Repairing Inaccessible PDFs in Adobe Acrobat Pro
- Michele Bromley
- Alex Patterson
- bromley2-high
If you haven't already checked out our Digital Accessibility Training content, please do so when you have the chance! These resources will provide some context for the accessibility remediation checkpoints below.
What is Adobe Acrobat Pro?
Adobe Acrobat Pro is the professional, full version of Acrobat, designed to create, edit, manipulate, and print files in the Portable Document Format (PDF).
Please note that Adobe Acrobat Pro is typically required in order to generate fully accessible PDFs. Departments may purchase Adobe Acrobat Pro by purchasing from CDW in the ePSU marketplace and filling out a software installation request.
How Do I Use Adobe Acrobat Pro for Remediation?
When you create an accessible document, form, or presentation with an authoring tool that allows for accessible design, remediation in Adobe Acrobat Pro will likely be necessary. When you inherit a PDF, and the original document is unavailable, remediation may take some time and effort.
Please refer to Remediating Inaccessible Documents and Forms for more information.
Checkpoints for Standard PDFs
Modify Properties
Add a descriptive title and set the document language correctly.
Run OCR (if needed)
Autotag (if necessary)
Run autotag to apply some preliminary tag structure.
Correct Reading Order
Correct reading order using the Reading Order tool.
Add Alternative Text
Add or correct alternative text using the Reading Order tool.
Repair Tag Structure
Edit tags with the Tags panel.
Remove or replace tags using the Reading Order tool.
Examine and repair table tags as needed using the Tags panel.
Checkpoints for PDF Forms
In addition to the checkpoints listed above for standard PDFs, you should also consider the following form-specific checkpoints for PDFs that have been modified to include fillable form fields.
Please refer to Form Accessibility for more information.
Validate Field Labels
Include unique, descriptive tooltips that duplicate field names exactly.
This applies to any unique text fields, checkboxes, etc.
The group name and tooltip for a series of radio buttons should reflect relevant information from the associated question. The unique choice for each radio button must be specified via Options.
Specify Required Fields
Review Tab Order
Ensure logical tab order for each fillable form field.
Validate the position of each new field in the Tags pane.
Can I Collect Digital Signatures with PDF Forms?
You may use an accessible, fillable PDF by itself for information-gathering situations, in which a legal signature is not required. For purposes of validation and security, you should distribute externally-facing PDF forms that require a legal signature via a valid e-signature program like Adobe Sign.