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\uD83D\uDCD8 Instructions

Section 2.1: Saving as a Tagged PDF

When you optimize a source document for accessibility and convert it to tagged PDF, you are using a type of automated tagging. Because you've already applied accessibility features in the source document, they will carry over during conversion. This type of automatic tagging is good and will make your life easier.

To save your Word Document as a Tagged PDF,

  1. Click on the File Tab and click Save as Adobe PDF.

    File Tab in MS WordImage AddedSave as Adobe PDF Button in MS WordImage Added
  2. In the Save As box, go to the Options Box at the bottom.

    Options ButtonImage Added
  3. In the Acrobat PDFMaker, check Enable Accessibility and Reflow with tagged Adobe PDF and Convert Word Headings to Bookmarks.

    Acrobat PDFMaker Panel with Enable Accessibility CheckedImage Added

Section 2.2: Creating Tags Automatically

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Now that your document

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is in Adobe Acrobat, you have to tag it to allow screen readers to read it properly. There are two ways to tag your document, you can tag it automatically or do it yourself. To Tag Automatically,

  1. Go to the Tools Tab, and find the “Accessibility” Tool, and click ADD.

    Tools Tab in Adobe Acrobat.
  2. Find the “Accessibility” Tool, and click ADD.

    Accessibility Tool in Adobe Acrobat. Below the icon is a button that says add.
  3. With the Accessibility Tool open, click Autotag Document

    Autotag Document Button in Adobe Acrobat.
  4. The Accessibility Tags will appear on the left side of your screen. Remember, the software can make mistakes. So be sure to check every tag to be sure it is labeled correctly. Also be sure it is in the correct spot, and does not disrupt the reading order. You can see in our example that we do have tags created and many of them are correct, however they are not in the correct order. To fix this issue, you can click on each tag and place them inside the tags above them in a hierarchy. For example, place everything that belongs in your heading 2 tags inside the heading 2 tag, then place all of the heading 2 tags into the heading 1 tag. Examples on how to do this will be demonstrated in other sections of this course.

    Example of Accessibility TagsImage Added

Section 2.

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3: Tagging in Adobe Acrobat

Tags are used to identify a contents value in a document so it can be read by assistive technology. By tagging an object, we are assigning a hierarchical value to an element. For example: An <H1> tag is used for Headings Style 1 or the main heading for a section or chapter. <H2> is used for Heading Style 2, most commonly used for subsections. In a hierarchy, <H2> must be parented under <H1>. Paragraphs or <p>, but be parented under <H2> or in necessary order. Headings must always be higher than paragraphs.

  1. To create a tag, click the Tag Icon  

    No Tags available highlighted in the Tags section.

                                                                 

  2. Highlight the text you want tagged

    Part 1 Introduction is highlighted.
  3. Right Click Tags and click Create Tag Root

  4. In our example we will tag Part 1: Introduction as a heading level 2. Click the Menu Button and Click New Tag, under type, select Heading Level 2. You may also include a title or name of what the tag is called. (This may help you keep track of what the tags are for)

    Menu Button in Adobe Acrobat.
  5. New Tag Box, type is Heading Level 2.

    A new tag has been created, but nothing is inside yet. With your text still highlighted, right click the <H2> tag and click on “Create Tag from Selection”.

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Section 2.

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4: Beware Untagged PDF Conversions

There are many ways to save as a PDF that produce inaccessible, untagged results. Some ways include,

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Starting with one of these options is okay. But keep in mind it will take a lot more time and effort to then produce an accessible result.

Section 2.

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5: OCR/Scanned PDFs

PDF documents that are created by scanning a paper document are often completely inaccessible to people using screen readers. This is because they do not contain any searchable text. To make a scanned document an accessible PDF, we need to use an Optical Character Recognition tool or OCR. This will convert the image of text to actual, searchable text that can be read by assistive technologies.

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