Fix Adobe Acrobat Read Out Loud Skipping Alt Text and Reading Headers
Question details
The user needs to fix an issue where Adobe Acrobat's Read Out Loud feature incorrectly skips image alternative text and reads document headers and footers instead.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Using the Read Out Loud accessibility feature on a large PDF document after new bookmarks were added.
- Observed behavior
- The Read Out Loud feature changed its behavior to skip alt text and read headers and footers after bookmarks were introduced to the document.
Before troubleshooting the reading order, keep a clean backup of your original PDF document (prior to adding bookmarks) to compare its structural tags with the modified version.
Inspect and Correct PDF Accessibility Tags
The bookmarking process likely disrupted the document's tagging structure. Reassigning tags will restore proper Read Out Loud functionality.
Acrobat relies heavily on document tags to determine the reading order. When automated tools add bookmarks, they can accidentally alter these tags, causing headers to be read as body text and alt text to be ignored.
Launch Adobe Acrobat, open your PDF, and go to View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Tags to reveal the document's structural tree.
Expand the tag tree to locate the tags corresponding to your headers and footers. Right-click these tags and select 'Change Tag to Artifact' so the screen reader ignores them.
Find the image tags (usually labeled <Figure>) in the tree. Right-click the tag, select 'Properties', and ensure the Alternative Text field is properly filled out.
Open the Order pane (View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Order) and drag the items to ensure the reading sequence flows correctly from top to bottom.
Review the Bookmark Creation Workflow
Isolate whether the specific bookmarking tool or a PDF version change caused the accessibility error.
Use WPS PDF to Read Documents and Manage Bookmarks
If Acrobat's structural tags get corrupted easily, WPS PDF offers a reliable, lightweight alternative with a built-in Text-to-Speech feature that smoothly reads document content without complex tagging requirements.
- 1. Open PDF in WPS Office: Launch WPS Office and open your large PDF document.
- 2. Activate Text-to-Speech: Navigate to the 'View' tab and click on the 'Read' or 'Text-to-Speech' button to begin reading the document out loud.
- 3. Manage Bookmarks Safely: Use the left navigation sidebar to add, rename, or reorganize bookmarks securely without altering the core reading order.
- 4. Adjust Reading Settings: Use the floating TTS toolbar to customize voice speed and reading language to suit your accessibility preferences.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Acrobat Read Out Loud read headers and footers instead of the main text?
This happens when headers and footers are not correctly tagged as 'Artifacts' or 'Background' elements in the PDF's underlying structure, causing the accessibility tool to interpret them as regular paragraph text.
Can adding bookmarks to a PDF change its reading order?
Yes, some automated bookmarking tools, scripts, or plugins might inadvertently alter the document's tag tree, which dictates the strict reading sequence used by screen readers and the Read Out Loud feature.
How do I add Alt Text to an image so Read Out Loud won't skip it?
Open the Accessibility tool in Acrobat, select 'Set Alternate Text', and follow the prompts to add descriptive text to all images. Ensure the image tag is placed correctly in the logical reading order.
