Skip to main content

Cornell University

Format Embedded Links

How to format embedded links to create an accessible document in Adobe Acrobat

This article applies to: Web Accessibility

On This Page

Why Format Links?

Screen reader users often navigate from link to link and skip the text in between. Link text should make sense out of context and place distinguishing information first.

Screen readers allow users to view a list of all links on a page. This list can be presented alphabetically. Link text should be intuitive and make sense regardless or order.

Tag Embedded Links

Links need to be identified with tags in the document and tagged appropriately in the Tag Tree as follows:

Links must display all three levels of the tag structure in the Tag Tree.  A correctly formatted link will have three tags: 

Correct tag structure with all three levels shown. In this example, the site name Cornell is shown for the link to cornell.edu

To Quickly Validate the Link Structure

  1. Navigate to the Tag Tree in Adobe Acrobat.
  2. Right click or cmd click on your hyperlink.
  3. In the context menu, select Find Tag from Selection. Menu with Find Tag from Selection highlighted

To Correct a Link Tag

If the tag exists but is incorrect:

  1. Right click or Cmd click on the tag to view the context menu.
  2. Select Properties.
  3. Change the tag Type to Link. Properties menu where you can change the tag type to link

If the proper tag is missing:

  1. Under the menu, choose New Tag.
  2. Under Type, select Link. Create a new link tag

Find Unmarked Links

Once the link tag has been created, next identify the link.

  1. Select Find. Menu with Find highlighted  
  2. Select Unmarked Links. Find element menu with find unmarked links selected  
  3. When the correct element is identified, select Tag Element.

More Link Tutorials

Comments?

To share feedback about this page or request support, log in with your NetID

At Cornell we value your privacy. To view
our university's privacy practices, including
information use and third parties, visit University Privacy.