How to Add Missing Scanned Signatures to Acrobat Accessibility Tags
Question details
The user needs to correctly identify and tag scanned signatures as figures with alternative text because the OCR process missed them, leaving them out of the PDF's Content and Tags panels.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Formatting a scanned PDF document to meet accessibility standards by properly tagging graphic elements like handwritten signatures.
- Observed behavior
- The OCR engine recognizes standard text but skips handwritten signatures, resulting in those elements missing from the document's accessibility tags and content structures.
Ensure you have access to the Accessibility and Reading Order tools in your PDF editor, and verify that the document is not password-protected against editing or tagging.
Use the Touch Up Reading Order Tool
Manually select and classify the missing signatures as figures using the Reading Order tool to ensure proper accessibility tagging.
Because OCR focuses heavily on recognizing standard alphanumeric characters, it often ignores complex handwritten graphics. Manually tagging these areas ensures your document meets accessibility compliance standards.
Navigate to the tools menu in Adobe Acrobat and select the Accessibility tools panel.
Click on the 'Reading Order' (or Touch Up Reading Order) tool to view the current document structure.
Use your mouse to draw a marquee box around the desired signature or graphic.
If the selection is inaccurate, hold the 'Shift' key while drawing to add areas, or hold the 'Ctrl' key while dragging to remove unwanted background areas.
Once the signature is accurately highlighted, click the 'Figure' button in the Reading Order dialog and assign the appropriate alternative text.
Run the Auto Tag Feature
Use the built-in AI Auto Tag functionality to automatically distinguish text from graphics and create missing tags.
Easily Manage and Edit PDF Signatures with WPS Office
WPS Office offers a lightweight, highly compatible PDF editor that makes it incredibly simple to insert, manage, and extract signatures or images from your documents without complicated tagging procedures.
- 1. Open your PDF: Launch WPS Office and open your scanned PDF document.
- 2. Access PDF Tools: Navigate to the 'Edit' or 'Insert' tab located on the top ribbon.
- 3. Insert or Manage Signatures: Click on the 'Sign' or 'Add Image' button to quickly overlay missing signatures onto your document.
- 4. Save the Document: Click 'Save' or press Ctrl+S to preserve your updated PDF.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does OCR miss scanned signatures in PDFs?
OCR (Optical Character Recognition) is specifically trained to identify standard typed fonts and characters. Handwritten signatures are treated as complex images or irregular graphics, which text-focused OCR algorithms usually skip, leaving them out of the structured tags.
How do I add alternative text to a signature figure?
After you tag the signature as a figure using the Reading Order tool, you can right-click the newly created figure tag in the Tags panel, select 'Properties', and type your descriptive text into the Alternate Text field.
Can I adjust a selection if the Reading Order tool grabs too much background?
Yes. While the Reading Order tool is active, you can hold the Ctrl key and drag a box over the areas you want to deselect. This will subtract the unwanted background from your main selection box.
Why is it necessary to tag signatures for accessibility?
Tagging signatures as figures and adding alternative text allows assistive technologies, like screen readers, to announce the presence and meaning of the signature to visually impaired users, ensuring the document is fully accessible and compliant with standards.
