Add tags to pdf files

[dougjackson091351]

Is there a way to add tags to pdfs in windows file explorer. I am in Windows 11 running 64 bit. I have a program that allows me to add the category "Tags" but doesn't allow me to add any tags.

[ynwtf]

That's a different tag completely, if I understand youre description. The "tags" in Windows Explorer are likey more for search and sorting features when looking for files within Windows Explorer and unrelated to the tags used for accessibility.

The accessibility "tags" are closer related to HTML tags like H1 for header 1, H2, H3, P for paragraph, etc. To edit that within the PDF you would need Acrobat Pro to have access to the Tags Panel tool to manually set such tags against the PDF content.

Your tag description may help ID a document at the document level when doing a sort/search within Windows, but it cannot identify line-level text, images, or other elements within the PDF.

Someone please feel free to correct me if I'm misreading.

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

@ynwtf is correct.

The tags for accessibility are different from those used to "tag" subjects and categories.

Tags are just a way to lable content, and there are different systems or sets of tags used by different technologies. Some of the common tag sets in use today:

• HTML, used to tag websites and EPUBs.
• PDF/UA tags, used to tag PDFs for access by assistive technologies. it appears that this is what @dougjackson091351 is trying to do. Here's a quick guide to the PDF/UA-1 tag set: https://www.pubcom.com/blog/2020_05-02_tags/pdf-ua-tags.shtml
• XML tags (extensible markup language) are custom sets of tags developed by various industries to label and  exchange data. A publisher can also create their own schema / DTD to define their own custom set of tags for their specific publishing needs.

The best method to created a tagged PDF is to learn how to make an accessible source document that produces the correct tags when the file is exported to PDF. Some common source documents are Word, PowerPoint, and Adobe InDesign. Take a class to learn how to do this.

You can also tag an existing PDF. Adobe Acrobat has a utility called AutoTag, but it really doesn't do a good job. Accessibility requires not just tags, but the right tag on each type of content in the file, as well as a logical reading order. The automated tools miss this by a mile.

[dougjackson091351]

Thanks ynwtf,

You are correct. The tags I am talking about have nothing to do with HTML. These are just descriptors I add to file properties so that I can find specific content that I have tagged such as "developmental trauma" or "adolescent development" so that I can identify research articles that address areas I'm looking at. There are not word documents I have created, they are reseach articles I have scanned into pdfs. Lots of other file types allow me to add tags. It just seems odd that one type of file where tags would be most useful, don't allow tags.

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

These are just descriptors I add to file properties so that I can find specific content that I have tagged such as "developmental trauma" or "adolescent development" so that I can identify research articles that address areas I'm looking at.

By @dougjackson091351

They are called keywords in Acrobat, not tags, and they are part of the PDF's metadata.

From Acrobat, select File / Properties and in the 1st thumbtab at the top (Description), put in the keywords or phrases like developmental trauma. Separated several keywords with semi-colons. This is what search engines should look at to retrieve your file during searches.

FYI,  the industry's use of the word "tags" for what you describe is incorrect. Some software started calling them tags a while back and we now see it in Word, etc., but they're really keywords in metadata. Real <Tags> are in HTML, PDF, XML, etc.

That's why we weren't able to help you earlier.

[dougjackson091351]

Thanks Bevi,

Is there any way to search a file folder to pdfs that heve keywords that I have added. I'm trying to come up with a system of finding research articles that have keywords. The tags in File Explorer (their term, not mine) would have let me do this. Thanks for any help you can provide.

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

In Windows File Explorer, use the regular search field and type in your keywords.

The system should be able to look inside all files for the terms whether they appear as live text in the file or in the metadata.

That's what keywords were developed to do: provide hooks for search engines.