- Adobe Acrobat Pro DC (subscription needed) (standard version does not have the proper accessibility features to remediate files).
- WCAG – Web content accessibility guidelines.
- There are many laws (section 508) that reference WCAG standards.
- PDFs need to be combed through manually to ensure the tag tree is correct.
- There are automated checkers that help with this.
- Tools tab (top left) > scroll to protect and standardize category > add accessibility tool.
- The Acrobat checker does not check against standards. Use a third-party checker like the PAC 2024 Checker.
- Third part checkers are still not perfect, and PDFs still require manual checking.
- Header and tag structure are often missed by checkers.
- The best way to ensure the document is read correctly is to use a screen reader like JAWS or NVDA to see for yourself how it reads the document.
- H key reads through headings.
- 2 key reads level 2 headings.
- Ctrl + down arrow reads the next paragraph.
- T key reads tables.
- The navigation pane is on the left of the screen.
- Open the content pane, order pane, and tags pane (right click blank area on pane to access).
- It is better to create accessibility edits when you have the source document rather than redoing all of the changes when a new version is created.
- To title a document go to file > properties > description.
- Enter the name in the title field and then go to initial view > window options > show > document title.
- Open the tags pane. If no tags available open the accessibility tool > reading order tool.
- Click and drag around the object that you want to tag and select what you want to tag it as on the reading order tool.
- Select a larger area than what you want to tag.
- If a paragraph has parts on two pages, select both parts as if they are separate paragraphs. Then open each tag on the pane and drag and drop the content from the second page tag into the first page tag. Then delete the empty second tag.
- Drag over the bullet point itself and mark it as text, then drag over the text next to it.
- Find the bullet points in the tag tree and select them (select multiple with the ctrl key). Right click and choose “properties”. Change type from “paragraph” to “label”.
- Select all of the text in the list just like you selected the bullet points and change their type from “paragraph” to “list item body”.
- Go to the tag above all of the list tags and create a new tag (type: “list item”).
- Create a list item tag for every item / bullet in the list.
- Drag each corresponding bullet and list item body tag into a list item tag. (careful to put them in in the correct order).
- Collapse all list item tags. Go above them and create a new tag (type: “list”) and move all list items into the list tag.
- Tag each item in the table of contents as paragraph text.
- Dots are read one by one by screen readers so if there are dots between titles and page numbers, it is better to not tag those and instead skip over them when tagging.
- Select all of the items you tagged and right click > Type: > Table of Contents Item.
- Create a new tag above the items (type: “table of contents”).
- Move all table items into the table tag (careful to put them in in the correct order).
- Open the “destinations” tab on the navigation pane.
- Go to pages listed on the table of contents and mark each heading / subheading as a destination.
- Go back to the table, use the selection tool to select the section of the table you want to link.
- Right click > create link > link type: invisible rectangle > link action: go to page view > next > double click on the destination created in the destination pane > repeat for whole table, linking corresponding pages.
- The table tag in the reading order panel does not work well so it must be done manually.
- Tag the text in each table cell as a “cell”.
- Tag one row at a time, left to right.
- Create new “table row” tags above all of the cells (one for each row).
- Move the proper number of cells for each row (3 columns à 3 tags put in each row) (be careful of order).
- Create a “table” tag above the table rows and place them inside.
- Tables must have a heading to be WCAG compliant.
- Click the table editor button > Select header rows / cells > right click > table cell properties >type: “header cell” > Scope: “column” > OK
- For empty cells, create a new tag and place it in the tag tree where the cell text tag would be.
- Save copy before doing this: Fix merged cells by using table editor > right click > adjust row / column span to proper amount.
- Table summary is not required.
- Use reading order tool to select footnote reference number. Tag it as a “reference”. Select the footnote itself and tag it as a “note”.
- Go to the tagging pane and check the order. The footnote should be right after the paragraph in which it is referenced.
- End notes should link to the back page it is referencing; footnotes do not need to link.
- All tags in the document should be contained in one large “document” tag.
- Select the first item in your tag tree and use the arrow keys to view the order the items will be read.
- The right arrow key can open tags, the left can collapse tags.
- Artifacted elements are elements you don’t want to be read (decorative objects, headers, footers, etc.).
- Do Not use the background / artfact tool to artifact items (it’s buggy).
- Open content pane > right click objects > “create artifact” > “page artifact”.
- For running footers, tag them as “pagination artifacts” and select “attach to bottom of the page”.
- Artifact images that are purely decorative / add no informational value.
- During the tagging process, stacking order of objects can sometimes unintentionally change (causing shapes to cover text).
- To fix this, toggle through objects in the content pane until the shapes are highlighted. Select them in the content pane and drag them above the items they are covering (shifting them back down in the stacking order).
- Objects at the bottom of the list are placed at the top of the stacking order.
- Rearranging objects in the order pane can mess up the tagging structure.
- Check the order of objects in the order pane as well as the tagging structure pane because some assistive softwares read from the order pane instead.
- The reading order follows the order in the content pane.
- Reading order panel > right click on image > edit alternate text.
- Avoid punctuation in alt text.
- Alt text can also be added in the tags pane.
- Select image tag > right click > properties > type in alternate text field.
- WCAG states that documents over 9 pages should have bookmarks.
- It's easier to add bookmarks at the end of the tagging process.
- Go to the bookmark panel > options > new bookmarks from structure > select headings (shift to select multiple).
- Bookmarks can be organized with subsection bookmarks nested under heading 1 bookmarks.
- After finishing, use automated checkers to check for any remaining issues.
- To fix any issues on the Acrobat checker, right click the issue.
- Run through a third-party checker for more in depth checking.
- Its best to check the color contrast in the source application the document was created in rather than trying to fix it when its already a PDF.
- Color Contrast Analyzer by TPGi is a good third-party checker.
- The PAC 2021 check also checks for color contrast.
Axespdf by abledocs is a good checker / editor that can be used on PDFs.