Open a PDF in Acrobat and enable the screen reader.
Last updated on
Oct. 25, 2023
Acrobat offers a cloud-based service enhancing screen reading for eligible PDFs. It uses this cloud service to better understand the document's structure tags and reading sequence when you access a PDF using assistive tools. After analyzing, it prompts you to decide whether to use the enhanced cloud functionality. The new cloud-based service gives more accurate detailed results and automatically recognizes texts in scans, including:
- Heading levels across the document.
- Tables, with or without borders.
- Lists, including a list of lists.
- Reading order in a multicolumn layout.
Reading a PDF with a screen reader using the cloud-based service
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In the Prepare document for screen reader dialog, select the Change screen reader options to change the reading option, else select Continue.
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In the Reading options for assistive technology dialog box, do the following:
- Select Read the entire document, or Read current visible pages only from the Screen Reader Options drop-down list.
- Select Infer reading order from the document from the Reading Order drop-down list.
- Select the check box Make document more accessible using cloud-based service.
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Select Confirm. Acrobat prepares the document for reading. After the processing completes, the screen reader reads the document.
Note:Although the PDF is processed in the cloud, it isn't stored there.
PDFs not qualified for cloud-based screen reading
If Acrobat determines the PDF isn't suitable for the cloud-based service, it locally optimizes the PDF using the current reading method. In the Reading Order drop-down list, if you don't select the option Infer reading order from the document, the cloud accessibility option is hidden, and the PDF isn't cloud-processed.
Enable or disable screen reading with the cloud-based service
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In Acrobat, go to Edit > Preferences (Windows®), or Acrobat > Preferences (macOS).
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In the Categories on the left, choose Accessibility.
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To enable or disable the feature, select or deselect the option Enable cloud-based auto-tagging for accessibility. Then select OK.
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