PDF document must have a document title

Rule ID: doc-title-spec
Ruleset: axe-pdf 2.0
User Impact: Serious
Guidelines: WCAG 2.1 (A), WCAG 2.0 (A)

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Compliance Data & Impact

User Impact

Serious
Minor
Critical

Disabilities Affected

  • Blind
  • Deafblind
  • Mobility

Standard(s)

  • WCAG 2.1 (A)
  • WCAG 2.0 (A)

WCAG Success Criteria [WCAG 2.1 (A)]

  • 2.4.2: MUST: Page Titled

WCAG Success Criteria [WCAG 2.0 (A)]

  • 2.4.2: MUST: Page Titled

How to Fix the Problem

Provide a title to the PDF document

In Acrobat Adobe Pro:

  1. Select File > Properties
  2. Select the Description tab to view the metadata in the document, including the document information dictionary
  3. Modify the Title field to add or change the document's Title entry
  4. In the Window Options section, select Document Title in the Show pull-down list.

Note: Adobe Acrobat Pro is the most common tool for PDF remediations, but other tools and software are also available and can be used to remediate the PDF.

Why it Matters

Screen reader users use document titles to get an overview of the contents of the document. Navigating through the documents can quickly become difficult and confusing for screen reader users if the documents are not marked with a title. It is also important to display the document title rather than displaying the file name.

Rule Description

Document titles identify the current location without requiring users to read or interpret page content. User agents make the title of the page easily available to the user for identifying the page. For instance, a user agent may display the page title in the window title bar or as the name of the tab containing the page.

The Algorithm (in simple terms)

PDF document must have a document title

Resources

Other Resources

You may also want to check out these other resources.

Refer to the complete list of axe 2.0 rules.

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