PDF Accessibility in Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Acrobat is widely used at UC for reviewing, sharing, and sometimes editing PDF documents such as policies, reports, forms, and handouts. This page links to Adobe’s own accessibility instructions for Acrobat and highlights key checks to use whenever you create, review, or remediate PDFs.

Because Acrobat and PDF standards are updated over time, the most detailed, step-by-step how‑to instructions live in Adobe’s documentation. Use those as your main reference, and rely on the UC tips and guidance on this page to support common use cases and questions you are likely to encounter.

Adobe Step-by-Step Support

The most current information about Acrobat’s accessibility features and tools is in Adobe’s help and support pages. Use Adobe’s guides when you need detailed instructions, including:

PDF Accessibility

Tips for Using Acrobat at UC

  • If you can access the original file, start by making that source document accessible (for example, in Word or PowerPoint) and then export to PDF. It is usually easier and more reliable to fix structure, headings, lists, and alt text in the source than to recreate all of that in Acrobat.
  • Use Acrobat primarily for checking and fine‑tuning accessibility—ensuring the PDF is tagged, the reading order makes sense, and images have alt text—rather than as the main place to build content from scratch.
  • Be especially careful with PDFs that will be posted on public websites, shared in Canvas, or distributed widely as official communications; these should meet the same accessibility expectations as your web and course content.
  • Avoid relying on scanned PDFs when a digital version is available. Scanned pages can be difficult or impossible to make fully accessible; in some cases, recreating the document in an accessible format is more effective than trying to remediate a low‑quality scan.
  • Use the Accessibility Checker in Acrobat as a routine part of reviewing important PDFs, and interpret its results using the Core Concepts such as Titles & Headings, Alt Text, Hyperlinks, Color Contrast, Navigation & Order, and Technical.

Applying this to Your Content

Use this section as a practical guide when creating or reviewing PDFs in Acrobat. In many cases, you will do most of the work in the source file (Word, PowerPoint, InDesign), then use Acrobat to check and refine.

  • An accessible PDF needs a tag structure that reflects the logical reading order and hierarchy of the content.
  • Ensure the PDF is tagged. In Acrobat, check the Tags panel to confirm tags exist. If there are none, use the Autotag Document feature as a starting point, then review and edit.
  • Make sure headings are tagged appropriately, such as H1 for the main title and H2 for major sections, rather than tagging everything as generic paragraphs.
  • Confirm that lists and tables are tagged correctly, not just as plain paragraphs.
  • Use the Reading Order tool or Order panel to verify that content is read in a logical sequence, especially for multi‑column layouts or pages with sidebars.
  • Readable, well‑structured text in the source document helps Acrobat produce a clean tagged PDF.
  • Use live text, not images of text, wherever possible. If text is embedded in images (such as scanned pages or graphical headers), consider recreating it as actual text in the source file.
  • Check that paragraphs, lists, and headings in the PDF retain the structure from the source document. Fix any mis‑tagged items, such as headings tagged as normal paragraphs.
  • Ensure that the language of the document is set correctly in Acrobat so screen readers can use the right pronunciation rules.
  • Images, charts, and other graphics in PDFs need appropriate alternatives.
  • Add or verify alt text for meaningful images using the Set Alternate Text feature in Acrobat. Alt text should briefly describe the purpose of the image in context.
  • Mark decorative images as artifacts so screen readers skip them, allowing users to focus on important information.
  • For complex visuals like charts or diagrams, provide a brief description in the document text and ensure the underlying data is available in an accessible form, such as a data table or linked file.
  • Links and internal navigation should be clear and usable.
  • Use descriptive link text within the PDF, instead of raw URLs, so users can tell what each link does.
  • Check that links work correctly and lead to the intended locations, especially after documents are moved, merged, or updated.
  • For long PDFs, include bookmarks based on the document’s heading structure so users can jump directly to sections.
  • Tables and forms can be especially challenging in PDFs.
  • Keep tables as simple as possible, and check that table headers and data cells are tagged correctly and that the reading order within the table makes sense.
  • For form fields, ensure each field has a meaningful name and tooltip (or label) so screen readers can announce what information belongs in that field.
  • Test tab order through form fields to make sure focus moves in a logical, predictable sequence.
  • Visual design choices carry over into PDFs.
  • Ensure text and important visual elements have sufficient color contrast against their background. Low‑contrast text from the source document will remain low‑contrast in the PDF.
  • Do not rely on color alone to convey meaning. If charts or emphasis use color, also provide labels or patterns so the information is still clear without color.
  • Acrobat’s Accessibility Checker is a helpful tool, but it does not catch everything.
  • Run the Accessibility Checker on important PDFs and review each flagged issue.
  • Address errors, then examine warnings and manual checks, such as color contrast, link purpose, and reading order.
  • Use a screen reader or reading‑order preview to spot issues the checker might miss, especially in complex layouts.