Tagging a PDF in Adobe Acrobat to Increase Accessibility

Dani Reilley
18 steps
2 minutes

Fhsu

Tip! Tagging a PDF adds an accessibility structure that helps screen readers interpret and navigate the document. Tags identify headings, paragraphs, lists, and images so that all users can access the content. This process also ensures your PDF meets accessibility standards in Blackboard Ally.

If an PDF is claiming it is untagged, you will want to upload a tagged version in it's place.

Open your Adobe Acrobat program/app and select the original PDF you wish to tag.

Click the PDF.

Select "open".

Click "create".

Once uploaded, head to the "All tools" tab, and click "view more".

Click on "Prepare for accessibility".

Click on "Automatically tag PDF"

Once this is processed, your tags will open on the right of your screen. Click the "i" (information) icon to see if the PDF was tagged successfully.

Next, you have the option to "Check for accessibility" within Acrobat. *\*this step is optional.*

Click "Start Checking".

Double check that the Tagged PDF passes the assessment.

Save your new tagged PDF.

Open the location you wish to re-upload your PDF.

Click "Upload"

Type "Tagged PDF Sample"

Notice that your new accessibility score is high!

Notice the difference between the accessibility score of an ***untagged*** and ***tagged*** PDF. If you uploaded a new one, don't forget to delete the old one!