How to Fix Missing PDF Alt Text in Acrobat Pro DC vs Acrobat XI
Question details
A PDF exported from InDesign shows missing alt-text entries in Acrobat Pro DC, despite the accessibility information being present and displaying correctly in Acrobat Pro XI.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, InDesign
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Checking PDF accessibility and verifying alt text for images in a document that was exported from Adobe InDesign.
- Observed behavior
- Acrobat Pro DC's accessibility checker reports hundreds of missing alt-text entries, whereas Acrobat Pro XI successfully reads and displays the accessibility tags for the exact same file.
Ensure you have access to the original InDesign file, as resolving deep PDF tagging discrepancies is often easiest by adjusting export settings and re-exporting the document.
Update Acrobat Pro DC and Verify PDF Tags
Discrepancies often arise from outdated software versions or different ways newer versions interpret tags. Updating and using the built-in Accessibility Checker can identify the root cause.
Acrobat Pro DC utilizes a stricter accessibility checking engine than Acrobat XI. If a tag is slightly malformed during the InDesign export, Acrobat XI might auto-correct it, while DC flags it as missing.
Open Acrobat Pro DC, navigate to the 'Help' menu at the top, and click 'Check for Updates'. Install any pending updates and restart the application.
Go to 'Tools', select 'Accessibility', and click 'Full Check' to generate a fresh accessibility report for your document.
Navigate to 'View' > 'Show/Hide' > 'Navigation Panes' > 'Tags'. Expand the tag tree to locate your image tags (usually labeled as <Figure>).
Right-click a <Figure> tag, select 'Properties', and check the 'Tag' tab. Verify if the Alternate Text field contains your expected text.
Re-export the PDF from InDesign
If Acrobat DC consistently fails to read the tags correctly, adjusting the export settings in InDesign forces the creation of standardized tags that newer Acrobat versions can read.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Acrobat Pro DC interpret PDF tags differently than Acrobat XI?
Acrobat Pro DC uses an updated, stricter accessibility checking engine compared to Acrobat XI. This means it may flag incorrectly formatted or non-standard tags generated from InDesign that older versions ignored or auto-corrected.
How can I manually check if alt text is embedded in my PDF?
In Adobe Acrobat, open the Tags panel from the Navigation pane. Expand the document's tag tree, right-click a <Figure> tag, select Properties, and check the Alternate Text field located in the Tag tab.
Does exporting as Interactive PDF vs Print PDF from InDesign affect accessibility tags?
Yes. Exporting as an Interactive PDF generally provides better native support for complex accessibility features and media tags out of the box. If using Print PDF, you must manually ensure the 'Create Tagged PDF' option is checked to retain alt text.
