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ADOBE ACROBAT 8 STANDARD
User Guide
1. Consider accessibility before you convert a document to PDF.
2. Tag the PDF.
3. Add other accessibility features to the PDF.
4. Evaluate the PDF and repair tagging problems.
Though these stages are presented in an order that suits most needs, you may perform tasks in these stages in a
different order or iterate between some of the stages. In all cases, you should first examine the document, determine
its intended purpose, and use that analysis to determine the workflow that you apply.
5. Consider accessibility before you convert a document to PDF.
Whenever possible, think about accessibility when you create the source files in an authoring application, such as a
word-processing or page-layout application.
Typical tasks to do in the authoring application include adding alternate text to graphics, optimizing tables, and
applying paragraph styles or other document-structure features that can be converted to tags. For more information,
see “Creating a tagged PDF from an authoring application” on page 243.
6. Tag the PDF.
Improve the accessibility of PDFs by adding tags in Acrobat. If a PDF doesn’t contain tags, Acrobat may attempt to
tag it automatically when users read or reflow it, and the results may be disappointing. If you provide users with a
tagged PDF, the logical structure tree sends the contents to a screen reader or other assistive software or hardware in
an appropriate order.
For best results, tag a document when converting it to PDF from an authoring application. Alternatively, you can tag
a PDF any time in Acrobat.
Tagging during conversion to PDF requires an authoring application that supports tagging in PDF. Tagging during
conversion enables the authoring application to draw from the source document’s paragraph styles or other struc
tural information to produce a logical structure tree that reflects an accurate reading order and appropriate levels of
tags. This tagging can more readily interpret the structure of complex layouts, such as embedded sidebars, closely
spaced columns, irregular text alignment, and tables. Tagging during conversion can also properly tag the links,
cross-references, bookmarks, and alternate text (when available) that are in the file.
To tag a PDF in Acrobat, use the Add Tags To Document command. This command works on any untagged PDF,
such as one created with Adobe PDF Printer. Acrobat analyzes the content of the PDF to interpret the individual page
elements, their hierarchical structure, and the intended reading order of each page, and then builds a tag tree that
reflects that information. It also creates tags for any links, cross-references, and bookmarks that you added to the
document in Acrobat.
Though the Add Tags To Document command adequately tags most standard layouts, it cannot always correctly
interpret the structure and reading order of complex page elements, such as closely spaced columns, irregular text
alignment, nonfillable form fields, and tables that don’t have borders. Tagging these pages by using the Add Tags To
Document command can result in improperly combined elements or out-of-sequence tags that cause reading order
problems in the PDF.
7. Add other accessibility features to the PDF.
This stage includes setting the document language, making sure that security settings don’t interfere with screen
readers, and adding bookmarks. For more information, see “Set the document language” on page 245, “Prevent
security settings from interfering with screen readers” on page 245, and “About bookmarks” on page 251.