Accessibility requests have been ad-hoc. Propose one governance step and one template-level change that will ensure al…
Open the PDF document you want to check for accessibility.
Click the Tools tab at the top of the Acrobat window.
Scroll through the list and select Accessibility to add the Accessibility tools to your workspace if they are not already visible.
Best practiceIf you do not see the Accessibility tools, you may need to add them from the Tools pane as they are not shown by default.
In the Accessibility tools pane, click Full Check.
In the Accessibility Checker Options dialog, review the settings and click Start Checking.
Best practiceFor a thorough check, ensure all checkboxes are selected before starting the check.
Review the results displayed in the Accessibility Checker panel on the left side of the screen.
You can right-click in the Navigation Pane to show the Accessibility tags panel for more detailed tag inspection.
This runs in the Acrobat app - there is no separate API for this task.
| Standard | Focus |
|---|---|
| PDF/UA | A standard specifically for PDF documents, ensuring technical accessibility features are present. |
| WCAG | A broader set of guidelines for web content accessibility, which applies to many technologies, including PDFs. |
It is much easier and more efficient to make a document accessible in its original program (like Word or InDesign) before converting it to a PDF. When you create an accessible source document, the exported PDF will often keep most of its accessibility features. This saves a lot of time and effort compared to fixing an untagged PDF later, which can be a very long process.
Yes, Acrobat's 'Automatically tag PDF' tool, powered by Sensei, can work with scanned PDFs. It can identify and tag headings, tables, lists, and paragraphs, even if the document was originally a scan. However, you will still need to manually review and correct the reading order and add alt text for images to ensure full accessibility.
Reading order is the sequence in which a screen reader or other assistive technology reads the content of a PDF. It is important because if the reading order is wrong, the information might be read out of context or in a confusing way. Correct reading order ensures that the document makes sense to everyone.