If your site is enabled for scanning PDFs, we run the following checks on your PDF inventory. Expand the sections below to learn more about each check.
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Broken Links
Broken Links
Just for clarity, we can only check if links are actually entered in the document. If there is simply a URL in the text of the document and it is not actually linked, we cannot test in that situation.
Bookmarks should be created to assist with document navigation.
Bookmarks should be created to assist with document navigation.
PDF Bookmarks are used to allow users to jump directly to different sections of a document. Users will find it difficult to use documents without bookmarks, especially if the documents are long or do not have tags. Check only runs on PDFs of 9 or more pages.
More information on bookmarks check
Table elements must be used for table markup.
Table elements must be used for table markup.
Tables must be structured using table elements (Table, TR, TH, etc..) so the data relationships are clear, even if the table isn’t visible or the presentation format changes.
More information on table element usage
Headings should be tagged appropriately in the PDF tags tree.
Headings should be tagged appropriately in the PDF tags tree.
Heading elements should be used in the correct order to help users using a screen reader to navigate the document.
More information on heading tag usage
Links and link text provided using the Link annotation and the /Link structure element to make them clickable.
Links and link text provided using the Link annotation and the /Link structure element to make them clickable.
The simplest way to provide links that comply with the WCAG success criteria is to create them when authoring the document, before conversion to PDF. If you don't have access to the source document for the PDF, you need to edit the link in PDF software. Link information should be programmatically available to user agents so that links are recognizable when presented in different formats. One way to do this is to ensure the links and link text use both the Link annotation and Link structure element to make them clickable.
More information on link annotation usage
Name, role, and value information should be provided for form fields.
Name, role, and value information should be provided for form fields.
Form fields need name, role, and value information so assistive technologies can gather their information and interact with them.
More information on form field mark up
Vague visible link text should provide additional link text for screen reader users by using an Alt entry for the Link tag.
Vague visible link text should provide additional link text for screen reader users by using an Alt entry for the Link tag.
When information beyond the visible link text is needed, replacement link text should be provided via the /Alt entry in the property list for a tag. Screen readers can read visible link text, but providing meaningful alternate text for links in a PDF can make them more accessible.Replacement link text should be provided via the /Alt entry in the property list for a tag.
Submit buttons must use the submit-form action in PDF forms.
Submit buttons must use the submit-form action in PDF forms.
A mechanism should be provided that allows users to explicitly request a change of context using the submit-form action in a PDF form.
Pages should be consistently numbered.
Pages should be consistently numbered.
Not having consistent page numbering in a document makes it challenging for navigation. If the page numbering used by the PDF viewer control differs from the numbering on the pages, users can not navigate to the referenced pages by entering the page number in the PDF viewer control.
More information on providing consistent page numbering
Text alternatives (Alt text) should be provided for non-decorative images using the Alt entry.
Text alternatives (Alt text) should be provided for non-decorative images using the Alt entry.
Images that convey relevant meaning or text to the PDF should have a text alternative entered using the /Alt entry in the property list for the tag. These /Alt entries are read to those using text-to-speech technology.
More information on text alternatives for images
The document title must be provided using the /Title entry in the document information dictionary.
The document title must be provided using the /Title entry in the document information dictionary.
A descriptive title for a PDF document must be specified for assistive technology by using the /Title entry in the document information dictionary. The DisplayDocTitle flag setting should also be set to True in a viewer preferences dictionary.
More information on setting the Title entry
Document must have correct tab and reading order.
Document must have correct tab and reading order.
If the tab order is not correct within a document, users that utilize assistive technology may not be able to understand the content.
More information on correct tab and reading order
Headers and footers should be provided and consistent on each page.
Headers and footers should be provided and consistent on each page.
Headers and footers help make content easier to use and understandable by providing repeated information in a consistent and predictable way.
More information on running headers and footers
Default language set using the /Lang entry in the document catalog.
Default language set using the /Lang entry in the document catalog.
Screen reading software uses the default language to determine how it will pronounce text. The reader can distort certain words if the language is not correctly set. Use the /Lang entry in the document catalog.
More information on setting the Lang entry
Decorative images should be hidden using the Artifact tag.
Decorative images should be hidden using the Artifact tag.
Purely decorative images in PDFs must be marked with the /Artifact tag so that assistive technologies ignore them. Artifacts are elements that are not part of the meaningful content. These can include headers and footers, divider lines, or graphics.
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