PDF accessibility features

Download designs as PDFs that work better with screen readers and assistive technologies.

1. Open the design you want to export.
2. Go to
   Share, then select
   Download.
3. From the File type, select
   PDF Standard.
4. Make sure the Flatten PDF checkbox is unchecked. Flattening removes accessibility tags.
5. Select
   Download. If your design includes paid elements, select Pay and download.

Tip: Accessibility tagging isn’t supported for flattened PDFs.

Screen readers read content in the order elements appear in your design.

• Reading order is automatically calculated on export.
• Works best for simple, linear layouts.

1. Go to your design.
2. Go to Position to view all layers.
3. Arrange the layers in the order you want them read. The bottom layer is read first.
4. Go to Share, then select Download.
5. Select Match reading order to layers before downloading.

In Canva docs, semantic tags are applied based on the heading type you choose. For example,

Title is tagged as h1,

Subtitle as h2,

Heading as h3,

Subheading as h4, and

Section header as h5.

In older designs without semantic tags, Canva may automatically tag heading levels based on visual hierarchy, such as font size and placement.

If the structure doesn’t match your intent, you can edit it manually.

To edit heading semantics:

1. Go to File, then select Accessibility.
2. Select Edit text semantics.
3. Choose a text element and update its heading level.

Learn more about editing text semantics for PDF accessibility.

You can set a screen reader language for your design. This language is embedded in the exported PDF to help screen readers interpret text correctly.

Learn how to set a screen reader language.

Built-in browser PDF readers and VoiceOver

We’re aware of an issue where built-in browser PDF readers and VoiceOver may not read exported PDFs correctly when opened in macOS Preview or Safari.

• Some content may be skipped.

This can happen even when tags appear correctly in Adobe Acrobat.

Recommended workaround

For the most reliable screen reader experience with NVDA, JAWS, or VoiceOver, open exported PDFs in Adobe Acrobat.

Adobe Acrobat reads accessibility tags more consistently than built-in browser viewers.

Images and other non-text elements can include alt text.

• Alt text is instance-based
• Each copy of an image can have different alt text, depending on context

To ensure your PDF can be understood by screen reader users, add alt text to all images and elements, or mark them as decorative, before exporting. Learn how to add alt text to elements. Alt text embedded in imported PDFs and PPTXs is preserved and included in exports.

Canva tags the following so assistive technologies can interpret them correctly:

• Tables
• Lists
• Text effects, including curved text

Canva provides tools to help you build accessible PDFs:

• Text semantics — structure headings and content for screen reader compatibility.
• Alt text — add image descriptions or mark images as decorative.
• Reading order — control the sequence content is read aloud.
• Design Accessibility Checker — catch colour contrast, alt text, and typography issues before export.