Which errors can PDF improvement fix ?
The PDF enhancement by Eye-Able helps you automatically identify and optimize common accessibility issues in PDF documents. However, there are certain limitations where automatic correction is currently not possible.
What can already be improved
Many common accessibility errors can be automatically detected and improved by the PDF enhancement.
This allows you to efficiently resolve numerous issues without having to intervene manually.
The following accessibility errors can be fixed:
| Test step | Explanation | Improvement |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | The document does not contain a PDF/UA identification | Setting the PDF/UA identification in the metadata |
| 7.1.3 | The document is not properly or not at all tagged | The PDF is tagged based on defined rules |
| 7.1.8 | Missing metadata in the document | Setting metadata (e.g. PDF/UA) |
| 7.1.9 | Missing title in the metadata | Setting the title, you can also define the title yourself |
| 7.1.11 | The document has no structural organization | Creating a StructTreeRoot entry and subsequent tagging |
| 7.2.3 | Missing document language | Setting the language, you can define the language yourself |
| 7.18.6 | No defined MIME type for embedded media | Sets the MIME type of the media |
| 7.20 | References to external objects (e.g. graphics) | Embedding the objects directly into the PDF stream |
| 7.21.4 | Not all fonts or glyphs are correctly embedded | Fully embedding all fonts |
| 7.21.7 | Missing Unicode encoding for characters | Adds missing Unicode encodings |
| 7.3.3 | Missing alternative text for figures (e.g. graphics) | Automatically adds suitable alternative texts |
| 7.4 | Incorrect heading order | Adjusts the heading structure |
| 7.7 | Form without alternative text | Adds the alternative text |
| 7.18.5 | Links without alternative text | Adds an alternative text |
Why can't all errors be fixed automatically?
Some accessibility errors require manual rework or human understanding of the content.
Reasons include:
- There is still no suitable logic for all types of errors
- We continuously improve the solution to automatically fix more issues
- Certain errors strongly depend on the content or visual context
- Manual evaluation is required here
- The PDF enhancement does not modify the visual structure
- Automatic changes could distort content or layout
Example:
An empty heading is not automatically filled with text.
Important note
We generally recommend performing a manual review to determine whether a PDF file is accessible. PDF files that achieve a score of 100% may, under certain circumstances, still not be accessible.
Example: Scanned PDF files consist entirely of image content. While they may pass all validation rules, they are still not accessible, as the content is embedded in the image and therefore not accessible to everyone.
Good to know
We continuously develop the PDF enhancement to ensure that even more errors can be fixed automatically in the future.