Rework the [brochure] into an accessible layout: add semantic headings, provide alt text for every image, ensure color…
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.
| Feature | WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) | PDF/UA (PDF/Universal Accessibility) |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | General rules for all web content, no matter the technology. | Specific rules for making PDF documents accessible. |
| Use | Often needed for any digital content that must be accessible by law. | Specific for PDFs, often used with WCAG for regulated work. |
| Goal | To make all digital content usable by everyone. | To ensure PDF documents have the right structure for accessibility. |
It is much better to fix the original document, like a Word file, before you make it a PDF. If the source document is already accessible, the PDF it creates will also be accessible. This saves a lot of time and effort. Fixing an existing PDF can be very hard and take a long time, like trying to fix a broken car after it's built.
Tagging means adding hidden labels to parts of your PDF brochure. These labels tell screen readers what each part is, like a heading, a paragraph, or a list. This helps people using screen readers understand the order and meaning of your content. Without tags, a screen reader cannot make sense of the document.
Yes, you can still make a scanned PDF brochure accessible, but it might take more work. Acrobat's 'Automatically tag PDF' tool can help. This tool uses smart technology to identify text and structure in scanned documents. After auto-tagging, you will need to carefully check the reading order, add alt text for images, and fix any errors. It's like teaching a computer to read a picture.