---
title: PDF checks
description: Lumtera Pro checks the PDFs in your Media Library for tags, a title, a language, real text, bookmarks and security settings that block screen readers.
---

# PDF checks <span class="pro-pill">Pro</span>

PDFs are often the least accessible part of a site. Lumtera Pro checks every PDF in your Media Library for the basics a machine can decide. Open <span class="screen-path">Accessibility → Documents</span>. Anyone with the **See reports and check the site** permission can use it (editors and administrators by default).

![The Documents screen listing PDFs with their results](/screenshots/pro-documents.webp)

## When PDFs are checked

- **On upload.** New PDFs are checked straight away. Large files (over 10 MB), imports, and the third or later PDF in one upload are checked in the background instead.
- **When a file changes.** Edited or replaced files are checked again.
- **In the background**, once a day, for anything not yet checked.
- **Check all documents** on the Documents screen checks every new or changed file now. Files that haven't changed since their last check are skipped.

## What's checked

| Area | Findings | Severity |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tags | Not tagged, tags claimed but missing, tags switched off, empty tag tree | Error |
| Tags | Tags may be unreliable | Needs review |
| Title | No document title | Error |
| Title | Title looks like a file name | Needs review |
| Title | Viewers show the file name, not the title | Tip |
| Language | No document language, or not a valid one | Error |
| Real text | Has no real text / looks like a scan | Error |
| Real text | Some pages have no real text | Needs review |
| Bookmarks | No bookmarks (documents over 10 pages) | Tip |
| Security | Security settings block screen readers | Error |
| Security | Encrypted, so some or all checks were skipped | Needs review |

Each finding comes with **How to fix** steps, with instructions for Word, Google Docs, InDesign and Acrobat where they apply.

Files over 50 MB, or that take longer than 10 seconds to check, are marked **Too large to check** or **Took too long to check**. Files that are missing from the server, aren't really PDFs or can't be read are marked too, with what to do next.

::: info Passing isn't the whole story
These are the basics a machine can decide. Passing them doesn't make a PDF fully accessible. Reading order, alternative text and table structure still need a person to check them, for example with Acrobat Pro's accessibility checker or the free PAC tool.
:::

## The Documents screen

Summary tiles show how many **PDFs** you have, how many are **Passing**, how many are **With problems**, and how many are **Not checked** (new, changed or unreadable).

The table lists each file with its **Pages**, whether it's **Tagged**, its **Title**, **Language** and **Result**, such as **Passes basic checks**. **Linked from** shows how much published content links to the file, so you can start with the PDFs people actually open. Use **Details** to read the findings, and **Check** or **Re-check** to run it again. Files with problems are listed first.

## Links to PDFs in your content

The free plugin's [Link opens a document file](/checks#link-to-document) check flags links to PDFs so people know what they're opening. With Pro, when the PDF is in your Media Library, the finding adds: *"Lumtera Pro checks this PDF: see its result under Accessibility → Documents."*