How to Fix Empty Tags and Content Boxes in an Accessible PDF
Question details
The user needs to resolve issues with empty tags and blank content boxes appearing in a PDF document during accessibility testing.
- Product
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Testing a large PDF document for accessibility compliance and encountering structural errors with empty tags.
- Observed behavior
- The PDF structure tree contains empty tags and blank content boxes, often caused by invisible characters or extra line breaks inherited from the source document.
Before modifying the PDF structure, verify the authoring tool used to create the document (such as Microsoft Word), as fixing formatting errors in the source file is often the most efficient approach.
Convert Empty Tags and Boxes to Artifacts
Use the artifact feature in your PDF accessibility tool to hide empty or decorative tags from screen readers, improving the document's overall accessibility.
When a tag contains unwanted decorative elements or appears entirely empty, you can change its property to an artifact. This action tells assistive technologies to ignore the element, streamlining the reading experience.
Open the Tags panel or Accessibility Tree in your PDF editor and locate the problematic empty tag or span.
Right-click the tag and select the option to change it to an artifact. The content inside that tag will immediately be treated as background or decorative content.
Remove Extra Line Breaks in the Source Document
Prevent empty tags from being generated by cleaning up the formatting in the original source file before exporting it to PDF.
Edit and Optimize PDFs with WPS Office
WPS Office provides powerful PDF editing tools that make it easy to modify PDF content, delete blank boxes, adjust formatting, and ensure your documents are clean and professional without needing to return to the source file.
- 1. Open the PDF in WPS: Launch WPS Office and open your problematic PDF document.
- 2. Enter Edit Mode: Click on the 'Edit' tab on the top ribbon to access tools for modifying text and objects.
- 3. Adjust Content: Select and delete any unnecessary blank text boxes, empty spaces, or unwanted formatting elements directly on the page.
- 4. Save and Export: Save your optimized PDF document to preserve the cleaner layout.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are there empty tags in my accessible PDF?
Empty tags are typically caused by formatting issues in the original source document, such as extra paragraph returns (hitting 'Enter' twice) or empty text boxes that transfer over during the PDF export process.
What does it mean to 'artifact' a tag in a PDF?
Artifacting a tag marks it as background or decorative content. This tells screen readers and other assistive technologies to ignore the tag completely, preventing empty spaces from interrupting the user's reading flow.
Can a blank content box contain hidden text?
Yes. A content box might look visually empty but still contain spaces, non-breaking spaces, or invisible characters. Converting the box to an artifact is usually the best way to handle these hidden elements.
