Foxit Digital Accessibility Guide

Table of Contents

Remediate a PDF in Foxit

First, open your PDF and run the Accessibility Checker.

This will run what is called an “automated” accessibility check. It is a fantastic way to catch a lot of accessibility issues, but it doesn’t find or correct all issues.

  1. Select “Accessibility” in the upper toolbar.
    Screenshot of the Foxit PDF editor toolbar highlighting the "Accessibility" tab, which is selected and outlined in a red rectangle. Visible tabs include Share, Accessibility, and Help, with accessibility-related tool icons displayed below.
  2. Select “Full Check” within the accessibility toolkit.
    Screenshot of the Foxit PDF editor toolbar highlighting the "Full Check" button in the Convert tab, outlined in a red rectangle. Adjacent options visible include "Autotag Form Field" on the left and "Accessibility Report" on the right.
  3. The Accessibility Checker Options panel will appear. Select “Start Checking”.
    Screenshot of the Foxit "Accessibility Checker Options" dialog box. The Checking Options section shows the "Document" category selected, with 8 checkboxes all checked, including options such as "Accessibility permission flag is set," "Document is tagged PDF," and "Document has appropriate color contrast." Below are "Select All" and "Clear All" buttons. The Report Options section shows "Create accessibility report" checked with a file path specified. A red arrow points to the "Start Checking" button in the bottom right corner.
    This tool will scan your document and report any accessibility errors it finds.
  4. Any accessibility errors found will appear in a panel on the left-hand side of the screen. At this point, you can further investigate what you need to do to correct these errors.
    Screenshot of the Foxit Accessibility Check results panel for a file named "inaccessible pdf.pdf." The panel displays a tree list of categories, with "Document (3 issues)" and "Alternate Text (1 issue)" shown in bold to indicate detected problems. Other categories listed with no issues include Page Content, Forms, Tables, Lists, and Headings.
    In this example, there are three Document accessibility issues and one Alternative Text accessibility issue found. We can learn more about what needs to be corrected by expanding these options within our Accessibility Checker.

Open the “Touch Up Reading Order” too in your Accessibility Toolkit

The Touch Up Reading Order tool is the key to excellent PDF remediation. This will help you add the invisible “tags” needed on your PDF to ensure screen readers can understand the content correctly.

What are “tags”?

Tags are digital labels used to organize content in a PDF. These labels give information to assistive technologies that allow the documents to be used (or used more effectively). Tags are added to several distinct parts of a document and build out of the structure of the information. These digital labels are added to paragraphs, tables, figures, and headings, to name a few.

Why are tags important?

Tags are the only reason PDF documents have internal structure. This structure is the only way that assistive technology users can access the information in a PDF document. Adding tags – and ensuring those tags are correct and in a logical order – will ensure that your document is available to everyone, regardless of how the information is accessed.

To open the Reading Order tool, select “Reading Order” in the list of tools available in your accessibility tab. This is found in the top bar toolkit.

Screenshot of the Foxit PDF editor Accessibility toolbar tab, highlighted in purple with a red arrow pointing to it. The "Reading Order" button is outlined in a red rectangle. Other visible tools in the toolbar include Setup Assistant, Reading Option, Set Alternate Text, Set Area Reading Order, Change Area Order, and Apply Area Order.

This will open the Touch Up Reading Order pane, shown below.

Here's the alt text for this image: Alt text: Screenshot of the Foxit "Touch Up Reading Order" dialog box with two sections outlined in red rectangles. The top section contains content-type buttons for tagging selected content, including Text, Figure, Form Field, Figure/Caption, Heading 1 through Heading 6, Table, Cell, Formula, Reference, Note, and Background/Artifact. The bottom section shows display options with "Show page content groups" checked and "Page content order" selected. A third red rectangle highlights the "Clear Page Structure" and "Show Order Panel" buttons near the bottom of the dialog.

What is a Touch Up Reading Order Pane?

The top tools are used to tag or re-tag a feature. For example, if you need to designate something as a figure when tagged as a paragraph, you can correct that using these tools.

You can have one of two page content groups displayed at once, and you can toggle between them. Page Content Order will display the reading order of your tagged document, while the Structure Type will display what tags have been used for different artifacts.

The Show Order Panel button will open up the Order Panel toolkit. In this tool area, you can correct the reading order of your document.

Sometimes a PDF has been tagged automatically or needs to be re-tagged from scratch. If it is easier to correct tags from scratch, you can select Clear Page Structure to remove all tags on the page you are currently viewing.

Document

Logical Reading Order – Needs manual check

Every time you run the Accessibility Checker, your document will get flagged for Logical Reading Order. This is because Foxit has no way of knowing if your document is in a logical reading order– you have to check for yourself! Thankfully, it is easy to do.

  1. Open your “Touch Up Reading Order” Tool.
    Screenshot of a portion of the Foxit PDF editor toolbar with the "Reading Order" button outlined in a red rectangle. Adjacent visible buttons include "Reading Option" on the left and "Set Alternate Text" on the right.
  2. Select “Page content order” under “Show page content group”. This will toggle your interface to display the reading order of your page.
    Screenshot of a portion of the Foxit "Touch Up Reading Order" dialog box showing display options. A red arrow points to the "Page content order" radio button, which is selected. Other visible options include "Show page content groups" (checked), "Structure types" (unselected), "Show table cells" (checked), "Display like elements in a single box" (checked), and "Show tables and figures" (checked).
  3. The figure labeled with a 1 will be the first item read with a screen reader. The second item read will have a 2 label. This will continue for the duration of the page you are viewing.
    Screenshot of Foxit PDF editor showing the "Touch Up Reading Order" dialog box open on the left alongside a PDF document on the right. The PDF displays three sections with Lorem ipsum placeholder text under the headings "an inaccessible PDF. Help!," "It should I do to fix this?," and "hy is this important?" Each section heading is outlined with a dashed blue rectangle indicating tagged content. A black image in the top right of the PDF is flagged with the label "Figure – No alternate text exists," indicating a missing alt text accessibility issue.

Note: Each document page will have its own reading order. Each page will need this manual check.

Primary Language Failed

By adding a language attribute to your document, you are ensuring that screen readers have all the information needed to understand that document correctly. Adding a default language is also extremely easy to do in Foxit.

  1. Select the “Primary Language – Failed” notification in your Accessibility Checker pane.
  2. Select “Fix” in the menu that appears.
    Screenshot of the Foxit Accessibility Check results panel showing the "Document" category expanded with several items listed. Most items show a green checkmark indicating they passed, including "Accessibility permission flag," "Image-only PDF," "Tagged PDF," "Title," and "Bookmarks." Two items show warnings: "Logical Reading Order – Needs manual check" and "Color contrast – Needs check." The item "Primary language – Failed" is highlighted in blue and selected, with a right-click context menu open showing options: Fix, Skip Rule, Explain, and Check Again. A red arrow points to the "Fix" option.
  3. The “Set Reading Language” pane will appear. Use the drop-down menu to select your document’s language. This drop-down menu will most likely default to English.
    Screenshot of the Foxit "Set Reading Language" dialog box with a Language dropdown menu set to "English." The dialog contains "OK" and "Cancel" buttons at the bottom.
  4. Select “OK” to save your choice.

Title – Failed

Titles are used to label your document and are very important for screen reader users to know what files they are opening.

Note: This information is different from the name you have used for the saved file.

  1. Right-click the “Title – Failed” notification in your Accessibility Check pane.
  2. Select “Fix” in the menu that appears.
    Screenshot of the Foxit Accessibility Check results panel showing "Title – Failed" selected and highlighted in blue, with a right-click context menu open. A red arrow points to the "Fix" option at the top of the menu. Other menu options include Skip Rule, Explain, Check Again, Show Report, and Options. Other visible items in the results panel include Image-only PDF (passed), Tagged PDF (passed), Logical Reading Order (needs manual check), Primary language (passed), Bookmarks (passed), Color contrast (needs check), as well as unchecked categories Page Content, Forms, Alternate Text, Tables, Lists, and Headings.
  3. The “Description” pane will appear. Un-select the “Leave as it” checkbox, add your Title, and select “OK”.
    Screenshot of the Foxit "Description" dialog box for setting PDF document properties. The Title field is outlined in a red rectangle and contains the text "Help! I'm an inaccessible pdf!" with the "Leave as is" checkbox unchecked. The Subject and Keywords fields are empty with "Leave as is" checked, and the Author field shows "Madison Ellis" with "Leave as is" checked. A red arrow points to the "OK" button in the bottom right corner.

Color Contrast – Needs Manual Check

Every time you run the Accessibility Check, your document will get flagged for Color Contrast. This is because Foxit has no way of knowing if your document has acceptable color contrast – you have to check for yourself! Thankfully, it is easy to do.

What is color contrast?

Color contrast refers to ensuring that the color of the text of a document has enough contrast with the background color for visual readers to easily read it. This helps users who have variations of color blindness, have low vision, or just need more contrast to read your content. Dark text on a light-colored background is almost always an excellent choice.

Great text color contrast combinations

  • Black and White
  • Purple and Yellow
  • Navy and Light Grey

Bad text color contrast combinations

  • Orange and White
  • Green and White
  • Red and Green

How do I check color contrast?

Since Foxit doesn’t have the capability of checking a document’s color contrast on its own, it is your responsibility to ensure that all your text can be easily read. If there is any text you feel might be an issue, there are online tools that can help ensure you have enough contrast.

WebAIM Color Contrast Checker

Adobe Color Contrast Checker

Help! My text doesn’t have enough contrast! What should I do?

The Foxit PDF editor has built-in tools that allow you to change the color of the text in your document very quickly. This can help remediate many color contrast accessibility concerns. Unfortunately, this tool only allows you to change the color of recognized text.

Remember: Black text on a white background has the highest color contrast ratio.

  1. Select the “Edit” tool found in the top tool panel. Then, select “Edit Text”.
    Screenshot of the Foxit PDF editor toolbar with the "Edit" tab selected, highlighted in purple with a red arrow pointing to it. The "Edit Text" button is outlined in a red rectangle. Other visible tools in the toolbar include Hand, Select, Edit Object, Link & Join Text, Check Spelling, and Search & Replace.
  2. Highlight the text that you want to change the color of. This should auto-populate the current text color in the editing toolkit.
    Screenshot of Foxit PDF editor in Edit Text mode, showing a PDF document with three sections: "I'm an inaccessible PDF. Help!," "What should I do to fix this?," and "Why is this important?", each followed by Lorem ipsum placeholder text. The heading "What should I do to fix this?" is selected and highlighted in blue, with a red arrow pointing to it. On the right side, the Text Style panel is outlined in a red rectangle, showing font formatting options including font name (Calibri), size (19.00), and text styling buttons.
  3. Select the color pallet. This will open a color pallet for you to choose a new color.
    Screenshot of the Foxit Text Style panel with a color picker open, showing Theme Colors and Standard Colors swatches. A red arrow points to the color swatch button near the top of the panel, next to the font size field showing "19.98" and font set to "Calibri." A "More Colors…" option is visible at the bottom of the color picker.
  4. Select your new color – ensuring that this color meets color contrast standards. This will automatically change the color of the text you have highlighted. You can always double-check using the color contrast checkers at WebAIM or Adobe. In this example, we changed the color of our text from light orange to black. We can be confident that this meets color contrast standards because we know that black text on a white background has the highest color contrast ratio available.

Alternative Text

Alternative text (sometimes called ‘alt-text’) is a text description of an image and is incredibly important for accessibility. Can you imagine trying to understand a document full of images and having no idea what the images are showing you? This is where alternative text comes to the rescue.

Figures Alternate Text – Failed

  1. Select the drop-down menu under “Figures alternative text – Failed”. This will show you all the figures in your document that do not have alternative text associated with it. This does not mean all the figures in your document have correct or helpful alternative text.
    Screenshot of the Foxit Accessibility Check results panel showing the "Alternate Text" category expanded. "Alternate Text (1 issue)" is listed, with "Figures alternate text – Failed" shown with a red error icon and expanded to reveal "Figure 1" underneath. Figure 1's sub-checks are all passing with green checkmarks: "Nested alternate text – Passed," "Associated with content – Passed," "Hides annotation – Passed," and "Other elements alternate text – Passed." Other categories visible include Document (2 issues), Page Content, and Forms.
  2. Select the figure that doesn’t yet have alt text. This will highlight the image associated with the error, so you know what you are working with.
    Screenshot of Foxit PDF editor showing the Accessibility Check panel on the left with "Figures alternate text – Failed" expanded and "Figure 1" selected and highlighted in blue. On the right, the corresponding PDF page is displayed, with a black rectangle image in the upper right corner outlined in a red rectangle, indicating the figure that is missing alternate text.
  3. Right-click the figure error and select “Fix”.
    Screenshot of the Foxit Accessibility Check results panel showing "Figures alternate text – Failed" expanded with "Figure 1" selected and highlighted in blue. A right-click context menu is open with a red arrow pointing to the "Fix" option at the top. Other menu options include Skip Rule, Explain, Show in Content Panel, Show in Tags Panel, Check Again, Show Report, and Options.
  4. The Set Alternative Text pane will open. Add your alternative text and select “Save and Close”.
    Screenshot of the Foxit "Set Alternate Text" dialog box showing "Image 1 of 1." The "Alternate text" field contains the text "U of A Division Accessibility Graphic," and the "Decorative figure" checkbox is unchecked. "Save & Close" and "Cancel" buttons are visible at the bottom.

What is a “Decorative Figure”?

Decorative Figures are any image that is not directly related to the content being discussed. If an image is just used to fill white space or doesn’t contribute to a better understanding of what is being discussed, it can be considered “decorative” and does not need alternative text.

Tables

Headers – Failed

Header levels are incredibly important to include in tables. This allows screen reader users to navigate the table and fully understand its message.

  1. Under “Headers – Failed”, select the Element with an accessibility error. This action will highlight the table in your document that needs a summary added to it.
    Screenshot of Foxit PDF editor showing an accessibility check panel on the left and a PDF document on the right. The left panel displays "Tables (3 issues)" expanded, with "Rows – Passed" and "TH and TD – Passed" shown with green checkmarks, while "Headers – Failed" is marked with a red error icon and expanded to show "Element 1" (highlighted with a red arrow) and "Element 2." "Regularity – Failed" and "Summary – Failed" are also marked with red error icons. The PDF on the right shows a photograph of a person measuring a tree, accompanied by explanatory text, and "TABLE 3. Adjustment factors for RED OAK group of tree species" outlined in a red rectangle, listing seven oak species with their corresponding adjustment factors.
  2. Now that you know what table is missing a header, select the “Reading Order” tool in the accessibility toolbar. Your Touch Up Reading Order pane will appear.
    Screenshot of a portion of the Foxit PDF editor toolbar with the "Reading Order" button outlined in a red rectangle. Adjacent visible buttons include "Reading Option" on the left and "Set Alternate Text" on the right.
  3. Right-select the table you want to add header levels to and select “Table Editor”.
    Screenshot of Foxit PDF editor showing "TABLE 3. Adjustment factors for RED OAK group of tree species" with a right-click context menu open over the table. The "Table Editor" option is outlined in a red rectangle. Other visible menu options include Show reading order panel, Show page content groups, Display like elements in a single box, Show table cells, Show tables and figures, Clear page structure, and Edit table Summary. The table cells are overlaid with diagonal lines indicating untagged or unstructured content.
    This will show you how every cell in your table is labeled.

    Screenshot of Foxit PDF editor showing "TABLE 3. Adjustment factors for RED OAK group of tree species" in Table Editor mode. The "Factor" column header and all cells in the Factor column are highlighted in pink/red, indicating they are selected or being edited for table header assignment. The "Species" column header is highlighted in blue. The table lists seven oak species and their adjustment factors: Southern Red Oak (1.054), Black Oak (1.033), Northern Red Oak (1.018), Cherrybark Oak (1.015), Nuttall Oak (0.999), Water Oak (0.996), and Willow Oak (0.963).

  4. Select the cells you want to change from “Table Date (TD)” to “Table Header (TH)”.
    Screenshot of Foxit PDF editor showing "TABLE 3. Adjustment factors for RED OAK group of tree species" in Table Editor mode, with a right-click context menu open over the "Factor" header cell. A red arrow points to the "Table Cell Properties" option at the top of the menu. Other menu options include "Table Editor Options…" and "Auto Generate Header Cell IDs." The Factor column and its data cells remain highlighted in pink, indicating they are selected.
    Right-click the highlighted cells and select “Table Cell Properties”.
  5. The “Table Cell Properties” pane will open. Select “Header Cell”. This will re-tag your selected cells as header data instead of table data. Select “OK”.
    Screenshot of the Foxit "Table Cell Properties" dialog box. A red arrow points to the "Header Cell" radio button, which is selected under the Type section. The "Data Cell" option is unselected. The Scope dropdown is set to "None." The Attributes section shows Row Span and Column Span both set to 1, with empty fields for ID and Associated Head Cell IDs. The "OK" button in the bottom right is outlined in a red rectangle.
    The resulting table will have newly tagged Header cells.

Summary – Failed

Table summaries are typically two to three sentences that describe the overall understanding of your table. This helps screen reader users understand what the table is about before jumping into the data.

  1. Under “Summary – Failed”, select the Element with an accessibility error. This action will highlight the table in your document that needs a summary added to it.
    Screenshot of Foxit PDF editor showing the Accessibility Check panel on the left and a PDF document on the right. The left panel displays the "Tables (3 issues)" category expanded, with "Rows – Passed" and "TH and TD – Passed" showing green checkmarks, while "Headers – Failed," "Regularity – Failed," and "Summary – Failed" show red error icons. "Summary – Failed" is further expanded showing Elements 1 through 5, with "Element 3" highlighted and indicated by a red arrow. The PDF on the right shows a photograph of a person measuring a tree, explanatory text, and "TABLE 3. Adjustment factors for RED OAK group of tree species" outlined in a red rectangle, with the table's Species and Factor columns visible.
  2. Now that you know which table has the concern, select the “Reading Order” tool in your accessibility toolbar. Your Touch Up Reading Order pane will appear.
    Screenshot of a portion of the Foxit PDF editor toolbar with the "Reading Order" button outlined in a red rectangle. Adjacent visible buttons include "Reading Option" on the left and "Set Alternate Text" on the right.
  3. Right-select the table you want to add a summary to and select “Edit Table Summary”.
    Screenshot of Foxit PDF editor showing the RED OAK adjustment factors table with a right-click context menu open. A red arrow points to the "Edit Table Summary" option near the bottom of the menu. Other visible menu options include Show reading order panel, Show page content groups, Display like elements in a single box, Show table cells, Show tables and figures, Clear page structure, and Table Editor. The table cells are overlaid with diagonal lines indicating unstructured content.
  4. The table summary pane will appear. Insert your table summary and select “OK”. Repeat for any other tables that need summary information.
    Screenshot of the Foxit "Table Summary" dialog box with a text field containing the summary: "Adjustment factors for RED OAK group of tree species. Differences between species of oak and their needed factor adjustments." The dialog has "OK" and "Cancel" buttons at the bottom.

Headings

Headings are used by screen reader users to move through content, better understand the structure of a document, and find the information they need. By adding correct headings to your document, you will ensure a better experience to all users.

Appropriate Nesting – Failed

Headers must be added in descending order. For example, a Header Level 2 may not precede a Header Level 1. Sometimes header levels get mixed up and become “inappropriately nested”. This simply means that a header level tag has been mixed up and will need to be tagged differently.

  1. Under the “Appropriate nesting – Failed” tag, select the Element that has an error. This will highlight the header tag that needs more attention.
    Screenshot of Foxit PDF editor showing the Accessibility Check panel on the left and a PDF document on the right. The left panel displays the "Headings (1 issue)" category expanded, with "Appropriate nesting – Failed" shown with a red error icon, and "Element 1" highlighted in blue with a red arrow pointing to it. Other categories listed without issues include Document (2 issues), Page Content, Forms, Alternate Text, Tables, and Lists. The PDF on the right shows the heading "I'm an inaccessible PDF. Help!" highlighted in blue, indicating it is the selected element with the nesting issue.
  2. Open the “Reading Order” tool in your Accessibility toolkit. This will allow you to see what header level your header is tagged as.Screenshot of Foxit PDF editor showing the "Touch Up Reading Order" dialog on the left and a PDF document on the right, with "Structure types" selected in the display options. The PDF shows three sections with their heading tags visible: the first heading "an inaccessible PDF. Help!" is tagged as "H2" with a red arrow pointing to it, the second heading "What should I do to fix this?" is tagged as "H1," and the third heading "Why is this important?" is tagged as "H2." A red arrow points to the "H1" tag on the second heading, highlighting the incorrect heading nesting order. A black image in the top right is flagged with "Figure – No alternate text exists."
  3. Select the content you want to change the tag label as. This will highlight the tagged content.
  4. In the open “Reading Order” pane, select the “Heading” you want re-tag this content with. This will immediately re-tag this content.
    Screenshot of Foxit PDF editor showing the "Touch Up Reading Order" dialog on the left and a PDF document on the right. The "Heading 1" button in the dialog is outlined in a red rectangle. A red arrow points to the first heading in the PDF, "an inaccessible PDF. Help!," which is currently tagged as "H2," indicating it needs to be reassigned as a Heading 1. The second heading "What should I do to fix this?" is visible below, tagged as "H1." A black image in the top right is flagged with "Figure – No alternate text exists."

    Screenshot of Foxit PDF editor showing the "Touch Up Reading Order" dialog on the left and a PDF document on the right. A red arrow points to the first heading "an inaccessible PDF. Help!" which is now correctly tagged as "H1," confirming the heading level has been successfully updated from H2 to H1. A black image in the top right remains flagged with "Figure – No alternate text exists."

  5. Repeat as needed for any additional content.