Table that spans multiple pages within a Paginated Report - Problem with Accessible PDF Tagging

[bethwhitmer]

Hello, 

We are developing a paginated report containing a data table that is very long and spans multiple report pages. When we convert the report to "Accessible PDF", the PDF tags tree creates a separate <table> tag for EACH page that the table spans across. So for example, if the table spans 3 pages of the report, there are 3 separate <table> tags within the PDF tags tree.

This is different than in a Word to PDF conversion where the same scenario would result in one <table> tag for the table, regardless of how many pages it spans.

The accessibility guidance provided online only shows examples of tables that are contained within 1 page so I'm not sure how to address this issue for our scenario where the table spans multiple pages. 

[Anonymous]

Hi, @bethwhitmer 

Maintain a single tag for the entire table, even if it spans multiple <Table>pages1.This means that all table rows(s) of the table content from the first page to the third page should be contained in a single tag<TR><Table>. You can check the following link:

Accessibility of Simple Tables in Microsoft Products, Adobe PDF, and HTML (hhs.gov)

If your table has headers, you may want to consider repeating them at the top of each page. This can usually be done by selecting the table row that contains the header, right-clicking on the row, and then selecting Table Properties. In the dialog box that appears, click the Rows tab, and then select the Repeat as header row at the top of each page check box.

Tables in documents – Accessible Technology (washington.edu)

Some software tools like Equidox offer features that can help mark tables across multiple pages. For example, Equidox has a "Merge" checkbox that allows you to mark each part of a table as part of the previous table.

Tips for Tagging Tables in PDFs (equidox.co)

How to Get Your Question Answered Quickly 

Best Regards

Yongkang Hua

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[hackcrr]

Hi, @bethwhitmer 

When long data tables in paged reports are converted to Accessible PDF, the PDF tag tree creates separate <table> tags for the table portion of each report page, unlike Word to PDF conversions which usually have only one <table> tag.

You may need to check the limitations of Power BI Report Builder, SQL Server Reporting Services everywhere PDF.
In the current version, exporting customized PDFs is not supported at this time. you can try the following alternatives:

If possible, consider redesigning the tables in your report to reduce the number of pages they span. For example, you might try adjusting column widths, row heights, or page margins to allow the table to fit more tightly on a single page. While this may change the appearance of the report, it will ensure the accuracy of the PDF labels.

hackcrr

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[bethwhitmer]

Thanks for the response! Do you know how to check/confirm that this is a limitation of the Power BI Report Builder? I've checked their accessibility documentation and Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) and I don't see it mentioned. My thought is that this could be a problem for a lot of people who are using the Report Builder and then exporting using their "Accessible PDF" output. 

[foodd]

Hello @bethwhitmer ,  and when referring to Accessibility in Power BI paginated reports - Power BI | Microsoft Learn , if you would like to participate directly in the feedback loop, please click the Feeback link adjacent to the Document Header.

Also, you may raise this as I know you are aware through an Issue or Idea as mentioned below:

Issues

If you have found a true bug or issue, you can make a post to the forum to let others know (and that would be very nice of you to do so). But if you want to get it fixed, you should post it in the Issues/Ideas (it varies) area of the community. Specifically, you should post it here:

Power BI - https://community.powerbi.com/t5/Issues/idb-p/Issues
PowerAutomate - https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/I-Found-A-Bug/bd-p/BugFound
PowerApps - https://ideas.powerapps.com


Ideas

If you have a new idea for functionality or how something should work, you can certainly start a thread on the community to solicit feedback on your idea, but you should also post the idea in the ideas section of the website and solicit others to vote on your idea. The development teams use the Ideas area of the communities to build their development pipeline and a significant amount of weight is placed on Ideas that have lots of votes versus those that do not. The ideas areas of the communities are here:

Power BI - https://ideas.powerbi.com
PowerAutomate -  
PowerApps - https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/PowerApps-Ideas/idb-p/PowerAppsIdeas

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