Edit document structure with the Content and Tags panels Part 2

Edit document structure with the Content and Tags panels Part 2

Add alternate text

To add alternate texts to your document, make sure that the document is tagged. Learn how to Autotag a document.

  1. 1. Open a PDF. From the Global bar in the upper-left select All tools. 

  2. 2. From the left panel, select Prepare for accessibility > Add alternate text.

  3. 3. You will receive a dialog with the message Acrobat will detect all figures in this document and display associated alternate text. Select OK. 

  4. 4. In the Set Alternate Text dialog box, enter the alternate text and select Save & Close.

Add alternate text to links

Screen readers can read the URLs of web links out loud, but adding meaningful alternate text to links can help users immensely. For example, by adding the alternate text you can have a screen reader tell a user to “go to the Acrobat accessibility page of adobe.com” rather than “go to http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/solutionsacc.html.”

You add alternate text to the <Link> tag of a link.

Note

Add alternate text only to tags that don’t have child tags. Adding alternate text to a parent tag prevents a screen reader from reading any of that tag’s child tags.

  1. 1. In the tag tree, select the <Link> tag for the link, and select Properties from the Options menu.
  2. 2. In the Touch Up Properties dialog box, select the Tag panel.
  3. 3. Type alternate text for the link, and click Close.

Add alternate text for a figure

  1. 1. Choose the hamburger   Menu (Windows), or the View menu (macOS) > Show/Hide > Navigation Panels > Tags.

  2. 2. Expand the logical structure tree to find and select the <Figure> tag element for the image.
    Note

    To find a tag more easily, use the Reading Order tool to select the figure or text near the figure in the document pane. Then, choose Find Tag From Selection from the Options menu in the Tags panel.

  3. 3. Choose Highlight Content from the Options menu in the Tags panel to see a highlighted area in the document that corresponds to the tag.
  4. 4. Choose Properties from the Options menu in the Tags panel.
  5. 5. In the Touch Up Properties dialog box, click the Tag panel.
  6. 6. For Alternate Text, type text that describes the figure.

Add alternate text for an abbreviated term

  1. 1. In the Tags panel, locate the abbreviated term by doing one of the following:

    • Expand the tag tree as needed to see the elements that contain the abbreviation.

    • Use the Touch Up Text tool or the Select tool to select the abbreviation in the document, and then choose Find Tag From Selection from the Options menu to locate the text in the tag tree.

  2. 2. Select the tag for that element, and choose Properties from the Options menu.
    Note

    If the abbreviation includes additional text, cut the additional text and place it in a new <Span> child tag within the same <Span> parent tag.

  3. 3. In the Touch Up Properties dialog box, select the Tag panel.
  4. 4. For Alternate Text, type the unabbreviated version of the term.
  5. 5. Click Close.

Create a new child tag

  1. 1. In the Tags panel, select the parent node (the icon at the same level at which you want to create a child tag) in the Tags tree for which you want to create a child tag.
  2. 2. Choose New Tag from the Options menu.
  3. 3. Select the appropriate tag type from the Type pop-up menu, or type a custom tag type, name the tag (optional), and then click OK.

Add tags to comments

When you tag a PDF that includes comments, the comments are tagged as well. However, if you add comments to a PDF that’s already tagged, your comments are untagged unless you enable comment tagging first.

Note

To Enable comment tagging in a PDF, in the Tags panel, choose Tag Annotations from the Options menu. Comments or markups that you add to the PDF are tagged automatically.

If a document contains untagged comments, find them in the logical structure tree and tag them using the Find command in the Tags panel.

  1. 1. In the Tags panel, choose Find from the Options menu.
  2. 2. In the Find Element dialog box, choose Unmarked Comments from the Find pop-up menu, and click Find.
  3. 3. When the comment type appears in the Type field (for example, Text), click Tag Element, choose Annotation from the Type pop-up menu in the New Tag dialog box, and then click OK.
  4. 4. In the Find Element dialog box, click Find Next to locate and tag all comments, and then click Close.

Correct table tags with the Tags panel

Use the Reading Order tool to make sure that tables are tagged correctly. To fit figures and text within the table cells, re-create the table in the authoring application before converting it to an accessible PDF. Adding tags on a cell level in Acrobat is a labor-intensive procedure.

Before you change any table elements, use the Reading Order tool to determine that the table is tagged correctly.

Check table elements

  1. 1. In the Tags panel, expand the tags root to view a table tag.
  2. 2. Select the table tag <Table> and verify that it contains one of the following elements:

    • Table Rows, each of which contains Table Header <TH> or Table Data<TD> cells.

    • <THead>, <TBody>, and <TFoot> sections, each of which containsTable Rows. (The Table Rows contain <TH> cells, <TD> cells, or both.)

  3. 3. Do one or more of the following:

    • If the tag for the table doesn’t contain these elements, but rows, columns, and cells appear in the table in the document pane, use the Reading Order tool to select and define the table or individual cells.

    • If the table contains rows that span two or more columns, set ColSpan and RowSpan attributes for these rows in the tag structure.

    • Re-create the table in the authoring application, and then convert it to a tagged PDF.

Set ColSpan and RowSpan attributes

  1. 1. In the Tags panel, select a <TD> or <TH> element.
  2. 2. Choose Properties from the Options menu.
  3. 3. In the Touch Up Properties dialog box, click the Tag panel, and then click Edit Attribute Objects.

  4. 4. Select Attribute Objects, and then select New Item to create an Attribute Object Dictionary.

  5. 5. Expand the new dictionary, select the Layout attribute, and then click Change Item.
  6. 6. Change the Layout value to Table.
  7. 7. Select the Attribute Object Dictionary, and click New Item.

  8. 8. In the Add Key And Value dialog box, type ColSpan or RowSpan in the Key box. Enter the number of columns or rows in the Value box, choose Integer from the Value Type pop-up menu, and select OK.


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