Accessibility” instead of 
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/solutionsacc.html. 
Bookmarks. 
The document should include useful links and other interactive page content such as bookmarks, so 
that users can go directly to the section they want. 
An image of linked bookmarks
An image of linked bookmarks
Navigation. 
The document should include navigational and organization aids, such as a table of contents and useful 
headings. These aids provide an easy way for users to move through the document so they don’t have to read the 
entire document page by page in order to find what they are looking for. 
Document language. 
Although current screen readers are designed to read the document according to one 
particular language, specifying the language of the document in the structure can benefit future screen reader 
technologies that may be able to change languages on the fly. In addition, the Adobe Accessibility Checker will 
indicate this as an error if you do not specify a document language. 

Image-only documents. 
Some PDF documents were created by scanning a printed page into the computer. These 
are inherently inaccessible because the end result is an image of the document, not text that can be tagged into a 
logical document structure or reading order.
Two tools are available from Adobe Systems to assist in converting scanned image-only documents into accessible PDF:
•Adobe Capture 3.0 and the Adobe Capture Agent Pack (which contains the Adobe Tag Agent and PDF Forms 
Access Agent)
•PaperCapture, which is a built-in tool in Acrobat 6.0 Professional and Acrobat 6.0 Standard
An image of a slide demonstrating scanned text on the left and text entered using a keyboard on the right
An image of a slide demonstrating scanned text on the left and text entered using a keyboard on the right
Security. 
One of the strengths of PDF is document integrity and security. Within the security settings of Adobe PDF 
documents is the option to Enable Text Access for Screen Reader Devices for the Visually Impaired. Authors can 
choose not to allow printing, copying, extracting, commenting, or editing. However, to allow screen reader access 
for people using screen reading devices to read the tagged PDF document, the Enable Text Access for Screen Reader 
Devices for the Visually Impaired must be selected. This is selected by default.
PDF forms. 
One of the more popular uses of PDF documents is for the distribution of forms. Using Acrobat 6.0 
Professional, authors can make forms accessible and fillable online by adding form fields with tool tips to PDF forms. 
Without adding form fields, users must resort to printing PDF forms to paper and completing them manually using 
handwriting or a typewriter. Adding the tool tips to form fields provides an audio cue to users of screen readers. A 
user would hear “First name” when tabbing to the field asking applicants to provide a first name. Tool tips should 
always be as terse as possible, and should be descriptive rather than declarative; they should never contain instructions 
such as “Enter…”

An image of a slide representing accessible form design
An image of a slide representing accessible form design

Appendix B: Complete List of Adobe Reader 
6.0 Keyboard Commands
Single key accelerators
Note: To use these Single Key Accelerators to access tools, the Use single-key accelerators to access tools check box in 
Edit > Preferences > General must be selected. 
Result
Windows
Mac OS
Note tool
S
S
Text Editing tool
E
E
Stamp tool
K
K
Current Highlighted tool
U
U
Cycle through Highlighting tools; Highlight, Cross-Out Text, Underline Text
Shift + U
Shift + U
Current Drawing tool
D
D
Cycle through Drawing tools; Rectangle, Oval, Arrow, Line, Cloud, Polygon Line
Shift + D
Shift + D
Text Box tool
X
X
Pencil tool
N
N
Pencil Eraser tool
Shift + N
Shift + N
Current Attach tool
J
J
Cycle through Attach tools: Attach File, Attach Sound, Paste Clipboard Image
Shift + J
Shift + J
Move focus to Comment
Tab
Tab
Open pop-up window for comment that has focus
spacebar
spacebar
Send Comments
Q
Q
Send and receive comments in browser-based review
O
O
Mark document status as complete in browser-based review
W
W
Save document and work offline (browser-based review)
Y
Y
Go back online
I
I

Keys for moving through a document
Note: These are standard Adobe navigation keys, not Single Key Accelerators. 
Result
Windows
Mac OS
Previous Screen
Page Up
Page Up
Next Screen
Page Down
Page Down
First Page
Home or Shift + 
Ctrl + Page Up or 
Shift + Ctrl + Up 
Arrow key
Home or Shift + 
Command + Page 
Up or Option + Shift 
+ Up Arrow key
Last Page
End or Shift + Ctrl 
+ Page Down or 
Shift + Ctrl + 
Down Arrow key
End or Shift + Command 
+ Page Down 
or Option + Shift + 
Down Arrow key
Scroll Up
Up Arrow key
Up Arrow key
Scroll Down
Down Arrow key
Down Arrow key
Scroll (when Hand tool is selected)
spacebar
(no Mac OS 
equivalent)
Zoom In
Ctrl + plus sign (+)
Command + plus 
sign (+)
Zoom Out
Ctrl + minus sign 
(-)
Command + minus 
sign (-)
Zoom In Temporarily
Ctrl + spacebar, 
then Click
Command + spacebar, 
then Click

Keys for general navigation 
Task
Windows
Mac OS
Show/Hide menu bar
F9
F9
Move focus to menus
F10 or Alt, then 
arrow keys
(no Mac OS 
equivalent)
Move focus to toolbar area
Alt, then Ctrl + Tab
(no Mac OS 
equivalent)
Move focus to next toolbar
Ctrl + Tab
(no Mac OS 
equivalent)
Move focus to toolbar in browser or Help window
Shift + F8
(no Mac OS 
equivalent)
Open Properties toolbar or Properties dialog box
Ctrl + I
Command + I
Cycle through open documents (when focus is on document pane)
Ctrl + F6
Command + ~ 
(tilde)
Move focus to next floating panel or open dialog box
Alt + F6
(no Mac OS 
equivalent)
Move focus to next field or item in the document pane
Tab or Right 
Arrow key
Tab or Right 
Arrow key
Move focus to previous field or item in the document pane
Shift + Tab or Left 
Arrow key
Shift + Tab or Left 
Arrow key
Activate selected tool, item (such as a movie or bookmark), or command
spacebar or Enter
spacebar or Enter
Open/Close context menu
Shift + F10
Command + Click
Close an open menu, context menu, or dialog box
Escape
Escape
Close all windows
Shift + Ctrl + W
Shift + Command 
+ W
Move focus to next tab in a tabbed dialog box
Ctrl + Tab
(no Mac OS 
equivalent)
Move to next search result and highlight it in the document
F3
(no Mac OS 
equivalent)
Select text (with Select Text tool is selected)
Shift + arrow keys
Shift + arrow keys
Select previous/next word (with Select Text tool selected)
Shift + Ctrl + Right 
Arrow or Left 
Arrow key
Shift + Command 
+ Right Arrow or 
Left Arrow key
Move cursor to next/previous word (with Select Text tool selected)
Ctrl + Right Arrow 
or Left Arrow key
Command + Right 
Arrow or Left 
Arrow key

Keys for working with navigation tabs 
Task
Windows
Mac OS
Open/close Navigation pane
F6
F6
Move focus between Navigation pane and document pane
Shift + F6
Shift + F6
Move focus to next element of the active navigation tab: Trash Can, Options menu, Close box, tab 
contents, and tab
Tab
Tab
Move to next navigation tab and make it active (when focus is on the tab)
Up and Down 
Arrow keys
(no Mac OS 
equivalent)
Move to next navigation tab and make it active (when focus is anywhere in the Navigation pane)
Ctrl + Tab
(no Mac OS 
equivalent)
Expand the current bookmark (focus on Bookmarks tab)
Right Arrow key or 
Shift + plus sign 
(+)
Right Arrow key or 
Shift + plus sign 
(+)
Collapse the current bookmark (focus on Bookmarks tab)
Left Arrow key or 
minus sign (-)
Left Arrow key or 
minus sign (-)
Rename selected bookmark
F2
F2
Expand all bookmarks
Shift + *
Shift + *
Collapse selected bookmark
Forward Slash (/)
Forward Slash (/)
Move focus to next item in a navigation tab
Tab or Down 
Arrow key
Down Arrow key
Move focus to previous item in a navigation tab
Shift + Tab or Up 
Arrow key
Up Arrow key
Keys for navigating the Help menu 
Task
Windows
Mac
Open/close Help window
F1
F1
Move focus to toolbar in Help window
Shift + F8
Shift + F8
Move focus among tabs: Contents, Search, Index
Right Arrow or 
Left Arrow key
Right Arrow or 
Left Arrow key
Toggle focus between active tab and tab contents
Tab
Tab
Move to next element in active tab
Up Arrow or 
Down Arrow key
Up Arrow or 
Down Arrow key
Reflow the Help document
Ctrl + 4
Command + 4

Keys for navigating the How To window 
Task
Windows
Mac OS
Open How To window
F4
F4
Close How To window
F4 or Escape
F4 or Escape
Move focus between How To window and document pane
Shift + F4
Shift + F4
Go to How To home page
Home
Home
Move focus among the elements of the How To window
Shift + Ctrl + Tab
Shift + Command 
+ Tab
Go to next page in How To window
Right Arrow key
Right Arrow key
Go to previous page in How To window
Left Arrow key
Left Arrow key