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TWScruggs
Participant
March 10, 2026
Answered

Remediating Large Document - Please Help

  • March 10, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 24 views

Hello,

 

I’m having an issue with remediating a large document that is 364 pages. The primary discrepancies that I am having are Regularity, converting tags in Fix Reading Order, and Tagged annotations.

For Regularity, helpx.adobe.com says “tables must contain the same number of columns in each row, and rows in each column.” which I’m confused by because the tables look correct when going in table editor. Also, in Fix Reading Order, when I highlight like a paragraph of text and change to the Text/Paragraph tag, it looks like it makes any text around it that I didn’t select included in the same tag, like the screenshot of the text with the Link tagged.

Also, with the Tagged annotations issue, I’m just not sure how to fix this as I’ve highlighted the text and tagged it but it still doesn’t fix the issue (screenshot with “Chapter 2: Fiscal Management…” highlighted) Any help with these issues would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

    Correct answer S_S

    Hi ​@TWScruggs,

     

    Hope you are doing well. Sorry for the trouble with using Accessibility features on Acrobat.

     

    Let’s try what I would personally think of as the best practices in this workflow:

     

    When working with very large PDFs (hundreds of pages), the best approach is not to remediate the entire document at once. Instead, break the process into manageable steps and rely on automation where possible.

     

    1 - Start with Prepare for accessibility

    In Acrobat:

    • Go to All Tools > Prepare for Accessibility

    • Run Check for Accessibility

    This generates an accessibility report highlighting issues such as missing tags, document title, language, figures without alt text, and reading order problems. The report provides links to tools that help fix each issue.

     

    2 - Automatically tag the document first

    If the PDF is untagged: Go to Prepare for Accessibility > Automatically Tag PDF

    Acrobat analyzes the page layout and creates an initial tag tree structure. This provides a starting point for remediation, but it will still require manual corrections for complex layouts like tables or multi-column content.

    Important: Auto-tagging is only a starting point, not a final solution. Manual verification is always required.

     

    3 - Split the document (best for larger files)

    For a 300+ page file, remediation is much easier if you split it into smaller sections.

    In Acrobat:

    • Go to Organize Pages

    • Click Split

    • Split by page ranges or bookmarks (e.g., chapters)

    Remediate each smaller document separately, then combine them again once tagging is complete.

    This avoids:

    • Very large tag trees

    • Slow performance

    • Tagging mistakes that are harder to fix in large documents

     

    4 - Fix Tagging Order

    After tagging:

    • Open Reading Order Tool

    • Verify the order of headings, paragraphs, images, and tables.

    Correct reading order is essential because screen readers follow the tag structure rather than the visual layout.

     

    5 - Address common accessibility issues

    Typical problems in large documents include:

    • Missing headings → apply proper H1, H2, H3 hierarchy

    • Images without alt text → add alternate descriptions

    • Tables not tagged correctly → convert to table structure

    • Scanned pages → run OCR before tagging

    If the PDF is scanned, run Scan & OCR > Recognize Text. OCR converts images of text into real text so assistive technologies can read it.

     

    6 - Run Accessibility check again

    After remediation:

    • Run Accessibility Check again

    • Fix remaining Failed items

    • Review Needs Manual Check items individually.

     

    Best Tip:

    If the original source file (Word, InDesign, etc.) is available, remediating the source document and exporting a tagged PDF again is usually much faster and more accurate than fixing everything directly in Acrobat.

     

    More information around creating and working with Accessible PDFs can be found here.

     

    Hope this gives some clarity.

     

    Regards.

    Souvik

    1 reply

    S_S
    Community Manager
    S_SCommunity ManagerCorrect answer
    Community Manager
    March 10, 2026

    Hi ​@TWScruggs,

     

    Hope you are doing well. Sorry for the trouble with using Accessibility features on Acrobat.

     

    Let’s try what I would personally think of as the best practices in this workflow:

     

    When working with very large PDFs (hundreds of pages), the best approach is not to remediate the entire document at once. Instead, break the process into manageable steps and rely on automation where possible.

     

    1 - Start with Prepare for accessibility

    In Acrobat:

    • Go to All Tools > Prepare for Accessibility

    • Run Check for Accessibility

    This generates an accessibility report highlighting issues such as missing tags, document title, language, figures without alt text, and reading order problems. The report provides links to tools that help fix each issue.

     

    2 - Automatically tag the document first

    If the PDF is untagged: Go to Prepare for Accessibility > Automatically Tag PDF

    Acrobat analyzes the page layout and creates an initial tag tree structure. This provides a starting point for remediation, but it will still require manual corrections for complex layouts like tables or multi-column content.

    Important: Auto-tagging is only a starting point, not a final solution. Manual verification is always required.

     

    3 - Split the document (best for larger files)

    For a 300+ page file, remediation is much easier if you split it into smaller sections.

    In Acrobat:

    • Go to Organize Pages

    • Click Split

    • Split by page ranges or bookmarks (e.g., chapters)

    Remediate each smaller document separately, then combine them again once tagging is complete.

    This avoids:

    • Very large tag trees

    • Slow performance

    • Tagging mistakes that are harder to fix in large documents

     

    4 - Fix Tagging Order

    After tagging:

    • Open Reading Order Tool

    • Verify the order of headings, paragraphs, images, and tables.

    Correct reading order is essential because screen readers follow the tag structure rather than the visual layout.

     

    5 - Address common accessibility issues

    Typical problems in large documents include:

    • Missing headings → apply proper H1, H2, H3 hierarchy

    • Images without alt text → add alternate descriptions

    • Tables not tagged correctly → convert to table structure

    • Scanned pages → run OCR before tagging

    If the PDF is scanned, run Scan & OCR > Recognize Text. OCR converts images of text into real text so assistive technologies can read it.

     

    6 - Run Accessibility check again

    After remediation:

    • Run Accessibility Check again

    • Fix remaining Failed items

    • Review Needs Manual Check items individually.

     

    Best Tip:

    If the original source file (Word, InDesign, etc.) is available, remediating the source document and exporting a tagged PDF again is usually much faster and more accurate than fixing everything directly in Acrobat.

     

    More information around creating and working with Accessible PDFs can be found here.

     

    Hope this gives some clarity.

     

    Regards.

    Souvik

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