Link annotations belong inside a Link element

PDF/UA check LINK_PARENT_LINK · Links · severity High · PDF/UA 8.2.5.20 Link

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Why it matters#

Links must be inside a Link structure element so screen readers announce them as links rather than reading the URL as plain text.

What you will see#

A link annotation is not wrapped in a Link (or Reference) structure element.

How to fix#

Enclose the link annotation's OBJR, together with the linked text or graphic, in a Link structure element (or Reference for intra-document targets). Use a separate Link or Reference element for each distinct target.

Step-by-step guide#

1. Open the Accessibility tags panel and use Options > Find > Unmarked annotations to locate link annotations with no OBJR in the structure tree; tag each one so an object reference is created.
2. For each flagged annotation whose OBJR sits under a non-Link parent (P, Span, Sect, etc.), create a new Link tag inside the element holding the linked text (Options > New tag > Link) and drag both the OBJR and the linked text's content items into it.
3. For intra-document targets (bookmarks, cross-references to other pages), prefer a Reference element instead of Link, per ISO 14289-2 section 8.2.5.20 (Link should be used for external targets, Reference for intra-document ones). If Reference is not offered in Acrobat's tag list, open the tag's Properties and type Reference as the tag Type.
4. Give each distinct target its own Link or Reference element; annotations that target the same location and are perceived as a single link (e.g. a URL wrapping across lines or pages) shall share one element (section 8.2.5.20).
5. Confirm each Link/Reference sits at the point in the reading order where the linked content occurs, as required by section 8.9.3.2.

Verify: Re-run the EQChecker scan: LINK_PARENT_LINK should report zero errors.

Note: When creating new links in an already tagged PDF, selecting the text and using Create Link normally auto-generates the Link tag with OBJR - retagging by hand is only needed for links added by other tools. The Link vs Reference choice is semantic (should-level); EQChecker accepts either parent, so a wrong choice between the two is not what this rule flags.

Fixing it in your authoring tool#

WCAG success criteria#

1.3.1 Info and Relationships — Level A#

Structure and relationships conveyed visually (headings, lists, tables, labels, groups) must also be available programmatically.

Understanding 1.3.1

Standards#

This check contributes to the following standards:

PDF/UA WCAG A EN 301 549