Accessibility Requirements for Digital Documents: Creating an Accessible PDF

For WCAG 2.1 Level AA Compliance

For additional web accessibility tools, contact [email protected].

Step 1: Open the Accessibility Tools

  1. Open your PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro.
  2. Go to All Tools, search for Prepare for Accessibility, and click to open.
  3. Pin it to the sidebar for easier access in the future.

What if I don’t have Adobe Acrobat Pro?

East Texas A&M is an Adobe Creative Campus, offering the full suite of Adobe Products to current students, faculty and staff. Contact CITE for assistance.

Step 2: Add Tags to the Document (If Missing)

  1. In the Accessibility pane, click Automatically tag PDF.
  2. Acrobat will apply a basic tag structure (headings, paragraphs, lists).
  3. If the file contains scanned images only, Acrobat will attempt OCR before tagging.

Step 3: Run the Accessibility Checker

  1. In the Accessibility pane, click Check for Accessibility.
  2. A popup will appear. Leave the default settings selected, then click Start Checking.
  3. Review the results in the right-hand Accessibility Checker panel:
    • Issues will be grouped by category (e.g., Document, Page Content, Tables).
    • Click the triangle to expand each section and view detailed errors and warnings.
  4. Use the results as your remediation checklist.

Step 4: Fix Document Properties (Title, Language, Metadata)

  1. Go to File > Document Properties.
  2. Under the Description tab:
    • Enter the Title (e.g., “Quantifying Forest Carbon Stocks”).
    • Enter the Author name(s).
  3. Under the Advanced tab:
    • Set the Language to English (or your document's primary language).
  4. Click OK and save the file.

Step 5: Open the Tags Pane (Manual Tag Editor)

  1. Go to View > Show/Hide > Side Panels > Accessibility Tags.
  2. Click the tag icon.
  3. You'll see a tag tree structure showing how Acrobat understands the document:
    • Examples: <Document, <H1>, <P>, <Figure>, <Table>
  4. Use this panel to manually inspect and correct the document's semantic structure.

Step 6: Fix Headings and Reading Order

Use the Reading Order Tool

  • In the Prepare for Accessibility pane, click Fix Reading Order.
  • Acrobat will display numbered regions over the page.
    • These numbers indicate the reading order used by screen readers.

To Fix Reading Order and Tag Content

  • Drag a box around a region of content.
  • Use the popup to tag it as Heading 1, Paragraph, Figure, Table, etc.
  • Use Ctrl + Click to select and group multiple elements.

Note on Headings

Ensure heading levels are nested logically:

  • Use H1 for the document title
  • H2 for main sections
  • H3 for subsections

Step 7: Add or Fix Alt Text for Images

  1. Find Images
    • In the Tags panel, locate <Figure> tags.
  2. Add Alt Text
  3. Click the <Figure> tag.
  4. Expand it to view “Image.”
  5. Right-click “Image” in the tag tree. (Do not click on the image itself).
  6. Select Properties.
  7. In the Alternate Text for Images field, enter a meaningful description.
    • Do not begin with the phrase “An image of.” The screen reader will add this automatically.

Examples

  • Poor alt text: “Graph”
  • Improved alt text: “Line graph showing carbon emissions decreasing from 2015 to 2020”

The goal is to describe the function or content of the image—not just its appearance.

Step 8: Fix Tables (Structure and Headers)

  • In the Tags panel, locate the tag.
  • Expand it to view:
    • (Table Row)
    • (Table Header Cell) or (Table Data Cell)

To Fix Header Cells

  • Right-click a <TD> tag and change it to <TH>.
  • Open Properties and set the Scope:
    • Row: when the first column contains headers
    • Column: when the top row contains headers

Tables must have headers defined to be accessible to screen readers.

  1. In the Tags panel, locate any tags.
  2. Ensure each link uses descriptive text, not generic text like “click here.”

To Edit Link Text

  • Use the Edit PDF tool.
  • If needed, add surrounding context to clarify the link's purpose.

Step 10: Set Global Reading Language

  1. Go to File > Document Properties.
  2. Under the Advanced tab, set the Reading Language to English or the appropriate language.
  3. Save the file.

Setting the language ensures screen readers pronounce the text correctly.

Step 11: Final Accessibility Check

  1. Return to the Prepare for Accessibility pane and click Check for Accessibility.
  2. Review and resolve any remaining issues flagged by the checker:
    • Missing alternate text
    • Incorrect or missing tags
    • Incomplete table structure
    • Potential color contrast issues (requires manual review or external tools)

Step 12: Replace the File in WordPress

If your PDF has been previously uploaded to WordPress, you will need to upload a new version. Once the PDF passes accessibility checks, you can replace the file using the following steps.

  1. While logged into WordPress, click Images and Documents in the left-hand menu.
  2. Locate the file you want to replace.
  3. Click the file to open the Attachment Details pane.
  4. In the lower right-hand side, locate the Replace Media option, and click Upload a New File.
  5. On the next screen, under Replacement Options, select Replace the file, use the new file name, and update all links.
  6. Click Upload.
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