Making your PDFs Accessible

PDF Documents

When creating PDF documents, it is vital they are readable by people with disabilities. To make your PDF accessible, you will need the latest version of .

PDF Approval

Should it be a webpage?

  • Always consider creating a webpage for your content instead of posting it as a PDF document.
  • Maintaining and updating a webpage is much easier than a PDF.
How to Make Your PDF Accessible
Original Source Documents

It is always easier to create an accessible PDF document if you start with a fully accessible document in the authoring software, like Microsoft Word.

How To Prepare a Document
Set Title/Language Properties

Word Document

  1. Open document.
  2. In the info screen, type your descriptive title into the text field marked Title.
    1. Windows: Go to File > Info.
    2. Mac: Go to File > Properties.
Word 'Info' screen showing where to add title.

Adobe Acrobat

  1. Open the document and go to File > Properties.
  2. In the Description tab, enter the new title in the Title field.
  3. Click OK and save the file.
Properties display window in Acrobat showing the Title field.
Title field in the properties window in Adobe Acrobat.

Language

  1. Open the document and go to the File > Properties.
  2. In the Document Properties dialog, click the Advanced tab.
  3. Find the Language dropdown menu and select the primary language of the document.
  4. Click OK and save the file.
Adobe properties window showing the language field.
Language field in the properties window in Adobe Acrobat.
Export with Tags

Microsoft Word

  1. Open your file in the appropriate Office application.
  2. In the Review tab, select the tool Check Accessibility and make sure there are no errors.
  3. Add a Title in the File Properties window.
  4. After setting the title go to the File menu and select Save As or Save a Copy.
  5. In the Save As window, change the format from Word (*.docx)/PowerPoint (*.pptx) to PDF (*.pdf).
  6. Select a destination folder and click the Save button. The tags are exported automatically.
Windows 'Save As' option with the PDF option circled
Windows Screen
MAC 'Save As' screen with option to export with tags checked.
MAC Screen

InDesign

  1. Open the document in InDesign then to go to File > Adobe Presets > [Smallest File Size]… click Save.
  2. In the Export Adobe PDF pane under Options, ensure that the following options are checked.
    1. Create Tagged PDF
    2. Include: Bookmarks
    3. Include: Hyperlinks
  3. Click Export.
InDesign 'Export' screen showing where to select to xport with tags
Add Alt Text

Microsoft Documents

  1. Right-click the object and select Edit Alt Text.
  2. Select the object. Select Format > Alt Text.
  3. Add alt text or mark as decorative.
    1. In the Alt Text pane, type one to two sentences in the text box to describe the object and its context to someone who cannot see it.

    2. Select the Decorative checkbox. The text entry field becomes grayed out.

      If your visuals are purely decorative and add visual interest but aren't informative, you can mark them as such without needing to write any alt text. Examples of objects that should be marked as decorative are stylistic borders. People who use screen readers will hear that these objects are decorative so they know they aren’t missing any important information.

      Alt Text area in a Microsoft document to type in alt text.

PDFs

To add alternate texts to your document, make sure that the document is tagged.

  1. Open a PDF. From the Global bar in the upper-left select All tools.
  2. From the left panel, select Prepare for accessibility > Add alternate text.
  3. You will receive a dialog with the message Acrobat will detect all figures in this document and display associated alternate text. Select OK.

  4. In the Set Alternate Text dialog box, enter the alternate text and select Save and Close.

    Properties display window in Adobe Acrobat showing where to enter alt text.
    Object properties window for adding Alt Text to Figures.

Steps to Check Accessibility

  1. Download the file and open it in Acrobat Pro (not Acrobat Reader) and run the Accessibility Checker.
    1. View > Tools > Accessibility > Open.
    2. In the right pane, click Full Check.
    3. In the Accessibility Checker Options pane, leave the default setting and click Start Checking.
  2. In the left pane, fix any and all errors. Find tips on how to fix specific issues.
  3. Manually check color contrast.
    1. Fix any text with contrast less than 4.5 to 1 (Edit/Edit Text and Images).
  4. For Logical Reading Order, go to the Tags Tool and "walk the tree."
    1. Fix any missing, mislabeled, incorrect and empty tags.
    2. Tip: When making changes with tags in Acrobat, it is easy to make a mistake, and there is no undo button. Therefore, save often.
  5. After you have completed step four, do a final save and congratulate yourself. You have an accessible PDF document.
  6. Send your accessible PDF to Web Support.
Fixing Issues

It is easy to fall into the trap of just fixing issues with a document.

Keep in mind, however, the aim is to give individuals with disabilities the ability to consume the content of a document as easily as those without a disability.

Digital Accessibility Hub

Fixing Accessibility Issues in PDF
Image-Only PDF

The PDF does not contain text that is readable to screen readers. This usually means your document is only scanned image(s) of text.

To fix, we need to use the optical character recognition feature in Acrobat. For best results, the scanned text needs to be very clear. Right-click (or control-click on a Mac) the Image-only PDF in the left-side panel and then select Fix from the pop-up menu.

In the Recognize Text window, set the document language to the appropriate language, Output to "Editable Text Images," Downsample to "600" is set to "600 dpi" and click the OK button.

Acrobat will automatically scan and detect all text in the PDF.

Tagged PDF

Tags are the key to having an accessible PDF. Tags define the structure and identify the content as headings, lists, tables, etc., of the document.

To fix, select All tools > Prepare for accessibility > Accessibility check and then ensure that the Document is tagged PDF checkbox is selected before running the check. Acrobat automatically adds tags to the PDF.

Logical Reading Order

This warning will always display and requires a manual check by walking the tag tree.

To walk the tag tree, open the Tags tools. Starting from the top of the tree, use the down arrow and walk down through the tags ensuring the content is in the right order. If a piece of content is not, click on the tag and drag it to the correct location in the tag tree.

Document Language

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 select OK.

Title

Document needs a title set. To fix, select Title in the Accessibility Checker tab and choose Fix from the Options menu. Enter the document title in the Description dialog box.

Bookmarks

Bookmarks aid users in finding content within a larger document. This issue applies to PDFs with 21 pages or more.

To fix, first set proper heading structure within the document (see headings – appropriate nesting). Once the heading structure is correct, right-click the "Bookmarks – Failed" in the left panel, then select "Fix." In the Structure Elements window, select both H1 and H2 and then click OK.

Color Contrast

Like the logical reading order, this warning will always display and requires a manual check.

Ensure the all text has a contrast ratio of 4.5 to 1. Use the to aid in identifying and/or verify the contrast ratio of the text.

Colors can be changed with Acrobat via Edit > Edit PDF and the Format pane on the right. However, it is best if these colors are created properly within the authoring software, e.g., Microsoft Word, InDesign, etc.

Tagged Content

Parts or all of the content isn't tagged. To fix, go to the Tags pane. Right-click on the main Tags icon in the tag tree, and select Find in the menu. In the Find element pane, select Unmarked Content in the Find dropdown, click Search Document, and click Find. The tool will highlight content that is unmarked. To tag this content, click Tag element and from the Type dropdown list select the proper tag for this piece of content then click OK. Repeat until all necessary elements in the file are tags.

Tagged Annotations

Annotations are not tagged.

To fix, go to the Tags pane. Right-click on the main Tags icon in the tag tree and select Find in the menu. In the Find element pane, select Unmarked Annotations in the Find dropdown, click Search Document and click Find. The tool will highlight annotations that are unmarked. To tag this content, click Tag element and from the Type dropdown list, select the proper tag for this piece of content, then click OK. Repeat until all necessary elements in the file are tags.

Tab Order

Tab order does not match the order the document structure. To fix, select Tab Order on the Accessibility Checker panel, and choose Fix from the Options menu.

Character Encoding

Some character encoding issues aren't repairable within Acrobat. More often, they are caused by the font used in the authoring software that was not embedding in the PDF file.

Tagged From Fields

To tag form fields, choose All tools > Prepare for accessibility > Autotag document.

Field Descriptions

Empty tool tip field within the form field.

To fix, open the Form tools and select the field missing the description. Select Properties screen reader > General properties tab and enter a description in the Tool tip field.

Figures Alternate Text

Images missing alternate text.

To fix, click Fix and enter the alternate text for the image, click Next and repeat until all images have the appropriate alternate text for each image in the PDF file.

Table Rows

This issue flags when a Table Row tag, <TR>, is not a child of a Table tag, <Table>.

To fix:

  1. Click the plus symbol to the left of Rows – Failed.
  2. Right-click Element 1 and then click Show in Tags panel. The <TR> tag in the tags panel should now be highlighted.
  3. Drag and drop the <TR> tag to its proper place under the <Table> tag.
  4. Click the accessibility icon and then right-click Rows – Failed and then click Check Again. Repeat steps two to four until it passes.
Table Header and Table Data

This issue flags when a Table Header Cell, <TH>, or a Table Data Cell, <TD>, is not a child of a Table Row, <TR>. To fix the TH and TD issue:

  1. Click the plus symbol to the left of TH and TD – Failed.
  2. Right-click Element 1 and then click Show in Tags panel. The <TH> or <TD> tag in the tags panel should now be highlighted.
  3. Drag and drop the <TH> or <TD> tag to its proper place under the correct<TR> tag.
  4. Click the accessibility icon and then right-click TH and TD – Failed and then click Check Again. Repeat steps two to four until it passes.
Table Headers

Table does not have headers.

To fix:

  1. Click the plus symbol to the left of Headers – Failed.
  2. Right-click Element 1 and then click Show in Tags panel, the <Table> tag in the tags panel should now be highlighted.
  3. Click the plus symbol to the left of the <Table> tag and then click the plus symbol to the left of the first <TR> tag. There should be multiple <TD> tags under the <TR> tag.
  4. Double-click the <TD> tags and then rename them to be <TH> tags.
  5. Click the accessibility icon and then right-click Headers – Failed and then click Check Again. Repeat steps two to five until all tables have header rows and the check passes.
Table Regularity

This check fails when a table does not contain the same number of columns in each row and rows in each column. Merged cells are the most common cause. The only way to avoid this issue is to reformat your table in Word so there are no merged cells.

List Items

The check fails if a List Item tag, <LI>, is not a child of a List tag, <L>. Content should be tagged as a list if it is in a bulleted or numbered list. To fix the List Items issue:

  1. Right-click Element 1 and then click Show in Tags panel. The list item tag, <LI>, should now be highlighted in the Tags panel.
  2. If a List tag, <L>, already exists in the Tags panel, skip to step four. If a list tag does not exist, you can create one by right clicking on the <LI> tag and then click New Tag. The New Tag window will open.
  3. From the Type drop-down list, select or type List, and then click OK. An <L> tag should now be in the Tags panel.
  4. Drag and drop the <LI> tag to the correct location under the <L> tag.
Lists – Lbl and LBody

This check is very similar to the List Items check. It fails if a Label tag, <Lbl>, or a List Item Body tag, <LBody>, is not a child of a List Item tag, <LI>. To fix the Lbl and LBody issue:

  1. Click the plus symbol to the left of Lbl and LBody – Failed so you can see the list of Lbl/LBody causing this issue.
  2. Right-click Lbl/LBody 1 and then click Show in Tags panel. The <Lbl> or <LBody> in question will be highlighted.
  3. Drag and drop the <Lbl> or <LBody> tag so that it is under an <LI> tag.
Headings – Appropriate Nesting

Headings are not properly nested. The Documents link webpage must adhere to the correct heading structure.

To fix this, review the tag hierarchy and adjust the headings accordingly within the file. The following example demonstrates the correct heading structure:

  • H1: Accessibility
    • H2: PDF
      • H3: Quality assurance
        • H4: Broken links
        • H4: Readability
      • H3: Audit
      • H3: Policy
      • H3: Accessibility
        • H4: Potential issues
        • H4: PDF issues
    • H2: Webpages
Siteimprove logo
Icon of a computer monitor
Software
Siteimprove

Go to Siteimprove and select Accessibility, then PDFs.

By default, Siteimprove lists documents with accessibility issues by most clicked.

Common Issues Flagged by Siteimprove

  • No machine-readable text — a scanned document.
  • No tags.
  • The document has no title.
  • The document contains untagged content.
  • The document contains no headings.
  • The first heading is not a Heading 1.
  • The image has no alternative presentation.
  • The document is missing a language definition.
  • The form element does not have a label explicitly connected.
  • The table has no table headings.
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