PDF/UA-1 · CLAUSE 7.1

Viewer does not show the document title

The ViewerPreferences dictionary is missing DisplayDocTitle, or it is set to false, so the reader shows the file name in the window title.

Rule 7.1-10 ISO 14289-1 Object: CosDocument

Why it matters

Screen reader users hear the file name instead of the document title when the document opens, which rarely says anything useful about the content.

How to fix it

  • In Acrobat Pro set File > Properties > Initial View > Show to 'Document Title'.
  • When generating PDFs, set /ViewerPreferences << /DisplayDocTitle true >> in the catalog.
  • Make sure a real dc:title is also set, otherwise this setting shows an empty title.
WCAG 2.4.2 Page Titled (A)

What the standard says

The document catalog dictionary shall include a ViewerPreferences dictionary containing a DisplayDocTitle key, whose value shall be true

Check your own PDF

Validate a file against PDF/UA-1 and see whether this rule fails in your document.

curl -sS -X POST "https://api.ua1.dev/api/validate?format=compact&profile=ua1" \
  -F "file=@document.pdf"