Advanced Accessible PDFs

Advanced Accessibility in Adobe Acrobat

Walking the Tags Tree

• Open panel on left side of screen.
• Right click on navigation pane and select “tags”.
• Click on the first tag and then use your down arrow key to scroll through and view tag / reading order (items on document highlighted when selected).
• Right arrow to expand tag, left arrow to collapse tag (view or hide child tags).
  • Ctrl (windows) or opt (mac) plus right or left arrow key to open / close all child and grandchild tags under that tag.
• Double check proper heading tags (<H1>, <H2>, etc.).

Creating a Tag from a Selection

• Test documents by going through it with a screen reader like NVDA or Jaws.
• Highlight object(s) not being read > hit the options button on tags pane > “create tag from selection” > right click on tag above the newly created tags > “new tag” > type: “span” > grab all new tabs and put them into the span tag > right click on the span tag > “properties” > insert text into the “actual text” box.
• Double check that the tag / reading order is still correct.

Paragraphs that Split Over a Page Break

• Paragraphs that split over page breaks should be tagged as one whole paragraph.
• Move the marked content (the box icons within the paragraph tag) from the second paragraph tag to the original paragraph tag so that it’s all tagged as one paragraph.

Creating Hyperlinks

• It’s better to create hyperlinks within the source application.
• Use the selection tool > click and drag to highlight / select the link text >  right click > “create link” > link type: “invisible rectangle” > select the proper link action for your link.
• The hyperlink’s link tag should be within the paragraph tag for the paragraph the link is within.

Addressing Multiline Hyperlinks

• Multiline hyperlinks are hyperlinks that get broken over two lines.
• When it gets broken into 2 different hyperlinks, click on one and delete it > select the other one > resize it to include both parts of the hyperlink.
• This will most likely include text that is not part of the hyperlink, but this is not an issue.
• Avoid multiline hyperlinks when possible.

Advanced Techniques in the Content Pane

•  Bulleted lists should not be tagged with <p> tags.
• Click the tags item > go to the content pane > find the text for the bullet > go back to the tags pane > “options” > “create tag for the selection” > “label” > content pane > find and select text for bullet > tags pane > “create tag from selection > “list item body” > repeat for each bullet > select tags and move into correct position in the tags tree.
• Right click heading above the first label > new tag > “list item” > repeat for each list item > label and Lbody tags into proper list item tags.
• Right click heading above the first list item > “create new tag” > “list” > move all list items within list.

Security and Accessibility

•  File menu > properties > security tab > security method: password security > click “restrict editing and printing of the document” > chose what you want to restrict / allow > check “enable text access for screen reader devices for the visually impaired”

Merging and Splitting Documents

• Use the “organize pages” tool.
• The “split document” tool has a scissors icon.
• To merge files, go to the file menu in acrobat > “create” > “combine files into a single PDF” > “add files”.

Using Autotag

•  Autotag is not fully accurate.
• It can be a useful tool if you can identify where things have been done incorrectly.
• Autotag is good at tagging lists, but it often improperly tags headings.

Fixing Decorative Bullets and Numbers

•  Often decorative, manually made numbers / bullets are not properly tagged and must be fixed.

Reading Options in Acrobat

• Accessibility tool > reading options > check “read the entire document”.
• Edit menu > preferences > reading tab > set “read the entire document”.

Detriments of Editing a PDF File

•  Editing a PDF can mess up all of your tags.

Working With Ligatures and Drop Caps

• Ligatures and drop caps must be tested with a screen reader.
• Fixing drop caps.
  • Content pane > find drop cap > open text containers > drag all text elements into one container.