Scan a PDF for accessibility
- Open the file in Adobe Pro
- In the
Search tools
 column on the right, type inaccessibility
 - Click the
Accessibility Check
 tool - Make sure the following options are selected and click
Start Checking
 :
- In the
Accessibility Checker
 panel on the left, expand all dropdowns where an error is indicated
- Most errors can be fixed by right-clicking on the error and clicking
Fix
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- Most errors can be fixed by right-clicking on the error and clicking
Common errors and how to fix them
Document: Bookmarks - failed
- Right-click on the error message and click
Fix
 - A dialogue box will appear
- Click
Select All
 to highlight all the bookmarks in the document - Click
OK
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Alternate Text: Figures alternate text - failed
All images must have alternate text describing it. This is for screen readers to read for people navigating the internet and documents who may be visually impaired.
- Right-click on the error message and click
Fix
Â- Adobe will highlight the image in blue and a
Set Alternate Text
 dialogue box will appear
- Adobe will highlight the image in blue and a
- Enter in text describing the image and click
Save & Close
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Tables: Headers - failed
- Right-click on the element causing the error and click
Show in Tags Panel
Â- Adobe will highlight the element with a green box
- Adobe is reading this element as a
Table
Â- To meet WCAG standards, all tables must have table headers. However, this element can be refactored as a
Paragraph
 - Expand the
Table
 element and all elements under it until you come to the content. Adobe will place a magenta border around the content:
- To meet WCAG standards, all tables must have table headers. However, this element can be refactored as a
- Right-click on the element and go to
Properties
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- Right-click on the element and go to
- An
Object Properties
 dialogue box will appear. Select the appropriate element from the dropdown box:
- An
Note: The element you select will not always be a paragraph. This is for demonstration purposes only.
- Follow these steps for the remaining elements
- When you're done, go to the Accessibility panel, and clickÂ
Check Again
 to clear the accessibility error
Headings: Appropriate nesting - Failed
Headers must follow the order of h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6
. An h1
 header must be followed by an h2
, an h2
 must be followed by an h3
, and so on.
- Right-click on the element causing the error and click
Show in Tags Panel
Â- Adobe will highlight the element with a green box
- In the tags panel, we see this element is an
h3
. Immediately above it is anh1
. The element is not following the correct order and must be refactored as anh2
Â- Right-click on the
h3
 and go toProperties
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- Right-click on the
- An
Object Properties
 dialogue box will appear - Set the heading level to to
Heading level 2
 and clickClose
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- An
- Right-click on the element again in the Accessibility panel and click
Check Again
 to clear the error
Resources
- https://webaim.org/techniques/acrobat/acrobat
- https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/create-verify-pdf-accessibility.html