Reading Order tool for PDFs Part 1

Reading Order tool for PDFs Part 1

Reading Order tool overview

The Reading Order tool provides the easiest and quickest way to fix reading order and basic tagging problems. When you select the tool, a dialog box opens that lets you see overlay highlights that show the order of page content. Each highlighted region is numbered and highlighted with gray or colored blocks; the number indicates the region’s placement in the page’s reading order. After you check the reading order of the page, you can correct other, more subtle tagging issues as needed.

The Reading Order tool is intended for repairing PDFs that were tagged using Acrobat, not for repairing PDFs that were tagged during conversion from an authoring application. Whenever possible, return to the source file and add accessibility features in the authoring application. Repairing the original file ensures that you don’t have to repeatedly touch up future iterations of the PDF in Acrobat.

You can use the Reading Order tool to perform the following accessibility tasks:

  • Visually check, and then repair, the reading order of page content

  • Tag fillable form fields and their labels

  • Add alternate text to figures and descriptions to form fields

  • Fix the tagging of simple tables, and prepare complex tables for more advanced manipulation in the logical structure tree

  • Remove nonessential content, such as ornamental page borders, from the logical structure tree

To perform advanced reading order and tagging tasks, such as fixing complex tables, removing obsolete tags, and adding alternate text to links, use the Tags panel. For more information, see Edit tags with the Tags panel.

Tips for using the Reading Order tool

  • Save the document (or a copy of it) before you use the Reading Order tool as undo-redo is not supported for all operations. For more information, see Undo or redo the tag changes done using the Reading Order tool.
  • Choose View > Page Display > Single Page View, when using the Reading Order tool. When you click the Clear Page Structure button, Acrobat clears tags from all visible pages, even pages that are only partially visible.

Select the Reading Order tool

  • Choose Tools > Accessibility, and then choose Reading Order in the right pane. The Reading Order tool's dialog box is displayed.
Touch Up Reading Order tool

Reading Order options

You can select Reading Order options from the dialog box, from the pop-up menu that appears when you right-click a highlighted region, or from the options menu in the Order panel. The Reading Order tool includes the following options:

Learn about all the options:

Tags the selection as text.

Figure Tags the selection as a figure. Text contained within a figure tag is defined as part of the image and screen readers don’t read it.

Form Field Tags the selection as a form field.

Figure/Caption Tags a selected figure and caption as a single tag. Any text contained in the tag is defined as a caption. Useful for tagging photos and captions and preventing caption text from being incorrectly added to adjacent text blocks. Figures may require alternate text.

Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3, Heading 4, Heading 5, Heading 6 Tags the selection as a first, second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth level heading tag. You can convert heading tags to bookmarks to help users navigate the document.

Table Tags the selection as a table after the selection is analyzed to determine the location of headings, columns, and rows.

Cell Tags the selection as a table or header cell. Use this option to merge cells that are incorrectly split.

Formula Tags the selection as a formula. Because speech software may handle formula tags differently from normal text, you may want to add a description using alternate text.

Note Tags the selection as a note.

Reference Tags the selection as a reference.

Background/Artifact Tags the selection as a background element, or artifact, removing the item from the tag tree. That way, it doesn’t appear in the reflowed document and screen readers don’t read it.

Table Editor Automatically analyzes the selected table into cells and applies the appropriate tags. The table must be tagged as a table before you can use the Table Editor command on it.

Show Page Content Groups Shows content elements as highlighted areas that contain numbers to indicate the reading order. Specify the highlight color by clicking the color swatch.

Show Table Cells Highlights the content of individual table cells. Specify the highlight color by clicking the color swatch.

Display Like Elements In A Single Block Adjacent squares with the same tag type are collapsed into a single, bigger square with the common tag type that encompasses the original square.

Show Tables And Figures Outlines each table and figure with a crossed-out box. The box also indicates whether the element includes alternate text. Specify the box color by clicking the color swatch.

Clear Page Structure Removes the tagging structure from the page. Use this option to start over and create a new structure if the existing structure contains too many problems.

Show Order Panel Opens the Order tab for reordering highlighted content.

Edit Alternate Text Available in the menu that appears when you right-click a highlighted figure. Allows the user to add or edit a text description about the figure properties that a screen reader or other assistive technology reads.

Edit Form Field Text Available in the menu that appears when you right-click a form field. Allows the user to add or edit a form field text description that a screen reader or other assistive technology reads.

Edit Table Summary Available in the menu that appears when you right-click a highlighted table. Allows the user to add or edit a text description about the table properties that a screen reader or other assistive technology reads.

Check and correct reading order (Acrobat Pro)

You can quickly check the reading order of tagged PDFs by using the Reading Order tool. You can also use this tool to add alternate text to images and correct many types of tagging problems that are outlined in the report that Acrobat generates when you add tags to a PDF.

Reading-order problems are readily apparent when you use the Reading Order tool. Each section of contiguous page content appears as a separate highlighted region and is numbered according to its placement in the reading order. Within each region, text is ordered left to right and top to bottom. (You can change this order in the Touch Up preferences.) If a single highlighted region contains two columns of text or text that won’t flow normally, divide the region into parts that can be reordered. Because highlighted regions are rectangular, they may overlap somewhat, especially if their page content is irregularly shaped. Unless page content overlaps or is contained within two highlighted regions, no reading order problem is indicated. Page content should belong to no more than one highlighted region.

You can change the reading order of the highlighted regions by moving an item in the Order panel or by dragging it on the page in the document pane. By reordering highlighted regions on the page, you can make a figure and caption read at the specific point that they are referenced in the text. By changing the order of a highlighted region, you effectively change the reading order of that item without changing the actual appearance of the PDF.

Check reading order with the Reading Order tool

Steps for checking reading order using the tool:

  1. 1. Select the Reading Order tool in the right pane.

  2. 2. In the Reading Order dialog box, select Show Page Content Groups, and then click Page Content Order.

    Note

    If highlighted regions don’t appear in the document pane, the document doesn’t contain tags.

  3. 3. Optionally, do any of the following:

    • To specify a highlight color, click the color swatch, and then click the color you want.

    • To highlight tables and figures, and to view alternate text for figures, select Show Tables And Figures.

  4. 4. Check the reading order of text within each highlighted region.
    Note

    Zooming in can make this step easier.

  5. 5. Check the numbered order of all highlighted regions. If consecutive, numbered regions don’t follow one another, reorder them in the Order panel.

  6. 6. Click Show Order Panel, and then select each content entry (in brackets [ ]) in the Order panel to highlight that content region in the document pane. Use this method to find numbered regions that you can’t see or locate on the page.

Change the reading order in the Order panel:

  1. 1. Select the Reading Order tool in the right pane.

  2. 2. In the Reading Order dialog box, click Show Order Panel.

  3. 3. In the Order panel, navigate to view a list of highlighted regions that appear in the document pane.
  4. 4. In the Order panel, drag the tag for a highlighted region to the location you want. As you drag, a line appears to show potential locations. After you drag an item to a new location, the highlighted regions are renumbered to show the new reading order. You can select and move multiple, adjacent regions.
Change the reading order by dragging on the page:

  1. 1. Select the Reading Order tool.

  2. 2. In the Reading Order dialog box, select Show Page Content Groups, and then click Page Content Order.

  3. 3. In the document pane, place the pointer over the number for the highlighted region you want to move. Then, drag it to where you want it to be read. The text-insertion pointer shows target locations within the text.

    When you release the highlighted region, the location of the text-insertion pointer becomes the dividing line. The underlying highlighted region is split into two new highlighted regions. All highlighted regions are renumbered to show the new reading order.

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