--- title: "Accessible PDF checklist for nsw.gov.au" canonical: "https://nsw-gov-au-help-hub.refined.site/space/HHK/601461904/Accessible%20PDF%20checklist%20for%20nsw.gov.au" format: markdown --- Use this checklist to ensure your PDF documents are accessible. You'll need Adobe Acrobat Pro to run the checks. ### Step 1: Set up document properties Using Acrobat Pro, ensure that the document title, summary, author, language and binding are correct. - Go to Document properties > Advanced > Reading options. Set the language the document is in. - In the same view, check the Binding. This determines what direction a screen reader will process the information.  For an English language document, set binding to left edge. If the document is in a language that is written right to left (such as Arabic), set binding to right edge. - Go to Document properties > Description, and set the document title.  Ensure this is a meaningful title, with spaces not hyphens. It should reflect the heading on the document. - In the same view, add a summary and author. For government documents, the author should typically be the department or agency name. ### Step 2: Run the Accessibility Checker You may need to turn this tool on in Acrobat Pro via Tools > Accessibility. - Run a full accessibility check (all 32 categories) on the PDF in Acrobat Pro. - Work through the results to fix any issues directly in Acrobat such as tags, alt tags and bulleted lists - Right mouse click on the issues raised one at a time and select 'fix'. - If images are missing alt text, add this only if the images add information not already captured in the text. If images are decorative or just show a visual version of information in the body text, adding alt text can be disruptive and confusing to someone using a screen reader to when unnecessary alt text descriptions are read out. - If the document is not tagged, Acrobat will give you the option to 'autotag'.  **Note:** If the document content is not well structured with semantic heading hierarchies, the automatically generated tags will mirror these accessibility flaws. This will become obvious when you check the logical reading order. - Make sure your paragraph and list style tags have all been associated correctly. If the checker identifies a lot of issues, it may be easier to go back to the original source file (for example, a Word document) to edit it. ### Step 3: Logical reading order check In the context of accessibility, logical reading order means that the hierarchy and sequence of tags supports people who are using screen readers to navigate the information in the same order as a sighted person who is viewing the page. To check the logical reading order in a PDF, use Adobe Acrobat Pro DC's Reading Order tool. - Open the PDF and navigate to Tools > Accessibility > Fix Reading Order. A panel will show the numbered order of elements on the page. - Review the numbered sequence to ensure it follows a logical flow. You can drag elements to their correct positions in the panel or by manually tagging and adjusting them. - If you have access to a screen reader, you can also use this to confirm the reading order is accurate. Again, if you identify a lot of issues in this step, it may be easier to go back to the source file (usually a Word document) to edit it. ### Step 4: Colour contrast check Check the colour combinations in use on your PDF. This is a manual process using a specialised colour checking tool. For recommended tools, including free and online software, see the [Colour contrast checkers](https://www.visionaustralia.org/business-consulting/digital-access/resources/colour-contrast-analyser) section on the Vision Australia website. - Sample all colours of text in your PDF, along with the background colour for each to check they pass the Normal Text AA check. - Change colour combinations (background/foreground) that do not pass the check of 4.5:1 ratio. ### Step 5: Final edit - Once you have made any changes to the document, run the accessibility check again to ensure everything is correct. - Once all final checks and edits have been made, export your PDF and run the Accessibility Checker one more time. > ℹ️ ### More information on digital accessibility > ℹ️ > ℹ️ For more information on making PDFs accessible, see the [Digital NSW website](https://www.digital.nsw.gov.au/delivery/accessibility-and-inclusivity-toolkit/writing/pdfs). > ℹ️ > ℹ️ To learn more about digital accessibility, visit the NSW Government [Digital Accessibility and Inclusion Toolkit](https://www.digital.nsw.gov.au/delivery/accessibility-and-inclusivity-toolkit).