Add alternative text and supplementary information to tags

Some tagged PDFs might not contain all the information necessary to make the document contents fully accessible. For example, if you want to make a document available to a screen reader, the PDF should contain alternative text for figures, language properties for portions of the text that use a different language than the default language for the document, and expansion text for abbreviations. Designating the appropriate language for different text elements ensures that the correct characters are used when you repurpose the document and that it is spell-checked with the correct dictionary.

You can add alternative text and multiple languages to a tag from the Tags tab. (If only one language is required, choose the language with File > Properties instead.) You can also add alternative text by using the TouchUp Reading Order tool.

Note: Keep alternative text descriptions as concise as possible.

Add alternative text to links

Screen readers can read the URLs of web links out loud, but adding meaningful alternative text to links can help users immensely. For example, by adding alternative text you can have a screen reader tell a user to “go to the Acrobat accessibility page of adobe.com” rather than “go to http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/solutionsacc.html”.

You add alternative text to the <Link> tag of a link.

Note: You must add alternative text only to tags that don’t have child tags. Adding alternative text to a parent tag prevents a screen reader from reading any of that tag's child tags.
  1. In the tag tree, select the <Link> tag for the link and choose Options > Properties.
  2. In the TouchUp Properties dialog box, select the Tag tab.
  3. Type alternative text for the link, and click Close.

Add alternative text for a figure

  1. Choose View > Navigation Panels > Tags.
  2. Expand the logical structure tree to find and select the <Figure> tag element for the image.
    To find a tag more easily, use the TouchUp Reading Order tool to select the figure—or text near the figure—in the document pane, and then choose Find Tag From Selection from the Options menu in the Tags tab.
  3. Choose Highlight Content from the Options menu on the Tags tab to see a highlighted area in the document that corresponds to the tag.
  4. Choose Properties from the Options menu on the Tags tab.
  5. In the TouchUp Properties dialog box, click the Tag tab.
  6. For Alternate Text, type text that describes the figure.

Add alternative text for an abbreviated term

  1. In the Tags tab, locate the abbreviated term by doing one of the following:

    • Expand the tag tree as needed to see the elements that contain the abbreviation.

    • Use the TouchUp Text tool or the Select tool to select the abbreviation in the document, and then choose Find Tag From Selection from the Options menu to locate the text in the tag tree.

  2. Select the tag for that element, and choose Properties from the Options menu.
    Note: If the abbreviation includes additional text, cut the additional text and place it in a new <Span> child tag within the same <Span> parent tag.
  3. In the TouchUp Properties dialog box, select the <Tag> tab.
  4. For Alternate Text, type the unabbreviated version of the term.
  5. Click Close.