We scramble every time a researcher requests accessible material and it costs us last-minute hours. Recommend a practi…
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.
Tagging is the most important step for PDF accessibility. Tags tell assistive technologies, like screen readers, what each part of the document is. Without proper tags, a screen reader cannot understand the document's structure, making it hard for users to navigate or understand the content.
| Standard | Focus | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| PDF/UA | Specific to PDF documents, ensuring technical accessibility features are present. | Only applies to PDF files. |
| WCAG | General guidelines for web content accessibility, technology-agnostic. | Applies to all digital content, including web pages, apps, and PDFs. |
Fixing accessibility in the original file, like a Word document, is much more efficient. When you export an accessible source file to PDF, many accessibility features transfer automatically. This saves a lot of time and effort compared to fixing an untagged PDF later, which can be very time-intensive.
Yes, Acrobat can help with scanned PDFs. The 'PDF Accessibility Auto-Tag API' uses smart technology to tag headings, tables, lists, and paragraphs even in scanned documents. However, you will still need to manually check and adjust things like reading order and alt text for images, as automation is not perfect.