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  1. First, we need to create a Tags Root. Right now, we do not have one in our PDF sample. To create one, go to the Tags pane and right click on the No Tags Available text. Click Create Tags Root.

    The Tags Pane in Acroabat with No Tags Available. A menu for creating a Tags Root is visible.Image Modified
  2. Next, go to the Options Menu and click Find.

    The Options Menu with Find at the bottom.Image Modified
  3. In the Find Element box, go to the Find dropdown menu and choose Unmarked Annotations. Then check Search Document and click the Find button.

    The Find Element Box with Unmarked Annotations in the Find Box. Search Document is checked.Image Modified
  4. The first form field in your document should be highlighted. When you see this, click the Tag Element button.

    The Full Name form field is highlighed in pink borders.Image Modified
  5. The New Tag box will appear. In the Type dropdown menu, choose Form and click OK.

    The New Tag box with Type set to Form.Image Modified
  6. In the Tags Pane, you will see a Form Tag has been created and within it is an OBJR Tag with your form field inside it.

    The Tags Pane with a tag hierarchy for Forms.Image Modified
  7. Go back to the Find Element box and repeat these steps until every single form field has been tagged.

    A tag hierarchy for multiple forms with their own OBJR tags.Image Modified
  8. Once everything has been tagged, we are going to tag our text for each form field. Start by creating a paragraph tag and placing each text inside. In this case, remember to only highlight the words and the colon. We will take care of the lines later.

    Paragrpah Tag Hierarchy Example.pngA tag hierarchy with a paragraph tag added for the full name form field. The text and box is highlighted with pink borders.Image Modified
  9. Drag and drop all of the Form tags and OBJR tags into their respective Paragraph tags.

    Tag Hierarchy Example.pngImage RemovedAn example of our Tag Hierarchy.Image Added

Section 5.8: Tagging Other Objects

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  1. Go to the Options Menu and click Find.

    The Options Menu with Find at the bottomImage Modified
  2. In the Find Element dropdown menu click on Unmarked Content, check Search Document and click Find.

    The Find Element box with Find set to Unmarked Content. Search Document is checked.Image Modified
  3. A bunch of pink boxes will appear around your document. Click Tag Element. Keep clicking Tag Element until you have everything tagged.

    Pink Borders highlight the untagged content.Image Modified
  4. Place all of the tagged content into its own Paragraph Tag. Be careful, you may get some important content in the tag, so be sure to move that content to its own tag for the screen reader to read.

    A Paragraph Tag with Lines and unmarked content.Image Modified
  5. Highlight all of the items in your Paragraph Tag and then right click. In the menu, click Change to Artifact. Now the screen reader will skip those objects when reading to the reader. Then delete your Paragraph tag.

Section 5.

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9: Accessibility Checker

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You have now reached the last step of our process before testing with a screen reader. We need to use Adobe’s Accessibility Checker. The accessibility checker will scan our entire document, from the tags, to the font used, to the color contrast, and many other accessibility attributes. After it is done checking, the accessibility checker will give us a notification on what issues need to be fixed and what fulfills accessibility requirements. Keep in mind though, that while accessibility checkers are very good, they should not be completely depended on. Think of them as a first step for testing accessibility. If you want to see if your document is completely accessible, it is recommended to test it with a screen reader. To use Acrobat’s Accessibility Checker,

  1. Open the Accessibility Tool and click the Accessibility Check button.

    The Accessibility Tool in Acrobat with the Accessibility Check Button below.Image Added
  2. In the Accessibility Checker Options box, you will see a list of 32 different attributes the accessibility checker will analyze. Click the Start Checking button to make it look for every issue.

    Accessibility Checker Options Box with the start checking button at the bottom.Image Added
  3. On the left side of the screen, you will receive several dropdown menus of issues that need to be fixed. When you open the menus and select the issues, you can find instructions on how to fix the problems.

    Accessibility Checker results with 5 document issues and 4 page content issues.Image Added
  4. When you have all of your issues fixed, start testing your document with a screen reader.

    Accessibility Results without issues.Image Added

PAC 2021:

As discussed in previous sections of this series, PDF Accessibility Checker 2021 or PAC 2021 is an accessibility checker made for checking the accessibility of PDFs. This would be a good resource to use to compare results to the accessibility checker in Adobe Acrobat. To use PAC 2021,

  1. Click on the upload button and select your PDF.

    The upload button with the cursor button inside a box with a file icon behind it.Image AddedSimple Application File location.Image Added
  2. PAC 2021 will analyze your document and see if it passes WCAG 2.1 standards as well as PDF/UA Standards. For these examples we only need to worry about WCAG 2.1 standards and any new WCAG standards as they are released.

    PAC Accessibility Report Example for WCAG 2.1 StandardsImage Added

Section 5.10: Testing with a Screen Reader

Use NVDA or another screen reader to test your PDF. Everything in your PDF should be read by the screen reader in order. If anything is skipped, be sure to fix the reading order or tab order or any additional issues you may run into. Once you are done, the PDF should be fully accessible, and you can share it with your student, or other faculty that need it.

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