Making PDF Documents Accessible

Validating PDF documents

• The standard Acrobat PDF viewer does not allow accessibility validation
• PDF's can be validated againgst WCAG 2.0 using Acrobat Pro DC or Acrobat XI Pro
• PDF's can be read aloud with VoiceOver on Mac OS X computers using Acrobat Pro DC
• The Acrobat Pro 'Quick Check' is not very helpful
• Use the 'Full Check' to get a detailed report

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Using the Tags page to edit PDF documents

• The Tags pane shows all of the tags within a document, organized into a tree of tags
• The Tags pane allows you to view, edit, add and delete tags
• To show the Tags pane click 'View' > 'Show/Hide' > 'Navigation Pages' > 'Tags'
• To highlight the currently selected tag in the document, select 'Options' > 'Highlight Content'
• Use up and down arrows to move between tags
• Use right and left arrows to expand and collapse nodes
• To find a specific tag, highlight the content and then click 'Options' > 'Find Tag from Selection'
• To edit a tag, click on 'Options' > 'Properties'

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References

• PDF Accessibility for Techos
• PDF Accessibility - Webaim
• Create and verify PDF accessibility - Adobe
• Document Accessibility Toolbar User Guide - Vision Australia