TUTORIALS
Review Documents
- Review Tags
- Document Language
- Assess Reading Order
- Accessibility Reports
Repair Documents
- Adding Alt Text to an Image
- Designating Items Correctly
- Identifying Table Headers
- Creating Accessible Links
- Set Security
Scanned Documents
- Accessible PDF from Scanner
- OCR
Adobe Acrobat 9 Professional offers the capability of converting a Word document directly into a fillable PDF form (using the "Start Form Wizard" tool). Although the resultant PDF is tagged, form fields are not added to the tag structure automatically. "Run Form Field Recognition," a tool that became available in version 8, can be used to automatically add form fields as well, but again, tags for form fields are not automatically added. In most cases, you will need to use the tools in Acrobat, described in the next section, to add form field tags.
A fillable PDF form that is tagged correctly appears as such when the TouchUp Reading Order tool is active. The Order and Tag panels also display form fields. The screenshot below depicts a PDF form that has been tagged correctly. The TouchUp Reading Order tool is active, showing the text and form field items. The Tags panel has been expanded on the left, also displaying the text and form field items.
To determine if form fields are tagged, run a full check in Acrobat (described in Stage 1 of this document). If form fields are not tagged, you will get the following accessibility error message: "form fields are not contained within the structure tree." The problem is also evident from the Tags panel (form tags are not present).
To add form tags to a PDF:
All form fields on a PDF need accompanying descriptons. Descriptions should contain instructions, rather than descriptions. For example, a PDF that requires a user to type in his or her contact information, such as a name and address, the Name form field description might read something like this: "Enter your first name, followed by your last name."
To add form field descriptions to a PDF:
Alternatively, form field descriptions can be added via the "Tooltip" field when the form element is created (see screenshot below).
The "tab order' of a form is the order in which form fields are activated or "focused on" when the tab button is used on the keyboard. Normally, the designer of a form prefers that it be filled out in a specific order. The tab order for a PDF form can be viewed from the Form Editing window.
To view the tab order of a PDF form,
If the tab order for a form is incorrect, manually adjust it by dragging fields to the correct location within the Fields panel. The Fields panel is located to the left of a form, from the Form Editing window (screenshot above).
After doing any type of form field editing in the Forms Editing mode, you will need to get out of forms editing mode and go to Advanced > Accessibility > Add Form Fields to Tags.
If you have difficulty accessing any material on this site or need an alternate format, or you just have questions and want to give feedback, contact the Accessible Technology Initiative.
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