What are Metadata Requirements for Verifications (Desktop and Advanced Editor)

Product

Advanced Editor (Web-based CL PDF)

CommonLook PDF Desktop Version

Feature

Verification

Document Element

Document Title, Language, and PDF/UA Identifier Metadata

Issue

Running a Standards Check can return one or more Failed results related to the document's metadata — for example: a missing or incorrect document Title, "Display Document Title" not enabled, a missing or incorrect Language setting, or a missing PDF/UA identifier. 

Symptom 

After running a verification, the Results panel shows Failed results referencing document metadata — such as the document title not being set to display, the document missing a Title or Language entry, or (when checking against PDF/UA) the PDF/UA identifier being missing from the document's metadata. 

Causes

• Title / Display Document Title: The document either has no Title set in its properties, or a Title is set but the "Display Document Title" viewer preference hasn't been turned on, so the file name displays in the title bar instead of the document Title.
• Language: The document has no default Language set (or an incorrect one), so assistive technology can't reliably determine what language to use when reading the content.
• PDF/UA Identifier: When checking against PDF/UA specifically, the document's metadata is missing the PDF/UA identifier entry that asserts conformance to the standard.

Affected Users

Screen reader users and other assistive technology (AT) users are affected most directly — an untitled or mistitled window makes it harder to identify the document, and a missing or wrong language setting causes screen readers to mispronounce content. Users with cognitive disabilities can also be affected, since a missing or unclear document title makes it harder to identify and navigate between open documents. 

Accessibility Guidelines

• WCAG 2.x, Success Criterion 3.1.1 (Language of Page)
• WCAG PDF Techniques: PDF16 (Language), PDF18 (Title)
• PDF/UA (ISO 14289-1) — Title, Language, and PDF/UA identifier requirements
• Section 508
• HHS Standard (Author requirement, where applicable)

Resolution Steps

Failures

• Ensure that the Display Document title is checked or toggled on, you can use the Fix Wizard to do this.  
• If checking against PDF/UA and the PDF/UA identifier failure appears, use the Fix Wizard's PDF/UA identifier fix (Set PDF/UA-1 entry) to add it to the document's metadata.

User Verifications

• Check and fix the Language of the document if needed. Use the following articles if needed:  How To Change Languages in CommonLook PDF Desktop or How To Change Languages in the Advanced Editor.
• Ensure the title of the PDF is descriptive of the content in the document.

Here is a Metadata Checklist:

• “Display Doc Title” should be checked (and there should be an appropriate document title in the “Title” box.
• Keywords help to make the document more easily found in online searches.  Separate them with semi-colons.
• The Subject is often the same as the Title.
• The Author is not an individual person’s name.  It is the department, agency, etc.
• Do NOT check the PDF U/A compliant checkbox unless the document has passed that check in verification.
• Assign a language for the document.  Country is optional. 
•  Use the "Marked" checkbox to indicate that the document is a tagged PDF.