VGAR Test Procedures - PDF
PDF
PDF Accessibility - Test Procedures & Requirements
The Visa Global Accessibility Requirements (VGAR) is a combination of requirements and complimentary test procedures that help teams create and verify accessible PDF documents.
For accessibility testing, the tester simply executes the test cases and determines whether each page in the PDF document being tested passes or fails the test case. When a failure is found, the tester then documents the failure and provides it to the development team for remediation. The development team subsequently references both the identified failure and the corresponding requirement to assist in the remediation effort.
Test Order | Requirement Order
Test Order
The following table contains the VGAR PDF test cases, they are ordered for the ideal test execution.
| Step Number | Requirement | Tool | Test Procedure | Pass Fail Outcomes |
| 1 | PDF-006-02 | Adobe Acrobat | 1) Run accessibility checker and review results for Headings 2) Confirm that headings occur in sequential order without skipping levels. (i.e. Heading 1, then Heading 2, then Heading 3 and so on, no skipping numbers. |
Pass = Headings ascend and descend in single increments with no skipping. Fail = Headings do not ascend and descend in single increments and levels are skipped. |
| 2 | PDF-005-01 | Adobe Acrobat | 1) Run accessibility checker and review results for Tables 3) Confirm that all table rows are tagged using <TR> 4) Confirm that table headers are tagged with TH tags and have a defined scope and span 5) Confirm that table data cells are tagged with TD tags |
Pass = Tabular data has been tagged with Table tags, row/column headers have been tagged with TH tags and have an appropriate scope, Table rows are marked with TR tags and table data cells have been tagged with TD tags. Fail = Tabular data has not been tagged with Table tags OR row/column headers have not been tagged with TH tags or they do not have an appropriate scope, OR Table rows have not been tagged with TR tags OR table data cells have not been tagged with TD tags. NA = no table content is present |
| 3 | PDF-007-02 | Adobe Acrobat | 1) Review the Tags panel in Acrobat and locate each radio element 2) Confirm that radio buttons that are grouped visually have the same Name and Title attributes 3) Confirm that the radio button choice is correct for each option |
Pass = all radio buttons are grouped correctly and have accurate choice option text Fail = all radio buttons are not grouped correctly or don't have accurate choice option text NA = radio buttons are not present |
| 4 | PDF-001-03 | Adobe Acrobat | 1) Run Adobe Acrobat Accessibility Checker Full Check 2) Confirm that the Language test passes 3) Confirm that the language is accurate |
Pass = a valid language is provided Fail = a valid language is not provided |
| 5 | PDF-001-08 | Adobe Acrobat | 1) Run the Accessibility checker 2) Review results for Document - Accessibility permission flag 3) Confirm that this is not failing |
Pass = accessibility permission flag test is passing Fail = accessibility permission flag test is failing |
| 6 | PDF-003-01 | Adobe Acrobat | 1) Run accessibility checker and review results for Alternative Text - Figures alternate text 2) Confirm that each image has accurate, descriptive alternative text if not decorative 3) Confirm that the alt text is shorter than 150 characters. 4) Confirm that complex images have real text descriptions instead of long strings (>150 characters) of alternative text. |
Fail = one or more images do not have alt text or real text descriptions OR the alt text provided is not descriptive OR it is longer than 150 characters
NA = no images are present |
| 7 | PDF-003-02 | Adobe Acrobat | 1) Run accessibility checker and review results for Alternative Text - Figures alternate text 2) Confirm that each decorative image is tagged as an artifact |
Pass = all decorative non-text content is tagged as an artifact Fail = all decorative non-text content is not tagged as an artifact NA = no decorative non-text content is present |
| 8 | PDF-001-01 | Adobe Acrobat | 1) Run Adobe Acrobat Accessibility Checker Full Check 2) Confirm that the Tagged Document test passes 3) Confirm that tagging is correct for all content by reviewing tagging in the Content and Tags panel |
Pass = the document is tagged correctly Fail = the document is not tagged OR tagging is not correct |
| 9 | PDF-002-01 | Adobe Acrobat | Visually scan the tag tree to verify that all text is tagged correctly | Pass = all text is tagged correctly Fail = some text is not tagged correctly |
| 10 | PDF-002-02 | Adobe Acrobat | Visually scan the tag tree to verify that all mathematical equations are tagged correctly with a Formula tag and an Alt attribute | Pass = all mathematical equations are tagged correctly Fail = one or more mathematical equations are not tagged correctly NA = no mathematical equations are present |
| 11 | PDF-002-04 | Adobe Acrobat | Visually scan the tag tree to verify that all footnotes, endnotes, and note labels are tagged correctly: -Footnotes and endnotes tagged with a Note tag -Each Note tag has unique entry in the ID key |
Pass = all footnotes, endnotes, and note labels are tagged correctly with unique ID Fail = one or more footnotes, endnotes, or note labels are not tagged correctly or do not have unique ID NA = no footnotes, endnotes, or note labels are present |
| 12 | PDF-001-02 | Adobe Acrobat / Screen Reader | 1) Go to File > Properties in Adobe Acrobat 2) Open the 'Initial View' tab and confirm that under 'Window Options' the Show dropdown is set to 'Document Title' 3) Run Adobe Acrobat Accessibility Checker Full Check 4) Confirm that the Title test passes 5) Confirm that the title is accurate and descriptive |
Pass = the document is titled appropriately AND initial view is set to Document Title Fail = the document is not titled appropriately OR the initial view is not set to Document Title |
| 13 | PDF-001-06 | Adobe Acrobat / | 1) Review the document for a table of contents 2) If present, the TOC has links to each section in the document |
Pass = table of contents has linking Fail = table of contents does not have linking NA = table of contents is not present |
| 14 | PDF-007-01 | Adobe Acrobat | 1) Run accessibility checker and review results for Forms - Field descriptions 2) Confirm that all form fields/controls have accurate and descriptive tootips |
Pass = all form controls have accurate descriptive tooltips Fail = all form controls do not have accurate descriptive tooltips NA = form fields/controls are not present |
| 15 | PDF-007-03 | Adobe Acrobat | 1) Review the Tags panel in Acrobat and locate all form elements 2) Confirm that all form elements are contained within a <Form> tag 3) Confirm that each control has an appropriate role identified in the tag tree 4) Confirm that a value is provided for form elements when applicable (e.g. checkboxes have a checked/unchecked value) |
Pass = all form elements are contained within a <Form> tag AND have an appropriate role and value (if applicable)
Fail = all form elements are not contained within a <Form> tag OR they don't have an appropriate role OR value (if applicable)
NA = form elements are not present |
| 16 | PDF-007-05 | Adobe Acrobat | 1) Locate all form elements that are required 2) Confirm that required fields are shown in text 3) Confirm that each form element's tooltip includes 'required' if the field is required 4) Open each required field's Properties dialog and under General - Common Properties confirm that 'Required' is checked |
Pass = required fields are shown in text and noted in the tooltip Fail = required fields are not shown in text OR not noted in the tooltip NA = no required fields are present |
| 17 | PDF-007-04 | Visual Inspection | 1) Confirm that where form validation can be used that it is used 2) Confirm that all error messaging is clear and accurate for screen reader users |
Pass = form validation is used where it can be used and all error messaging is clear and accurate for screen reader users Fail = form validation is not used where it can be used OR error messaging is not clear and accurate for screen reader users NA = form elements are not present |
| 18 | PDF-003-03 | Adobe Acrobat | 1) Review all images and graphics 2) For all images or graphics that include a visible caption check to ensure the caption text is tagged as a caption element |
Pass = all image and graphic caption text is tagged correctly Fail = all image and graphic caption text is not tagged correctly NA = no image or graphic caption text is present |
| 19 | PDF-004-01 | Adobe Acrobat | 1) Run accessibility checker and review results for Lists 2) Confirm that both List items and Lbl and Body tests pass 3) Confirm that any text that looks like a list is tagged as a list |
Pass = all list items have appropriate LI tags with Lbl and Body as needed Fail = one or more list items is not tagged correctly NA = lists are not present |
| 20 | PDF-004-02 | Adobe Acrobat | 1) Review the document for numbered list content 2) Using the Tags panel in Acrobat, confirm that all numbered lists the explicit ListNumbering attribute is present for L tags |
Pass = numbered list content is tagged correctly Fail = numbered list content is not tagged correctly NA = no numbered lists are present |
| 21 | PDF-006-01 | Adobe Acrobat | 1) Review the Tags panel in Acrobat 2) Confirm that all heading content is tagged as headings using only the H1-H6 tags. |
Fail = headings are not all tagged correctly using the H1-H6 tags OR the <H> tag is used. |
| 22 | PDF-001-04 | Adobe Acrobat | 1) Examine all running headers and footers 2) Confirm that they are consistent on all pages |
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| 23 | PDF-001-05 | Adobe Acrobat | Confirm that page numbers are correct and move to the appropriate page. For instance, selecting page 3 with your PDF reader must bring you to the third page within the document. |
Pass = Page numbers in PDF reader accurately reflect the document page number Fail = Page numbers in PDF reader do not accurately reflect the document page number NA = page numbering is not provided |
| 24 | PDF-005-02 | Adobe Acrobat | 1) Review the Tags panel in Acrobat 2) Confirm that no table tags are used for layout purposes |
Pass = tables are not used for layout purposes Fail = tables are used for layout purposes NA = no table content is present |
| 25 | PDF-008-01 | Visual Inspection | 1) Review all audio/visual content 2) Confirm that captions are available |
Pass = all audio/visual content contains captions Fail = all audio/visual content does not contain captions NA = no audio/visual content is present |
| 26 | PDF-008-02 | Visual Inspection | 1) Review all audio/visual content 2) Confirm that audio description is available |
Pass = all audio/visual content contains audio description Fail = all audio/visual content does not contain audio description NA = no audio/visual content is present |
| 27 | PDF-008-03 | Visual Inspection | 1) Review all audio/visual content 2) Confirm that extended audio description is available where a basic AD track does not suffice |
Pass = all audio/visual content contains extended AD where needed Fail = all audio/visual content does not extended AD where needed NA = no audio/visual content is present OR basic AD track is sufficient |
| 28 | PDF-008-04 | Visual Inspection | 1) Review all audio/visual content 2) Confirm that captions and audio description are provided in a acceptable way |
Pass = captions and audio description are provided in an acceptable way Fail = captions and/or audio description are not provided in an acceptable way NA = no audio/visual content is present |
| 29 | PDF-008-05 | Visual Inspection | 1) Review all audio/visual content 2) Confirm that a trascript is available for all audio-only and video-only content |
Pass = all audio/visual-only content has a transcript Fail = all audio/visual-only content does not have a transcript NA = no audio/visual-only content is present |
| 30 | PDF-001-07 | Keyboard | 1) Confirm that the content reading order is correct using the Reading Order tool 2) Use a keyboard to move through the page and confirm that any interactive content is presented in the correct tab order |
Pass = content reading order and tab order are correct Fail = content reading order OR tab order are not correct |
| 31 | PDF-007-06 | Keyboard | 1) Use a keyboard to navigate the PDF 2) Confirm that all interactive functionality of the document can be accessed and controlled successfully using the keyboard alone |
Pass = all content is keyboard compatible Fail = some content is not keyboard compatible NA = no interactive content is present |
| 32 | PDF-002-03 | Keyboard / Screen Reader / Adobe Acrobat | Confirm that each link is correctly tagged and link text is properly exposed: 1)Read the PDF document with a screen reader, listening to hear that the link is read correctly and that it describes the purpose of the link (i.e., its destination). 2)Visually scan the tag tree to verify that the link is tagged correctly and the link text is exposed (for screen magnifier users and sighted users with cognitive disabilities). 3)Tab to each link and check that it can be followed to its target by pressing Enter. |
Pass = all links are tagged correctly, read correctly by screen reader, can be activated with a keyboard, and the link text describes the purpose of the link Fail = one or more links are tagged incorrectly, not read correctly by screen reader, cannot be activated with a keyboard, or link text does not describe the purpose of the link NA = no links are present |
| 33 | PDF-009-01 | Visual Inspection | Confirm that if a difference in color is used to convey information, then that information is also available in text or through some other alternative method. | Pass = a non-color alternative is presented along with color
Fail = only color is used to indicate meaning
NA = color is not used to convey meaning |
| 34 | PDF-009-02 | Color Contrast Analyzer (CCA) | Use CCA tool to check color contrast ratio of text, and images of text to their backgrounds. The eye dropper tool within CCA should be used to more easily identify the colors used. Contrast ratio MUST be at least 4.5:1, except if the text is 18 point or 14 point bold or larger, where a ratio of 3:1 is then required. | Pass = all text meets expected minimum contrast ratio
Fail = all text does not meet the expected minimum contrast ratio
NA = text is part of an inactive user interface component or pure decoration |
| 35 | PDF-009-03 | Color Contrast Analyzer (CCA) | Confirm that all user interface components and graphical objects have a contrast ratio of at least 3:1 against adjacent colors including the background and other non-text objects by using the eye dropper tool in CCA. |
Pass = all user interface components and graphical objects have a contrast ratio of 3:1 against adjacent colors
Fail = some user interface components and/or graphical objects do not have a contrast ratio of 3:1 against adjacent colors |
| 36 | PDF-001-09 | Visual Inspection | 1) Review the document to determine whether or not redundant content appears within the header or footer on multiple pages.
2) If this content is present then open the tags panel and ensure that the redundant information is marked as an artifact for all instances after the first appearance. |
Pass: All redundant information within the page header/footer (including page number) is marked as an artifact.
Fail: Redundant information within the page header/footer (including page number) is not marked as an artifact OR the header/footer are marked as an artifact on their first appearance within the document.
NA: The document does not contain redundant information that appears on multiple pages. |
| 37 | PDF-002-05 | Visual Inspection/Tags window | 1) Locate any words or phrases in the document content that are in a language that is different from the language of the other content in the document. 2) Use the Tags window to open up the list of tags and use the arrow next to the initial tag to expand the lower layers of the tag structure. 3)Find the tag corresponding to the different language content and right click to select Properties 4) Confirm that each of these words or phrases has the correct corresponding language. |
Pass = all words or phrases which are in a different language than the global document language have been given the appropriate language property at the content level.
Fail = words or phrases which are in a different language than the global document language have not been given the appropriate language property OR the language has not been set at the correct level.
NA = no words or phrases are in a different language from the global document language. |
| 38 | PDF-003-04 | Visual Inspection | Inspect the images within the document to determine if images of text are present. Confirm that text information is presented using real text rather than in an image of text, except for logos and within pictures where it cannot be avoided (e.g., graphs or screenshots). |
Pass =images of text are not used
Fail = images of text are used |
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