Links must be tagged with Link tags with appropriate text object association

Rule ID: link-tag-annotations
Ruleset: axe-pdf 2.0
User Impact: Critical
Guidelines: WCAG 2.1 (A), WCAG 2.0 (A)

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Compliance Data & Impact

User Impact

Critical
▼
Minor
Critical

Disabilities Affected

  • Blind
  • Deafblind
  • Mobility

Standard(s)

  • WCAG 2.1 (A)
  • WCAG 2.0 (A)

WCAG Success Criteria [WCAG 2.1 (A)]

  • 2.1.1: MUST: Keyboard

WCAG Success Criteria [WCAG 2.0 (A)]

  • 2.1.1: MUST: Keyboard

How to Fix the Problem

Tag the active link content with a Link tag and “Link-OBJR”.

Using the Tags Pane in Adobe Acrobat Pro:

  1. Open the Options Menu in the Tags Pane
  2. Select Find.
  3. From the drop-down menu, select Unmarked Links and then either Search Page or Search Document.
  4. Click Find.
  5. The unmarked link will be outlined in bright pink.
  6. Click Tag Element.
  7. From the drop-down menu, select Link and click OK.
  8. Now there will be a Link tag and Link - OBJR Annotation in the tag tree.
  9. Click/select the Link tag in the Tags Pane so it's highlighted.
  10. Click the Selection Tool.
  11. Highlight/select the link text in the Document Pane.
  12. Open the Options Menu.
  13. Select Create Tag from Selection.
  14. The link text will be paired with the Link - OBJR Annotation, both as children of the Link tag.

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

Links in PDF documents are represented by a Link tag and objects in its sub-tree, consisting of a link object reference (or Link annotation) and one or more text objects. The text object or objects inside the Link tag are used by assistive technologies to provide a name for the link.

Rule Description

Links in PDF documents must be marked up to be recognizable by keyboard and assistive technologyu users. That is, the link information is programmatically available to user agents so that links are recognizable when presented in a different format.

The Algorithm (in simple terms)

Links must be tagged with Link tags with appropriate text object association

Resources

Deque University Course Pages (subscription required)

No related course information available.

Contribute to axe-core on GitHub

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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