Create and verify PDF accessibility (Acrobat Pro). Adobe ACROBAT XI

Chapter 12: Accessibility, tags, and reflow

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Create and verify PDF accessibility (Acrobat Pro)

Acrobat tools make it easy to create accessible PDFs, and let you check the accessibility of existing PDFs. You can create

PDFs to meet common accessibility standards, such as Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 and

PDF/UA (Universal Access, or ISO 14289.). The simple, guided workflow lets you do the following:

Make PDFs accessible

: A predefined action automates many tasks, checks accessibility, and provides instructions for items that require manual fixes. Quickly find and fix problem areas.

Check accessibility

: The Full Check tool verifies whether the document conforms to accessibility standards, such as

PDF/UA and WCAG 2.0.

Report accessibility status

: The Accessibility Report summarizes the findings of the accessibility check. It contains links to tools and documentation that assist in fixing problems.

Make PDFs accessible (Acrobat Pro)

The Make Accessible action walks you through the steps required to make a PDF accessible. It prompts to address accessibility issues, such as a missing document description or title. It looks for common elements that need further action, such as scanned text, form fields, tables, and images. You can run this action on all PDFs except dynamic forms

(XFA documents) or portfolios.

1

Choose Tools > Action Wizard > Make Accessible.

2

Select the files that you want to apply the Make Accessible action to. By default, the action runs on the document that's currently open. Select Add Files to select additional files or a folder to run the action on.

3

Select Start.

4

Follow the prompts to complete Make Accessible action.

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Check accessibility of PDFs (Acrobat Pro)

A good way to check the accessibility of a document is to use tools that your readers will use. Even if you do not have access to those tools, Adobe Acrobat provides an automated way to check the accessibility of a PDF file. The Full Check feature in Acrobat checks a PDF for many of the characteristics of accessible PDFs. You can choose which accessibility problems to look for and how you want the results reported.

Select Start Checking. The results are displayed in the Accessibility Checker panel on the left, which also has helpful links and hints for repairing issues. If you created a report in step 2, the results are available in the selected folder.

Because the Full Check feature can't distinguish between essential and nonessential content types, some issues it reports don’t affect readability. It’s a good idea to review all issues to determine which ones require correction.

The report displays one of the following statuses for each rule check:

• Passed: The item is accessible.

• Skipped By User: Rule was not checked because it wasn't selected in the Accessibility Checker Options dialog box.

• Needs Manual Check: The Full Check feature couldn't check the item automatically. Verify the item manually.

• Failed: The item didn't pass the accessibility check.

1

Choose Tools > Accessibility > Full Check.

Note: If you don't see Accessibility on the Tools panel, choose View > Tools > Accessibility.

2

In the Report Options section, select options for how you want to view the results. You can save the results as an

HTML file, or as comments that are located where the accessibility problems are detected.

3

Select a page range if you prefer to check individual sections of a document.

When you have a large document, running a full check one section at a time can be more efficient.

4

Select one or more of the Checking Options.

5

Select Start Checking. The results are displayed in the Accessibility Checker panel on the left, which also has helpful links and hints for repairing issues. If you created a report in step 2, the results are available in the selected folder.

Because the Full Check feature can't distinguish between essential and nonessential content types, some issues it reports don’t affect readability. It’s a good idea to review all issues to determine which ones require correction.

The report displays one of the following statuses for each rule check:

• Passed: The item is accessible.

• Skipped By User: Rule was not checked because it wasn't selected in the Accessibility Checker Options dialog box.

• Needs Manual Check: The Full Check feature couldn't check the item automatically. Verify the item manually.

• Failed: The item didn't pass the accessibility check.

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In addition to Full Check, Acrobat provides other methods to check PDF accessibility:

•Use Reflow view to quickly check the reading order.

• Use

Read Out Loud to experience the document as readers who use the text-to-speech conversion tool experience it.

• Save the document as accessible text and then read the saved text file in a word-processing application. This exercise enables you to emulate the end-user experience of readers who use a braille printer to read the document.

• Use the Touch Up Reading Order tool , Order, Tags, and Content panels to examine the structure, reading order, and contents of a PDF.

More Help topics

Reading PDFs with reflow and accessibility features

Accessibilty preferences

Creating accessible PDFs

Making exisitng PDFs accessible

Standard PDF tags (Acrobat Pro)

Fix accessibility issues (Acrobat Pro)

To fix a failed check after running Full Check, right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Mac OS) the item in the Accessibility

Checker panel. Choose one of the following options from the context menu:

Fix:

Acrobat either fixes the item automatically, or displays a dialog box prompting you to fix the item manually.

Skip Rule:

Deselects this option in the Accessibility Checker Options dialog box for future checks of this document, and changes the item status to Skipped.

Explain:

Opens the online Help.

Check Again:

Runs the checker again on all items. Choose this option after modifying one or more items.

Show Report:

Displays a report with links to tips on how to repair failed checks.

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Options:

Opens the Accessibility Checker Options dialog box, so you can select which checks are performed.

Accessibility issues

Document

Accessibility permission flag

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

This flag reports whether it's necessary to turn on the security settings that allow accessibility.

To fix the rule automatically, select Accessibility Permission Flag on the Accessibility Checker panel. Then, choose Fix from the Options menu.

Or, fix accessibility permissions manually:

1

2

Choose File > Properties > Security.

3

Choose No Security from the Security Method pop-up menu.

Click OK and close the Document Properties dialog box.

If your assistive technology product is registered with Adobe as a Trusted Agent, you can read PDFs that might be inaccessible to another assistive technology product. Acrobat recognizes when a screen reader or other product is a

Trusted Agent and overrides security settings that would typically limit access to the content for accessibility purposes.

However, the security settings remain in effect for all other purposes, such as to prevent printing, copying, extracting, commenting, or editing text.

Note: See the related WCAG section: 1.1.1 Non-text Content. (A), 4.1.2 Name, role, value

Image-only PDF

Reports whether the document contains nontext content that is not accessible. If the document appears to contain text, but doesn't contain fonts, it could be an image-only PDF file.

To fix this rule check automatically, select Image-only PDF on the Accessibility Checker panel, and choose Fix from the

Options menu.

Or, to fix this rule check manually, use OCR to recognize text in scanned images:

1

2

Choose Tools > Recognition > In This File.

Select All Pages in the Recognize Text dialog box, and then select OK.

Note: See the related WCAG section: 1.1.1. Non-text content (A)

Tagged PDF

If this rule check fails, the document isn't tagged to specify the correct reading order.

To fix this item automatically, select Tagged PDF on the Accessibility Checker panel, and then choose Fix from the

Options menu. Acrobat automatically adds tags to the PDF.

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To specify tags manually, do one of the following:

• Enable tagging in the application in which the PDF was authored, and re-create the PDF.

• Choose Tools > Accessibility > Add Tags To Document in Acrobat. The Add Tags Report appears in the navigation pane if there are any issues. The report lists potential problems by page, provides a navigational link to each problem, and provides suggestions for fixing them.

• Choose Tools > Accessibility > Touch Up Reading Order in Acrobat, and create the tags tree. For more information, see Touch Up Reading Order tool overview .

• Open the Tags panel and create the tags tree manually. To display the Tags panel, choose View > Show/Hide >

Navigation Panes > Tags. For more information, see Edit tags with the Tags panel .

Note: See the related WCAG section: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships, 1.3.2, 2.4.1, 2.4.4, 2.4.5, 2.4.6, 3.1.2, 3.3.2, 4.1.2 Name, role, value

Logical reading order

Verify this rule check manually. Make sure that the reading order displayed in the Tags panel coincides with the logical reading order of the document.

Primary language

Setting the document language in a PDF enables some screen readers to switch to the appropriate language. This check determines whether the primary text language for the PDF is specified. If the check fails, set the language.

To set the language automatically, select Primary Language in the Accessibility Checker tab, and then choose Fix from the Options menu. Choose a language in the Set Reading Language dialog box, and then click OK.

To set the language manually, do one of the following:

• Choose File > Properties > Advanced and then select a language from the pop-up menu in the Reading Options section. (If the language doesn't appear in the pop-up menu, you can enter the ISO 639 code for the language in the

Language field.) This setting applies the primary language for the entire PDF.

• Set the language for all text in a subtree of the tags tree. Open the Tags panel. Expand the Tags root and select an element. Then choose Properties from the Options menu. Choose a language from the Language pop-up menu.

(To display the Tags panel, choose View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Tags.)

• Set the language for a block of text by selecting the text element or container element in the Content panel. Then, right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Mac OS) the text and choose Properties from the context menu. (To display the

Content panel, choose View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Content.)

Note: See the related WCAG section: Language of Page (Level A)

Title

Reports whether there is a title in the Acrobat application title bar.

To fix the title automatically, select Title in the Accessibility Checker tab, and choose Properties from the Options menu. Enter the document title in the Description dialog box (deselect Leave As Is, if necessary).

Or, fix the title manually:

1

2

Choose File > Properties > Description.

3

Enter a title in the Title text box.

Click Initial View, and then choose Document Title from the Show pop-up menu. Close the Description dialog box.

Note: See the related WCAG section: 2.4 Page Titled (Level A)

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Bookmarks

This check fails when the document has 21 or more pages, but doesn't have bookmarks that parallel the document structure.

To add bookmarks to the document, select Bookmarks on the Accessibility Checker panel, and choose Fix from the

Options menu. In the Structure Elements dialog box, select the elements that you want to use as bookmarks, and click OK. (You can also access the Structure Elements dialog box by clicking the Options menu on the Bookmark tab.)

Note: See the related WCAG sections: 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (Level A), 2.4.5 Multiple Ways (Level AA)

Color contrast

When this check fails, it's possible that the document contains content that isn't accessible to people who are colorblind.

To fix this issue, make sure that the document's content adheres to the guidelines outlined in WCAG section 1.4.3. Or, include a recommendation that the PDF viewer use high-contrast colors:

1

2

Choose File > Preferences (Windows) or Acrobat > Preferences (Mac OS).

3

Click Accessibility.

Select Replace Document Colors, and then select Use High-Contrast Colors. Choose the color combination that you want from the pop-up menu, and then click OK.

Page content

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Tagged content

This check reports whether all content in the document is tagged. Make sure that all content in the document is either included in the Tags tree, or marked as an artifact.

Do one of the following to fix this rule check:

• Open the Content

panel and right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Mac OS) the content that you want to mark as an artifact. Then, select Create Artifact from the context menu. (To display the Content tab, choose View >

Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Content.)

• Tag the content by choosing Tools > Accessibility > Touch Up Reading Order. Select the content, and then apply tags as necessary.

• Assign tags using the Tags

panel. Right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Mac OS) the element in the Tags tree, and choose Create Tag From Selection. Items such as comments, links, and annotations don't always appear in the Tags tree. To find these items, choose Find from the Options menu. (To display the Tags panel, choose View > Show/Hide

> Navigation Panes > Tags.)

Note: See the related WCAG sections: 1.1.1 Non-text content (A), 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), 1.3.2 Meaningful

Sequence (Level A), 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (Level A), 3.1.2 Language of Parts (Level AA), 4.1.2 Name, role, value

Tagged annotations

This rule checks whether all annotations are tagged. Make sure that annotations such as comments and editorial marks

(such as insert and highlight) are either included in the Tags tree or marked as artifacts.

• Open the Content panel, and right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Mac OS) the content that you want to mark as an artifact. Then, select Create Artifact from the context menu. (To display the Content panel, choose View >

Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Content.)

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• Tag the content by choosing Tools > Accessibility > Touch Up Reading Order. Select the content, and then apply tags as necessary.

• Assign tags using the Tags

panel. (To display the Tags panel, choose View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes >

Tags.)

To have Acrobat assign tags automatically to annotations as they're created, choose Tag Annotations from the Options menu on the Tags panel.

Note: See the related WCAG section: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), 4.1.2 Name, role, value

Tab order

Because tabs are often used to navigate a PDF, it's necessary that the tab order parallels the document structure.

To fix the tab order automatically, select Tab Order on the Accessibility Checker panel, and choose Fix from the

Options menu.

To manually fix the tab order for links, form fields, comments, and other annotations:

1

Click the Pages panel on the navigation pane.

2

3

Click a page thumbnail, and then choose Page Properties from the Options menu.

4

In the Page Properties dialog box, choose Tab Order. Then, select Use Document Structure, and click OK.

Repeat these steps for all thumbnails in the document.

Note: See the related WCAG section: 2.4.3, Focus Order (Level A)

Character encoding

Specifying the encoding helps PDF viewers present users with readable text. However, some character-encoding issues aren't repairable within Acrobat.

To ensure proper encoding, do the following:

• Verify that the necessary fonts are installed on your system.

• Use a different font (preferably OpenType) in the original document, and then re-create the PDF.

• Re-create the PDF file with a newer version of Acrobat Distiller.

• Use the latest Adobe Postscript driver to create the PostScript file, and then re-create the PDF.

Note: The WCAG doesn't address Unicode character mapping.

Tagged multimedia

This rule checks whether all multimedia objects are tagged. Make sure that content is either included in the Tags tree or marked as an artifact.

Open the Content panel and right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Mac OS) the content that you want to mark as an artifact. Then, select Create Artifact from the context menu. (To display the Content panel, choose View > Show/Hide

> Navigation Panes > Content.)

Tag the content by choosing Tools > Accessibility > Touch Up Reading Order. Select the content, and then apply tags as necessary.

Assign tags using the Tags panel. Right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Mac OS) the element in the Tags tree, and choose Create Tag From Selection. (To display the Tags panel, choose View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Tags.)

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Note: See the related WCAG sections: 1.1.1 Non-text Content. (A), 1.2.1 Audio- only and Video- only (Prerecorded). (A),

1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded). (A), 1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded). (A), 1.2.5 Audio

Description (Prerecorded). (AA)

Screen flicker

Elements that make the screen flicker, such as animations and scripts can cause seizures in individuals who have photosensitive epilepsy. These elements can also be difficult see when the screen is magnified.

If the Screen Flicker rule fails, manually remove or modify the script or content that causes screen flicker.

Note: See these related WCAG sections: 1.1.1 Non-text Content. (A), 1.2.1 Audio- only and Video- only (Prerecorded). (A),

1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded). (A), 1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded). (A), 2.3.1 Three Flashes or

Below Threshold. (Level A)

Scripts

Content cannot be script-dependent unless both content and functionality are accessible to assistive technologies.

Make sure that scripting doesn't interfere with keyboard navigation or prevent the use of any input device.

Check the scripts manually. Remove or modify any script or content that compromises accessibility.

Note: See these related WCAG sections: 1.1.1 Non-text Content. (A), 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide. (Level A), 4.1.2 Name, role, value

Timed responses

This rule check applies to documents that contain forms with JavaScript. If the rule check fails, make sure that the page does not require timed responses. Edit or remove scripts that impose timely user response so that users have enough time to read and use the content.

Note: See the related WCAG section: 2.2.1 Timing Adjustable. (Level A)

Navigation links

For URLs to be accessible to screen readers, they must be active links that are correctly tagged in the PDF. (The best way to create accessible links is with the Create Link command, which adds all three links that screen readers require to recognize a link.) Make sure that navigation links are not repetitive, and there is a way for users to skip over repetitive links.

If this rule check fails, check navigation links manually and verify that the content does not have too many identical links. Also, provide a way for users to skip over items that appear multiple times. For example, if the same links appear on each page of the document, also include a "Skip navigation" link.

Note: See the related WCAG section: 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks. (Level A)

Forms

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Tagged form fields

In an accessible PDF, all form fields are tagged and part of the document structure. In addition, you can use the tool tip form filed property to provide the user with information or to provide instructions.

To tag form fields, choose Tools > Accessibility > Add Tags To Form Fields.

Note: See the related WCAG sections: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships. (Level A), 4.1.2 Name, role, value

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Field descriptions

For accessibility, all form fields need a text description (tool tip).

To add a text description to a form field:

1

Select one of the Form tools, and then right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Mac OS) the form field.

2

3

Choose Properties from the context menu.

4

Click the General properties tab.

Enter a description of the form field in the Tooltip field.

Note: See the related WCAG sections: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships. (Level A), 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions (Level A), 4.1.2

Name, role, value

Alternate text

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Figures alternate text

Make sure that images in the document either have alternate text, or are marked as artifacts.

If this rule check fails, do one of the following:

• Select Figures Alternate Text in the Accessibility Checker panel, and choose Fix from the Options menu. Add alternate text as prompted in the Set Alternate Text dialog box.

• Use the Tags panel to add alternate text for images in the PDF.

• Open the Content panel and right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Mac OS) the content that you want to mark as an artifact. Then, select Create Artifact from the context menu. (To display the Content panel, choose View >

Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Content.)

Note: See the related WCAG section: 1.1.1 Non-text Content. (A)

Nested alternate text

Screen readers don't read the alternate text for nested elements. Therefore, don't apply alternate text to nested elements.

To remove alternate text from nested elements, do the following:

1

Choose Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Tags.

2

Right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Mac OS) a nested element in the Tags panel and choose Properties from the context menu.

3

Remove both the alternate text and the text to which it's applied from the Object Properties dialog box, and then click OK.

Note: See the related WCAG section: #1.1.1 Non-text Content. (A)

Associated with content

Make sure that alternate text is always an alternate representation for content on the page. If an element has alternate text, but does not contain any page content, there is no way to determine which page it is on. If the Screen Reader

Option in the Reading preferences is not set to read the entire document, then screen readers never read the alternate text.

1

2

Right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Mac OS) an item to check.

Open it in the Tags panel. (To display the Tags panel, choose View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Tags.)

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Remove the alternate text from the Tags panel for any nested item that has no page content.

Note: See the related WCAG section: 1.1.1 Non-text Content. (A)

Hides annotation

Alternate text can't hide an annotation. If an annotation is nested under a parent element with alternate text, then screen readers don't see it.

To remove alternate text from nested elements:

1

Choose Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Tags.

2

Right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Mac OS) a nested element in the Tags panel and choose Properties from the context menu.

3

Remove the alternate text from the Object Properties dialog box, and then click OK.

Note: See the related WCAG sections: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships. (Level A), 4.1.2 Name, role, value

Other elements alternate text

This report checks for content other than figures that requires alternate text (such as multimedia, annotation, or 3D model). Make sure that alternate text is always an alternate representation for content on the page. If an element has alternate text but does not contain any page content, there is no way to determine which page it is on. If the Screen

Reader Options in the Reading preferences is not set to read the entire document, then screen readers don't read the alternate text.

1

Choose Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Tags.

2

Right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Mac OS) a nested element in the Tags panel and choose Properties from the context menu.

3

Remove the alternate text from the Object Properties dialog box, and then click OK.

Note: See the related WCAG section: 1.1.1 Non-text Content. (A)

Tables

Because table structure can be complex, it best practice to check them for accessibility manually.

Rows

This rule checks whether each TR in a table is a child of Table, THead, TBody, or TFoot.

See Correct table tags with the Tags panel .

Note: Related WCAG section: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships. (Level A)

TH and TD

In a proper table structure, TH and TD are children of TR.

See Correct table tags with the Tags panel .

Note: See related WCAG section: #1.3.1 Info and Relationships. (Level A)

Headers

For accessibility, it's necessary that all tables in the PDF have a header.

See Correct table tags with the Tags panel.

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Note: See the related WCAG section: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships. (Level A)

Regularity

To be accessible, tables must contain the same number of columns in each row, and rows in each column.

See Correct table tags with the Tags panel.

Note: See the related WCAG section: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships. (Level A)

Summary

Table summaries are optional, but can improve accessibility.

1

2

Choose Tools > Accessibility > Touch Up Reading Order.

3

4

Right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Mac OS) Table.

Click Edit Table Summary.

Enter a summary and click OK.

Note: See the related WCAG section: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships. (Level A)

Lists

List items

The check reports whether each LI is a child of L. When this rule check fails, the structure of this list is incorrect. Lists must have the following structure: A List element must contain List Item Elements. And, List Item Elements can only contain Label Elements and List Item Body Elements.

To fix the list structure:

1

Find the list in the Accessibility Checker panel by right-clicking (Windows) or Ctrl-clicking (Mac OS) the failed element and choosing Show in Tags Panel.

2

Create elements, change the types of elements, or rearrange existing elements by dragging them.

Note: See the related WCAG section: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships. (Level A)

Lbl and LBody

Lists must have the following structure: A List element must contain List Item Elements. And, List Item Elements can only contain Label Elements and List Item Body Elements. When this rule check fails, the structure of this list is incorrect.

To fix the list structure:

1

Find the list in the Accessibility Checker panel by right-clicking (Windows) or Ctrl-clicking (Mac OS) the failed element and choosing Show In Tags Panel.

2

Create elements, change the types of elements, or rearrange existing elements by dragging them.

Note: See the related WCAG section: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships. (Level A)

Headings

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Appropriate nesting

This rule checks nested headings. When this check fails, headings are not nested properly.

To fix the list structure:

1

Find the list in the Accessibility Checker panel by right-clicking (Windows) or Ctrl-clicking (Mac OS) the failed element and choosing Show in Tags Panel.

2

Create elements, change the types of elements, or rearrange existing elements by dragging them.

Note: See the related WCAG section: 2.4.6 Headings and Labels. (Level AA). The order of headings is not required under

WCAG, and is only an advisory technique.

WCAG mapping to PDF/UA

WCAG 2.0

1.1.1 Non-text Content. (A)

1.2.1 Audio- only and Video- only

(Prerecorded). (A)

1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded). (A)

ISO 14289 -1 (File) Techniques

•

7.3 addresses content requiring text alteration.

•

7.18.1 paragraph four addresses control descriptions.

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7.18.6.2 addresses time-based media alternatives. Test, Sensory, and CAPTCHA use-cases are addressed via the technical means used.

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7.1 paragraph 1, sentence 2 addresses decoration.

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PDF1

PDF4

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7.18.6.2 addresses time-based media alternatives. Design-specific. It's necessary that authors and developers consider this provision and ensure conformance.

•

General Techniques: http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref

/#qr-media-equiv-av-only-alt

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7.18.6.2 addresses time-based media alternatives. Design-specific. It's necessary that authors and developers consider this provision and ensure conformance.

•

General Techniques: http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref

/#qr-media-equiv-captions

1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative

(Prerecorded). (A)

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7.18.6.2 addresses time-based media alternatives. Design-specific. It's necessary that authors and developers consider this provision and ensure conformance.

•

General Techniques: http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref

/#qr-media-equiv-audio-desc

1.2.4 Captions (Live). (AA)

1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded). (AA)

•

Design-specific. It's necessary that authors and developers consider this provision and ensure conformance.

•

General Techniques: http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref

/#qr-media-equiv-real-time-captions

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7.18.6.2 addresses time-based media alternatives. Design-specific. It's necessary that authors and developers consider this provision and ensure conformance.

•

General Techniques: http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref

/#qr-media-equiv-audio-desc-only

1.2.6 Sign Language (Prerecorded). (AAA)

1.2.7 Extended Audio Description

(Prerecorded). (AAA)

•

Design-specific. It's necessary that authors and developers consider this provision and ensure conformance.

•

Design-specific. It's necessary that authors and developers consider this provision and ensure conformance

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1.2.8 Media Alternative (Prerecorded). (AAA)

1.2.9 Audio- only (Live). (AAA)

1.3.1 Info and Relationships. (Level A)

1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence. (Level A)

1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics. (Level A)

1.4.1 Use of Color. (Level A)

1.4.2 Audio Control. (Level A)

1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum). (Level AA)

1.4.4 Resize text. (Level AA)

1.4.5 Images of Text. (Level AA)

1.4.6 Contrast (Enhanced). (Level AAA)

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7.18.6.2 addresses time-based media alternatives. Design-specific. It's necessary that authors and developers consider this provision and ensure conformance.

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Design-specific. It's necessary that authors and developers consider this provision and ensure conformance.

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7.1 - 7.10 and 7.20 address structure and relationships in content.

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7.17 and 7.18 address structure and relationships in annotations.

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PDF6

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PDF9

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PDF10

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PDF11

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PDF12

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PDF17

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PDF20

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PDF21

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PDF3

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7.2 paragraph two addresses the meaningful sequence of content.

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7.17 addresses navigation features.

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7.18.3 addresses tab order in annotations.

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7.1, paragraphs 6 and 7

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7.1, paragraph 6

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General Techniques: http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref

/#qr-content-structure-separationunderstanding

•

General Techniques: http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref

/#qr-visual-audio-contrast-without-color

•

•

Design-specific. It's necessary that authors and developers consider this provision and ensure conformance.

•

General Techniques: http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref

/#qr-visual-audio-contrast-dis-audio

•

7.1, paragraph 6 and note 4

Not applicable

•

7.3, paragraph 6

•

General Techniques: http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref

/#qr-visual-audio-contrast-contrast

•

G142

•

PDF7

•

General Techniques: http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref

/#qr-visual-audio-contrast-textpresentation

•

7.1, paragraph 6

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1.4.7 Low or No Background Audio. (Level

AAA)

1.4.8 Visual Presentation. (Level AAA)

•

While ISO 14289 does not address this success criterion, conformance in PDF requires ISO 14289 conforming files and readers. The manner in which developers support this success criterion in PDF in not defined in ISO 14289 or ISO 32000.

•

Design-specific. It's necessary that authors and developers consider this provision and ensure conformance.

•

7.3 paragraph 1

1.4.9 Images of Text (No Exception). (Level

AAA)

2.1.1 Keyboard. (Level A)

2.1.2 No Keyboard Trap. (Level A)

2.1.3 Keyboard (No Exception). (Level AAA)

2.2.1 Timing Adjustable. (Level A)

2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide. (Level A)

•

Not applicable

•

PDF3

•

PDF11

•

PDF23

•

G21

•

Design-specific. It's necessary that developers consider this provision and ensure conformance.

•

7.19, paragraph 3

•

7.19, paragraph three applies, but generally this rule is design-specific. It's necessary that developers consider this provision and ensure conformance.

•

G133

•

7.19

•

General Techniques: http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref

/#qr-time-limits-pause

2.2.3 No Timing. (Level AAA)

2.2.4 Interruptions. (Level AAA)

•

7.19

•

7.19

2.2.5 Re- authenticating. (Level AAA) •

Not applicable

2.3.1 Three Flashes or Below Threshold. (Level

A)

•

7.1, paragraph 5

•

General Techniques: http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref

/#qr-seizure-does-not-violate

2.3.2 Three Flashes.(Level AAA)

2.4.1 Bypass Blocks. (Level A)

2.4.2 Page Titled. (Level A)

2.4.3 Focus Order. (Level A)

2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context). (Level A)

•

7.1, paragraph 5

•

Not applicable, unless the PDF includes repetitive real content. Page content, such as running headers and footers, must conform with 7.8.

•

PDF9

•

General Techniques: http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref

/#qr-navigation-mechanisms-skip

•

7.1, paragraphs 8 and 9

•

PDF18

•

7.1, paragraph 2, 7.18.1; paragraph 2, 7.18.3

•

PDF3

•

7.18.5

•

PDF11

•

PDF13

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2.4.5 Multiple Ways. (Level AA)

2.4.6 Headings and Labels. (Level AA)

2.4.7 Focus Visible. (Level AA)

2.4.8 Location. (Level AAA)

2.4.9 Link Purpose (Link Only). (Level AAA)

2.4.10 Section Headings. (Level AAA)

3.1.1 Language of Page. (Level A)

3.1.2 Language of Parts. (Level AA)

3.1.3 Unusual Words. (Level AAA)

3.1.4 Abbreviations. (Level AAA)

3.1.5 Reading Level. (Level AAA)

3.1.6 Pronunciation. (Level AAA)

3.2.1 On Focus. (Level A)

3.2.2 On Input. (Level A)

3.2.3 Consistent Navigation. (Level AA)

3.2.4 Consistent Identification. (Level AA)

•

PDFs can conform with this provision in several ways, including outlines (7.17), links

(7.18.5), and page labels.

•

•

PDF2

General Techniques: http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref

/#qr-navigation-mechanisms-mult-loc

•

7.4

•

General Techniques: http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref

/#qr-navigation-mechanisms-descriptive

•

Not applicable

•

G149

•

G165

•

G195

•

7.4, 7.17

•

7.18.5

•

7.4

•

7.2, paragraph 3.

•

7.2, paragraph 3.

•

Not addressed in ISO 14289. See ISO 32000-

1, section 14.9.5.

•

PDF19

•

Not addressed in ISO 14289. See ISO 32000-

1, section 14.9.5.

•

PDF16

•

PDF19

•

•

•

•

No Accessibility Support impact. This rule is design-specific. It's necessary that application or document authors consider this provision and ensure conformance.

•

PDF provides several mechanisms for deploying media and other options for pronunciation assistance. Design-specific.

It's necessary that authors and developers consider this provision and ensure conformance.

•

7.18, paragraph 2

7.18, paragraph 2

7.1, paragraph 1, 7.17

7.1, paragraph 1

•

General Techniques: http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref

/#qr-consistent-behavior-receive-focus

•

PDF15

•

PDF14

•

PDF17

•

G61

•

General Techniques: http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref

/#qr-consistent-behavior-consistentfunctionality

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3.2.5 Change on Request. (Level AAA)

3.3.1 Error Identification. (Level A)

3.3.2 Labels or Instructions (Level A)

4.1.2 Name, role, value

More Help topics

WCAG Specification

PDF/UA

Guide to understanding the WCAG Specification

PDF Techniques for WCAG

How to meet WCAG 2.0 (a PDF checklist)

Acrobat accessibility training resources

Adobe blog: WCAG 2.0 techniques for PDF

•

7.19, paragraph 2

•

Design-specific. It's necessary that authors and developers consider this provision and ensure conformance.

•

PDF5

•

PDF22

•

PDF5

•

PDF10

•

PDF10

•

PDF12

Touch Up Reading Order tool for PDFs (Acrobat Pro)

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Touch Up Reading Order tool overview

The Touch Up Reading Order tool provides the easiest and quickest way to fix reading order and basic tagging problems. When you select the Touch Up Reading Order tool, a dialog box opens that lets you see overlay highlights that show the order of page content. Each highlighted region is numbered and highlighted with gray or colored blocks; the number indicates the region’s placement in the page’s reading order. After you check the reading order of the page, you can correct other, more subtle tagging issues as needed.

The Touch Up Reading Order tool is intended for repairing PDFs that were tagged using Acrobat, not for repairing

PDFs that were tagged during conversion from an authoring application. Whenever possible, return to the source file and add accessibility features in the authoring application. Repairing the original file ensures that you don’t have to repeatedly touch up future iterations of the PDF in Acrobat.

You use the Touch Up Reading Order tool to perform the following accessibility tasks:

• Visually check, and then repair, the reading order of page content

• Tag fillable form fields and their labels

• Add alternate text to figures and descriptions to form fields

• Fix the tagging of simple tables, and prepare complex tables for more advanced manipulation in the logical structure tree

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• Remove nonessential content, such as ornamental page borders, from the logical structure tree

To perform advanced reading order and tagging tasks, such as fixing complex tables, removing obsolete tags, and adding alternate text to links, use the Tags panel. The panel contains an alternate set of tools and features for

manipulating PDF tags. For more information, see Edit tags with the Tags panel .

Select the Touch Up Reading Order tool

• Choose Tools > Accessibility > Touch Up Reading Order to select the Touch Up Reading Order tool.

Tips for using the Touch Up Reading Order tool

• Save the document (or a copy of it) before you use the Touch Up Reading Order tool. You can’t use Undo to reverse changes made with this tool, so reverting to a saved document is the only way to undo such a change.

• Choose View > Page Display > Single Page View, when using the Touch Up Reading Order tool. When you click the

Clear Page Structure button, Acrobat clears tags from all visible pages, even pages that are only partially visible.

For additional tips on working with reading order, see Donna Baker’s Setting Reading Order in a PDF Document .

Touch Up Reading Order options

You can select Touch Up Reading Order options from the dialog box, from the pop-up menu that appears when you right-click a highlighted region, or from the options menu in the Order panel. The Touch Up Reading Order tool includes the following options:

Text

Tags the selection as text.

Figure

Tags the selection as a figure. Text contained within a figure tag is defined as part of the image and screen readers don’t read it.

Form Field

Tags the selection as a form field.

Figure/Caption

Tags a selected figure and caption as a single tag. Any text contained in the tag is defined as a caption.

Useful for tagging photos and captions and preventing caption text from being incorrectly added to adjacent text blocks. Figures may require alternate text.

Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3, Heading 4, Heading 5, Heading 6

Tags the selection as a first, second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth level heading tag. You can convert heading tags to bookmarks to help users navigate the document.

Table

Tags the selection as a table after the selection is analyzed to determine the location of headings, columns, and rows.

Cell

Tags the selection as a table or header cell. Use this option to merge cells that are incorrectly split.

Formula

Tags the selection as a formula. Because speech software may handle formula tags differently from normal text, you may want to add a description using alternate text.

Background

Tags the selection as a background element, or artifact, removing the item from the tag tree. That way, it doesn’t appear in the reflowed document and screen readers don’t read it.

Table Editor

Automatically analyzes the selected table into cells and applies the appropriate tags. The table must be tagged as a table before you can use the Table Editor command on it.

Show Page Content Groups

Shows content elements as highlighted areas that contain numbers to indicate the reading order. Specify the highlight color by clicking the color swatch.

Show Table Cells

Highlights the content of individual table cells. Specify the highlight color by clicking the color swatch.

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Display Like Elements In A Single Block

Adjacent squares with the same tag type are collapsed into a single, bigger square with the common tag type that encompasses the original square.

Show Tables And Figures

Outlines each table and figure with a crossed-out box. The box also indicates whether the element includes alternate text. Specify the box color by clicking the color swatch.

Clear Page Structure

Removes the tagging structure from the page. Use this option to start over and create a new structure if the existing structure contains too many problems.

Show Order Panel

Opens the Order tab for reordering highlighted content.

Edit Alternate Text

Available in the menu that appears when you right-click a highlighted figure. Allows the user to add or edit a text description about the figure properties that a screen reader or other assistive technology reads.

Edit Form Field Text

Available in the menu that appears when you right-click a form field. Allows the user to add or edit a form field text description that a screen reader or other assistive technology reads.

Edit Table Summary

Available in the menu that appears when you right-click a highlighted table. Allows the user to add or edit a text description about the table properties that a screen reader or other assistive technology reads.

Check and correct reading order (Acrobat Pro)

You can quickly check the reading order of tagged PDFs by using the Touch Up Reading Order tool. You can also use this tool to add alternate text to images and correct many types of tagging problems that are outlined in the report that

Acrobat generates when you add tags to a PDF.

Reading-order problems are readily apparent when you use the Touch Up Reading Order tool. Each section of contiguous page content appears as a separate highlighted region and is numbered according to its placement in the reading order. Within each region, text is ordered left to right and top to bottom. (You can change this order in the

Touch Up preferences.) If a single highlighted region contains two columns of text or text that won’t flow normally, divide the region into parts that can be reordered. Because highlighted regions are rectangular, they may overlap somewhat, especially if their page content is irregularly shaped. Unless page content overlaps or is contained within two highlighted regions, no reading order problem is indicated. Page content should belong to no more than one highlighted region.

You can change the reading order of the highlighted regions by moving an item in the Order panel or by dragging it on the page in the document pane. By reordering highlighted regions on the page, you can make a figure and caption read at the specific point that they are referenced in the text. By changing the order of a highlighted region, you effectively change the reading order of that item without changing the actual appearance of the PDF.

Check reading order with the Touch Up Reading Order tool

1

Select the Touch Up Reading Order tool.

2

In the Touch Up Reading Order dialog box, select Show Page Content Groups, and then click Page Content Order.

Note: If highlighted regions don’t appear in the document pane, the document doesn’t contain tags.

3

Optionally, do any of the following:

• To specify a highlight color, click the color swatch, and then click the color you want.

• To highlight tables and figures, and to view alternate text for figures, select Show Tables And Figures.

4

Check the reading order of text within each highlighted region.

Zooming in can make this step easier.

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5

Check the numbered order of all highlighted regions. If consecutive, numbered regions don’t follow one another, reorder them in the Order panel.

6

Click Show Order Panel, and then select each content entry (in brackets [ ]) in the Order panel to highlight that content region in the document pane. Use this method to find numbered regions that you can’t see or locate on the page.

Change the reading order in the Order panel

1

Select the Touch Up Reading Order tool.

2

3

In the Touch Up Reading Order dialog box, click Show Order Panel.

4

In the Order panel, navigate to view a list of highlighted regions that appear in the document pane.

In the Order panel, drag the tag for a highlighted region to the location you want. As you drag, a line appears to show potential locations. After you drag an item to a new location, the highlighted regions are renumbered to show the new reading order. You can select and move multiple, adjacent regions.

Change the reading order by dragging on the page

1

Select the Touch Up Reading Order tool.

2

3

In the Touch Up Reading Order dialog box, select Show Page Content Groups, and then click Page Content Order.

In the document pane, place the pointer over the number for the highlighted region you want to move. Thenh, drag it to where you want it to be read. The text-insertion pointer shows target locations within the text.

When you release the highlighted region, the location of the text-insertion pointer becomes the dividing line. The underlying highlighted region is split into two new highlighted regions. All highlighted regions are renumbered to show the new reading order.

Edit tags with the Touch Up Reading Order tool (Acrobat Pro)

You can use the Touch Up Reading Order tool to create tags in untagged PDFs or to add new tags to an existing structure. However, this manual tagging doesn’t provide the same level of detail to the tagging structure as the Add Tags

To Document command, such as paragraphs, bulleted and numbered lists, line breaks, and hyphens. Before you clear the existing structure, make sure that manual tagging is your only recourse.

Tag a region

1

Using the Touch Up Reading Order tool, drag within the document pane to select a region of the page that contains one type of content (for example, a text block).

2

Do one of the following:

• To add more page content to the current selection, Shift-drag.

• To remove page content from the current selection, Ctrl-drag.

3

Click the appropriate button in the Touch Up Reading Order dialog box to specify the tag type.

Change the tag for a region

If Acrobat tags a page element incorrectly, you can change the tag type for the highlighted region.

1

Select the Touch Up Reading Order tool.

2

In the Touch Up Reading Order dialog box, select Show Page Content Groups, and then click Page Content Order.

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3

To select a highlighted region, do one of the following:

• Drag to select it.

• Click the number of a highlighted region.

4

Click the button for the tag type that you want for the highlighted region.

Add or remove content from a tagged region

The Touch Up Reading Order tool always displays as few highlighted regions as possible. If content within a highlighted region doesn’t flow properly, you may need to split a region to reorder it. Highlighted regions may also contain adjacent page content that is unrelated or that requires a different tag type. Page content may become orphaned from related elements, particularly if the content doesn’t fit within a rectangular shape. Use the Touch Up Reading Order tool to add or remove content from a region, or to split a region to reorder the content.

3

4

1

2

Select the Touch Up Reading Order tool.

In the Touch Up Reading Order dialog box, select Show Page Content Groups, and then click Page Content Order.

In the document pane, select a highlighted region.

Do one of the following:

• To add content to the current selection, Shift-click the content you want to add. The pointer changes to include a plus sign (+).

• To remove content from the current selection, Ctrl-click the content you want to remove. The pointer changes to include a minus sign (-).

5

Click the button for the tag type that you want for the highlighted region.

Split a region into two regions

1

Select the Touch Up Reading Order tool.

2

3

In the Touch Up Reading Order dialog box, select Show Page Content Groups, and then click Page Content Order.

4

In the document pane, drag to select a small portion of content near the boundary of the first region that you want to create.

Click the Background button in the dialog box. The highlighted region splits into two regions, numbered from right to left.

5

To correct the reading order, click Show Order Panel, and drag the new highlighted region to the correct location in the Order panel.

6

Drag to select the first content region you created, including the Background. Then set the tag by clicking a button in the Touch Up Reading Order dialog box.

Apply a heading tag

To help readers navigate a document and find the information they need, make sure that headings are tagged with the appropriate level to indicate their hierarchy in the content.

1

2

Select the Touch Up Reading Order tool, and then select the heading text in the PDF.

In the Touch Up Reading Order dialog box, click the button corresponding to the appropriate heading tag (for example, Heading 1, Heading 2).

After applying heading tags, you can convert the headings to bookmarks to improve navigation. For more information,

see Add tagged bookmarks .

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Remove page elements from the tag structure

When tagging a PDF, Acrobat can’t always distinguish between instructive figures and decorative page elements. Items that visually enhance page layout, such as decorative borders, lines, or background elements, can add clutter to the structure layout and should be removed. Therefore, Acrobat may incorrectly tag artifacts or page elements as figure tags. You can remove artifacts and irrelevant page elements from the tag structure by redefining them with the

Background tag or by deleting their tags. If a tagged image in the document doesn’t contain useful or illustrative information for the user, you can remove the element from the tagging structure so that it isn’t read out loud or reflowed.

1

2

Select the Touch Up Reading Order tool.

In the Touch Up Reading Order dialog box, select Show Page Content Groups, and click Page Content Order. Then, select Show Tables And Figures.

3

Remove the page element by doing one of the following:

• In the document pane, select the page element, and then click Background in the dialog box.

• In the Order panel, select the page element, and then press Delete.

Edit tags for figures and tables (Acrobat Pro)

You can use the Touch Up Reading Order tool to add and edit tags and alternate text for figures and tables.

Apply a figure tag

You can select an element and define it as a figure by using the Touch Up Reading Order tool. Once you define it as a figure, you can add alternate text to describe the figure.

1

Using the Touch Up Reading Order tool, select the figure.

2

3

In the Touch Up Reading Order dialog box, click Figure.

4

In the document pane, right-click the region and choose Edit Alternate Text.

Enter alternate text, and click OK.

Check and correct figure tags

You can use the Touch Up Reading Order tool to identify and correct tagging results for figures. Determine whether figures include or require alternate text necessary to be read correctly with assistive technologies. Ideally, figure tags should identify image content that is meaningful to the document as a whole, such as graphs or illustrative photographs.

If background elements that shouldn’t be read are tagged as figures, redefine them as background.

1

2

Select the Touch Up Reading Order tool, and then click Show Tables And Figures in the dialog box.

Do any of the following:

• If a figure isn’t tagged as a figure, select the content region you want, and then click Figure or Figure/Caption in the dialog box.

• To remove text that was incorrectly combined with a figure, drag to select the text, and click the Text button in the dialog box.

• To include a caption that is grouped with the figure, select the figure and caption, and click the Figure/Caption button in the dialog box.

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Check and add alternate text for figures

If you want screen readers to describe graphical elements that illustrate important concepts in a document, you must provide the description using alternate text. Figures aren’t recognized or read by a screen reader unless you add alternate text to the tag properties. If you apply alternate text to text elements, only the description, not the actual text, is read.

3

4

1

2

Select the Touch Up Reading Order tool.

Select Show Tables And Figures in the dialog box.

Right-click the figure, and choose Edit Alternate Text from the pop-up menu.

In the Edit Alternate Text dialog box, type a new (or edit an existing) description for the figure, and then click OK.

Edit table tags and tag unrecognized tables

Tables pose a special challenge for screen readers because they present textual or numerical data to be easily referenced visually. Content within table cells can be complex and might contain lists, paragraphs, form fields, or another table.

For best results when tagging tables, use the application that you created the document with to add tags when you create the PDF. If a PDF isn’t tagged, you can add tags by using the Add Tags To Document command. Most tables are properly recognized using this command; however, the command may not recognize a table that lacks clear borders, headings, columns, and rows. Use the Touch Up Reading Order tool to determine if the table has been properly recognized and to correct recognition problems. To add specialized formatting to tables and table cells, use the Tags panel.

You can use the Table Editor to automatically analyze a table into its components and apply the appropriate tags, but you may still need to check and correct some of these tags manually. By viewing table tags, you can determine whether columns, rows, and cells have been correctly identified. Tables that lack well-defined borders and rules are often tagged incorrectly or contain adjacent page elements. You can correct poorly tagged tables by selecting and redefining them; you can split combined cells by creating a tag for each cell.

To correct complex tagging problems for tables, you often must use the Tags panel.

1

Select the Touch Up Reading Order tool, and then click Show Tables And Figures.

3

4

2

If the table isn’t clearly labeled in the document pane, drag to select the entire table, and then click Table in the dialog box.

Click Show Table Cells to make sure that all cells in the table are defined as individual elements.

If cells don’t appear as separate elements, do one of the following:

• If one or more cells are merged, use the Touch Up Reading Order tool to select the area within a single cell, and then click Cell in the dialog box. Repeat for each merged cell.

• If cells aren’t highlighted, the table might not use standard table formatting. Re-create the table in the authoring application.

5

If the table contains cells that are intended to span across two or more columns, set ColSpan and RowSpan attributes for these rows in the tag structure.

Remove or replace document structure tags (Acrobat Pro)

If adding tags to a PDF in Adobe Acrobat results in a tagging structure that is overly complicated or too problematic to fix, you can use the Touch Up Reading Order tool to remove or replace the current structure. If the document contains mostly text, you can select a page and then remove headings, tables, and other elements to create a cleaner, simpler tagging structure.

Acrobat can retag an already tagged document after you first remove all existing tags from the tree.

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Remove all tags from a PDF

1

Open the Tags panel (View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panels > Tags) and select the root (topmost) tag, Tags.

2

In the Tags panel, select Delete Tag from the options menu.

Note: The Clear Page Structure command in the Touch Up Reading Order dialog box removes all tags from the currently visible pages.

Replace the existing tag structure

This procedure works best in pages that contain a single column of text. If the page contains multiple columns, each column must be selected and tagged individually.

1

Select the tool.

2

3

In the document pane, drag to select the entire page. The selection includes both text and nontext elements.

Ctrl-drag around nontext page elements, such as figures and captions, to deselect them, until only text is selected on the page. Click Text in the Touch Up Reading Order dialog box.

4

In the document pane, select a nontext page element, such as a figure and caption, and click the appropriate button in the dialog box to tag it. Repeat until all page content is tagged.

More Help topics

Accessibility features

Reading PDFs with reflow and accessibility features

Creating accessible PDFs

Editing document structure with the Content and Tags panels (Acrobat Pro)

Keys for accessibility (Acrobat Pro)

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Setting accessibility preferences

Acrobat provides several preferences that help make the reading of PDFs more accessible for visually impaired and motion-impaired users. These preferences control how PDFs appear on the screen and how they are read by a screen reader.

Most preferences related to accessibility are available through the Accessibility Setup Assistant, which provides onscreen instructions for setting these preferences. Some preferences that affect accessibility aren’t available through the AccessibilitySetup Assistant including preferences in the Reading, Forms, and Multimedia categories. You can set all preferences in the Preferences dialog box.

The names shown for some preferences in the Accessibility Setup Assistant are different from the names for the same preferences shown in the Preferences dialog box. Acrobat Help uses the names shown in the Preferences dialog box.

For more information about accessibility features, see www.adobe.com/accessibility .

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Set accessibility preferences with the Accessibility Setup Assistant

1

Start the Accessibility Setup Assistant by doing one of the following:

• Choose Tools > Accessibility > Setup Assistant.

• Choose Edit > Accessibility > Setup Assistant.

• (Windows only) Start Acrobat for the first time while a screen reader or screen magnifier is running.

2

Choose the option that is appropriate for your assistive software and devices.

The assistant presents only preferences that are appropriate for your assistive software and devices, according to the option that you choose.

3

Follow the onscreen instructions. If you click Cancel at any point, Acrobat uses default settings for the preferences that the assistant sets (not recommended).

Set accessibility preferences with the Preferences dialog box

❖

Set preferences as appropriate for your assistive software and devices in various panels of the Preferences dialog box.

Accessibility preferences

Accessibility preferences in Accessibility panel

Replace Document Colors

When this preference is selected, you can choose from a list of contrasting color combinations for text and background, or you can create your own. These settings correspond to the Use High Contrast

Colors For Document Text option in the Accessibility Setup Assistant.

Always Use Page Layout Style

Corresponds to the Override Page Layout Style option in theAccessibility Setup

Assistant.

Always Use Zoom Setting

Corresponds to the Override Document Zoom option in the AccessibilitySetup Assistant.

Use Document Structure For Tab Order When No ExplicitTab Order Is Specified

Improves navigation of form fields and links in documents that don’t specify a tab order.

Always Display The Keyboard Selection Cursor

Select this option if you use a screen magnifier. This preference corresponds to the Always Display The Keyboard Selection Cursor option in the Accessibility Setup Assistant.

Always Use The System Selection Color

When selected, the default selection color (blue) is overridden with a color that the system specifies.

Show Portfolios In Files Mode

When selected, shows PDF Portfolio component files and file details in a list. Files mode provides a better reading experience for people with disabilities, such as mobility impairments, blindness, and low vision.

Accessibility preferences in Documents panel

Automatically Save Document Changes To Temporary File Every

When deselected, this preference disables the autosave action. Each time a PDF is saved, the screen reader or magnifier must reload the document. This preference corresponds to the Disable Document Auto-Save option in the Accessibility Setup Assistant.

Accessibility preferences in Forms panel

Fields Highlight Color and Required Fields Highlight Color

These preferences specify what colors are used to highlight fillable form fields. They correspond to the Field Highlight Color and Required Field Highlight Color options in the

AccessibilitySetup Assistant.

Auto-Complete

Enables Acrobat to automatically offer to complete some entries in form fields so that filling form fields requires fewer keystrokes. This preference doesn’t correspond to an option in the Accessibility Setup Assistant.

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Accessibility preferences in Multimedia panel

• Show Subtitles When Available

• Play Dubbed Audio When Available

• Show Supplemental Text Captions When Available

• Show Audio Description (Or Video Description, Or Descriptive Video) When Available

These preferences don’t correspond to any options in the Accessibility Setup Assistant.

Accessibility preferences in Page Display panel

Zoom

Sets the onscreen magnification of documents and allows low-vision readers to read reflowed PDFs more easily.

This preference corresponds to the Override Document Zoom option in the Accessibility Setup Assistant.

Smooth Text

Controls anti-aliasing of text. To disable smoothing of text and make text sharper and easier to read with a screen magnifier, choose None. This preference corresponds to the Disable Text Smoothing option in the Accessibility

Setup Assistant.

Accessibility preferences in Reading panel

Reading Order

Specifies the reading order of documents. The reading order preferences also appear in the Accessibility

Setup Assistant.

Infer Reading Order From Document (Recommended)

Interprets the reading order of untagged documents by using an advanced method of structure-inference layout analysis.

Left-To-Right, Top-To-Bottom Reading Order

Delivers the text according to its placement on the page, reading from left to right and then top to bottom. This method is faster than Infer Reading Order From Document. This method analyzes text only; form fields are ignored and tables aren’t recognized as such.

Use Reading Order In Raw Print Stream

Delivers text in the order in which it was recorded in the print stream. This method is faster than Infer Reading Order From Document. This method analyzes text only; form fields are ignored and tables aren’t recognized as such.

Override The Reading Order In Tagged Documents

Uses the reading order specified in the Reading preferences instead what the tag structure of the document specifies. Use this preference only when you encounter problems in poorly tagged PDFs. This preference corresponds to the Override The Reading Order In Tagged Documents option in the

Accessibility Setup Assistant.

Page Vs Document

This preference determines how much of a document is delivered to a screen reader at a time. If a

PDF isn’t tagged, Acrobat may analyze the document and attempt to infer its structure and reading order. This process can take a long time for a long document. Consider setting Acrobat to deliver only the currently visible page so that it analyzes only a small piece of the document at a time. This consideration varies depending on the size and complexity of the document and on the features of the screen reader. When Acrobat delivers information to a screen reader, screen magnifier, or other assistive software, it loads information into a memory buffer that is directly available to the assistive software. The amount of information that is delivered to the memory buffer can affect how long Acrobat takes to perform tasks, such as opening the document, advancing to the next page, changing views, and carrying out commands.

Only Read The Currently Visible Pages

This option is usually best when you use a screen magnifier. It improves performance by eliminating the need for the software to process parts of the document that aren’t visible. When

Acrobat sends only the currently visible pages of a PDF to the memory buffer, the assistive technology has access to those pages only. It cannot go to another page until the next page is visible and Acrobat has sent the page information to the memory buffer. Therefore, if this option is selected, you must use the navigation features of Acrobat, not the features of the assistive technology, to navigate from page to page in the document. Also set theDefault Page Layout option in preferences to Single Page if you choose to have Acrobat send only the currently visible pages to the assistive

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technology. Because Acrobat sends page information about all visible pages, the assistive technology receives information about pages that may be only partially visible (such as the bottom of one page or the top of the next), as well as those pages that are completely visible. If you use a page display setting other than Single Page, such as

Continuous, and then you display the next page, the technology may not correctly track which portion of a previous page it has already read aloud. For instructions on setting the default page layout to Single Page, see

Preferences for viewing PDFs .

This option corresponds to the Only Read The Currently Visible Pages option in the Accessibility Setup Assistant.

Read The Entire Document

This option can be best if you use a screen reader that has its own navigation and search tools and that is more familiar to you than the tools in Acrobat. This option corresponds to the Read The Entire

Document At Once option in theAccessibility Setup Assistant.

For Large Documents, Only Read The Currently Visible Pages

This option is selected by default and is usually best if you use a screen reader with long or complex PDFs. It allows Acrobat to deliver an entire small document but revert to page-by-page delivery for large documents. This preference corresponds to the For Large Documents, Only Read The

Currently Visible Pages option in the Accessibility Setup Assistant.

Confirm Before Tagging Documents

When selected, lets the user confirm the options that are used before Acrobat prepares an untagged document for reading. Tagging can be a time-consuming procedure, especially for larger documents. This preference corresponds to the Confirm Before Tagging Documents option in the Accessibility Setup

Assistant.

Read Out Loud Options

Set preferences in to control volume, speed, and pitch of the voice used for Read Out Loud. You can choose to use the default voice or any of the voices that your operating system provides. You can also use the up and down arrows to read blocks of text. These preferences do not have corresponding options in theAccessibility Setup

Assistant.

Navigate and control the application with the keyboard

You can navigate by using the keyboard instead of the mouse. Several keyboard access features are available in Mac OS; see the documentation for your operating system for details.In Windows, some of the keyboard shortcuts used to navigate in Acrobat differ from the keyboard shortcuts used in other Windows applications.

When you open Acrobat within a web browser, keyboard commands are mapped to the web browser first.

Consequently, some keyboard shortcuts are not available in Acrobat or are available only after you shift the focus to the

PDF.

For information about accessibility features, see www.adobe.com/accessibility .

Enable single-key accelerators

You can select some tools and perform some actions with single-key accelerators. Most keyboard shortcuts in Acrobat don’t require that you enable single-key accelerators.

❖

In the Preferences dialog box under Categories, select General, and then select Use Single-Key Accelerators To

Access Tools.

Note: Some screen readers do not work with Acrobat single-key accelerators.

Scroll automatically

The automatic scrolling feature makes it easier to scan through long PDFs, especially reflowed documents. You can scroll through pages without using keystrokes or mouse actions.

Choose View > Page Display > Automatically Scroll.

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1

Do any of the following:

• To change the scrolling speed to a specific speed, press a number key (9 for fastest, 0 for slowest).

• To increase or decrease the scrolling speed, press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key, depending on the direction of scrolling.

• To reverse the direction of scrolling, press the minus sign (-) key.

• To jump to the next or previous page, press the Left Arrow or Right Arrow key.

To stop automatic scrolling, press Esc or choose View> Page Display >Automatically Scroll again.

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Save as accessible text for a braille printer

Note: This document uses the term “braille printer” to refer to any device that is used to convert accessible text to a form that a person with blindness or low vision can use.

You can save a PDF as accessible text to print on a braille printer. Accessible text can be imported and printed out as formatted grade 1 or 2 braille documents by using a braille translation application. See the documentation included with the braille translator for more information.

A text version of a PDF contains no images or multimedia objects. However, the text version of an accessible PDF contains alternate text descriptions for such objects if they have been provided.

❖

Choose File > Save As Other > More Options > Text (Accessible).

Reflow a PDF

You can reflow a PDF to temporarily present it as a single column that is the width of the document pane. This reflow view can make the document easier to read on a mobile device or magnified on a standard monitor, without scrolling horizontally to read the text.

You cannot save, edit, or print a document while it is in Reflow view.

In most cases, only readable text appears in the reflow view. Text that doesn’t reflow includes forms, comments, digital signature fields, and page artifacts, such as page numbers, headers, and footers. Pages that contain both readable text and form or digital signature fields don’t reflow. Vertical text reflows horizontally.

Acrobat temporarily tags an untagged document before reflowing it. As an author, you can optimize your PDFs for reflow by tagging them yourself. Tagging ensures that text blocks reflow and that content follows the appropriate sequences, so readers can follow a story that spans different pages and columns without other stories interrupting the flow.

To quickly check the reading order of a document, view it in Reflow view.

(Acrobat Pro) If the tagged PDF doesn’t reflow the way you want, see if the content order or reading order of the PDF file contains inconsistencies. Also check the tagging process. You can use the Content pane or the Touch Up Reading

Order tool to resolve reflow problems.

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Reflow a tagged PDF

Choose View > Zoom > Reflow.

If the Page Display setting is Two Page View before you choose Reflow view, the Page Display setting automatically becomes Single Page View when the document is reflowed. If the Page Display setting is Two Page Scrolling before you choose Reflow view, the Page Display setting automatically becomes Enable Scrolling when the document is reflowed.

Return to unreflowed view

❖

When in Reflow view, choose View > Zoom > Reflow.

Reading a PDF with a screen reader

Acrobat supports assistive software and devices, such as screen readers and screen magnifiers, that enable visually impaired users to interact with computer applications. When assistive software and devices are in use, Acrobat adds temporary tags to open PDFs to improve their readability. Use the Accessibility Setup Assistant to improve how Acrobat interacts with the types of assistive software and devices that you use. When using a screen reader, you can change your reading settings for the current document by choosing Tools > Accessibility > Change Reading Options.

See the documentation for your assistive software or device. Or, contact the vendor for more information about system requirements, compatibility requirements, and instructions for using this software or device with Acrobat.

For more information about using screen readers, see www.adobe.com/accessibility/pdfs/accessing-pdf-sr.pdf

.

Read a PDF with Read Out Loud

The Read Out Loud feature reads aloud the text in a PDF, including the text in comments and alternate text descriptions for images and fillable fields. In tagged PDFs, content is read in the order in which it appears in the document’s logical structure tree. In untagged documents, the reading order is inferred, unless a reading order has been specified in the

Reading preferences.

ReadOut Loud uses the available voices installed on your system. If you have SAPI 4 or SAPI 5 voices installed from text-to-speech or language applications, you can choose them to read your PDFs.

Note: ReadOut Loud isn’t a screen reader, and some operating systems don’t support it.

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Activate or deactivate Read Out Loud

You must activate Read Out Loud before you can use it. You can deactivate Read Out Loud to free system resources and improve performance of other operations.

❖

Do one of the following:

• Choose View > Read Out Loud > Activate Read Out Loud.

• Choose View > Read Out Loud > Deactivate ReadOut Loud.

You can also use the Select Object tool to locate text. Activate Read Out Loud, and then choose Tools > Interactive

Objects >Select Object. Use the up/down and left/right arrow keys to navigate through the document. You can hear where the Select Object tool has been placed, such as a heading or paragraph.

Read a PDF with Read Out Loud

1

Navigate to the page that you want to read.

2

Do one of the following:

• Choose View > Read Out Loud > Read This Page Only.

• Choose View > Read Out Loud > Read To End Of Document.

Read PDF form fields out loud

1

In the Reading panel of the Preferences dialog box, select Read Form Fields in the Read Out Loud Options section.

2

3

In the PDF form, press Tab to select the first form field.

Make entries and selections as needed, and then press Tab to move to the next field, repeating this step until the form is completed. Acrobat reads the state of selected check boxes and radio buttons.

Note: Read Out Loud does not echo your keystrokes. To hear what you have typed, use a screen reader.

Interrupt reading out loud

❖

Do one of the following:

• Choose View > Read Out Loud > Pause.

• Choose View > Read Out Loud > Stop.

About operating system accessibility tools

Accessibility tools in Windows

Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 operating systems have 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.

For more information on the accessibility tools in the Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7 operating systems, see the

Microsoft accessibility website.

Accessibility tools in Mac OS

Mac OS X has built-in tools that provide increased or alternate access to information on the computer screen.

For more information on the accessibility tools in the Mac OS Xoperating system, see the Apple® Inc. accessibility website.

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More Help topics

Keys for navigating a PDF

Keys for selecting tools

Keys for working with comments

Keys for general navigating

Keys for working with navigation panels

Keys for navigating the Help window

Keys for accessibility

Accessibility features

Editing document structure withthe Content and Tags panels (Acrobat Pro)

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Correct reflow problems with the Content panel

Use the Content panel to correct reflow problems in a PDF that can’t be corrected by using the Touch Up Reading Order tool. Because you can damage a PDF by editing content objects, make sure that you’re familiar with PDF structure before you change anything. For comprehensive information about PDF structure, see the PDF Reference Sixth Edition:

Adobe Portable Document Format Version 1.7, on the PDF reference page (English only) of the Adobe website.

The Content panel provides a hierarchical view of the objects that make up a PDF, including the PDF object itself. Each document includes one or more pages, a set of annotations (such as comments and links), and the content objects for the page. The content objects consist of containers, text, paths, and images. Objects are listed in the order in which they appear on the page, like tags in the logical structure tree. However, PDFs don’t require tags for you to view or change the object structure.

Choose View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panels > Content.

1

Expand the document name to view pages and objects.

2

Move a container or object by selecting it and doing one of the following:

• Drag it to the location you want.

• Choose Cut from the options menu, select the tag above the location you want to paste the cut tag, and choose

Paste from the options menu.

Note: Container elements can’t be pasted directly to page elements. To move a container to another page, cut the container you want to move. Then select a container on the page you want to move the container to and choose Paste from the options menu. Then, drag the container out one level to the location that you want.

Content panel options

In the Content panel, use the options menu or right-click an object to choose from the following options:

New Container

Adds a container object at the end of the selected page or container.

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Edit Container Dictionary

Specifies the dictionary for the container. Errors in this dialog box may damage the PDF.

Available only for containers that include dictionaries.

Cut

Cuts and copies the selected object (not the related page content).

Paste

Pastes content directly below the selected object at the same hierarchical level.

Paste Child

Pastes content into the selected object as a child content item.

Delete

Removes the object (not the related page content) from the document.

Find Content From Selection

Searches for the object in the Content panel that contains the object selected in the document pane.

Find

Searches for unmarked (untagged) artifacts, content, comments, and links. Options allow you to search the page or document, and to add tags to found items.

Create Artifact

Defines selected objects as artifacts. Artifacts are not read by a screen reader or by the Read Out Loud feature. Page numbers, headers, and footers are often best tagged as artifacts.

Show In Tags Panel

Switches automatically to the Tags panel, and selects the tag corresponding to the content element.

Remove Artifact

Removes the artifact definition from the selected object.

Highlight Content

When selected, highlights appear in the document pane around content that relates to a selected object in the Content panel.

Show Metadata

Allows viewing and editing of image or object metadata.

Properties

Opens the Touch Up Properties dialog box.

About the Tags panel

The Tags panel allows you to view and edit tags in the logical structure tree, or tags tree, of a PDF. In the Tags panel, tags appear in a hierarchical order that indicates the reading sequence of the document. The first item in this structure is the Tags root. All other items are tags and are children of the Tags root. Tags use coded element types that appear in angle brackets (< >). Each element, including structural elements such as sections and articles, appears in the logical structure order by type, followed by a title and the element’s content or a description of the content. Structural elements are typically listed as containers (parent tags). They include several smaller elements (child tags) within them.

Note: For more information on logical structures, see the PDF Reference Sixth Edition: Adobe Portable Document Format

Version 1.7, on the PDF reference page (English only) of the Adobe website.

Though you can correct most tagging issues by using the Touch Up Reading Order tool, you must use the Tags panel to address detailed tagging of tables and substructure items, such as paragraphs, lists, and sections that require multiple languages. Add tags manually to a document in the Tags panel only as a last resort. First consider using the Add Tags

To Document command.

Note: Operations performed in the Tags panel cannot be undone with the Undo command. Save a backup copy of a document before you begin work on it in the Tags panel.

View tags in the Tags panel

Choose View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panels > Tags.

1

Do one of the following:

• Expand the tag for the section you want.

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• Ctrl-click the plus sign (Windows) or Option-click the triangle (Mac OS) next to the Tags root to show all tags in the logical structure tree.

Edit tags with the Tags panel

You can edit a tag title, change a tag location, or change the tag type for an element. All page content must be tagged, marked as an artifact, or removed from the logical structure tree.

Edit a tag title

1

In the Tags panel, expand the section of the logical structure that you want to edit.

2

To edit the title, Select the tag, choose Properties from the options menu, enter text in the Title box, and click Close.

Move a tag

1

In the Tags panel, expand the Tags root to view all tags.

2

3

Select the Tag icon of the element that you want to move.

Do one of the following:

• Drag the tag to the location you want. As you drag, a line appears at viable locations.

• Choose Cut from the options menu, and select the tag that appears above the location you want to paste the cut tag. From the options menu, choose Paste to move the tag to the same level as the selected tag. Or choose Paste

Child to move the tag within the selected tag.

Change the element type

1

In the Tags panel, expand the section of the logical structure that you want to change.

2

3

Select an element and choose Properties from the options menu.

Choose a new element type from the Type menu, and then click Close.

Tags panel options

In the Tags panel, use the options menu or right-click a tag in the logical structure tree to choose from the following options:

New Tag

Creates a tag in the logical structure tree after the currently selected item. Specify type and title of the new tag.

Cut

Removes the selected tag from its current location and puts it on the clipboard.

Paste

Places the tag that’s on the clipboard into the location specified, replacing the selected tag.

Paste Child

Places the tag that’s on the clipboard into the location specified, as a child of the selected tag.

Delete Tag

Removes the selected tag.

Find Tag From Selection

Searches for the tag in the Tags panel that contains the text or object selected in the document pane.

Create Tag From Selection

Creates a tag in the logical structure tree after the item selected in the document pane.

Specify type and title of the new tag.

Find

Searches for artifacts, OCR suspects, and unmarked (untagged) content, comments, links, and annotations.

Options allow you to search the page or document and add tags to found items.

Change Tag To Artifact

Changes selected tags to artifacts and removes the tagged content from the structure tree.

Copy Contents To Clipboard

Copies all content contained within the selected tags.

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Edit Class Map

Allows you to add, change, and delete the class map, or style dictionary, for the document. Class maps store attributes that are associated with each element.

Edit Role Map

Allows you to add, change, and delete role maps for the document. Role maps allow each document to contain a uniquely defined tag set. By mapping these custom tags to predefined tags in Acrobat, custom tags are easier to identify and edit.

Tag Annotations

When selected, all new comments and form fields are added to the tag tree after the selected tag element. Existing comments and form fields aren’t added to the tag tree. Highlight and Underline comments are automatically associated and tagged with the text that they annotate and don’t require this option.

Document Is Tagged PDF

Flags the PDF as a tagged document. Deselect to remove the flag.

Note: This option doesn’t necessarily indicate that the PDF conforms to PDF guidelines and should be used judiciously.

Highlight Content

When selected, causes highlights to appear around content in the document pane when you select the related tag in the Tags panel.

Show Metadata

Opens a read-only dialog box that contains reference information about the selected tag.

Properties

Opens the Touch Up Properties dialog box.

Add alternate text and supplementary information to tags

Some tagged PDFs might not contain all the information necessary to make the document contents fully accessible. For example, if you want to make a document available to a screen reader, the PDF should contain alternate text for figures, language properties for portions of the text that use a different language than the default language for the document, and expansion text for abbreviations. Designating the appropriate language for different text elements ensures that the correct characters are used when you repurpose the document and that it is spell-checked with the correct dictionary.

You can add alternate text and multiple languages to a tag from the Tags panel. (If only one language is required, choose the language with File > Properties instead.) You can also add alternate text by using the Touch Up Reading Order tool.

Note: Keep alternate text descriptions as concise as possible.

Add alternate text to links

Screen readers can read the URLs of web links out loud, but adding meaningful alternate text to links can help users immensely. For example, by adding alternate text you can have a screen reader tell a user to “go to the Acrobat accessibility page of adobe.com” rather than “go to http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/solutionsacc.html.”

You add alternate text to the <Link> tag of a link.

Note: Add alternate text only to tags that don’t have child tags. Adding alternate text to a parent tag prevents a screen reader from reading any of that tag’s child tags.

1

2

In the tag tree, select the <Link> tag for the link, and select Properties from the options menu.

3

In the Touch Up Properties dialog box, select the Tag panel.

Type alternate text for the link, and click Close.

Add alternate text for a figure

Choose View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panels > Tags.

1

Expand the logical structure tree to find and select the <Figure> tag element for the image.

To find a tag more easily, use the Touch Up Reading Order tool to select the figure or text near the figure in the document pane. Then, choose Find Tag From Selection from the options menu in the Tags panel.

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2

Choose Highlight Content from the options menu in the Tags panel to see a highlighted area in the document that corresponds to the tag.

3

Choose Properties from the options menu in the Tags panel.

4

5

In the Touch Up Properties dialog box, click the Tag panel.

For Alternate Text, type text that describes the figure.

Add alternate text for an abbreviated term

1

In the Tags panel, locate the abbreviated term by doing one of the following:

• Expand the tag tree as needed to see the elements that contain the abbreviation.

• Use the Touch Up Text tool or the Select tool to select the abbreviation in the document, and then choose Find

Tag From Selection from the options menu to locate the text in the tag tree.

2

Select the tag for that element, and choose Properties from the options menu.

Note: If the abbreviation includes additional text, cut the additional text and place it in a new <Span> child tag within the same <Span> parent tag.

3

4

In the Touch Up Properties dialog box, select the Tag panel.

5

For Alternate Text, type the unabbreviated version of the term.

Click Close.

Create a new child tag

1

In the Tags panel, select the parent node (the icon at the same level at which you want to create a child tag) in the

Tags tree for which you want to create a child tag.

Choose New Tag from the options menu.

2

Select the appropriate tag type from the Type pop-up menu, or type a custom tag type, name the tag (optional), and then click OK.

Add tags to comments

When you tag a PDF that includes comments, the comments are tagged as well. However, if you add comments to a

PDF that’s already tagged, your comments are untagged unless you enable comment tagging first.

Note: To Enable comment tagging in a PDF, in the Tags panel, choose Tag Annotations from the options menu. Comments or markups that you add to the PDF are tagged automatically.

If a document contains untagged comments, you can locate them in the logical structure tree and tag them by using the

Find command in the Tags panel.

1

2

In the Tags panel, choose Find from the options menu.

3

In the Find Element dialog box, choose Unmarked Comments from the Find pop-up menu, and click Find.

When the comment type appears in the Type field (for example, Text), click Tag Element, choose Annotation from the Type pop-up menu in the New Tag dialog box, and then click OK.

4

In the Find Element dialog box, click Find Next to locate and tag all comments, and then click Close.

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Correct table tags with the Tags panel

Use the Touch Up Reading Order tool to make sure that tables are tagged correctly. If you need to structure figures and text within the cells of your table, you may prefer to re-create the table in the authoring application before you convert it as an accessible PDF. Adding tags on a cell level in Acrobat is a labor-intensive procedure.

Before you make any changes to table elements, use the Touch Up Reading Order tool to determine that the table is tagged correctly.

Check table elements

1

In the Tags panel, expand the tags root to view a table tag.

2

Select the table tag <Table> and verify that it contains one of the following elements:

• Table Rows, each of which contains Table Header <TH> or Table Data<TD> cells.

• <THead>, <TBody>, and <TFoot> sections, each of which containsTable Rows. (The Table Rows contain <TH> cells, <TD> cells, or both.)

3

Do one or more of the following:

• If the tag for the table doesn’t contain these elements, but rows, columns, and cells appear in the table in the document pane, use the Touch Up Reading Order tool to select and define the table or individual cells.

• If the table contains rows that span two or more columns, set ColSpan and RowSpan attributes for these rows in the tag structure.

• Re-create the table in the authoring application, and then convert it to a tagged PDF.

Set ColSpan and RowSpan attributes

1

In the Tags panel, select a <TD> or <TH> element.

2

3

Choose Properties from the options menu.

4

5

In the Touch Up Properties dialog box, click the Tag panel, and then click Edit Attribute Objects.

Select Attribute Objects, and then click New Item to create a new Attribute Object Dictionary.

6

7

Expand the new dictionary, select the Layout attribute, and then click Change Item.

Change the Layout value to Table.

8

Select the Attribute Object Dictionary, and click New Item.

In the Add Key And Value dialog box, type ColSpan or RowSpan in the Key box, enter the number of columns or rows spanned in the Value box, choose Integer from the Value Type pop-up menu, and click OK.

Standard PDF tags

This section describes the standard tag types that apply to tagged PDFs. These standard tags provide assistive software and devices with semantic and structural elements to use to interpret document structure and present content in a useful manner.

The PDF tags architecture is extensible, so any PDF document can contain any tag set that an authoring application decides to use. For example, a PDF can have XML tags that came in from an XML schema. Custom tags that you define

(such as tag names generated from paragraph styles of an authoring application) need a role map. The role map matches each custom tag to a standard tag here. When assistive software encounters a custom tag, the software can check this role map and properly interpret the tags. Tagging PDFs by using one of the methods described here generally produces a correct role map for the document.

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Note: You can view and edit the role map of a PDF by choosing Options > Edit Role Map in the Tags panel.

The standard Adobe element tag types are available in the New Tag dialog box. They are also available in the Touch Up

Properties dialog box in Acrobat Pro. Adobe strongly encourages using these tag types because they provide the best results when tagged content is converted to a different format. These formats include HTML, Microsoft Word, or an accessible text format for use by other assistive technologies.

Block-level elements are page elements that consist of text laid out in paragraph-like forms. Block-level elements are part of a document’s logical structure. Such elements are further classified as container elements, heading and paragraph elements, label and list elements, special text elements, and table elements.

Container elements

Container elements are the highest level of element and provide hierarchical grouping for other block-level elements.

Document

Document element. The root element of a document’s tag tree.

Part

Part element. A large division of a document; may group smaller units of content together, such as division elements, article elements, or section elements.

Div

Division element. A generic block-level element or group of block-level elements.

Art

Article element. A self-contained body of text considered to be a single narrative.

Sect

Section element. A general container element type, comparable to Division (DIV Class=“Sect”) in HTML, which is usually a component of a part element or an article element.

Heading and paragraph elements

Heading and paragraph elements are paragraph-like, block-level elements that include specific level heading and generic paragraph (P) tags. A heading (H) element should appear as the first child of any higher-level division. Six levels of headings (H1 to H6) are available for applications that don’t hierarchically nest sections.

Label and list elements

Label and list elements are block-level elements used for structuring lists.

L

List element. Any sequence of items of similar meaning or other relevance; immediate child elements should be list item elements.

LI

List item element. Any one member of a list; may have a label element (optional) and a list body element (required) as a child.

LBL

Label element. A bullet, name, or number that identifies and distinguishes an element from others in the same list.

LBody

List item body element. The descriptive content of a list item.

Special text elements

Special text elements identify text that isn’t used as a generic paragraph (P).

BlockQuote

Block quote element. One or more paragraphs of text attributed to someone other than the author of the immediate surrounding text.

Caption

Caption element. A brief portion of text that describes a table or a figure.

Index

Index element. A sequence of entries that contain identifying text and reference elements that point out the occurrence of the text in the main body of the document.

TOC

Table of contents element. An element that contains a structured list of items and labels identifying those items; has its own discrete hierarchy.

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TOCI

Table of contents item element. An item contained in a list associated with a table of contents element.

Table elements

Table elements are special elements for structuring tables.

Table

Table element. A two-dimensional arrangement of data or text cells that contains table row elements as child elements and may have a caption element as its first or last child element.

TR

Table row element. One row of headings or data in a table; may contain table header cell elements and table data cell elements.

TD

Table data cell element. A table cell that contains nonheader data.

TH

Table header cell element. A table cell that contains header text or data describing one or more rows or columns of a table.

Inline-level elements

Inline-level elements identify a span of text that has specific formatting or behavior. They are differentiated from blocklevel elements. Inline-level elements may be contained in or contain block-level elements.

BibEntry

Bibliography entry element. A description of where some cited information may be found.

Quote

Quote entry element. An inline portion of text that is attributed to someone other than the author of the text surrounding it; different from a block quote, which is a whole paragraph or multiple paragraphs, as opposed to inline text.

Span

Span entry element. Any inline segment of text; commonly used to delimit text that is associated with a set of styling properties.

Special inline-level elements

Similar to inline-level elements, special inline-level elements describe an inline portion of text that has special formatting or behavior.

Code

Code entry element. Computer program text embedded within a document.

Figure

Figure entry element. A graphic or graphic representation associated with text.

Form

Form entry element. A PDF form annotation that can be or has been filled out.

Formula

Formula entry element. A mathematical formula.

Link

Link entry element. A hyperlink that is embedded within a document. The target can be in the same document, in another PDF document, or on a website.

Note

Note entry element. Explanatory text or documentation, such as a footnote or endnote, that is referred to in the main body of text.

Reference

Reference entry element. A citation to text or data that is found elsewhere in the document.

More Help topics

Accessibility features

Reading PDFs with reflow and accessibility features

Creating accessible PDFs

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Accessibility, tags, and reflow

Touch Up Reading Order tool for PDFs (Acrobat Pro)

Keys for accessibility (Acrobat Pro)

Creating accessible PDFs

Workflow for creating accessible PDFs

At a high level, the process of creating accessible PDFs consists of a few basic stages:

1

Consider accessibility before you convert a document to PDF.

2

3

As needed, add fillable form fields and descriptions, and set the tab order.

4

5

Add other accessibility features to the PDF.

Tag the PDF.

Evaluate the PDF and repair tagging problems.

These stages are presented in an order that suits most needs. However, you can perform tasks in a different order or iterate between some of the stages. In all cases, first examine the document, determine its intended purpose, and use that analysis to determine the workflow that you apply.

Additional resources

For more information about creating accessible PDFs, see these resources:

• Guide to creating accessible PDFs, General Services Administration: www.section508.gov/docs/PDFGuidanceForGovernment.pdf

• Best practices: amp.ssbbartgroup.com

Consider accessibility before you convert a document to PDF

Whenever possible, think about accessibility when you create the source files in an authoring application, such as a word-processing or page-layout application.

Typical tasks in the authoring application include adding alternate text to graphics, optimizing tables, and applying paragraph styles or other document-structure features that can be converted to tags. For more information, see

Creating a tagged PDF from an authoring application .

Note: If you have Acrobat Pro and intend to design PDF forms, use Adobe LiveCycle® Designer, which is dedicated to the design of interactive and static forms. LiveCycle Designer adds structure tags to forms, improving accessibility.

Add fillable form fields and descriptions, and set the tab order

If your PDF includes form fields, use Tools > Accessibility > Run Form Field Recognition to detect form fields and make them interactive (fillable).

Use the Forms tools to create fillable form fields, such as buttons, check boxes, pop-up menus, and text boxes. When you create a field, type a description in the Tooltip box in the Properties dialog box for that field. Screen readers read this text aloud to the user. For more information, see

Create form fields .

You can also use the Touch Up Reading Order tool in Acrobat Pro to add descriptions to form fields.

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For information on setting the tab order to use document structure, see Set form field navigation.

Add other accessibility features to the PDF

In Acrobat Pro, this stage includes setting the document language, making sure that security settings don’t interfere with screen readers, creating accessible links, and adding bookmarks. For more information, see Set the document language , Prevent security settings from interfering with screen readers , Add accessible links , and

About bookmarks .

In Acrobat Standard, this stage includes setting the document language, making sure that security settings don’t interfere with screen readers, and adding bookmarks. For more information, see Set the document language , Prevent security settings from interfering with screen readers

, and About bookmarks

.

Tag the PDF

Improve the accessibility of PDFs by adding tags in Acrobat. If a PDF doesn’t contain tags, Acrobat attempts to tag it automatically when users read or reflow it, and the results may be disappointing. With a tagged PDF, the logical structure tree sends the contents to a screen reader or other assistive software or hardware in an appropriate order.

For best results, tag a document when converting it to PDF from an authoring application. Examples of these applications include Adobe FrameMaker®, Adobe InDesign®,Microsoft Word, or OpenOffice Writer. If you do not have access to an authoring application that can generate a tagged PDF, you can tag a PDF any time by using Acrobat.

Tagging during conversion to PDF requires an authoring application that supports tagging in PDF. Tagging during conversion enables the authoring application to draw from the paragraph styles or other structural information of the source document to produce a logical structure tree. The logical structure tree reflects an accurate reading order and appropriate levels of tags. This tagging can more readily interpret the structure of complex layouts, such as embedded sidebars, closely spaced columns, irregular text alignment, and tables. Tagging during conversion can also properly tag the links, cross-references, bookmarks, and alternate text (when available) that are in the file.

To tag a PDF in Acrobat, choose Tools > Accessibility > Add Tags To Document. This command works on any untagged

PDF, such as one created with Adobe PDF Printer. Acrobat analyzes the content of the PDF to interpret the individual page elements, their hierarchical structure, and the intended reading order of each page. Then, it builds a tag tree that reflects that information. It also creates tags for any links, cross-references, and bookmarks that you added to the document in Acrobat.

The Add Tags To Document command adequately tags most standard layouts. However, it cannot always correctly interpret the structure and reading order of complex page elements. These elements include closely spaced columns, irregular text alignment, nonfillable form fields, and tables that don’t have borders. Tagging these pages by using the

Add Tags To Document command can result in improperly combined elements or out-of-sequence tags. These issues cause reading order problems in the PDF.

For more information, see Add tags to an existing PDF (Acrobat Pro) .

About watermarks and screen readers

You can add a watermark to a tagged PDF without adding it to the tag tree. Not having a watermark appear in the tag tree is helpful for people who are using screen readers, because they won’t hear the watermark read as a document content.

The best way to add a watermark that doesn’t interfere with screen readers is to insert an untagged PDF of the watermark into a tagged PDF.

Evaluate the PDF and repair tagging problems (Acrobat Pro)

Once you have a tagged PDF, evaluate the document for reading order problems, tagging errors, and accessibility errors, and then repair them as needed.

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Whichever method you use to tag the PDF, use Acrobat to touch up the tagging and reading order for complex page layouts or unusual page elements. For example, the Add Tags To Document command can’t always distinguish between instructive figures and decorative page elements such as borders, lines, or background elements. It may incorrectly tag all of these elements as figures. Similarly, this command may erroneously tag graphical characters within text, such as drop caps, as figures instead of including them in the tag that represents the text block. Such errors can clutter the tag tree and complicate the reading order that assistive technology relies on.

If you tag a document from within Acrobat, the application generates an error report after it completes the tagging process. Use this report as a guide to repair tagging problems. You can identify other tagging, reading order, and accessibility problems for any PDF by using the Full Check tool or the Touch Up Reading Order tool. For more information, see Check accessibility with Full Check

and Check and correct reading order (Acrobat Pro)

.

Create a tagged PDF from a web page

A PDF that you create from a web page is only as accessible as the HTML source that it is based on. For example, if the web page relies on tables for its layout design, the HTML code for the table may not flow in the same logical reading order as a tagged PDF would require, even though the HTML code is sufficiently structured to display all the elements correctly in a browser.

Depending on the complexity of the web page, you can do extensive repairs in Acrobat Pro by using the Touch Up

Reading Order tool or editing the tag tree in Acrobat.

To produce the most accessible PDFs from web pages you create, first establish a logical reading order in their HTML code. For best results, employ the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines that are published by theWorld Wide Web

Consortium (W3C). For more information, see the guidelines on the W3C website.

1

Do one of the following:

2

3

• In Acrobat, choose File > Create > PDF From Web Page, enter the web page address, and then click Settings.

• In Microsoft Internet Explorer, in the Adobe PDF toolbar, click the Down Arrow on the Convert button and choose Preferences.

In the General tab, select Create PDF Tags, and then click OK.

Specify any other options as appropriate, and then click Create.

Creating a tagged PDF from an authoring application

In most cases, you create tagged PDFs from within an authoring application, such as Adobe FrameMaker®, Adobe

InDesign, or Microsoft Word. Creating tags in the authoring application generally provides better results than adding tags in Acrobat.

PDFMaker provides conversion settings that let you create tagged PDFs in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.

For more information about creating accessible PDFs, see www.adobe.com/accessibility .

For more information, see the documentation for your authoring application.

About tags in combined PDFs

You can combine multiple files from different applications in one operation to create a single PDF. For example, you can combine word-processing files with slide presentations, spreadsheets, and web pages. Choose File > Create >

Combine Files Into A Single PDF.

During conversion, Acrobat opens each authoring application, creates a tagged PDF, and assembles these PDFs into a single tagged PDF.

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The conversion process doesn’t always correctly interpret the document structure for the combined PDF, because the files being assembled often use different formats. Use Acrobat Pro to create an accessible PDF from multiple documents.

When you combine multiple PDFs into one tagged PDF, it is a good idea to retag the combined document. Combining tagged and untagged PDFs results in a partially tagged PDF that isn’t accessible to people with disabilities. Some users, such as those using screen readers, are unaware of the pages that don’t have tags. If you start with a mix of tagged and untagged PDFs, tag the untagged files before proceeding. If the PDFs are all untagged, add tags to the combined PDF after you finish inserting, replacing, and deleting pages.

When you insert, replace, or delete pages, Acrobat accepts existing tags into the tag tree of the consolidated PDF in the following manner:

• When you insert pages into a PDF, Acrobat adds the tags (if any) for the new pages to the end of the tag tree. This order occurs even if you insert the new pages at the beginning or the middle of the document.

• When you replace pages in a PDF, Acrobat adds the tags (if any) from the incoming pages to the end of the tag tree.

This order occurs even if you replace pages at the beginning or the middle of the document. Acrobat retains the tags

(if any) for the replaced pages.

• When you delete pages from a PDF, Acrobat retains the tags (if any) of the deleted pages.

Pages whose tags are out of order in the logical structure tree can cause problems for screen readers. Screen readers read tags in sequence down the tree, and possibly do not reach the tags for an inserted page until the end of the tree. To fix this problem, use Acrobat Pro to rearrange the tag tree. Place large groups of tags in the same reading order as the pages themselves. To avoid this step, plan on inserting pages to the end of a PDF, building the document from front to back in sequence. For example, if you create a title page PDF separately from the content, add the content PDF to the title page PDF, even though the content document is larger. This approach places the tags for the content after the tags for the title page. It’s unnecessary to rearrange the tags later in Acrobat Pro.

The tags that remain from a deleted or replaced page don’t connect to any content in the document. Essentially, they are large pieces of empty tag tree sections. These redundant tags increase the file size of the document, slow down screen readers, and can cause screen readers to give confusing results. For best results, make tagging the last step in the conversion process. Use Acrobat Pro to delete the tags of deleted pages from the tag tree.

For more information, see

Create merged PDFs

.

About tools for creating accessible PDF forms

Adobe offers several tools for the creation of accessible PDF forms:

Acrobat Pro, Acrobat Standard

Use one of these applications to open untagged or tagged PDF forms (except PDF forms that are created from LiveCycle Designer) to add fillable form fields, such as text boxes, check boxes, and buttons. Then use the application’s other tools to make the form accessible. Add descriptions to form fields, tag untagged forms, set the set tab order, manipulate tags, and perform the other PDF accessibility tasks.

LiveCycle Designer

(Available in Acrobat Pro) Use this product to design and build new forms or to import untagged

PDF forms and make their form fields fillable and accessible. You can deploy forms in tagged PDF, XML, and other formats from LiveCycle Designer. Once you create or edit an Acrobat form in LiveCycle Designer, it becomes a

LiveCycle Designer file. It is no longer a PDF that you can edit or manipulate in Acrobat. Both Acrobat and Reader can open and read PDF forms that you create fromLiveCycle Designer. These PDF forms, however, don’t include permissions to modify the file. Therefore, use LiveCycle Designer only for PDFs that are intended to contain only formbased information. Don’t use it to add form fields to a document that combines pages of narrative with an occasional page that has form fields. In this case, use Acrobat Pro to add the form fields. Then complete the accessibility tasks for the rest of the document content.

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Authoring applications

Most authoring applications that you can use to design forms don’t retain their fillable form fields when you convert the files to PDF. Use the forms tools in Acrobat Pro to add fillable form fields. Moreover, if you tag the form during conversion to PDF, the authoring application can generate inappropriate tags for the text labels of the form fields. In a complex form, for example, the text labels for all the fields can run together into a single line. Screen readers can’t interpret these fields as individual labels. Such reading order problems can require time-consuming work in Acrobat Pro to split the labels apart. In this case, producing an untagged PDF form from the authoring application is sometimes the better course. You can then use the Forms tools in Acrobat Pro to add fillable form fields before you tag the entire document. Some forms are straightforward enough that you can produce a tagged PDF from the authoring application. Then perform light touch-up in Acrobat Pro after you add the fillable form fields.

Workflow for creating accessible PDF forms

Using Acrobat, you can open untagged and tagged PDF forms, add fillable form fields, add field descriptions and alternate text, set the tab order, and tag the forms (if they aren’t already tagged). You can also edit the tags of any tagged

PDF form by using the Touch Up Reading Order tool or the tag tree.

Design the form for accessibility.

Forms tend to have relatively complex layouts compared to documents that have a simple, single-column structure. The success that an application has in analyzing and tagging a form depends largely on the original formatting and layout of a document, and the types of fields that it uses.

When you design a form, include headings, instructions, and fields in which users are to enter data. At a minimum, give each field a label. Also add special instructions for fields that need them. Use graphics tools to draw lines and boxes.

Don’t use characters, such as underscores and vertical bars, because these text characters can confuse screen readers.

Adding descriptions to form fields enables screen readers to identify the fields to users. Users hear the description read aloud when they tab to the field. Write descriptions that are terse but complete. For example, the description “First name” is appropriate for a first-name field. Don’t use instructions (such as “Enter first name”) as a description.

Set and test the tab order of a form.

The tab order for form fields enables people with disabilities to use a keyboard to move from field to field in a logical order. In PDF forms, set the tab order to Use Document Structure. You can test the tab order of a form by using the following keyboard commands:

• Tab to move focus to the next field

• Shift+Tab to move focus to the previous field

• Spacebar to select options

• Arrow keys to select options or list items

Tag the PDF form and correct tagging issues.

If the PDF form is already tagged, use the Touch Up Reading Order tool in Acrobat to tag each form field. This tool also enables you to fix any reading order problems of the text labels for the form fields. For example, you may need to split merged lines of fields into individual fields.

More Help topics

Accessibility features

Reading PDFs with reflow and accessibility features

Creating accessible PDFs

Touch Up Reading Order tool for PDFs (Acrobat Pro)

Last updated 1/14/2015

475

Accessibility, tags, and reflow

Editing document structure with the Content and Tags panels (Acrobat Pro)

Keys for accessibility (Acrobat Pro)

Accessibility features in PDFs

A document or application is accessible if people with disabilities, such as mobility impairments, blindness, and low vision, can use it. Accessibility features in Adobe Acrobat,Adobe Reader®, and Adobe Portable Document Format

(PDF) enable people with disabilities to use PDF documents, with or without screen readers, screen magnifiers, and braille printers.

Making PDFs accessible tends to benefit all users. For example, the document structure that enables a screen reader to read a PDF out loud also enables a mobile device to reflow and display the document on a small screen. Similarly, the preset tab order of an accessible PDF form helps all users, not just users with mobility impairments, fill the form more easily.

Accessibility features in Acrobat and Reader fall into two broad categories. There are features to make the reading of

PDF documents more accessible, and features to create accessible PDF documents. To create accessible PDF documents, use Acrobat, not Reader.

Features for accessible reading of PDFs

• Preferences and commands to optimize output for assistive software and devices, such as saving as accessible text for a braille printer

• Preferences and commands to make navigation of PDFs more accessible, such as automatic scrolling and opening

PDFs to the last page read

• Accessibility Setup Assistant for easy setting of most preferences related to accessibility

• Keyboard alternates to mouse actions

• Reflow capability to display PDF text in large type and to temporarily present a multicolumn PDF in a single, easyto-read column.

• Read Out Loud text-to-speech conversion

• Support for screen readers and screen magnifiers

Features for creating accessible PDFs

• Creation of tagged PDFs from authoring applications

• Conversion of untagged PDFs to tagged PDFs

• Security setting that allows screen readers to access text while preventing users from copying, printing, editing, and extracting text

• Ability to add text to scanned pages to improve accessibility

• (Acrobat Pro) Tools for editing reading order and document structure

• (Acrobat Pro) Tools for creating accessible PDF forms

Acrobat Standard provides some functionality for making existing PDFs accessible.Acrobat Pro enables you to perform tasks, such as editing reading order, or editing document structure tags that are necessary to make some PDF documents and forms accessible.

Additional resources

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For more information about accessibility features, see these resources:

• Acrobat accessibility, overview, new features, and FAQ: www.adobe.com/accessibility/products/acrobat/

• Information and news about accessibility in Adobe products: blogs.adobe.com/accessibility/pdf/

• Creating accessible PDF documents: www.adobe.com/accessibility

• General accessibility tips: http://acrobatusers.com/forum/accessibility/

About accessible PDFs

Accessible PDFs have the following characteristics.

Searchable text

A document that consists of scanned images of text is inherently inaccessible because the content of the document is images, not searchable text. Assistive software cannot read or extract the words, users cannot select or edit the text, and you cannot manipulate the PDF for accessibility. Convert the scanned images of text to searchable text using optical character recognition (OCR) before you can use other accessibility features with the document.

Alternate text descriptions (Acrobat Pro)

Screen readers cannot read document features such as images and interactive form fields unless they have associated alternate text. Screen readers can read web links; however, you can provide more meaningful descriptions as alternate text. Alternate text and tool tips can aid many users, including users with learning disabilities.

Fonts that allow characters to be extracted to text (Acrobat Pro)

The fonts in an accessible PDF must contain enough information for Acrobat to extract all of the characters to text for purposes other than displaying text on the screen. Acrobat extracts characters to Unicode text when you read a PDF with a screen reader or the Read Out Loud feature. Acrobat also extracts characters to Unicode when you save as text for a braille printer. This extraction fails if Acrobat cannot determine how to map the font to Unicode characters.

Reading order and document structure tags (Acrobat Pro)

To read a document’s text and present it in a way that makes sense to the user, a screen reader or other text-to-speech tool requires a structured document. Document structure tags in a PDF define the reading order and identify headings, paragraphs, sections, tables, and other page elements.

Interactive form fields (Acrobat Pro)

Some PDFs contain forms that a person is to fill out using a computer. To be accessible, form fields must be interactive to let the user enter values into the form fields.

Navigational aids (Acrobat Pro)

Navigational aids in a PDF include links, bookmarks, headings, table of contents, and preset tab order for form fields.

Navigational aids assist users in understanding the document without reading completely through it. Bookmarks are especially useful and can be created from document headings.

Document language (Acrobat Pro)

Specifying the document language in a PDF enables some screen readers to switch to the appropriate language.

Security that doesn’t interfere with assistive software (Acrobat Pro)

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Some PDF authors restrict users from printing, copying, extracting, adding comments, or editing text. The text of an accessible PDF must be available to a screen reader. You can use Acrobat to ensure that security settings don’t interfere with the screen reader’s ability to convert onscreen text to speech.

For more information about PDF accessibility, see www.webaim.org/techniques/acrobat/ .

About tags, accessibility, reading order, and reflow

PDF tags are similar in many ways to XML tags. PDF tags indicate document structure: which text is a heading, which content makes up a section, which text is a bookmark, and so on. A logical structure tree of tags represents the organizational structure of the document. Therefore, tags indicate the reading order and improve navigation, particularly for long, complex documents without changing the PDF appearance.

Assistive software determines how to present and interpret the content of the document by using the logical structure tree. Most assistive software depends on document structure tags to determine the appropriate reading order of text.

Document structure tags let assistive software convey the meaning of images and other content in an alternate format, such as sound. An untagged document does not have structure information, and Acrobat must infer a structure based on the Reading Order preference setting. This situation often results in page items being read in the wrong order or not at all.

Reflowing a document for viewing on the small screen of a mobile device relies on these same document structure tags.

Often, Acrobat tags PDFs when you create them. To determine whether a PDF contains tags, choose File > Properties, and look at the Tagged PDF value in the Advanced pane of the Description tab.

InAcrobat Pro, the logical structure tree appears on the Tags panel. It shows document content as page elements nested at various levels.

More Help topics

Reading PDFs with reflow and accessibility features

Creating accessible PDFs

Touch Up Reading Order tool for PDFs (Acrobat Pro)

Editing document structure with the Content and Tags panels (Acrobat Pro)

Keys for accessibility (Acrobat Pro)

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