Can you remove tags from some items in accessible ODS PDF output?

[formerRuser]

Hello community,

I'm building accessible, 508 compliant PDFs in SAS 9.4 using ODS PDF. I need most items in the PDF to be "tagged" so that screen readers can navigate the document for the visually impaired. Therefore, I have turned on the "accessible" option. However, sometimes there are items which I do not want tagged: for instance, an empty P""; return in ODS TEXT or a footnote (see example below). How can I remove/prevent tags for some items in the PDF?

(Now, I know that space between paragraphs could also be created using ods region, but I am creating thousands of PDFs automatically where the amount of information on each page differs, so I need the positioning of the paragraphs to be automatic. However, I am definitely open to other suggestions.)

Here is some mock code:

options orientation=portrait papersize=letter
			nodate nonumber
			topmargin = 0.25in
			bottommargin = 0.25in
			leftmargin = 0.50in
			rightmargin = 0.50in;

title;

ods pdf file="filepathhere\test.pdf"
			title = "My title here"
			author = "Me"
			accessible
			notoc;

			ods layout start style={bordercolor=white borderwidth=0pt};
			ods region	x=0.00in
					y=1.00in;
		
			ods proclabel="Tagging this section I think";
			proc odstext contents=""; /* Trying to avoid a tag here */
				H "This is my heading"
					/ style={font_face='calibri' fontsize=20pt just=c fontweight=bold};
				P "This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. "
					/ style={font_face='times new roman' fontsize=11pt just=l};
				P ""; /* This is a space between my two paragraphs, which I do not want tagged as a paragraph. */
				P "This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. "
					/ style={font_face='times new roman' fontsize=11pt just=l};
			run;

			footnote1 h=10pt j=r f='calibri' "This is my footnote"; /* I do not want the footnote tagged either */

			ods layout end;

ods pdf close;

[Cynthia_sas]

Hi:
This seems like a question for Tech Support -- if they need to consult with the accessibility team on this request, they have the ability to track the question and refer it to the correct people.
Cynthia

[formerRuser]

Okay, I'll try reaching out to tech support for removing tags for footnotes.

[ballardw]

Don't have clue about all the other bits but if you are using the empty paragraph for vertical space I think you can get around that with the ESCAPECHAR and inline formatting with the NEWLINE function:

ods escapechar='^';
			proc odstext contents=""; /* Trying to avoid a tag here */
				H "This is my heading"
					/ style={font_face='calibri' fontsize=20pt just=c fontweight=bold};
				P "This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. ^{newline 2} "
					/ style={font_face='times new roman' fontsize=11pt just=l };
				P "This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. "
					/ style={font_face='times new roman' fontsize=11pt just=l};
			run;

[formerRuser]

Thanks, I'll incorporate this for spacing.