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Introduction to PDF Accessibility

Lists

If the PDF document uses lists, they must be tagged using list tags. Below are some examples of list tags:

 

Tag Description
<L> List element is any sequence of items of similar meaning or other relevance; immediate child elements should be list item elements.
<LI> List item element is any one member of a list; may have a label element (optional) and a list body element as a child.
<Lbl> Label element is a bullet, name, or number that identifies and distinguishes an element from others in the same list.
<Lbody> List item body element is the descriptive content of a list item.

 

  • <L> (List element)
    • Food <LI> (List item element) 
      • <LBody> (List item body)
        • Apples
      • <LBody> (List item body)
        • Oranges
    • Toiletries <LI> (List item element)
      • <LBody> (List item body)
        • Shampoo

 

To change a tag element to a list tag, go to the View tab and select View Setting > Navigation Panels > Tags.

 

Foxit lists with tags displayed

 

To modify a tag, right-click on the tag entry in the Navigation Panel. Select Properties. Change the Tag Type to List, List Item, or List Item Body.

 

changing tag type using Tags Preferences

Tables

If the PDF document uses tables, they must be tagged using table tags. Below are some examples of table tags.

 

Tag Description
<Table> Table element is a two-dimensional arrangement of data or text cells that contains table row elements as child elements and may have a caption element as its first or last child element.
<TR> Table row element is one row of headings or data in a table; may contain table header cell elements and table data cell elements.
<TH> Table header cell element is a table cell that contains header text or data describing one or more rows or columns of a table.
<TD> Table data cell element is a table cell that contains non-header data.

 

  • Table (3 cells by 3 cells, not including the table headers)
    • Table Row (TR)
      • Table Header (TH)
      • Table Header (TH)
      • Table Header (TH)
    • Table Row (TR)
      • Table Data (TD)
      • Table Data (TD)
      • Table Data (TD)
    • Table Row (TR)
      • Table Data (TD)
      • Table Data (TD)
      • Table Data (TD)
    • Table Row (TR)
      • Table Data (TD)
      • Table Data (TD)
      • Table Data (TD)

 

To tag a table use the Reading Order tool. Go to the Accessibility tab and select the Reading Order tool. Use your cursor to create a box over the table. Using the Touch Up Reading Order options, choose Table. Right-click on the table and select Table Editor.

 

Accessing table editor options with touch up reading order tool

 

Table editor options

 

Select the Table Editor Options... and verify that the Label Options show cell type (TH or TD).

 

Table editor options with labels for TH and TD selected

 

The table will now show data cell types:

 

Table editor with labels added

 

The first table header rows should be table headers (TH). To change the table properties of a cell, right-click over the cell and select the Table Cell Properties... For the header row, change the cell type to Header Cell (TH) with a Scope of Column. The next rows should have the cells specified as Data Cell (TD).

 

Foxit Table cell Properties with Header Cell selected

 

After formatting the table, the labels should correspond to the tags in the tags panel:

 

Table with tags in the tags panel

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