Accessing the Accessibility Checker

• In the All Tools menu, click on Prepare for Accessibility.
• Next, click on Check for Accessibility.
• Once in the Check for Accessibility window, select Start Checking in the bottom right-hand corner. 
• Once the check is complete, Adobe generates a report and opens the Accessibility Checker on the right side of the screen. 

Remember, the accessibility checker does not address every issue, and some things will need to be verified manually. If the PDF fails several categories, it may be more efficient to remediate the source file (doc, slides, etc.) and then convert the new copy as a PDF. 

Additional Resources

• For a more in-depth guide on how to access the "Prepare for Accessibility" Tool and run the Accessibility Checker, review Adobe's Preparation Guide.

How to set and update PDF Title

• In the program menu, click File or Menu on Windows and choose Document Properties.
• In the pop-up window, go to Title and enter the document title to show in places like Google Search. Click OK to close the window.

Additional Resources

• Refer to the Adobe Title Guide for additional information.

Always check document structure before saving as a PDF, and the PDF reading must match the order someone using a screen reader can follow.

• Check your reading order using the icon menu (zig zag "Z" pattern) on the right.
• In the right panel, you can drag/drop items to rearrange the reading order on each page.

Additional Information

• For additional information on how to edit or rearrange reading order in a PDF, refer to Adobe's Reading Order Guide.

If your source document does not have alternate text added to its images, it will show in the accessibility checker as failed and need to be added. Alternative text descriptions are essential, as they allow screenreaders to describe the image to their audience.

How to Add Alt Text to a PDF

• Go to All Tools and scroll down until you see the option, Prepare for Accessibility. 
• Once you click it, click Add Alternate Text.
• In the available text box, write alt text that best describes the content of the image. Keep in mind that an effective alt text is within 125 characters. Avoid using "image of" or "photo of" as part of your alt text. Screenreaders will already describe the image as such. 
• If the image is only there for decorative purposes, it does not need an alt text and can be marked as decorative. 

Additional Information

• For further steps on how to add alt text to PDFs, refer to the Alt Text and Tag Guide.

Tags must be appropriate in the source document. Consider the way someone using a screen reader navigates a PDF document. If tags are jumbled or nonexistent, they make a PDF difficult for individuals using accessibility tools. Tags are case-sensitive in PDFs. 

Section 508 list of common PDF tags contains a more complete list of tags. 

• To view accessibility tags, click the "tag" icon in the right panel menu to open the document tags list.  

Addressing Failed Checks in the Tags Panel

• Most tags issues should be addressed in the source document (Word, PowerPoint, etc.), and the Accessibility Checker will highlight failed checks. This is the recommended practice.
• If you would like to fix the failed or missing tags in the PDF directly, refer to Adobe's Tag Panel Guide

PDF bookmarks provide a way for users to move to sections of a document and find the information they need without having to read all of the document. Correct headings in the source document will automatically generate bookmarks. 

• Click the bookmark icon to the right of your window to open the bookmarks panel
• Place your cursor where you want the bookmark and click "New Bookmark."
• Type the name of your new bookmark in the bookmarks panel text box. 
• Add bookmarks using document structure if your document is already tagged properly. 

Additional Resources

• Refer to the Adobe PDF Guide for more information on how to set up bookmarks.