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Acrobat Chapter 2: Before Converting to Tagged PDF

Acrobat Chapter 2: Before Converting to Tagged PDF

Owned by Daniel LaGrow, created
Last updated: Mar 14, 2025
8 min read

 

 Instructions

When creating an accessible PDF, the easiest way to start is with an optimized source file. When you use the accessibility features in the software of origin, the PDF is mostly done. Only light touch-ups would have to be done for the tags and reading order. Follow these instructions before you send your document, spreadsheet, or presentation to Adobe Acrobat.

Section 2.1: Real, Semantic Elements

Real, semantic elements add structure to the source document, making it accessible to assistive technologies like screen readers. For instance, in MS Word, headings should be applied using the Heading Styles from the Ribbon rather than simply formatting text with bold and larger font sizes. These properly structured elements will carry over to a tagged PDF.

  1. Headings should be real headings (no big or bold text)

    1. Go to the Home Tab.

      Home Tab in Microsoft Office Word with a blue underline.

    2. Click a Heading Style in the Styles Group.

      Styles Section in Microsoft Word. Heading 1 is highlighted with gray borders.

  2. Lists should be real lists (not just items with an asterisk).

    1. Click the Home Tab.

      Home Tab in Microsoft Word with a blue underline.

    2. Click Paragraph Group and select a List Style.

      The Paragraph Group with the List style options highlighted in a black box.

  3. Real Table of Contents based on heading structure should be created.

    1. Click the References Tab.

      References Tab in Microsoft Word with a blue underline.

    2. Click the Table of Contents button, then click the style of the table.

      Table of Contents button in Microsoft Word. Has a page with the top right corner folded.
      A table of contents for an Employee Manual over 7 pages.

  4. Real Footnotes and Endnotes should be made using the Insert Tool.

    1. Click the References Tab.

      References Tab in Microsoft Word with a blue underline.

    2. Insert Footnote or Insert Endnote.

      Footnote section in Microsoft Word with the Insert Endnote button highlighted.

  5. Real Column should be created. You should not be using the Tab key.

    1. Click the Layout Tab.

      Layout Tab in Microsoft Word with a blue underline.

    2. Go to the Page Setup Section, and click Columns.

      Column button in Microsoft Word. The icon has a page with two blue columns visible.

  6. Tables should be real tables.

    1. Go to the Insert Tab

      Insert Tab in Microsoft Word with a blue underline.

    2. Click the Table Button, and select the number of rows and columns needed. Do not use the Draw Table option.

      Table button in Microsoft Word. The Icon has a table with a grid.

Section 2.2: Semantic Headings

Overview: Headings are made for the purpose of breaking up content. Another use is making information easier to find. Screen readers start reading a document by reading off the headings. The purpose of this is to learn what the content is in the document.

All headings should:

  • Have Semantic Headings (No big or bold text).

  • Start at Heading Level 1. (The biggest heading type).

  • Not skip levels. (Level 1 comes first, then 2, then 3).

  • Have a good outline of a documents hierarchy.

  • Be accurate.

    The Navigation Panel with the Headings tab open. The hierarchy of our document is visible.

Headings provide readers with an outline of a document. Users can jump from between headings and can see what is in the document without having to read it all. Headings have six levels of tags. <H1> through <H6>. These tags are important because they establish part of the hierarchy. An <H1> tag should always be above the rest of the heading tags. An <H6> tag is always the lowest heading tag. Heading 1 level tags are always labeled with a name for a section or sometimes a title. The lower heading tags are for sections within a section. Hence the importance of the hierarchy.

Section 2.3: Text

  • Keep all text fonts readable (use fonts like Verdana and Times New Roman).

    A list of readable fonts like Arial, Calibri, Cambria, Times New Roman, Verdana.
    Examples of Harder to Read Fonts like Algerian, Freestyle Script, Jokerman, Old English Text, and Script MT Bold.

  • Line spacing should be at least 1.5 within paragraphs.

  • Paragraph spacing is at least 1.5 times larger than the line spacing.

  • Text is never fully justified.

A couple of paragraphs fully justified to the left and right.

Fully justified text causes unneeded spacing between words.

A couple of paragraphs justified to the left.

Everything is more organized and words are equally spaced.

Section 2.4: Alternative Text

Alt text provides a description of images, graphs and charts, and other non-text content. Screen readers by default, cannot read these objects to a reader. If a screen reader scanned an image, without an alt text, the image would be skipped over. Alt text gives the screen reader the ability to read a description of the object to the reader. This is especially helpful to users who are blind or have low vision.

  1. Go to the Insert Tab, find the Illustrations Panel and select Pictures.

    Location of the Illustrations Panel in MS Word.

  2. Insert your photo. Then, in less than 150 characters, explain what the photo is. The alt text is: A large hotel with a view of the pool. The pool is surrounded by palm trees, chairs, and a bar.

    An image of a hotel with an example of an alt text.

Section 2.5: Color Contrast

Good color contrast helps all users, especially those with low vision or color difficulties. Check the document's color contrast to make sure it meets the minimum ratios, including text against backgrounds and other elements. You can use tools like the Color Contrast Analyzer to assist.

What to look for:

  • All text

  • Buttons

  • Icons that convey information

  • Graph or chart components (for example, lines in line graphs or slices in pie charts)

  • Form field text boxes

Exemptions from this rule:

  • Flags

  • Photography

  • Heatmaps

  • Other situations where changing the colors changes the meaning

How to change the color of your text:

  1. Open your document, spreadsheet, or presentation

  2. When typing in text, you want to consider the color contrast between the text and the background. For small text, (under size 18), a good contrast ratio is 4.5:1 or higher. For bigger text, (over size 18) a good contrast ratio is 3:1 or higher. Black text on a white background or 21:1 is considered to be the most accessible contrast ratio.

  3. To color your text, highlight your text and go to the Font Section in the Home Tab.

    Font section in Microsoft Word. Times New Roman is the font at size 12.

  4. Select the Font Color Tab and choose a color.

    Examples of good and bad color contrast in Microsoft Word.

Section 2.6: Links

In MS Word, links are correctly formatted when you type a URL and press Enter or Space, making them clickable, blue, and underlined. URLs can appear as plain text if used as examples. Links should stand out from the surrounding text, and their wording should be clear and meaningful, not vague or generic.

A link that only says click here.

Vague Link - A link that says click here or link to does not tell the reader where the link will go.

A descriptive link to the Coastal Comforts Website.

Meaningful Link - This link does describe where the link will go when clicked. It would also be beneficial to include an unlinked URL in parenthesis incase a physical copy of a document is used.

Section 2.7: Tables (with help from Microsoft Word)

Make sure that the tables are real tables. Keep in mind that real tables are not made by using the tab key or moving data into the shape of the table. To make a real table,

  1. Click the Insert Tab.

    Insert Tab in Microsoft Word with a blue underline.

  2. Click Table and select the number of rows/columns needed.

    Table Button in Microsoft Word. The table icon has a grid.

  3. Do not use the Draw Table Option.

Make sure all tables have headings. Click inside the table, then click the Table Design Tab. Check the options for Header Row and/or First Column. Also, make sure that tables have a simple format. This means having only one header row and/or one header column and no merge cells. If you have any blank cells in your table, type in No Data. The only exception is if you have intentionally left a cell blank.

Table Design Tab in Microsoft Word with a blue underline.
The Table Options with Header Row, First Column, and Banded Rows checked.

Section 2.8: Headers, Footers, and Page Numbers

Page headers and footers help make content easier to follow by providing repeated information in a consistent and predictable way. The content of headers and footers varies widely but can include:

  • Document title

  • Current chapter or section in the document

  • Page numbers, such as "Page 3 of 12"

  • Author

  • Date

  • Document version

You can provide page headers and footers by structuring them directly in the authoring tool. However, once you convert to PDF, headers and footers will not be tagged. They will be invisible to screen readers unless you then tag them.

There is no special tag for Document Header or Footer. These content items should be tagged as either Paragraphs or Artifacts, depending on the situation.

For example, you might have a company name as the header on all pages. A user wouldn’t want to hear this info redundantly. So you could mark the first instance of it as a Paragraph and all others on subsequent pages as Artifacts. Or you might have a title page that contains all of the info from the header and footer. In this case, you could mark the header and footer on all pages as Artifacts.

On the other hand, you might have page numbers in the footer. A user would want to hear them to know where they are in the document. To do this, mark these as Paragraphs.

It boils down to this:

  • Tag meaningful information as paragraphs

  • Tag redundant information as artifacts

Adding Headers and Footers

  1. Click the Edit PDF Tool and select Header & Footer.

    The Edit a PDF Tool in Adobe Acrobat with a Pink icon shaped like an article.
    The Header and Footer button in Adobe Acrobat. Its expansion menu has options for Add, Update, and Remove.

  2. The Add Header and Footer Panel will appear. It will give you options to change your fonts, margin sizes, and add text for your headers or footers.

    The Add Header and Footer box with options to change your font, margin size, and header and footer texts.

  3. If you want your PDF page numbers to be visible, click Insert Page Number. If you want to add a date to your header or footer, click Insert Date.

    The Right Header and Right Footer text has a Date and a Page Number. Buttons to create these are in the middle of the Add Header and Footer box.

  4. Make changes until you are satisfied with the results, then click OK.

    The Font has been changed to Times New Roman, Size 12.

  5. Your header, footer, or page number should appear in your PDF.

    Our Coastal Comforts Employee Manual with the page number in the bottom right corner.

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