Document Accessibility

How can I check the language assignments in a PDF document?

Posted by: 
AbleBot
on mai 1, 2020 from Zürich, Schweiz

Language assignments can be made in a PDF document at three different levels:

  • Document level
  • Structure level (tag level)
  • Content level (Content layer)

Note: If different language assignments have been made, the lowest level always “wins”. For example, if you have defined “de-DE” as the basic language for the document and “en-GB” as the language for a paragraph element (P tag), then British English applies to this paragraph.

Großes Ausrufezeichen in einer Wortblase.

Checking language assignments with axesPDF

To do this, display the Settings task pane (for the base language) or the Properties task pane (for the tag-level or content-level language setting).

  1. Document base language
    Homescreen of AxesPDF
  2. Structure element level
    Click the Logical Structure button and then click a structure element in the Structure Elements tab.
    Structure element in AxesPDF
  3. Content level
    In the Logical Structure Tree task pane, click a content item.
    Content level in AxesPDF

Check language assignments with PAC (PDF Accessibility Checker)

  1. Document Basic Language
    Screenshot of PAC 3
  2. Structure Element Level
    Click the Logical Structure button and then click a structure element in the Structure Elements tab (in the Page View tab you can see where you are in the document).
    Structure element level in AxesPDF
  3. Content level
    Click the Logical Structure button and then click a structure element in the Structure Elements tab (in the Page View tab you can see where you are in the document).
    Content level structure in AxesPDF
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