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Equidox User Guide

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Table of Contents

  1. Equidox OverView – Overview video (4-minute A to Z remediation of  a simple document)

    Video transcript

  2. Equidox First Look

  3. Main  ScreenConcentrated young woman using computer

    1. Home

    2. Documents

    3. Import Document

      1. Upload
      2. URLs

    4. Notifications

    5. Settings

    6. Help

      1. Release Notes
      2. User Guide
      3. Training Videos

    7. Log Out

    8. User Profile and Settings

  4. Settings – Administration

    1. Labels

    2. Groups

    3. Accounts

      1. Adding/Removing Users
      2. Changing Passwords
      3. Forgot Password

    4. Search

    5. CSS

    6. Log  Out

  5. Documents PageA laptop, computer and tablet

    1. Sort by

    2. Filter

    3. Label Filters

    4. Grid/List Layouts

    5. Editing documents

  6. Document Detail

    1. Properties

    2. Metadata

    3. Images

    4. History

    5. Permissions

    6. Output

      1. PDF
      2. HTML
      3. ePub

  7. Page detail

    1. Home

    2. Document filename

    3. Page advance

    4. Save

    5. Mark page as validated

    6. Preview

    7. Zoom in/out

    8. Shortcuts

    9. Close

  8. Page Tab

  9. Zone Tab

    1. Zone Name

    2. Zone Type

    3. Language

    4. Zone Order

    5. Remove Zone

    6. Properties

  10. Pages Tab

  11. Images

    1. Page Detail View

    2. Document Detail View

  12. Dealing with TextWoman using a laptop

    1. Sensitivity slider

    2. Drawing zones

    3. Zone Position

    4. Reading Order

    5. Page Orientation

    6. Merge

    7. Break Lines

    8. Zone Source

      1. PDF
      2. OCR
      3. Custom

    9. Zone Position

  13. Headings

  14. Table

    1. Table Tab

    2. Cells Tab

    3. Save

    4. Preview

    5. Zoom In/Out

    6. Close

  15. Links

    1. Urls/Anchors

    2. Footnotes and Footnote Links

  16. Lists

    Tools Business technology concept.

    1. Unordered Lists

    2. Ordered Lists

    3. Merge Lists

    4. Nested lists

  17. Anchor

  18. Ignore

  19. Blockquote

  20. Graphic

  21. Quote

  22. Cite

  23. Footnote and Footnote Link

  24. Form and Field

  25. Sensitivity

  26. OCR

  27. Div

Overview

An A to Z remediation of a simple document.

 

First Look

Equidox is a cloud-based application. This means that all remediation will be done online.

You will need an internet connection to work with your documents.

You can access Equidox from any browser with an internet connection; the software is not tied to any single computer.  Equidox is optimized for use with Chrome. 

When you visit the Equidox site, you will be asked to sign in with your email and password. If you do not have an account, please contact sales@equidox.com to discuss acquiring a license.

Equidox Sign-in screen. Arrows mark the fields for Your Email, Password and the "Sign In" button. Also visible is the "Sign in with Google" button.

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Main Screen

Let’s have a quick look at the Equidox Main Screen. These items will each be covered in more detail. Below is an overview. The descriptions with Button numbers refer to this image and the buttons down the lefthand side of the screen, in order of appearance.

 

Home Screen. Buttons on the left side are marked with arrows and labeled number 1-7. Arrow 1 - Home button, Arrow 2 - Documents Button, Arrow 3 - Import button, Arrow 4 - Notifications Button, Arrow 5 - Settings Button, Arrow 6 - Help button, Arrow 7 - Log Out button. 

Figure 1

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Home  (Figure 1, Arrow 1)

Home brings up a page that shows activities for Equidox. You can choose which Groups you’d like to see, and activity over a week, month or year. The actual data are listed below the graph.

Shows line graph of activity on All Groups in the demo incidence of Equidox for the last month. Data below the graph reads: 19 Users, 220 Documents, 262 Pages, 9731 Images.

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Documents  (Figure 1, Arrow 2)

Documents brings up a list of all uploaded documents to be remediated.

 

Import Document  (Figure 1, Arrow 3)

Import Document allows you to upload your documents for editing. Documents can be imported from files on your computer or via URLs.

 

Import Button. Arrows shows Import Button in the left hand menu.

 

Upload Tab

To upload a file from your computer, choose Upload, then drag files from a folder on your hard drive or click the Drag Files here or click here button to access your hard drive. Only PDF files may be imported.  You can choose multiple files to upload at a time. Once the file(s) are chosen, you can click the Import button Import or click on individual file(s) to remove the file. Larger files and multiple files may take time to import. Once your documents are imported, they will appear on the Documents page. If you are uploading a large volume of documents, you may wish to come back later to view your documents. The Notifications tab will show you when your documents are uploaded.

Import Document - Upload Tab. Shows Button reading "Drag files or click here."

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URLs Tab

Files can be imported via their URLs. Simply select the URLs, copy them to the clipboard and paste them into the URLs tab. Each URL should have a separate line. Then click the Import button. You can upload multiple document URLs at once. Currently, only public-facing files are accepted in Equidox. Files requiring authentication will not be imported.

Import Document - URLs Tab. Text reads: Enter one URL per line.

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Notifications (Figure 1, Arrow 4)

Under Notifications, you will find messages about your activity, such as when a document has completed uploading. Time-stamps allow the user to identify how new or old a notification is. Delete a notification by selecting the red cross icon Image removed. . The user can delete all notifications by selecting the Trash icon Image removed. at the top of the screen. Notifications are linked to the respective document. You can access the corresponding document by selecting the blue title link in the notification. Some large documents can take time to upload. Notifications appear when a document is finished importing or when the status of a document has changed.

Notifications page. Shows three notifications, "PDF Sample Document.pdf is now ready", two copies of "Copy of Why Equidox_TBS.pdf". There is a trash button and each notification has a delete button.

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Settings (Figure 1, Arrow 5)

Settings allows you to add Labels, Groups, and Accounts; to Search and set CSS. We will review Settings more in-depth under Administration.

Settings Page. Shows Tabs for Labels, Groups, Accounts, Search and CSS.

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Help  (Figure 1, Arrow 6)

The Help button takes you to Release Notes, the User Guide and Training Videos.

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Help Screen. Arrow 1 indicates release notes, Arrow 2 indicates the User Guide link, Arrow 3 indicates the link to Equidox Training videos.

Figure 2

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Release Notes (Figure 2, Arrow 1)

Release notes cover changes in Equidox functionality and procedures. Equidox is continually being developed to incorporate increased functionality and features consistent with accessibility best practices. Be sure to read new release notes to understand upgrades and changes in how Equidox works. 

User Guide (Figure 2, Arrow 2)

This User Guide is designed to cover all aspects of Equidox functionality. For further information, view the Training Videos.

Training Videos (Figure 2, Arrow 3)

These are brief videos by section, illustrating the material covered in this User Guide.  They are designed as a “how to” instruction manual.  

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Log Out  (Figure 1, Arrow 7)

The last item in the left-hand menu is Log Out. If your organization has a set number of permissible or concurrent users, it’s a good idea to log out when you are finished with your documents so you don’t take up a slot someone else might want to use.

 

User Profile and Settings

In the upper right, you will see your email in a dropdown menu. From here you can edit your profile, go to Settings (this is the same as the Settings button on the left) and log out.

Home screen showing right-hand dropdown box which shows options: your user email, Profile, Settings and Sign Out.

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Settings – Administration

With an Equidox software license, at least one administrator will be assigned. Administrators have access to Settings functions. It is possible to have multiple administrators who all have access to all settings and documents. Non-admin users have access to any documents within any Groups to which they belong or that they have uploaded personally using their own account. Let’s take a closer look at the Settings screen.

 

Labels

The first tab on this screen is Labels.

Labels Tab. Arrow 1 shows Color button, Arrow 2 shows name field, Arrow 3 shows Description field, Arrow 4 shows Global checkbox, Arrow 5 shows Add or Delete Button.

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Groups

Manage and organize document permissions by selecting which Accounts and Groups can or cannot view and edit certain documents. A new document will be automatically shared with a Group when uploaded by an Account assigned to that Group. Administrators can grant access to view and edit a document by manually sharing documents with Groups and Accounts.

Groups Tab. Arrow 1 shows the Name field, Arrow 2 shows Description field, Arrow 3 shows the Create Button. Arrows 4 and 5 shows existing Groups.

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Accounts

If your Equidox Account has administrator privileges, under the Accounts tab can see a list of user accounts. Your personal user Account is indicated by this tab. Each user is listed, along with any Group to which each user belongs (if you are using Groups), and whether they have administrator privileges. You have the ability to change Account passwords and add or delete Accounts.

 

Adding/Removing Users

To Add an Account, go to New Account (Arrow 1) at the end of the list, fill in the Account user’s email, any Group to which you’d like them added (Arrow 2), and press the Create button(Arrow 3). If the user has a Google account, you can check the box marked Google Account ( Arrow 4). This will allow the user to one-step sign in using their Google email account. You can also choose whether or not the Account is an Administrator by checking the Administrator box (Arrow 5). An email will be sent to the new user at the email address you provided.  To delete an Account, click the Delete button (Arrow 7).

Accounts Tab. Arrow 1 is the user email, Arrow 2 shows any Groups assigned to the users, Arrow 3 shows whether the account has been registered, arrow 4 indicates whether the Account is a Google account, Arrow 5 indicates whether or not the account is Administrator, Arrow 6 is the Password Button, and Arrow 7 is the Delete button.

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Changing Passwords

If you wish to change your Password, choose Settings, Accounts, find your Account on the list, and choose Password. Enter a new password, confirm it, and choose Change. You cannot change your password if you are using a Google email to sign in. Your password is your Google email password. Administrators can change user passwords in the same way.

Change Password Screen. Shows fields for Password, and confirm password, and Cancel and Change buttons.

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Forgot Password

If you have forgotten your password, non-Google account users can click Forgot your password? to send an email with password reset directions. Google account users can click Forgot your password? to send an email with password reset directions through the Google Password Manager. Equidox is not authorized to change or reset passwords for Google accounts. Click the Delete button on the Account Settings page to delete an account.

 

Search

Equidox allows you to use a search appliance tool to find PDF URLs on your website or intranet. Currently, Equidox supports the Mindbreeze appliance for this.

You can group your files into Collections if you are uploading documents from more than one website.

Settings Page - Search Tab. Shows Appliance and fields for host name and port. Shows Collections name field and an Add button. Then Save Button.

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CSS

CSS describes how HTML elements are to be displayed on a screen, paper, or in other media. CSS can control the layout of multiple web pages all at once. External stylesheets are stored in CSS files. This allows you to use existing style sheets to quickly style both HTML preview and outputs.  CSS will not apply to PDF or ePub outputs.

Settings Page - CSS Tab. Arrow 1 shows CSS Name field, Arrow 2 shows URL field, Arrow 3 shows Set as Default checkbox, Arrow 4 shows Add or Delete CSS Button.

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Log Out

If your Equidox license includes a specified number of concurrent accounts, it’s important to have your users log out when they are done working in Equidox. If you have passed the limit of allowable concurrent users, you will be reminded to log out.

 

Documents Page

The documents page shows all the documents that have been imported into Equidox. They will be presented in the order in which they were last edited. Let’s have a look at the features of this page:

Documents Page - Arrow 1 shows the Sort by Dropdown Box, Arrow 2 shows the Filter Text box, Arrow 3 shows the Labels Filter Dropdown Box

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Sort by

(Arrow 1) This allows you to sort the list of imported Documents by imported date, modified date, title, owner, filename or label. It can make locating documents faster and easier.

Filter

You can filter the list of imported Documents by any term you type into this field. Maybe you need all the documents that have the word “security” in the title. Simply type the Filter term into the filter field (Arrow 2) and Equidox will revise the list to only include Documents with the Filter terms.

Label Filters

(Arrow 3) You can also filter by one or more Labels attached to any of the imported documents. This will make it easy for you to see all the documents labeled for Human Resources, or all the Documents that are “Ready for validation,” or “Need Attention.”  To filter the list of Documents using the Label field, select the label from the drop-down box (Arrow 3).  You can choose multiple Labels to filter.

Grid/List Layouts

On the right are options to view the imported documents in a Grid Layout (Arrow 1), or a List Layout (Arrow 2). Equidox defaults to the List Layout view as shown below. Either view will provide a thumbnail of the documents first page, and the document’s file name, import date, title, owner and any labels. You can only add Labels to these Documents from the List Layout view (Arrow 3).

Documents - Layout Buttons. Arrow 1 shows the Grid Layout Button. Arrow 2 shows the List Layout Button. Arrow 3 shows the Add Label button for a the first listed document.

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Editing documents

To edit a Document on the list, either click on the thumbnail (Arrow 1) or, in the list view, choose the Edit button (Arrow 2).

Documents Page - Edit. Arrow 1 shows the document thumbnail. Arrow 2 shows the Edit button.

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Document Detail

The Document Detail page provides information about your individual uploaded documents.  Clicking on a Document thumbnail or clicking the Edit button from the Documents Page will bring up the Document Detail page.

Properties

Under the Properties tab, we find the document title, which can be edited (Arrow 1). You can also see any Labels that have been applied, as well as add and subtract labels from your document. (Arrow 2) Examples of this might include adding a label that says “Completed” or removing a label reading “Needs attention” if the issue has been resolved. You can download your original document here. (Arrow 3) Note this is your original, unremediated document. To access the remediated document, you must go to Output. You can also view details about the uploaded document such as how it was created, when it was last modified, the number of images and pages. (Arrow 4)

Document Detail - Properties Tab. Arrow 1 shows the document title, Arrow 2 shows the Labels, Arrow 3 shows where to download the original document, Arrow 4 shows other document information including Created Date, Producer, Last Modification Date, Number of Images, Number of Pages.

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Metadata

Select the Metadata tab to view and edit the names and values pertaining to each piece of metadata. Enter the Name (Arrow 1) and Value (Arrow 2) in the fields and Click + (Arrow 3) to create and save or Delete metadata.

Document Detail - Metadata Tab. Arrow 1 shows the Name field, Arrow 2 shows the Value field, Arrow 3 shows the Add or Delete Metadata button.

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Images

Images are identified automatically by Equidox. These can be included as part of the output or hidden from view if not needed.  You can edit Image tags from the Page Detail or from the Document Detail.

 

History

The History tab shows the history of edits made to the document within Equidox, and which users have done so (Arrow).

Document Detail - History Tab. Arrow indicates activities for this document.

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Permissions

The Permissions tab provides a list of Administrators, Accounts and Groups that have access to this particular document.

 

Output

Next, we come to the Output tab (Arrow). Once a document is remediated, you can Output the remediated document from this tab. You can choose from HTML, PDF or ePub formats. This will be your remediated document. Depending on the size and complexity of your remediated document, this may take some time. To download the original file, go to the Properties tab and choose Download original document/PDF. Once the output is generated, it will open in a new window and you will need to download the file to your hard drive.

Output Tab. Arrow shows the output tab. Tabs for HTML, PDF and EPub are within the Output tab.

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PDF

Under the PDF tab, you can again choose your filename (Arrow 1), and click the Generate PDF button (Arrow 2) to create your remediated PDF document.

Document Detail - Output Tab, PDF Tab. Arrow 1 indicates where to insert the output filename, Arrow 2 indicates the Generate PDF Button.

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HTML

Under the HTML tab, you can choose all pages or specific pages (Arrow 1), Generate Page IDs, insert the filename (Arrow 2) (you may want to add a suffix to your original file name such as MyDocument-EQ.pdf to help distinguish it from an unremediated copy. You can also specify any CSS files that have been uploaded by an administrator. (Arrow 3) There is a preview option here as well (Arrow 4). This is useful for checking that your CSS is behaving as expected. Then choose Download HTML to create your HTML remediated document (Arrow 5).

Document Detail - Output - HTML Tab. Arrow 1 indicates where to select the document pages to download, Arrow 2 indicates where to insert the output file name, Arrow 3 indicates your chosen CSS file, Arrow 4 indicates the Preview HTML Document Button, and Arrow 5 indicates the Download HTML Button.

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ePUB

Under the ePub tab, you can choose the page range (Arrow 1), insert your filename (Arrow 2) and then click the Download ePub button (Arrow 3).

Document Detail - Output - ePub tab. Arrow 1 indicates the page range, Arrow 2 indicates the output file name, Arrow 3 indicates the Download ePub Button.

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Page Detail

Once you’ve chosen your document and are ready to remediate, click on the Document from the Document detail. You can choose any page, but you’ll generally start at the beginning.

From the Page detail, you’ll see lots of options along the top border. Home button (Arrow 1), Document file name (Arrow 2), Page Advance (Arrows 3), Save button (Arrow 4), Mark Validated button (Arrow 5), Preview button (Arrow 6), Zoom In button (Arrow 7), Zoom Out button (Arrow 8), Shortcuts button (Arrow 9) and Close button (Arrow 10).

Page Detail. Arrow 1 indicates the Home button, Arrow 2 indicates the document filename, Arrow 3 indicates the page advance, Arrow 4 indicates the Save Button, Arrow 5 indicates the Mark Page as Validated button, Arrow 6 indicates the Preview button, Arrows 7 indicate the Zoom In/Out buttons, Arrow 8 indicates the preset shortcut keys, Arrow 9 indicates the Close button.

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Home

The Home button returns you to the Documents page where you can choose a document to edit.  (Arrow 1)

 

Document Filename

This shows your document name. (Arrow 2)

 

Page Advance

The Page Advance buttons toggle you from one page to the next, or back. You can choose any page of the document from the Pages tab (see Pages). The page advance will show you which page you are editing. (Arrows 3)

 

Save

In the upper right corner, you have a Save button. This saves edits you have made to the document. You will be reminded to save your changes before moving to another page, or before closing the document. (Arrow 4)

 

Mark Page as Validated

The Mark Page as Validated button allows you to mark a page as completed. (Arrow 5)

 

Preview

Once you’ve created and edited the various zones on your page, you can check to ensure that all the elements are ordered correctly by using the Preview button. This will open an HTML preview of your remediated document in a new window.  You can use automated testing tools and assistive technology on this preview to check the accessibility of your remediation.

Preview. Preview of document opens in a new window in HTML format.

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Zoom in/out

You can use the Zoom In or Zoom Out buttons to change the size of the page view on your screen (Arrow 8). This will not affect your preview of the page. This is also helpful to determine the location of several overlapping zones (often found with lists).

 

Shortcuts

The Shortcut button brings you to a list of shortcut keys for Equidox functions. This button brings up a list of programmed shortcuts. (Arrow 8 above, list below)

 

Shortcut

Function
P Change selected Zone to a default Text
A Change selected Zone to an Anchor
H Change selected Zone to a Heading
I  Change selected Zone to Ignore (hide)
F  Change selected Zone to Field
U Change selected Zone to URL (link)
L  Change selected Zone to a List
T Change selected Zone to a Table
B  Change selected Zone to a Blockquote container
Q  Change Selected Zone to a Quote
G Change selected Zone to a quote
C Change selected Zone to a Citation (Cite)
Y Change selected Zone to Sensitivity
D  Change Selected Zone to a Div
delete or x Remove the selected Zone
M Toggle the Merge Attribute
K  Toggle the Break Lines Attribute
Up Arrow Move selected Zone up
Down Arrow Move selected Zone down
Left Arrow Move selected Zone left
Right Arrow  Move selected Zone right
CTRL S Save Page
CTRL P Preview Page
CTRL I Zoom In
CTRL O Zoom Out
CTRL M Mark page as Validated
CTRL H Show this shortcut help window
ALT B Show Page options
ALT Z  Show Zone options
ALT P Show a list of pages

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Close

The Close button closes your document and returns you to the Document Detail page. You will be prompted to save if you have made any edits to your document.  (Arrow 9)

 

Page Tab

At the top left of the Document Detail are several tabs with numerous functions. The Page tab tells you the Page Information including Page Number (Arrow 1), displays when the document was last saved,  allows you to create Notes about the page (Arrow 2).  Under the Zones Auto-detection section, there is the Sensitivity Slider (Arrow 3) with an Apply to All Pages button.  Next is the Reading Order section (Arrow 4) and Page Orientation section (Arrow 5). More detail on these functions can be found under Dealing with Text.

Page Detail - Pages Tab. Arrow 1 indicates the page number. Arrow 2 indicates the Page Notes field. Arrow 3 indicates the Sensitivity Slider. Arrow 4 indicates the Reading Order. Arrow 5 indicates the Page Orientation.

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Zone Tab

The Zone tab contains the Zone Properties (Arrow 1), specific properties of the Zone Type (Arrow 2), and the Zone Source (Arrow 3) and Zone Position (Arrow 4).

Zone Tab. Arrow 1 shows the Zone Properties area, Arrow 2 shows the Specific Zone type properties area, Arrow 3 shows the Zone Source, Arrow 4 shows the Zone position.

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Zone Name

The specific Name of the Zone is an editable field.  (Arrow 1)

 

Page Detail - Zone Tab. Arrow 1 indicates the Name of the zone. Arrow 2 indicates the Zone Type in a drop-down box. Arrow 3 indicates the Language. Arrow 4 indicates the zone order. Arrow 5 indicates the Remove Zone button. Arrow 6 indicates the available Zone Properties which are surrounded by a box. These Properties are specific to the Zone type and will change with the different types of Zones.

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Zone Type

Zone Type describes the specific element that the zone is defining.   These might include text, list, table, image, etc. and are covered in detail under specific entries. (Arrow 1) 

Zone Name

You can name the zones for clarity if you choose, or leave the default name.  (Arrow 2)

 

Language

Specifies the Language of the document being edited. This must be set correctly for a screen reader to read the language correctly. If this is set incorrectly, the screen reader will read the page in the wrong language. (Arrow 3)

Zone Order

This indicates the Order that the specific zone is found on the page. It is useful to be able to manually change this, and you can also use decimal points to indicate the order. This is helpful if you do not want to re-order the entire page, but need to insert a zone. You can create a zone that should be read between zones 3 and 4, and designate it 3.5.  (Arrow 4)

 

Remove Zone

The Remove Zone button deletes the selected zone. (Arrow 5)

 

Properties

Next are the Properties of the specified type of zone. If the zone is a heading zone, it will show heading properties (such as heading level), if it is a link it will show link properties (such as the URL/Anchor and description). These various zone properties are specific to the Zone Types and change with the various Zones.  These Properties are discussed in greater detail for each zone type under Dealing With Text. (Arrow 6)

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Pages Tab

The Pages tab allows you to go directly to any of the various pages of your document (Arrow 1). If you’ve checked pages as validated (Arrow 2), that notation will appear in this list of pages.

Page Detail - Pages Tab. Arrow 1 indicates the page numbers. Arrow 2 indicates the checked "Mark Documents as Validated" feature. All shown pages are clickable and will take you to that specific page for remediation. There is also a scroll bar to move up and down the various pages.

 

Images

Images are identified automatically by Equidox. These can be included as part of the output or hidden from view if not needed.  You can edit Image tags from the Page Detail or from the Document Detail.  

 

Page Detail View

To add alt text to Images in the Page Detail View, select the Image field (Arrow 1) and type your Alt text description into the Description field under the Zone Tab, with the Zone Type set to Image, under Image Properties (Arrow 2). You can add a Long Description as well. Long descriptions will only be applicable to HTML output types. Complex alt text (such as that for an infographic or a diagram) can be pasted into the field from another source.

Images - Page Detail View. Arrow 1 indicates the selected image. Arrow 2 indicates the Alt text description field under the Zone Tab with Zone type set to Image and can be found under Image Properties.

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Document Detail View

The Document Detail brings up a list of all Images in the document under the Image tab (Arrow 1). There may be multiple pages of Images. To go to the next page, choose Next at the bottom of the image list. To add alt text to the Images from the Document Detail, choose the Images tab, then type your alt text into the Description (Arrow 2)  field. You can provide a Long Description as well. (Arrow 3) You can also choose to Hide Image Zones and hide the Visual representation of the Image as well (Arrow 4). By choosing the Hide Zone and/or All Visible buttons at the top of the list, you can mark all images on that page of document images at once (but not for the subsequent image pages – press Next to view the next page of images). Once images on the page are tagged, choose Save Image Properties(Arrow 5). You must save before going to the next page of images under the Image tab or your changes will be lost. Again, you can paste alt text into the description fields from another source if you choose.

Images - Document Detail, Images Tab. Arrow 1 indicates the Images Tab of the Document Detail page. Arrow 2 indicates the Alternate text field. Arrow 3 indicates the Long Description field. Arrow(s) 4 indicate the Hide All Zones and All Visible checkboxes. Arrow(s) 5 indicate the Save Image Properties Button(s).

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Dealing with Text

Tagged Zones are created in Equidox automatically upon import.  Adjusting and retagging these Zones is fast and easy.

Page Detail showing tagged zones

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Sensitivity slider

Under the Page Tab in the Page View, you will find the Sensitivity Slider (Arrow 1). This is one of Equidox’s signature features and allows you to set the overall sensitivity of Equidox’s auto-detection of elements on your page. The default setting is “5.” You can adjust the way the zones are drawn on the page by sliding it forwards and back until the zones are as close to what is needed as possible. Choosing the correct sensitivity will vary based on the document and the elements displayed (Arrow 2). You can apply this sensitivity level to all pages of your document by clicking the Apply to All Pages button (Arrow 1).

Page Detail - Page Tab - Sensitivity Slider. Arrow 1 shows the Sensitivity Slider set to Sensitivity 5. Arrow(s) 2 show various zones set by the Sensitivity Slider.

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Drawing zones

To draw your own Zone, left click and drag the mouse around the text you’d like to include in your zone (Arrow). A reading zone should encompass all of the text you need to be viewed in a single zone element. Avoid overlapping Zones as the text will be read twice:  once for each Zone that contains it. You can check your work by choosing the Preview button to see your text rendered in HTML. Zones can also be moved around the page by left clicking and dragging in the center of the zone, resized by left-clicking and dragging the right or bottom border of the Zone, or removed by selecting and pressing the Delete key or the Remove Zone button.

Sensitivity Slider - Drawing Zones. Arrow shows a highlighted paragraph with the mouse drawing a zone around the text.

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Zone Position

Under the Zone Tab, under Zone Position, the Left, Top, Width, Height elements show the distance between the edge of the zone and the respective edge of the page. Change by either manually typing in the field, using the arrows to increase/decrease the value, dragging the edge of the zone, or dragging the entire zone to the desired position. (Arrow 1) Editing the fields under Zone Position allows users to adjust their zone position without using the mouse.  Left indicates how far from the left margin the zone is positioned, Top indicates how far from the top margin the zone is positioned, Width indicates how large the zone is horizontally, and Height indicates the size of the zone vertically. (Arrow 2) Adjusting these values will place the zone in a specific location and assign it a specific size.

Sensitivity Slider - Zone Tab - Zone Position - Arrow 1 shows a selected zone on the Page. Arrow 2 shows the Zone Position variables: Left, Top, Width and Height.

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Reading Order

If you look at the Zone Tab, each zone, when selected, will show its place in the reading order numerically. To add a Zone into the order without reordering every single element, you type numbers into the Reading Order box using decimal places.  For example, to insert a Zone between Zones 3 and 4, you can number the intervening zone as 3.5 in the Reading Order.

Zone Order. Arrow indicates the Order field of the Zone Properties section.

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Page Orientation

You can change the orientation of any page from the Page Tab in the Page View by pressing choosing Portrait or Landscape from the drop-down box and pressing Rotate. (Arrow 5)

Page Detail - Pages Tab. Arrow 1 indicates the page number. Arrow 2 indicates the Page Notes field. Arrow 3 indicates the Sensitivity Slider. Arrow 4 indicates the Reading Order. Arrow 5 indicates the Page Orientation.

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Merge

There are occasions when it is necessary to combine text from two different zones to be read as one zone or paragraph. An example would be a paragraph that starts in one column on the page and finishes on another. To combine these Zones, select the SECOND Zone (Box 3) and check the Merge box under Text Properties in the Zone Tab (Arrow 1). This will merge the Zone with whatever Zone is numerically previous to the chosen Zone in the Reading Order (Box 2). For example, if the user selects Merge while Zone 4 is selected, Zone 4 will be merged with Zone 3. If the first Zone on a page is selected, it will be merged with the last Zone on the page before it.

Merge. Arrow 1 indicates the Merge checkbox from the Zone Properties in the Zone Tab. Box 2 indicates text that is ends at the bottom of a column. Box 3 indicates the remainder of that text at the top of the next column. The zone order is set such that Box 3 follows Box 2 in the Reading Order.

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Break Lines

At times it is necessary for text to be read as separate lines within a single zone. This feature only applies to HTML outputs. An example would be three lines of an address (Box 2). To create Break Lines within a text zone, select the Zone, then go to Text Properties under the Zone Tab and select the Break Lines checkbox (Arrow 1).

Break Lines. Arrow 1 indicates the Break Lines checkbox under the Zone Properties in the Zone Tab. Box 2 surrounds 3 lines of text that are an address.

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Zone Source

You can change the source of data for any Zone. From the Zone Tab, go to Zone Source and choose a source from the drop-down list.

Zone Source. Arrow indicates the drop-down box for Zone Source. It shows "Custom" and the text of the zone, which can be edited.

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PDF

PDF is the default Zone Source and will read the data within the boundary of the selected zone. You can view how your document will be read by a screen reader in HTML format by pressing the Preview button. This will open the preview in a new window.

Zone Source - PDF. Arrow shows the Zone Source drop-down box with PDF selected.

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OCR

Set Zone to OCR to indicate a Zone was generated via the optical character recognition tool. The OCR zone type is generally used for scanned PDF documents. Optical Character Recognition (OCR), is useful for scanned documents or graphics containing text. Select the zone and choose OCR from the Zone Type dropdown list in the Zone Tab, and press Convert to Text. The OCR function will convert the selection to text when text is detectable.  Results may vary depending on the quality of the image, the font, size, clarity, orientation, etc.  The user can make edits within the OCR text box once the OCR has finished processing. Common examples of required edits are spelling mistakes, or items such as “rn” being recognized as “m,” or “o” recognized as “0.”

Zone Source - OCR. Arrow 1 shows the Zone Source dropdown box set to OCR. Arrow 2 shows a text field containing the OCR'd text. This is editable.

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Custom

Custom Zone Source allows you to add or edit text in a reading zone.  This edit will appear in the HTML preview but will not change the way the PDF looks visually.  Remediators can add additional value to a page by giving an in-depth explanation of a complex graphic, or make edits to ambiguous text.  For example, a PDF might contain the text “L8er” which is a modern expression of “Later.” A screen reader will not read this correctly. The remediator has the ability to change the text in the Custom Zone Source from “L8er” to “Later,” so that a screen reader can accurately read the text.  The edit will visually appear in the original format (“L8er”) on the PDF export, but the tag tree will now be populated with the proper text.  There are many potential uses for the Custom Zone Source that allow the remediator to make choices on how to best convey the information visible on the page to the end user of the document.

Zone Source. Arrow indicates the drop-down box for Zone Source. It shows "Custom" and the text of the zone, which can be edited.

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Zone Position

Under the Zone Tab, the Left, Top, Width, Height elements show the distance between the edge of the zone and the respective edge of the page. Change by either manually typing in the field, using the arrows to increase/decrease the value, dragging the edge of the zone, or dragging the entire zone to the desired position. (Arrow 1) Editing the fields under Zone Position allows users to adjust their zone position without using the mouse.  Left indicates how far from the left margin the zone is positioned, Top indicates how far from the top margin the zone is positioned, Width indicates how large the zone is horizontally, and Height indicates the size of the zone vertically. (Arrow 2) Adjusting these values will place the zone in a specific location and assign it a specific size.

Sensitivity Slider - Zone Tab - Zone Position - Arrow 1 shows a selected zone on the Page. Arrow 2 shows the Zone Position variables: Left, Top, Width and Height.

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Headings

To set a Heading, select the Zone designated as the Heading (Arrow 1), and from the Zone tab and choose Heading (Arrow 2) and the level (Arrow 3).  You can also merge Headings with those from a previous page or zone, and use the Heading structure as a template by checking any of the available, specified checkboxes.  The template will only apply to this and subsequent pages. It will not apply to any previous pages.

Headings. Arrow 1 indicates the selected heading zone, Arrow 2 shows the Zone Type from the drop-down menu in the Zone Tab set to Heading, Arrow 3 shows the Heading Level set to 2 under the Heading Properties.

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Table

To create a Table zone, select the content contained in the Table (Arrow 1) and choose Table from the Zone Type drop-down box in the Zone tab (Arrow 2). Then click the Table Editor button (Arrow 5) and you will see the table contents auto-detected by Equidox.  You can add a caption (Arrow 3) and summary (Arrow 4) if you choose.

Tables - Zone Tab. Arrow 1 indicates the selected content that has been set as a table. Arrow 2 indicates the Type drop-down box under the Zone Tab set to Table. Arrow 3 indicates the field where a Caption can be set. Arrow 4 indicates the field where you can add a Summary. Arrow 5 indicates the Table Editor Button.

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Table Tab

This tab allows you to choose a table name (Arrow 2), add a caption (Arrow 3), create a summary (Arrow 4). You can choose the column and row to assign as the table header (Arrows 5 and 6). There is a sensitivity slider (Arrow 8) that works much like the Page Sensitivity Slider and adjusts the table row and column auto creation (not the page from which those contents originated) and options to OCR all cells (Arrow 9) to Rows/Cols Attributes under HTML Generation (Arrow 10). You can manually adjust the table rows and columns by using the mouse and moving them to encompass the correct contents. (Arrow 1)

Table Editor - Table Tab. Arrow 1 indicates the Table with the rows and columns marked by lines. Arrow 2 indicates the Table Name field which can be edited. Arrow 3 indicates the Caption field, Arrow 4 indicates the Summary field, Arrow 5 indicates the number of Column Headers, Arrow 6 indicates the number of Row Headers, Arrow 8 shows the Sensitivity Slider for this table, Arrow 9 is the OCR All Cells button, Arrow 10 is the Rows/Cols Attributes toggle.

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Cells Tab

Under the Cells Tab you have the option to choose the source for each cell (Arrow 1) under Cell Source (PDF, OCR or Custom – see Zone source) (Arrow 2). Under Row Operations and Column Operations, you can Split Rows and Columns (Arrows 3 and 5), or Merge Down/Right (Arrows 4 and 6) to combine them.

Cells Tab. Arrow 1 shows the cell being edited. Arrow 2 shows the Cell source (PDF, OCR or Custom). Arrow 3 Sohws the Split Row Button. Arrow 4 Shows the Merge Down Button. Arrow 5 shows the Split Column button. Arrow 6 shows the Merge Right button.

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Save

The Save button allows you to save the table edits. (Arrow 1)

Table Editor - Upper Right Menu. Arrow 1 indicates the Save button. Arrow 2 indicates the Preview Button (which opens in a new window). Arrows 3 are the Zoom In/Out Buttons. Arrow 4 is the Close button, which returns you to the Page Detail.

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Preview

Preview opens in a new window in HTML format and shows you how your Table will be interpreted by a screen reader. You may use any accessibility tool to check your table in HTML format using this preview. (Arrow 2, above)

 

Zoom In/Out

The Zoom Out and Zoom In buttons enlarge or reduce view size of the table on the screen. (Arrows 3, above)

 

Close

The Close button in the table editor and prompts you to save. (Arrow 4, above)

 

Links

Links are most often automatically identified by Equidox when a document is imported. You can check to be sure Equidox has done this correctly in the HTML by pressing the Preview button. Active links will show as such and will convey the user to the correct webpage or open an email window when clicked.

Should the link be inactive in your Preview, copy the link address from the Preview page to your clipboard and go back to the Page Detail. Create or select a zone around the Link (Arrow 1). Be sure the zone fully encompasses the entire text of the Link. Then go to the Type drop-down box under Zone Properties in the Zone tab and choose Link (Arrow 3). Paste the copied URL from your clipboard into the URL/Anchor field (Arrow 4) under Link Properties. Then Preview the page again to be sure the Link is now active.  You can set the Link Name (Arrow 2), add a Description (Arrow 5) and Merge the Link with text on a previous page or column (Arrow 6).

Links. Arrow 1 indicates the link text in the document. Arrow 2 shows the Zone Name, Arrow 3 Shows the Zone Type set to Link, Arrow 4 SHows the URL/Anchor field, Arrow 5 shows the Description field, Arrow 6 shows the Merge checkbox.

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URLs/Anchors

Anchor Zones are to be used with links. Copy the URL and paste in the Anchor ID Under Anchor Properties on the Zone tab. Anchors can also be used for anchoring pages to a table of contents. See Links.

 

Footnotes and Footnote Links

These fields work in tandem. To link Footnotes to their Footnote reference in the text, each item must be tagged. First, select the text of the Footnote (Arrow 1) and choose Footnote from the Type dropdown box under Zone Properties in the Zone tab. Then select or draw the Footnote Link zone (Arrow 2) and choose Footnote link from the Type dropdown box (Arrow 3). This will bring up a Footnote Link Properties section in the Zone tab. Choose the correct Footnote from the dropdown box under To Footnote (Arrow 4). If you don’t see the correct Footnote in the list, recheck that you’ve properly tagged the Footnote.

Footnote and Footnote Link. Arrow 1 indicates teh Footnote. Arrow 2 indicates teh Footnote Link. Arrow 3 indicates the Footnote Link Type. Arrow 4 indicates the Footnote to which the link is to connect.

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Lists

To create a properly tagged List, draw or select a Zone around the items that belong in the List (Arrow 1). You do not need to remove any existing text zones. Then choose List from the Zone type dropdown box under Zone Properties in the Zone Tab (Arrow 2). A zone with a left-hand margin will show over the list items. You should position this margin so that it covers any list markers such as bullets or numbering. The user can create a caption and summary for zones designated as List to help the text-to-speech tool describe the context of the list.

Lists. Arrow 1 indicates the selected text of the list with the margin covering the list delineators. Arrow 2 shows the Zone Type set to List in the Zone Properties under the Zone Tab.

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Unordered Lists

For unordered (and bulleted) lists, once you have drawn your zone and chosen List, check the Unordered radio button, and press the Detect button. Equidox will automatically assign list tags to each item and they will be presented as a list. You can check this by using the Preview button, which will show your unordered list items with bullets in a new window in HTML format. (Arrow)

Unordered List. Arrow shows bulleted list within the document Preview.

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Ordered Lists

For Ordered (numbered or lettered) Lists, once you have drawn or selected your Zone and chosen List (Arrow 1), click the Ordered radio button (Arrow 2) and then select a Style Type (Arrow 3) from the dropdown list. If the list does not begin at “1”, choose the correct number and type it into the Start at field (Arrow 4). You will need to choose a number even if the list is lettered or uses Roman numerals. For example, a list beginning with item “C” would start at “3”. Then press the Detect button and Equidox will automatically number your list as indicated. You can check this by using the Preview button, which will show your ordered List items numbered or lettered in a new window in HTML format.

Ordered List. Arrow 1 shows a list Zone over an ordered list. Arrow 2 shows the LIst Type set to Ordered, Arrow 3 shows the Style Type drop-down box set to uppercase letters, Arrow 4 shows the Start At field set to 1.

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Merge Lists

If your List is made up of two groups of Zones, you can merge them together by selecting the second part of the List and checking the Merge checkbox (Arrow). This will combine the two Lists. The second part of the list must be directly after the first part in the Reading Order. This function is useful if you have a multi-column list that belongs together.

List Merge. Arrow indicates the Merge checkbox under List Properties in the Zone Tab.

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Nested lists

For nested Lists, first, draw a Zone around the entire contents of the List and choose List (Arrow 1) from the Zone Type dropdown list under Zone Properties in the Zone Tab. You will choose ordered or unordered and complete the details for any ordered items. Then press the Detect button. Equidox will draw zones around the list items (Arrow 2). Next, move the List Zone (Arrow 1) away from the List items (Arrow 2) so that the nested part of the List is exposed. Move the Zone which has been drawn around the List item which contains the nested elements (Arrow 2). Next, draw a new Zone around the nested items, Then choose List (Arrow 3) from the list of types under Zone Properties in the Zone Tab. Choose ordered or unordered, and press Detect. Equidox will create the zones around the nested list items (Arrow 4). Now return to the list item Zone for the item to which your nested list belongs (Arrow 3). Move and adjust this list item Zone so that it encompasses the text for both the parent list item AND the nested list. Then select the original list Zone (Arrow 1) and move and adjust it so that it surrounds your entire list. You can then check that your List is nested properly by choosing the Preview button, which will show your nested list items with bullets or numbers in a new window in HTML format. This can be done for any number or level of nested items. You must ensure that your nested list and the text for the list item which contains it are both completely surrounded by the zone for the parent list item.

For nested Lists, first, draw a Zone around the entire contents of the List and choose List (Arrow 1) from the Zone Type dropdown list under Zone Properties in the Zone Tab. You will choose ordered or unordered and complete the details for any ordered items. Then press the Detect button. Equidox will draw zones around the list items (Arrow 2). Next, move the List Zone (Arrow 1) away from the List items (Arrow 2) so that the nested part of the List is exposed. Move the Zone which has been drawn around the List item which contains the nested elements (Arrow 2). Next, draw a new Zone around the nested items, Then choose List (Arrow 3) from the list of types under Zone Properties in the Zone Tab. Choose ordered or unordered, and press Detect. Equidox will create the zones around the nested list items (Arrow 4). Now return to the list item Zone for the item to which your nested list belongs (Arrow 3). Move and adjust this list item Zone so that it encompasses the text for both the parent list item AND the nested list. Then select the original list Zone (Arrow 1) and move and adjust it so that it surrounds your entire list. You can then check that your List is nested properly by choosing the Preview button, which will show your nested list items with bullets or numbers in a new window in HTML format. This can be done for any number or level of nested items. You must ensure that your nested list and the text for the list item which contains it are both completely surrounded by the zone for the parent list item.

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Anchor

Anchor Zones are to be used with links. Copy the URL and paste in the Anchor ID Under Anchor Properties on the Zone tab. Anchors can also be used for anchoring pages to a table of contents. See Links.

 

Ignore

Set Zone type to Ignore to hide Zones, repeated, inaccurate or irrelevant content.

 

Blockquote

Set your Zone Type to Blockquote to indicate a Zone is a quote from another source. A Blockquote is identified by an indentation of the quote and a blue line on the left side of the zone.

 

Graphic

Set your Zone to Graphic to indicate that a zone is a graphic. The Graphic zone type can be used on any logo, symbol, formula, diagram, etc. that is not auto-detected as an image. Add alt text or a long description to help text-to-speech tools explain the Graphic.  See Images.

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Quote

Set your Zone to Quote to indicate a Zone is a quote defined by quotation marks at the beginning and end of the zone.

 

Cite

Set your Zone to Cite to indicate the Zone consists of a proper title of a work. This can be used to identify the title of book, movie, piece of art, etc. Exclude the author’s name from the Cite zone type. See Footnote and Footnote Link.

 

Form and Field

Select Form to indicate a Zone consists of multiple field items. Select Field to indicate a Zone is able to accept user input as content within a form.  Form and Field functions are still in beta (development) and are not available for all account users.

 

Sensitivity

Sensitivity – See Div.

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OCR

Set Zone to OCR to indicate a Zone was generated via the optical character recognition tool. The OCR zone type is generally used for scanned PDF documents. Content OCR’d in the selected zone can be edited for accuracy once the OCR is complete. Results may vary depending on the quality of the image, the font, size, clarity, orientation, etc.  The user can make edits within the OCR text box once the OCR has finished processing. Common examples of required edits are spelling mistakes or items such as “rn” being recognized as “m,” or “o” recognized as “0.”

 

Div

This Zone type allows you to select a specific area of content and provide it with separate attributes. For example, you can select a List that is arranged in several columns within a normal page of text, and select Div from the Type drop-down box in the Zone Tab. You may edit the div without influencing the remainder of the page – you can re-order the contents of the div (select Re-order this div from the Sub-Reading Order section of the Zone Tab) in a different format than the rest of the current page.

To change the Sensitivity of ONLY the contents of the Div, create your Div, then go to Zone Properties in the Zone Tab and select Sensitivity. This will change to the Sensitivity Slider in the Zone tab and allow you to alter the sensitivity of only the content within the Div.

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