Validate pdf / UA against WCAG 2.0

[DMI.SYSTEMS]

Is it possible to Validate pdf / UA against WCAG 2.0 in Acrobat DC Pro

[a_C_student · Accepted solution]

Acrobat Pro DC does a decent job of checking conformance to the subset ot WCAG 2.0 criterea that can be machine-checked. For conformance to PDF/UA, PAC3 from the Swiss foundation Access for All, is the defacto standard checker - to the extent that the document can be machine-checked. Since PDF/UA is in general more stringent than WCAG 2.0, PAC3 is the more rigerous checker, but Acrobat is still a great first-check. Very important though - roughly a third of conformance criterea can not be machine checked, it requires knowledgeable human inspection. Just because I get a happy green checkmark from PAC3 does not mean my PDF is accessible - that is, fully conforming to WCAG and PDF/UA. I have to manually check the tag tree, contents pane, and screen-reader or emulator and make the needed corrections. 

[brennanyoung]

Why does Acrobat not offer the same level of stringency as PAC? Is there a strategic rationale?

How does PAC help those that don't use Windows? (PAC is Windows-only). Yes, I do know about virtual machines. They do not represent the native-OS experience correctly, especially in relation to ATs. PDF/UA conformance is infested with dragons, and Adobe could do so much more to help authors in this area. Like... if you pass the Accessibility Check including manual checks, Acrobat could (offer to) insert the PDF/UA flag automatically.