Section 60. Create an Accessible PDF

60. Create an Accessible PDF

See Also

61 Have Acrobat Read a Document Aloud

63 Set Automatic Scrolling

Adobe has partnered with screen reader companies to ensure that Acrobat PDF files take full advantage of the latest screen readers and assisted viewing technologies. This is to ensure that users with vision impairments are able to access the information in PDF files as easily as possible. Creating an accessible PDF enables users to make their information accessible to people with a variety of disabilities , multiple platforms, and languages. Any document you create can be changed into an accessible PDF using the Full Check feature, and you can fix any documents that might present accessibility problems.

1.	Run a Full Check From the Advanced menu, select Accessibility , Full Check . Although you can also run a quick check, by running a full check you'll be sure to address all the accessibility options you want. KEY TERM Tab order The order in which fields (paragraphs, columns , images, and so on) in a form or accessibility-tagged document are made the focus of the cursor or display. Cursor focus moves the cursor to that field; display focus displays the object onscreen. The Accessibility Full Check dialog box has a variety of options to set for checking your PDF. Set the Report and Comment Options, Page Range , and Checking Options . The Report and Comment Options area lets you create and save an accessibility report. You can also have hints included in the report to tell you how to fix your PDF document. Page Range is where you set whether to check all the pages, the pages selected in the Pages panel, or a specific page range. Checking Options is where you check or uncheck whether you are provided with alternative descriptions, text language is specified, character encoding is provided, content is structured, described form fields are included, and the list and table structure is correct. The Tab Order Is Consistent with the Structure Order check box is used in accessibility mode. It ensures that the user is able to tab through the document objects in the correct tab order . After you have the options set, click the Start Checking button; Acrobat runs the full check on the document in the areas specified. The error dialog box appears, informing you of potential problems with your PDF accessibility.
2.	Fix Accessibility Issues The Accessibility Report pane appears after running a full check on the PDF. In that pane, you can read the Detailed Report, Summary , and the Hints for Repair sections. Hints for Repair is particularly useful because it takes you step-by-step through the process of fixing each specific problem.
3.	Add Tags If your document has never been tagged for structure , it must be tagged to be accessible. From the Advanced menu, select the Accessibility , Add Tags to Document . After the tagging has been complete, a Confidence Log Report pane appears on the right side of the Acrobat window. This report lists any problems and how to fix them. KEY TERM Structure or document structure Information stored in a PDF file's internal document database that dictates how each document element (paragraph, image, and so forth) is displayed.
4.	Save the PDF After the document is tagged and a full check run, you must save the file for it to retain the tags. From the File menu, select Save (to replace the existing file) or Save As (to give the file a different name ).