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D
Danny37866724itpc
Participant
June 5, 2024
Question

"Link" Annotation is not nested inside a "Link" structure element - But it is!

  • June 5, 2024
  • 2 replies
  • 3124 views

I have been working on making this 39 page pdf to be ADA compliant. Forgive me if I do a poor job describing the situation. It's not my first time doing this, but I'm far from a pro.

 

I have two links (on two different pages, one email and one url) that are producing the "Link" Annotation is not nested inside a "Link" structure element error on PAC. I have tried anything and everything I can and unfortunately, the only suggestions I can find online are about how to tag a link. There are dozens of links throughout the document and none of the others are producing any errors. I've compared to these problem links to similar links and they are setup the same. I have the <Link> tag with the Link - OBJR nested inside.

 

I've played with the reading order, order in the tag tree, deleted and retagged the link. I even extracted the individual pages and cleared the page structure, tagged it again from scratch, and still got the same error on the same items. 

 

I am not the originator of the document, just the person tasked with making it ADA compliant. Is it possible it's an issue that came from when they created the document?

2 replies

D
Debbie5C13
Participating Frequently
June 27, 2025

I have a 168 document and this error has taken more time than I can describe. I have been trying to get this document accessible for months - many. What happens if there is not a Link - OBJR associated with the link or a person can't find it because the tag tree gets so messed up between Indesign and Acrobat? This should be a seemless process with all of the work you have to do on the Indesign side of things to make links accessible to begin with. I have followed the instructions posted in one of the replies, they have a great video but do not go into what to do if there is not a Link - OBJR; which has been the case on several links. I have gone back to the Indesign files to make sure they are coded correctly. The file is exported as an interactive .pdf. What is even more frustrating is one time the export from Indesign is fine and the next time it is messed up. After working six months+ (just on accessibility) on a 168 page document with 1600+ hyperlinks and about 400 footnotes, our agency has given up on being able to make the document accessible with Adobe products. 

    T
    Tariq Dar
    Legend
    July 9, 2025

    Hello, 

     

    Thank you for raising this issue.

     

    This error relates to PDF accessibility conformance, specifically PDF/UA.

    Acrobat’s Accessibility Checker expects each link annotation to be wrapped by a corresponding <Link> structure tag. When links aren’t nested correctly, screen readers may not recognize or announce them properly.

     

    To resolve this, please use Acrobat Pro’s Tags pane: locate the link annotation, add or select a <Link> tag, then wrap or move the annotation inside it. You can re-run the accessibility report to confirm the fix.

     

    This ensures your document meets accessibility standards and provides a better experience for all users.

     

     

     

     

    Step-by-Step Guide for Wrapping Link Annotations:

    1. Open the Tags Pane

         In Acrobat Pro: View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Tags.

     

    2. Locate the Link Annotation

         In the Tags pane, find your “Link” or “Link Annotation” entry (often under <Annot>).

     

    3. Check for Structure Tag

         Ensure there’s a <Link> tag above or around the annotation entry.

     

    4. Wrap or Create Link Tag

    • If absent: Right-click the annotation entry and select Create Tag → choose Link.

    • If present but outside: Drag the annotation entry under the <Link> tag to nest it properly.

     

    5. Verify Tag Properties

         Right-click the <Link> tag → Properties → confirm the Actual text, URI, or GoTo settings are correct.

     

    6. Re-run Accessibility Check

        Tools → Accessibility → Check Accessibility → ensure the “Link annotation is not nested…” warning is resolved.

     



    Best regards,
    Tariq | Adobe Community Team

    D
    Danny37866724itpcAuthor
    Participant
    June 5, 2024

    I guess I can leave this here in case anyone else runs into a similar issue, but I ran Adobe's Pre-Flight tool and it fixed whatever the errors were and now I have a clean ADA compliant document!

    A
    arm314969063kfd
    Participant
    June 14, 2024

    Hello, 

     

    I am having the same issue--PAC 2021 picks up two errors for ""Link" annotation is not nested inside a "Link" structure element." However, my tags tree looks like this for both tags: 

    P > Link > Link-OBJ & Container with text for link

     

    There are other links in the document structure the exact same way that do not get flagged for errors. I have followed multiple "fix" steps (Tagged PDF - Link annotation is not nested inside a Link structure element - Accessibility is the right thing to do!) and (How to Fix "Link Annotation Not Nested" Error (theaccessibilityguy.com) none are working. I also ran Adobe's Pre-Flight 2015 fix for tag structure issues and that has not solved the errors. 

     

    Any help is much appreciated!

     

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