Hi Wendy,
The requirement that all links include alternate text in the Contents key is frustrating ...
- To the best of my knowledge, no current AT makes use of the Contents key alt text
- No current tool makes it easy to create and configure the Contents key. To do so manually with a long set of links such as a table of contents is time consuming.
- In a well-written document, link text is often quite clear in context, and alt text provides no benefit in terms of accessibility. This is almost certainly the case with a table of contents.
So, you have to make a choice. You can ...
- Ignore this particular PDF/UA criterion and somehow live with the resulting scolding from PAC2.
- Apply regular alt text to the links. This makes PAC2 happy but PAC 1.3 unhappy.
- Patiently wait for the opportunity to shell out big bucks for a new tool that automates setting the link Contents key, like the "coming soon" PDF Global Access (new version of CommonLook with a new name) from NetCentric.
- Bite the bullet and set the Contents key for each link tag manually. It is a bit intimidating at first to delve into the innards of the tag structure and make changes, but you will quickly gain experience and comfort level. This is the best solution if you, like me, obsess with making both PAC2 and PAC 1.3 say "Pass". Just be sure, as always when working with Acrobat, to save early and often to a new file name, in case something goes horribly wrong.
If you choose the last bullet, the PDF/UA Reference Suite includes example TOCs. As to what should be entered for "Value", for external links I typically use the title of the target page. For TOC entries, following the examples in the PDF Reference Suite, the Contents key value mirrors the text of the link, for example "Chapter 1: Introduction".
Hope this helps.
a 'C' student