WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

for

From: Paul Rayius
Date: Jun 17, 2025 2:58PM

Hi Claire,
This is a good question; thanks for asking!
CommonLook PDF throws a failure when a PDF has both <H> and <Hn> (numbered heading) tags because that is a violation of PDF/UA-1. That said, to address your "other" question, "where does this fail in WCAG": It's important to note that while the WCAG standard does apply very well to PDF, because HTML (web) and PDF are different technologies there is not always a 1:1 mapping between requirements. That said, when it comes to PDF, where there is not a direct alignment between the two specifications, the requirements for PDF have to "win."
I hope that helps explain CommonLook's approach.
Best,
Paul


Paul Rayius, ADS
VP, Customer Support and Training
P: +1 800 563 0668 x5209
E: <EMAIL REMOVED>
Visit us online:
allyant.com
Allyant was formed by combining the best web and document accessibility brands (T‑Base, CommonLook, and Accessible360).
Read our story.