alt text disappearing after inserting a page (Acrobat Standard)

[Caitlin38937607psx4]

Hi! I've run into an issue with alt text. 

I add the alt text in InDesign and export the file as a pdf to Acrobat Standard. 'Create tagged pdf' is ticked. The alt text moves across fine. However, when I insert a page into the pdf in Acrobat Standard, the hover function of alt text (and sometimes the entire alt text!) disappears. This also happens if I add the alt text in Acrobat Standard and then add the new page.

If I add the alt text after inserting the page, it seems to be staying. However, this is incredibly inconvenient for my work and team since we need to add the alt text in InDesign regardless, so we would be doing the job twice.

Has anyone else had this issue? Is there a solution?

[S. S]

Hi @Caitlin38937607psx4,

Hope you are doing well. Sorry for the trouble, and the delayed response.

In case you are still looking for a solution, you can check for the below suggestions:

• Check InDesign Export Settings:

  • Ensure that "Create Tagged PDF" is enabled in InDesign. But also make sure that other accessibility options like "Include Structure" and "Use Acrobat's accessibility features" are checked in the export dialog.
  • If possible, test using a smaller document or adjust settings to ensure everything transfers well before you begin adding pages in Acrobat.

• Edit Alt Text in Acrobat in the Correct Order:

  • To ensure that alt text doesn’t disappear, try inserting the page first in Acrobat, then update the alt text afterward. It seems that when you add content before the alt text is applied, the tags might be disrupted.

• Verify the Tagged PDF Structure After Modifying:

  • After adding pages, use Acrobat’s "Tags" panel to verify the PDF’s tagging structure. If the tags are missing or broken, you might need to manually fix or refresh the tags in Acrobat.
  • You can do this by opening the "Tags" panel in Acrobat (under View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Tags) and checking if the tags have been preserved or need rebuilding.

Hope this helps.

-Souvik