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How to Stop Adobe Acrobat Read Aloud from Reading PDF Page Numbers
Question details
The user wants to prevent Adobe Acrobat's Read Aloud feature from reading page numbers and footer content out loud on mobile devices.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat
- Device & OS
- Mobile
- Scenario
- Listening to a PDF document using the built-in Read Aloud text-to-speech feature on a mobile phone.
- Observed behavior
- The Read Aloud feature interrupts the natural reading flow by reading out the page numbers and footer text located at the bottom of every page.
Ensure you have an editable version of the PDF document or access to a desktop PDF editor, as mobile apps currently lack the advanced reading-order controls needed to skip footers directly.
Tag Page Numbers as Artifacts in a Desktop PDF Editor
Modify the document's accessibility tags on a desktop computer so that screen readers and the Read Aloud feature automatically ignore page numbers.
Because the Adobe Acrobat mobile app does not allow you to define custom reading zones or exclude pixel-based regions, the most reliable workaround is to edit the document's underlying structure. By marking footers as 'Artifacts', you instruct accessibility tools to skip them entirely.
Launch Adobe Acrobat Pro on your PC or Mac and open the PDF file you wish to modify.
Go to 'View' > 'Show/Hide' > 'Navigation Panes' and select 'Tags'. If the document is not tagged, right-click 'No Tags available' and select 'Add Tags to Document'.
Expand the tags tree and locate the text elements that correspond to your page numbers or footer content.
Right-click the tag containing the page number, select 'Change Tag to Artifact', and confirm the dialogue box. Repeat this for all affected pages.
Save the modified PDF document and transfer it back to your mobile device for an uninterrupted Read Aloud experience.
Remove Footers from the PDF Document
If you do not strictly need page numbers in the document, deleting the footers is the most straightforward way to stop them from being read out loud.
Edit and Prepare PDFs Seamlessly with WPS Office
WPS Office provides powerful PDF editing tools. You can easily remove headers, footers, and page numbers so your document reads smoothly on any text-to-speech app without interruptions.
- 1. Open the PDF in WPS Office: Launch WPS Office on your desktop and open the PDF file you want to prepare for reading.
- 2. Access the Edit tab: Click on the 'Edit' tab located in the top navigation ribbon to reveal advanced PDF modification tools.
- 3. Remove Headers and Footers: Click on 'Header and Footer', then select 'Delete Header and Footer' to instantly strip all page numbers from the document.
- 4. Save your document: Save the edited file. You can now transfer it to your mobile device for a flawless Read Aloud session.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a setting in the Adobe Acrobat mobile app to skip footers?
Currently, the Adobe Acrobat mobile app does not provide a specific setting or custom region tool to exclude the bottom portion of a page from the Read Aloud feature.
Why does Read Aloud read the page numbers in the middle of a sentence?
If a PDF is not correctly tagged with reading-order metadata, the Read Aloud engine processes text strictly based on visual layout or raw data order. It will hit the footer text at the bottom of the page before continuing to the main text at the top of the next page.
Can I use other mobile apps to read PDFs without hearing page numbers?
Yes, some specialized accessibility readers allow you to customize reading zones or use purely text-extracted views, which naturally filter out standard headers and footers from the audio playback.
