The fixture separates wrong meaning, missing description and missing tag association. F01 should describe Draft moving to Review; its deliberate mismatch says Queue moves to Archive. The local comparison explains each scenario without claiming to inspect or edit a native PDF.
Work through the example
Select Mismatch to compare the nonempty wrong sentence with F01. Select Blank alternative to see an established figure association with no description. Select Untagged to see that no native Figure property has been observed. Correct example shows the intended meaning only, leaving actual saved-PDF verification for the native tool.
Highlight the selected Figure’s associated content before copying its exact Alternate Text. A correct sentence for F02 can be wrong for F01. Keep intended meaning in a separate column from the stored observation. After an authorized correction, save and reopen the actual PDF and inspect both associations again; an edited dialog alone does not establish what the exported or saved file contains.
Define two diagrams whose meanings are distinct
Use these original logical figure IDs:
| Logical ID | Intended visible diagram | Intended text alternative |
|---|---|---|
| F01 | Draft → Review | Draft moves to Review. |
| F02 | Queue → Archive | Queue moves to Archive. |
The arrows indicate direction. The intended descriptions preserve the labels and movement. These are tiny authored diagrams, not source illustrations or a completed PDF.
F01 and F02 are labels in the preparation ledger. They do not imply actual PDF tag names, tree positions, object numbers, or marked-content identifiers. Those native identities must be recorded from the file when it exists.
Proposed revision R1 contains a deliberate mismatch: the Figure associated with F01 stores “Queue moves to Archive.” F02 also stores its correct “Queue moves to Archive.” Both descriptions are nonempty, but the first fails the meaning check.
This duplicate sentence is useful precisely because a presence-only check could overlook it. The reader must compare the stored description with the highlighted diagram.
Use a viewer that exposes native tag properties
Adobe documents the Tags panel, content highlighting, and Figure properties in its Acrobat Pro structure and tags guide. Record the actual Acrobat version and platform before relying on that menu arrangement.
The documented route to the Tags panel uses the Windows Menu or macOS View menu, then Show/Hide, Navigation Panels, and Tags. Expand the structure tree and locate a Figure candidate. If needed, select the figure or nearby text with the Reading Order tool and use Find Tag From Selection.
Treat the result as a candidate until its associated content is confirmed. Enable Highlight Content for the selected tag, then inspect the highlighted area. Open Properties and inspect the Tag panel's Alternate Text field without changing it. Adobe Figure workflow
These are version-qualified native inspection steps, not a promise that every browser PDF viewer exposes this field. If your viewer lacks the relevant structure/property tools, record inspection unavailable. Hover text, a visible caption, an annotation, a tag title, and original image metadata are not substitutes for observing the PDF's stored alternative.
The W3C PDF1 technique describes text alternatives through an Alt entry on a tag. Its example tools illustrate the technique; they do not prove the current menus or capabilities of your installed reader.
Match the highlighted content to F01
Start the read-only review with the native file path, file revision, page number, and current file hash. Do not fill those fields from an assumed filename or proposed source.
Select the Figure candidate believed to represent F01. Record the actual tag path and any available native content identifiers. Observe the highlighted content before copying its description.
For this fixture, an accepted F01 association highlights Draft → Review. If the selected tag highlights Queue → Archive instead, you are examining F02 or a wrongly associated tag. Do not rename that finding “F01” merely because the tag appears first in the tree.
Recreate this example
Build one self-contained responsive HTML example titled “View PDF alt text: confirm the figure first” for readers completing the stated task. Return the complete HTML with embedded CSS and JavaScript. Use no remote fonts, libraries, images, requests, account connections, or saved-state claims.
Show original diagrams F01 Draft→Review and F02 Queue→Archive. Intended alternatives Draft moves to Review / Queue moves to Archive. Buttons Mismatch, Blank alternative, Untagged, Correct example update F01 association/stored-text/finding ledger. Mismatch uses Queue sentence despite nonempty value; blank differs from no associated Figure tag; correct is illustrative only. Include native Acrobat steps select candidate, highlight content, inspect exact Alternate Text and record actual file revision/tag path. No PDF upload/parser/edit, no invented tag IDs or compliance/screen-reader pass.
Use a two-diagram inspection worksheet with separate association, stored text and intended meaning design with a compact header. Keep the actual sample data, controls, and useful default result visible early on a 360px-wide screen. Use readable text at least 16px, generous paragraph spacing, strong contrast, semantic labels, visible keyboard focus, and wrapping source blocks. Stack records on narrow screens rather than forcing a wide table.
Wire each action to an explicit type=button click handler using element selectors; the host permits scripts but blocks form submission. Update the visible result when the described action occurs. Show specific error feedback for invalid or missing input and clear stale feedback after dependent inputs change. Use plain text when displaying user values.
This scenario comparison is not a PDF viewer, native tag inspection or accessibility certification. Keep the source fixture and worked teacher or developer example distinct from actual user records. Include the domain-specific explanation and next check beside the result. Provide no fake download, send, deployment, approval, or persistence button. Everything operates locally for the current page session.
Review the prepared copy in NOS
Route the exact mapping or meaning finding to the native PDF owner. NOS can render a sanitized HTML inspection explanation and allow eligible static reviewer instructions to be edited visually. Reinspect the saved PDF itself before closing the figure-specific finding.