Making PDF documents accessible is important, especially for people who use screen readers. When a PDF is not properly tagged, it can be frustrating and hard to understand for those users.
So, what does it mean to tag a PDF?
Tagging means adding invisible labels to the document, very similar to HTML tags, that provide important information about its content.
These labels help screen readers understand the structure of the document and interpret the information correctly. For example, tags can show where paragraphs and headings are, describe images for those who can't see them, connect table cells with their headers, and link form fields with their labels.
The best way to make sure a PDF is properly tagged is to do it right from the start when creating the document. This means using the right structure and organizing the content correctly before converting it to a PDF.
If you already have a PDF that's not tagged, you can use a program called Adobe Acrobat Pro to add tags and fix any accessibility issues. It's important to know that Adobe Acrobat Pro is the only program that can check and repair accessibility problems in existing PDF files. So, if you want to make sure your PDFs are accessible, it's a good idea to use that program.