File attachments need a description and relationship

PDF/UA check FILEATTACHMENT_METADATA · Annotations · severity High · PDF/UA 8.9.2.4.10 / 8.14.1 File attachments

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Why it matters#

Without Desc, users cannot identify what an attachment is. Screen readers announce 'attachment' with no further context. AFRelationship clarifies how the attachment relates to the host document.

What you will see#

An attachment annotation is missing its Desc text, its AFRelationship value, or both.

How to fix#

Add a Desc entry to the file specification dictionary referenced by the file attachment annotation, describing what the attached file is. Add an AFRelationship entry (e.g. Supplement, Source, or Data) stating how the attachment relates to the document.

Step-by-step guide#

1. Open the Attachments panel in Acrobat Pro (View > Show/Hide > Side panels > Attachments) and find the file belonging to the flagged FileAttachment annotation.
2. Right-click the file and choose Edit Description, then enter text identifying the attachment, e.g. Budget spreadsheet supporting section 4. Acrobat stores this as the Desc entry of the file specification dictionary.
3. Add an AFRelationship entry to the same file specification dictionary stating how the file relates to the document - common values are Source, Data, Alternative, Supplement, and Unspecified (ISO 32000-2 defines others such as FormData and Schema); EQChecker checks presence, not the value. Acrobat has no UI for AFRelationship - re-export from the source application to write it.
4. Optionally give the annotation itself a Contents entry; per 8.9.2.4.10 NOTE 1 the Contents entry takes precedence over Desc when more context is needed, but this check still requires a non-empty Desc.
5. Confirm the annotation is also tagged as a markup annotation inside an Annot element - 8.9.2.4.10 applies the 8.9.2.3 requirements to file attachments.

Verify: Re-run the EQChecker scan; FILEATTACHMENT_METADATA should list no missing entries (its customData names whichever of Desc or AFRelationship was absent).

Note: AFRelationship is required only under PDF/UA-2; when scanning against PDF/UA-1, EQChecker requires Desc alone. A string-form file specification carries neither entry - per 8.9.2.4.10 NOTE 2 it equates to AFRelationship Unspecified, and EQChecker conservatively passes it - but converting to a dictionary file spec with explicit Desc and AFRelationship is the robust fix.

WCAG success criteria#

No WCAG success criterion maps cleanly to this check — it is a PDF/UA structural requirement. The PDF/UA clause above is the normative reference.

Standards#

This check contributes to the following standards:

PDF/UA