| 23 Acrobat 9 Pro PDF Accessibility Repair Workflow

You could choose to repair the problems at this time by following the suggestions in the Add Tags report or

now that the file is tagged proceed to the next step “Step 6: Determine if the PDF File is Properly Tagged”

on page 23.

If you choose to repair the document at this stage, remember to assess the context of any error before

following a particular suggestion for fixing it. For example, the report might state that an element that has

been tagged as a figure and requires alternate text to make it accessible. When you examine the figure in its

context on the page, you may decide that the figure is a background design element, not an illustration that

conveys valuable meaning to the user. In the case of a nonessential image, and you would change the Figure

tag to a Background tag; in the case of an image intended to convey meaning to the reader, you would add

the missing alternate text (See “ Step 6: Determine if the PDF File is Properly Tagged” on page 23)

Note: The Add Tags Report highlights tagging-related problems only, and it is a temporary file

that you cannot save. You can assess other tagging, reading order, and accessibility

problems by using Full Check.

If adding tags to a PDF in Adobe Acrobat results in a tagging structure that is overly complicated or too

problematic to fix, you can use the TouchUp Reading Order tool to remove or replace the current structure.

If the document contains mostly text, you can select a page and then remove headings, tables, and other

elements to create a cleaner, simpler tagging structure (See “TouchUp Reading Order Tool (TURO)” on

page 23).

What to do if the PDF File is Tagged

Proceed to the next step, “Step 6: Determine if the PDF File is Properly Tagged” on page 23.

Step 6: Determine if the PDF File is Properly Tagged

The easiest way to determine if the PDF file has been properly tagged is to use the TouchUp Reading Order

Tool (See “ TouchUp Reading Order Tool (TURO)” on page 23)

• From the menu, select Advanced > Accessibility > Touchup Reading Order.... (Keyboard

Accelerator is ALT + AAT)

The Touch Up Reading Order Tool divides a tagged page into shaded segments. Each segment is numbered

indicating the read order of the item on the page. You can also verify the read order of items on the page by

displaying the order panel from the Touch Up Read Order Tool.

Note: If you are certain the PDF document is properly tagged, you can skip this discussion and

proceed to “Step 7: Use the Accessibility Checker to Evaluate the PDF File” on page 44.

TouchUp Reading Order Tool (TURO)

The TouchUp Reading Order tool provides the easiest and quickest way to fix reading order and basic

tagging problems. When you select the TouchUp Reading Order 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 TouchUp 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, you

should 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 use the TouchUp Reading Order tool to perform the following accessibility tasks:

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

Making PDF Accessible with Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro