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Storm-fly
Participating Frequently
September 5, 2023
Question

Converting Word Doc to PDF has issues... ( structure tags are not being converted ?)

  • September 5, 2023
  • 1 reply
  • 6605 views

I am uncertain whether the recent update or some other issue is causing the problem. Previously, when I converted Word documents to PDF, there were no issues and all the headers were accurately preserved. I followed the same style structure that I have always used for my past documents and attempted to convert it to a PDF using both the "Save As" function and the Adobe Ribbon tool. However, both methods resulted in the same outcome - when I opened the PDF using Adobe Reader and run a accessibility check, everything was labeled as a "p," but the bookmarks revealed that there is a structure in the document. What is going on? Is there a new setting that I need to select to resolve this issue? It seems like Adobe Reader recognizes the document's structure in the bookmarks, but the tags section of the application isn't reflecting this at all. 

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    1 reply

    Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
    Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
    Legend
    September 5, 2023

    Adobe PDF Maker is a part of Adobe Acrobat and is automatically installed into MS Office apps.

    There have been numerous glitches with the new PDF Maker. Can you tell us these things?

    1. Which version of Acrobat are you using: In Acrobat, go to Help / About Acrobat. Need the full release/build number, such as 2023.003.20284.
       
    2. After the PDF is made, please look at File / Document Properties in Acrobat and let us know these 2 items: Application and PDF Producer.


       
    3. And which method did you use to export the PDF from Word? See here for details: https://www.pubcom.com/blog/tutorials/ms-office/export-pdf/index.shtml

     

    —Bevi

    |    Bevi Chagnon   |  Designer, Trainer, & Technologist for Accessible Documents ||    PubCom |    Classes & Books for Accessible InDesign, PDFs & MS Office |
    S
    Storm-flyAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    September 5, 2023

     Here are the answers to your questions: 

     

    1. I am using Continuous Release | Acrobat version 2023.003.20284 on my Mac. 
    2. For your second and third question, I combined them below after trying every option available:
      •  Method A: In Word, I only see the "Create PDF" and "Preferences" buttons in the Adobe ribbon. After running the accessibility checker, everything is a "P" tag, but the bookmark structure is correct. Document properties show "Application: Microsoft Word 2019" and "PDF Producer: Adobe PDF Services." 
      • Method B: Not available for Macs. 
      • Method C: Can't choose options on a Mac, but can still save as PDF. Everything changed to "span" except images and tables, which were tagged as "P." The Bookmark structure is correct; in document properties, both "Application" and "PDF Producer" are blank. 
      • Method D (use Adobe Readers create PDF tool): Adobe Reader converted everything to "span" except images and tables, which were tagged as "P." Document properties show "PDF Producer: Acrobat PDFMaker 15 for Word," but "Application" is blank.
    S
    Storm-flyAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    September 6, 2023

    First, don't ever expect the Order panel to correlate to the Tags tree. They are two different parts of a PDF file's code, and the tags will never control the order: it's the other way around, the order can control the tags.

     

    They should be identical (or nearly so) for full accessibility by all technologies, but that's something you must control in the source document and the exported PDF. So in our classes, we teach students to correct the Order panel first, and then adjust the Tags tree as needed.

     

    Yes, the <Span> tag surrounding everything in the Order panel is incorrect, and that's a bug that supposedly wascorrected a couple of versions ago. Don't know why it's back.

     

    Best solution: go back to the source file, correct its accessibility errors, and re-export a new interactive accessible PDF...and don't open it in the new interface! Use the old, pre-2023 "classic" interface.

     

    And thanks for reporting the bug on User Voice. If you can, put its link here in this discussion so we can suport it.

     


    Here is the link: https://acrobat.uservoice.com/forums/590923-acrobat-for-windows-and-mac/suggestions/47216927-bug-pdf-tag-panel-does-not-match-reading-order-t

     

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