Setting the reading order can be tricky in a PDF. There are several items to consider including the content panel, the z order panel, and tags panel.
Video Overview of how to set the reading order of a PDF
Match the content panel with the reading order panel
If you’re just starting, it’s best to start adjusting the content panel first. Then, you’ll move on to the read order panel and finish with the tags panel. Most assistive technology will follow the tags panel.
Open up the content view on the far left side (Important: Do not remove anything from the content panel. This could remove it from the document’s structure and cause issues with the document itself.).
Use the down arrow to follow the structure of the content to ensure everything is in the correct reading order.
If there’s anything out of place, move it to the correct spot in the content panel.
Once you’ve finished reordering things in the content panel, check the read order panel to see if the content was updated correctly.
Then, check the tags panel to see if the copy was updated.
Match the reading order panel with the tags panel
Once you’ve ensured everything is in the correct order in the content panel, you’ll want to adjust the reading order panel (z order panel). There are a couple of helpful tools in the reading order panel. Once you’ve selected the reading order panel, here’s how you’ll parse through it:
Select the accessibility button.
From there, select the reading order button.
Choose “Show page content groups” followed by the “Page content order” button in the Reading Order popup. By doing this, you’ll see display boxes of content with numbers on the page for easy viewing of the reading order.
Final Step
Walk the tags panel to ensure everything is in the correct order.
The make accessible action wizard is a tool that can help get a tag structure into a PDF so that you can begin making it accessible. This workflow can be implemented with almost any document. Important note: this process may overwrite any other work you have done in any other programs.
Add the Action Wizard from the tools menu
The first step is to ensure you have the proper tool setup in Adobe acrobat pro.
Tags are the basis for accessibility within a PDF. Without proper tags there is no accessibility. Tag elements provide semantic information for screen readers, control the reading order, and other important functions. An important first step is to determine if your PDF has tags. Review this post to find out if your document has tags.
Why do PDF tags matter?
Assistive technology will read tags and use them as a method for navigating larger documents. A tagged PDF is essential for those with visual disabilities and anyone who is using assistive technology like JAWS or NVDA.
PDF tags make it possible to identify content like headings, lists, links, tables, forms, and other important features. Not all programs can export a tagged PDF – so make sure you are using the right tools!
Sample screenshot of tags panel
Video overview of PDF Tags
Tag Relationships
Tags come in a pair and can sometimes be referred to as a Parent-Child relationships. In the example below the Figure tag is the parent tag and image container is the Child tag.
Every parent tag will have a child tag. This is useful for moving tags around in the tags panel.
The PDF Tags breakdown
If a tag is not properly categorized it will fail accessibility checks and be confusing to its users. Adding tags does not change the visual appearance of the document; it provides invisible layer of formatting within the document that works with screen readers. PDF tags also allows the content to reflow seamlessly on devices with smaller screens, like smartphones and tablets. Here is a brief explanation of what each tag represents:
<P>
The P tag is the most basic and universal tag. This tag is used as body text.
<H1> <H2> <H3> <H4> <H5> <H6>
These are heading tags. Most documents will have a single H1 tag, but larger documents could contain more. Modern assistive technology can recognize up to six heaving levels. Always use headings in order. Think of them like an outline.
The Parent Tag <H1>
The child tag (container)
The content the tag is referencing (content on page)
<L> <LI> <Lbl> <LBody>
List elements contain a specific structure. These tags represent the structure of accessible lists. Some accessibility guidelines require the use of Lbl and other guidelines do not.
List Parent Tag <L>
List Item Child Tag <LI>
Label <Lbl>
List Body child Tag <LBody>
Contents of First list item
List item content on page
<Figure>
The figure tag represents any and all images. At this time the figure tag is used for all graphics within a PDF.
<Figure> is a parent tag
The Image is a child tag (container)
The image as content on page
<Table> <TR> <TH> <TD>
Reading plain text is an easy task for assistive technologies. A table of data presents a complex more task. Proper PDF tag structure makes this possible by identifying essential information including the number of rows and columns as well as column (or row) headers, and which heading each data entry corresponds to. The more complex a table is, the more significant the challenge to tag it correctly.
Table Parent Tag <Table>
Table Row Child tag <TR>
Table Header Cell <TH>
Table Data Cell <TD>
Table on Page
<Link>, Link – OBJR
Every link tag needs a Link-OBJR tag.
Parent tag <P>
Link Tag <Link>
Link Reference Object
The link Text on screen
Content on page
<Reference> & <Note>
Reference and Note tags are up for interpretation but are commonly used within PDFs to “visually” break content apart.
Reading Order
An accessible PDF provides the instructions to the assistive technologies such as screen readers to read the content properly and in the correct order. The tag order within the tag tree will determine the reading order of the document. For documents without this logical structure, the best case would be that assistive technologies would guess at the correct order that the content should be presented in. In worst cases, the content would be completely unable to be read. The outcome is that the content becomes useless to the user.
How do I apply tags to a document?
There are multiple methods to apply tags to a document. The most common methods are:
Possible and semantically meaningful parent elements
Possible and semantically meaningful child elements
Document
Represents a complete document
–
Grouping elements, Block-level structure elements
Part
Division of a larger document into smaller, associated parts
Document
Art, Sect, Div, BlockQuote, Caption, TOC, Index,
Art
Parts of content which together are conclusive, i.e. an article or part of a document
Document, Part, Sect, Div, BlockQuote
Sect, Div, BlockQuote, Caption, TOC, Index,
Sect
Grouped related content parts, for example several paragraphs, which can be combined into a group
Document, Part, Art, Sect, Div, BlockQuote
Art, Sect, Div, BlockQuote, Caption, TOC, Index,
Div
Generic group element without semantic meaning
Document, Part, Art, Sect, Div, BlockQuote
Art, Sect, Div, BlockQuote, Caption, TOC, Index,
BlockQuote
One or more paragraphs that originate from another author, in other words, that have been quoted
Document, Part, Art, Sect, Div
Art, Sect, Div, Caption,
Caption
A caption to describe for example a picture or a table
Document, Part, Art, Sect, Div, BlockQuote, Table, L
Sect, Div, BlockQuote,
TOC
Container for table of contents entries. Can be used either as a flat hierarchy (all contained TOCI on one level) or as a complex hierarchy (TOC within a TOCI as a subgroup). Can be contained multiple times in a document, since it can also be used for image or table directories.
Document, Part, Art, Sect, Div
TOCI
TOCI
Entry within a table of contents (TOC).
TOC
TOC, P, Lbl, Reference
Index
Container for a subject index
Document, Part, Art, Sect, Div
L
Block-level structure elements
Paragraph elements
PDF tag
Semantic meaning
Possible and semantically meaningful parent elements
Possible and semantically meaningful child elements
Possible and semantically meaningful parent elements
Possible and semantically meaningful child elements
L
List container; groups together all list elements that belong together
Document, Part, Art, Sect, Div, BlockQuote, Index
LI, Caption
LI
Container of a list entry; can contain an L to create multi-level lists
L
Lbl, LBody, L
Lbl
Comes from the term “label” and represents the numbering or bullet character within a list. It’s not actually a block-level structure element and can also be used in other elements such as TOCI or Caption.
LI
–
LBody
Contains the contents of a list entry
LI
Inline-level structure elements
Table elements
PDF tag
Semantic meaning
Possible and semantically meaningful parent elements
Possible and semantically meaningful child elements
Table
Table container; combines all related table elements
Document, Part, Art, Sect, Div, BlockQuote
TR, Caption, THead, TBody, TFoot
TR
Groups a table row
Table, THead, TBody, TFoot
TH, TD
TH
Table heading cell; describes the meaning either at horizontal (line) or vertical (column) level
TR
Inline-level structure elements
TD
Ordinary table data cells
TR
Inline-level structure elements
THead
A group of table rows (TR) to mark them as table header; can be used optionally
Table
TR
TBody
A group of table rows (TR) to mark them as table content; can be used optionally
Table
TR
TFoot
A group of table rows (TR) to mark them as table footer; can be used optionally
Table
TR
Inline-level structure elements
PDF tag
Semantic meaning
Possible and semantically meaningful parent elements
Possible and semantically meaningful child elements
Span
Generic container without semantic meaning; is used, among other things, for visual markups, language changes or for adding ActualText (e.g. for ignoring hyphens)
P, H1–H6, LBody, TD, Quote, Note
–
Quote
Used like BlockQuote for quoted content; however, Quote is used at line level
P, H1–H6, LBody, TD
Span
Note
Footnote or endnote text (not the reference character in the body text). The footer/end-note character within Note and Reference will be placed in a Lbl.
P, H1–H6, LBody, TD
Lbl, P, Span
Reference
Refers to another place in the document, e.g. footnote or directory entry
P, H1–H6, LBody, TD
Lbl
Code
Marking of programming language
P, H1–H6, LBody, TD
–
Link
Link to a web page or to a place within the document
P, H1–H6, LBody, TD
–
Annot
Annotations that are not a link or a widget (form field), like comments and videos.
P, H1–H6, LBody, TD
–
Illustration graphic elements
PDF tag
Semantic meaning
Possible and semantically meaningful parent elements
Possible and semantically meaningful child elements
The accessibility checker is a great tool to use AFTER you have already implemented accessibility principles into your MS Word document. For a refresh on that – review the Microsoft Word Accessibility page.
The accessibility checker in Microsoft Word is a great tool for identifying color contrast errors, finding images that do not have alternate text, and applying table headers.
Do not rely on the accessibility checker for compliance. Use it as a tool to verify your work.
The Accessibility Guy
Video overview of how to use the accessibility checker in Microsoft Word
Text Directions of using the accessibility checker in Microsoft Word
Select the Review tab
Select Check accessibility
Review the errors and fix
Common pitfalls of the accessibility checker in Microsoft Word
The accessibility checker cannot determine the following elements on its own:
Do you ever have an image in your PDF that you need to OCR and make text? Adobe Acrobat has a feature called Scan and OCR which can do just that. This is useful for when you have a scanned image or poor-quality PDF.
Best practice
Try to avoid using images of text as this is a direct violation of accessibility guidelines. This is why the Scan and OCR feature is useful.
Video Overview of how to use the Scan and OCR feature in Adobe Acrobat
Text Overview of how to use the Scan and OCR feature
Select the scan and ocr tool
Select recognize text in this file
Select recognize text
How do I test to make sure that it worked?
The best method to ensure that your Scan and OCR worked is to try and copy and paste the text into another program. This will tell you that the OCR took place and will allow you to check for accuracy.
So, you want to make your hyperlinks accessible? There are a few rules about hyperlinks for text. These exist because of how they interact with assistive technology. You can also apply hyperlinks to images and other elements.
It depends on the software but JAWS will pull up a list of links that a user can select from. The list is generated by the on screen text that is the link. It is important that your links are clear and concise and tell the user where they are going before they are interacted with.
Video walkthrough of how to make hyperlinks accessible in Microsoft Word
Text overview of how to make hyperlinks accessible in Microsoft Word
Alternative text descriptions of images (Alt text) helps users understand the picture’s significance (or lack of.)
This content is typically only accessed with assistive technology. In some cases, if you hover your mouse over an image, it will provide the alternate text as a pop up.
Provide descriptions around the image in the source document for optimal results but remember that not everyone might be able to access the alternate text.
Video overview of how to apply alternate text to images in Microsoft Word
Image context
The context is everything for images in your document. If the image adds important information to the learning experience, it should be described. If an image does not add any value, you may consider marking it as decorative. Lets review some samples:
Sample 1 image
This image was found on the website which is trying to attract visitors. It needs detailed alternate text.
Sample 1 image description
A forest with giant sequoias, the largest trees in the world, is a feast for the senses. The giant sequoias’ red/orange bark is distinct among the grey and brown bark of other trees. And if you stand beneath one of these giants, you can gaze all the way up its tall trunk and through its high branches to see sky above. The treetop is often hidden above the highest branches. If you are quiet and listen, you may hear a breeze rustling the foliage of smaller trees – the sugar pines, white and red firs, or incense-cedar. Or perhaps you’ll hear a woodpecker calling and tapping against a tree, seeking insects. If you have time to take a walk, you may see a giant sequoia along the trail – try to press your fingers against its spongy, thick bark.
Sample 2 Icon
This image is an icon and in my opinion does not offer any additional value to the content provided, so I would mark it as decorative.
Giant sequoias grow at middle elevations along the west slope of the Sierra Nevada. While not the world’s oldest trees, they are known to reach ages of up to 3,400 years. Tree ring studies of giant sequoias provide a long record of climate and fire history, helping park managers and scientists better understand relationships of climate, fire, and the giant sequoia life cycle.
Sample 3 Pie Chart
This pie chart provides important information to the user. Because it is an image containing text, we need to provide all of the data in the description of the image.
Sample 3 Alternate text
The National Park Service Wilderness by category is as follows:
Non-Wilderness. 340 Units. 14+ million Acres
Eligible. 21 Units. 17+ mill Acres
Proposed. 14 Units. 3+ million acres
Recommended. 17 Units. 5+ million acres
Designated. 50 Units. 44+ million acres
Additional things to consider when writing alternate text
Context is everything
Decorative images should be marked as decorative
Pie charts and other graphs will need all data described
Focus on the emphasis of the image
Avoid using “image of” in description
Be sure to check that the image does not just have the file name in the alternate text area. For example: jordison.png might be the default value in the alt text area for an image – be sure to spot check all images to ensure that the file name did not get inserted.
Keep alternate text less than 100 characters. If there is more text needed – be sure to include it next to the image on the page.
Text overview of how to apply alternate text in Microsoft Word
It’s easy to make tables accessible in Microsoft Word! This means that every table should have a table header set, a style applied, and appropriate settings set.
Video Overview of how to make tables accessible in Microsoft Word
Tips on working with Tables
Avoid using merged cells when possible. There is no way to apply scope to table headers in Microsoft Word like you can in PDF. So if your doc is staying in Word – avoid merged cells
Ensure the table has a header row and in some cases a column header
Set “repeat row across pages” for tables that span more than one page
Apply a table style
Table does not have any merged cells
How to set the row / column header
These settings might change depending on the type of data you are working with. Some tables will have first column or total row while others will not.
Select the table
Select table Design
Set the appropriate Header Row / First Column selections
How to set a Table Style
A table style simply changes the visual layout of the table. It will sometimes make the heading cells bold and a little easier to identify.
Select the table
Select table design
Choose a table style
How to set other table properties
The additional table properties will update based on how much data is in the table. Tables that span multiple pages may require testing of different settings to ensure proper accessibility.
Select the first row in the table
Right click and open the properties menu
Select Row
Select “repeat as header row” on the first row
How to add a table caption
A table caption helps the user quickly identify the purpose of this table and can be used to create a table of contents in Microsoft Word.
There are lots of ways to format list items in Microsoft Word incorrectly – this post will cover the right ways to do it!
The type of list that you choose is important! A bulleted list or unordered list is used for items that have no particular order. These could be things like items to get at a grocery store, for example:
Milk
Bread
Eggs
Whereas, numbered list items should be used when the order is important. For example:
Get into your car
Turn it on
Drive to the store
If a list is not structured appropriately then there is a high chance that anyone using a screen reader will have difficulty engaging with the content.
Video overview of how to apply list items in Microsoft Word
This video will walk users through how to apply list items, edit list items, and change the way list items look.
Need additional tutorial videos?
Text overview for how to apply a list item in Microsoft Word
Select the text that you want to make into a list.
On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, select the Number or Bullets list icon.
Headings help with general navigation and are a key component in creating accessible documents. Those who use screen readers commonly search and navigate a document based on its heading structure.
Headings that are created by simply enlarging words and making them a different color do not actually make them structurally a heading. So make sure you are using styles that are built into Microsoft word.
There are of course some quick rules for using headings:
Use at least one H1 – used as the title (The title style is not recognized by a screen reader!)
All H2’s should be subtopics to the main H1
Headings should not skip order. There should not be an H4 without an H3 first
Think of headings like using and building an outline.
Video Overview of how to apply headings to a Microsoft word document
Need more Video walkthroughs? Check out The Accessibility Guy YouTube channel
Headings Navigation
When I start to apply headings to a document I always like to start by opening the navigation pane and then selecting the headings tab. On windows, this can be opened by pressing CNTRL + F on the keyboard.
The image above is a great example of how to use headings to build an outline for all of your content.
Text Overview on how to apply headings to a Microsoft word document
Select some text
Choose a style from the quick styles menu from the home tab
Go through the rest of the document and apply the styles throughout!
Need to learn the next steps in making your word document accessible?
