Alt text in pdf file

If you are using SharePoint, make sure your document is CHECKED OUT before conversion, it makes all the difference for me. Many small maddening things get picked up in that mode.

/t5/acrobat-discussions/why-is-my-converted-pdf-document-not-showing-the-alt-text-from-my-word-document-i-made-sure-to-save/m-p/9755352#M94844 Mar 19, 2018 Mar 19, 2018

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We apologize for the inconvenience caused, please refer to the following KB articles which discuss the similar issue and scenario Alternate text disappears in Acrobat DC

Let us know how it goes and share your findings.

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/t5/acrobat-discussions/why-is-my-converted-pdf-document-not-showing-the-alt-text-from-my-word-document-i-made-sure-to-save/m-p/11473093#M279292 Sep 30, 2020 Sep 30, 2020

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I reviewed the Alternate text disappears in Acrobat DC, but that does not help , as it refers to adding alt text manually with Adobe Acrobat and my issue is with adding text in Word and it not coming over when converting to a PDF. Your link for the Alternate text not always displaying is no longer working.

ScI am having the same issue as the OP, where I am using the latest version of Word, adding in the alt text for the images, then using the Acrobat Make Accessible option in the Microsoft Word ribbon. When the document gets converted to an Adobe PDF then goes through the Make Accessible options, when it gets to the detecting "figures with missing alternate text" it is finding many items that I had already added the alt text in Word are now missing that alt text. Sometimes it converts some of the alt text, and not others for images/objects in the same document! This is making for double work, and is particularly concerning when some of the documents we create in Word are hundreds of pages long with hundreds of images and charts. Here is a screenshot showing that the alt text is added in Word, but not found by Acrobat Pro. What is further concerning is that the Accessbility Checker report shows that only 6 figures need alternate text, however if you go to the accessibility tool and use the Set Alternate Text method, it shows that 8 of the 18 figures do not have alternate text. I'm not sure why the report is showing a different number of figures to fix than the accessibility tool. Is there a way in Word, an option that needs to be checked, an accesibility format to save as to force all of the alt tags that are already created in Word to show in the converted PDF document?

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/t5/acrobat-discussions/why-is-my-converted-pdf-document-not-showing-the-alt-text-from-my-word-document-i-made-sure-to-save/m-p/11811484#M296773 Feb 05, 2021 Feb 05, 2021

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showalters. were you able to figure this out? I have run into the same issue as you are saying and the poster above.

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/t5/acrobat-discussions/why-is-my-converted-pdf-document-not-showing-the-alt-text-from-my-word-document-i-made-sure-to-save/m-p/11835401#M298273 Feb 16, 2021 Feb 16, 2021

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No, never figured it out and never got a response from Adobe.

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/t5/acrobat-discussions/why-is-my-converted-pdf-document-not-showing-the-alt-text-from-my-word-document-i-made-sure-to-save/m-p/11836766#M298407 Feb 16, 2021 Feb 16, 2021

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Replying to @showalters because their post has the most detail (2021).

What's described in the post is a hodgepodge of information that refers to utilities that either don't exist or are in another program. It also contains misconceptions about how these tools work.

First, here's a quick step-by-step of how to make an accessible PDF from MS Word .

1. Make an accessible Word document.
   • Format it correctly for accessibility (in other words, use Paragraph Styles to trigger the correct tags in the PDF).
   • Add Alt-text to all graphics in the Word document. Right-click on each graphic, select Alt-text, and write a short description of the graphic.
2. Export the Word document to Tagged PDF . Use either of these 3 methods.
   • Use Acrobat's PDF Maker plug-in , which is accessed through the Acrobat Ribbon in Word . Set the Preferences, then Create the PDF.
     Adobe PDF Maker plug-in -- The Acrobat Ribbon in MS Word. After setting the conversion preferences, Create the PDF from MS Word.
   • Use File / Save As Adobe PDF (note the wording) for a condensed version of the above utility.
   • Use Microsoft's built-in utililty : File / Save As, and choose PDF from the File Type menu.
   • Either of these 3 methods will carry over the Alt-text from Word into the exported PDF. Rarely fails. In fact, it's been a few years since this feature has failed. So there's something about how you're making the source Word document, not the conversion itself.
     And make sure you've updated your software to the latest version of Word (2019 or 365 as of 2021) and Acrobat (DC Pro 2020, and includes the PDF Maker plug-in for MS Office).
3. Open the PDF in Acrobat DC Pro and review it for accessibility compliance.

Comments about the post:

There's no such utility in MS Word. There's no such Microsoft Word ribbon.

However, there IS a Make Accessible action wizard panel in Acrobat , looks like this:

Acrobat's Make Accessible utility.

It does not do what you think it should do: It Does Not Make an Accessible PDF for you.

• It only prompts you to do these tasks in Acrobat, but doesn't actually do them. It is not magic wand software.
• But really, all of these tasks should have been done long before the PDF was opened in Acrobat.
• I don't know of anyone in the industry who uses it, which is why it took 3 of us accessibililty experts to figure out what you were describing.

I'm concerned that you're getting only some of the Alt-text and not all of the Alt-text.

• Please double-check you're using the steps above to create the Word source document and export it to PDF with the appropriate settings for Adobe Tagged PDF.
• Try each of the 3 export methods described above. Let us know if any of them works, or doesn't.
• And in Word , check the Alt-text for each graphic and ensure that the " Decorative " checkbox option isn't checked. That means to artifact the graphic and whatever Alt-text you might have written in the field box can be left out of the PDF.

Let us know if any of this corrects your situation.

| Bevi Chagnon | Designer & Technologist for Accessible Documents |
| PubCom | Classes & Books for Accessible InDesign, PDFs & MS Office |

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/t5/acrobat-discussions/why-is-my-converted-pdf-document-not-showing-the-alt-text-from-my-word-document-i-made-sure-to-save/m-p/11838329#M298525 Feb 17, 2021 Feb 17, 2021

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Thank you for responding. I am using Office 365 Word Version 1808 and Acrobat DC Pro Version 2021.001.20.135.

I know how to add alt-text in a Word document, however I can start with a blank document, and it is hit or miss on whether or not the alt-text will convert over in Adobe. Ninenty-nine percent of the time I am being sent documents by our various departments (38 of them) so that I can make them accessible to add to our website, which means I did not have any hand in creating the documents and am having to work with what I'm given. I used to check that the alt text was there and also that it was not (or was, if appropriate) marked decorative, but since I can't realibly trust that it will be converted, I don't bother anymore and just add alt-text in Adobe now.

You said "There's no such utility in MS Word. There's no such Microsoft Word ribbon." Well, please see the attached picture that clearly shows the Acrobat ribbon, the Create PDF and Run Action and the Make Accesible Option in my Word program. I didn't make it up. It's there and I use all the time, so you may want to add a 4th method to your instructions. When I use it, it does add the tagging structure to "make it accessible." How do I know this, because I have used the other three methods, and then when I open the document in Acrobat and run the accessibility checker, the PDF tagged usually fails, along with many other items, until if run the fix tags options. When I use the "Make Accessible" option in Word (again, it really does exist and I really do use it!) it tags it, then automatically opens the document in Acrobat and gives me the Make Accessible action wizard panel, where I go through the the steps and mitigate any accessibility issues. It is also crucial that I use this method, because if I don't and have to run the Fix for tagged failed in Acrobat, I can run into lots of problems that are far worse than missing alt-tags (i.e gibersih and extraneous text added, missing text, missing graphics, etc.)

Believe me, I know that there is no "magic wand" involved where Adobe goes in and makes the document accessible, I've been having to mitigate 508 issues for several years now and know very well the limitations of the program.

My issues are real, and I have yet for anyone to give me a solution. And since someone else responded saying they are having the same issues, I don't think I'm alone. Most of my departments don't have access to Acrobat Pro, so when the alt tags they have already added in Word don't convert, I then have to go in and add them, which sometimes can be hundreds. This is the reason I would like a solution, so that I can train the people sending me the documents how to do it right the first time, so I don't have to do it right in Acrobat. I have worked with many people who have tried sending me documents with the alt text, but there is no guarantee that they will convert over, and in some instances (which I haven't even mentioned here) they convert over with completely different alt-text than what the user put in.

While I appreciate your response, I suggest you don't condescend to users with your answer. You assumed I didn't know what I was talking about. You assumed I "made up" a function in Word, and you assumed that I didn't know how to mitigate accessibility issues. You were wrong on all three counts. If you think you can help me with my issue I would welcome the help.