Accessibility
Accessible PDFs from the editor and the API, and an editor that works from the keyboard and with a screen reader.
What every PDF carries#
Every tagged PDF is written to PDF/UA-1 (ISO 14289-1): the structure in reading order — headings, paragraphs, lists, tables with their header cells, figures with their alternative text, links, footnotes — the document's language and title. Running headers and footers, page numbers, decorative images and the trial mark are artifacts, which assistive technology skips. A form field is named for a screen reader (/TU) by its <label>, aria-label, aria-labelledby or its group's <legend>. PDF/UA-2 (PDF 2.0) is a choice on Pro and Max: Claim PDF/UA-2 in the editor's Page settings, or pdf_ua: 2 in the API (Standards).
In the editor#
- Alternative text. Select an image, a chart, a QR code or a barcode; in Properties, describe it under Alt text, or tick Decorative — a decorative graphic becomes an artifact.
- Reading order. A screen reader reads the document in the order of the Outline. Move a block there with Alt and the arrow keys, or with Shift+F10 → Move. The accessibility check warns where the reading order differs from what the page shows.
- Language and title. Choose the document's language in Page settings (an export without one is English). The document's name, at the top left, is the PDF's title.
- Accessibility check. Accessibility check (PDF/UA) in the toolbar lists what only the author can decide: images without alt text or alt text that is a file name, headings that skip a level, tables without header cells, links without telling text, form fields without a label, text that is too faint against its background, and more. Each finding selects its block.
Keyboard#
| Keys | Does |
|---|---|
| Tab, Shift+Tab | Moves through the interface and the blocks of the page. A block reached this way is selected. |
| Enter | Edits the selected text block; on a group, selects its first block. |
| Esc | Leaves the text (the focus stays on its block), then selects the enclosing group, then nothing. |
| Shift+F10 or the menu key | The actions of the selected block: edit text, turn into, add a block after, duplicate, group, Move, copy, cut, delete. |
| ↑ ↓ in the Outline | The previous and the next block; Home and End: the first and the last; → and ← open and close a group. |
| Alt+↑ ↓ ← → in the Outline | Moves the selected block up or down, into a group or out of it. |
| Delete | Removes the selected block. |
| Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+D | Copy, cut, paste and duplicate the selected block. |
| Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+Shift+Z or Ctrl+Y | Undo and redo. |
| Ctrl+K | The command palette: blocks to insert and commands. |
| Ctrl+E | Downloads the PDF. |
On a Mac, ⌘ stands for Ctrl.
Screen readers#
Every control of the editor has a name and a role; the Outline is a tree, the actions are menus, dialogs return the focus to what opened them, and saving, export and errors are announced as they happen. Blocks on the page are announced by their text and their kind (heading, text, table…).
Contact#
Accessibility questions, and anything that does not work with your assistive technology: hello@reflowpdf.com.