PDF/UA-1 rule reference › clause 7.18.1

PDF/UA-1 rule 7.18.1-3: A form field neither has TU key nor its Widget annotations have alternative descriptions (in the form of an Alt entry in the enclosing structure element)

Not fixed automatically annotation, alt-text

What veraPDF reports

A form field neither has TU key nor its Widget annotations have alternative descriptions (in the form of an Alt entry in the enclosing structure element)

veraPDF rule 7.18.1-3 = ISO 14289-1:2014 clause 7.18.1, test 3, checked on PDF object PDWidgetAnnot.

In Adobe Acrobat’s Accessibility Checker the closest item is “Field descriptions”.

What the requirement says

A form field shall have a TU key present or all its Widget annotations shall have alternative descriptions (in the form of an Alt entry in the enclosing structure elements)

Can it be fixed automatically?

How to fix it by hand

Alternative text is human work: describe each image, formula or link in the authoring application (alt text field) or set it in the PDF editor's tag properties. No automatic tool can write a meaningful description for you.

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Upload the PDF: veraPDF lists every failed PDF/UA-1 rule, our fix runs, and veraPDF checks the fixed file again — you see “N failed rules before → M after” before deciding. The fixed file costs 19 € (excl. VAT); the check is free. We never call a file “accessible” or “compliant”.

Other rules in clause 7.18.1

• 7.18.1-1 An annotation, excluding annotations of subtype Widget, PrinterMark or Link, shall be nested within an Annot tag
• 7.18.1-2 An annotation (except Widget annotations or hidden annotations, or those having rectangle outside the crop-box) shall ha

Rule text (description and error message): veraPDF validation profile PDF/UA-1 © veraPDF Consortium, licensed under CC BY 4.0. This site is not affiliated with the veraPDF Consortium, the PDF Association, ISO or Adobe. Adobe and Acrobat are trademarks of Adobe; the Acrobat checker item is named only to help you match the two reports.