Step 2: Does the PDF Contain Links?-2

Links allow users to quickly move to another part of a document, related information in a different document, or a desired website. For URLs to be accessible to users of screen readers, they must be converted to active links and be correctly tagged in the PDF file.

If the document was tagged during conversion from a word-processing application to Adobe PDF, the links in the document are most likely active and included in the tag tree. 

The links should be verified and any additional links added to the document must follow this process to ensure access.

 

Creating links in Adobe Acrobat DC

 

By default, the selected text for each link becomes the link text.

  • If the document is tagged, the proper link tags will be added in the appropriate place in the structure tree.
  • If the document is not yet tagged, the appropriate link tags will be generated when the document is tagged.

These methods differ in how they affect the tag tree, which will be discussed with more detail in the Accessibility Checker Module.

Be Careful...

  • Automatically detected URLs in PDF documents are not accessible.

  • The General Preference option, “Basic tools: Create Links from URLs” also does not allow users of the keyboard-only or screen readers to access a link. This option must not be relied upon for ensuring access to links.

  • Creating links with Acrobat Standard DC does not generate any tags for the links.