Overleaf LaTeX-to- PDF/UA-2 Workflow Guide

Overleaf to PDF/UA-2 Workflow

This guide is intended for instructors creating math and STEM documents in Overleaf. It provides a practical workflow for producing tagged PDF 2.0 output targeting PDF/UA-2, the current international standard for accessible PDF. PDF/UA-2 supports accessible representations of mathematical content, including MathML. The LaTeX template provided is configured to produce tagged PDF 2.0 targeting PDF/UA-2, with MathML representations available through both MathML Structure Elements and MathML Associated Files. The resulting PDF must still be validated for PDF/UA-2 conformance and tested with appropriate PDF viewers and assistive technology.

Phase 1: Create a Master Math Project Template

In Overleaf, a Project is a complete workspace folder containing your source files (.tex), figures (.pdf, .png), and project-level compilation settings. Because accessibility tagging requires specific project and document configurations, the most efficient workflow is to set up a Master Math Template Project once and reuse it for future documents that contain math equations.

Phase 2: Download or Copy the Master Math LaTeX Template

Download the PDF/UA-2 Master Math LaTeX Template (.zip) to upload directly to Overleaf, or copy the template code below into your Master Math Template project's main.tex file.

% ==============================================================================
% LINE 1: DOCUMENT METADATA (MUST BE BEFORE \documentclass)
% ==============================================================================
\DocumentMetadata{
  lang = en-US,
  tagging = on,
  pdfstandard = ua-2,
  tagging-setup = { math/setup = {mathml-SE, mathml-AF} }
}

\documentclass[12pt]{article}

% Core packages for accessibility, typography, and graphics
\usepackage{unicode-math}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{float}    % Provides [H] for deterministic reading order
\usepackage[singlelinecheck=false]{caption} % Standardized caption handling
\usepackage{hyperref}

% Document Metadata Details & Title Display Requirement
\hypersetup{
  pdftitle={Sample Title for Accessible Mathematics},
  pdfauthor={Department of Mathematics},
  pdfsubject={PDF/UA-2 Compliant Document Workflow},
  pdfkeywords={PDF/UA-2, LaTeX, MathML, Accessibility},
  pdfdisplaydoctitle=true % Mandatory for PDF/UA compliance
}

% Layout and Margin Configuration
\usepackage[top=0.75in, bottom=0.75in, left=1in, right=1in]{geometry}

% ==============================================================================
% INSTRUCTOR CONTENT AREA BELOW THIS LINE
% ==============================================================================

\title{Sample Accessible Math Document}
\author{Author's Name}
\date{\today}

\begin{document}

\maketitle

\section{Introduction}
Welcome to the accessible document workflow. This file is configured to build
native \textbf{PDF/UA-2} tag trees with structured \textbf{MathML} representations
embedded directly alongside mathematical content.

\section{Mathematical Content Examples}

Below are examples of inline and block display expressions that are processed into structural MathML elements. 

\subsection{Block Math Example}
\[
f(x)=a_{0}+\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}\left(a_{n} \cos \frac{n \pi x}{L}+b_{n} \sin \frac{n \pi x}{L}\right)
\]

\subsection{Inline Math Example}
\( \left(x+\frac{b}{2 a}\right)^{2}=-\frac{c}{a}+\frac{b^{2}}{4 a^{2}} \)

\section{Images and Figures}
Always provide descriptive alternative text using the \texttt{alt} key for images:

\begin{figure}[H]
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=0.35\textwidth, alt={Line graph with an oscillating red wave flattening against a blue step function as n increases}]{example-image}
  \caption{Example figure demonstrating Fourier series convergence.}
  \label{fig:fourier}
\end{figure}

\end{document}

Phase 3: Best Practices for Writing Accessible Math and Graphics

1. When to Use LaTeX vs. Image Files

• Math Formulas: Use LaTeX math notation ($...$ for displaying math inline, \[...\]) rather than screenshots or images. Images of math do not provide the same machine-readable math structure as LaTeX-generated math and can also become pixelated when enlarged.
• Plots, Figures and Diagrams (Use Graphics Files): Use image files (e.g., plots generated from Python/MATLAB, photographs, or geometric diagrams) inside \includegraphics.

2. Acceptable Image File Formats

3. Alternative Text for Images

• Informative Images: Provide clear descriptions in the alt={...} key (e.g., \includegraphics[alt={Bar chart showing velocity vs time}]{plot.png}).
• Decorative Images: Use alt={} (empty string) or the artifact key for purely decorative elements so screen readers ignore them.

4. Document Structure

• Section Hierarchy: Use standard sectioning tags (\section, \subsection, \subsubsection) to create a logical, consistent heading hierarchy. Avoid unnecessary heading-level jumps, and do not use headings solely for visual styling.
• Lists: Use standard environments like \begin{itemize} or \begin{enumerate} rather than manually typing dashes or bullets.
• Tables: For data tables, identify header rows so they can be tagged as table header cells; for example, use \tagpdfsetup{table/header-rows={1}} when the first row contains the column headers. For more complex tables, header columns and multi-row headers may require additional tagging configuration.

Phase 4: PDF/UA-2 Validation with PDF4WCAG

Once you compile and download your PDF from Overleaf, you can run an automated conformance check using the free PDF4WCAG web service. (Note that automated validation does not replace manual accessibility testing with appropriate PDF viewers and assistive technologies.)

1. Navigate to pdf4wcag.com in your web browser.
2. Upload your compiled .pdf file.
3. In the Validation Profile drop-down menu, select PDF/UA-2 and ISO 32005.
4. Click Validate and review the compliance report.

 Frequently Asked Questions and Troubleshooting

Accessibility Note for PDF Documents with Math: For the best reading experience with screen readers (NVDA or JAWS) and PDF documents containing math equations, please open course PDFs directly in Mozilla Firefox. NVDA will also work with Foxit Reader or Adobe Acrobat (Pro). VoiceOver on Mac/iOS currently lacks support for PDF math tags.

Selected Resources

• Overleaf: Creating Accessible PDFs in LaTeX. Overleaf's technical documentation for producing accessible PDFs with LaTeX, including tagging, MathML, alternative text, and document structure.
• PDF Association: Best Practice Guide for Math in PDF (.pdf)
• PDF4WCAG Online Validation Tool. Online validation tool supporting PDF/UA-2 and ISO 32005 conformance checking.
• LaTeX Tagged PDF Project Documentation. Official LaTeX Project documentation on the progress, syntax, and architecture of automated PDF tagging and accessibility.