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Eriq49Morse
Inspiring
February 1, 2022
Question

Accessibility in InDesign

  • February 1, 2022
  • 2 replies
  • 2292 views

I recall seeing an Adobe online publication some while ago that was devoted to accessibility in InDesign. Of course, I can't find it again. Does anyone have a link?

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2 replies

Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
Legend
February 2, 2022

Accessibility is more complex than what you'll learn from an online reference, even mine.

 

Example, my live online class is 16 hours long and I wish I had about 4 more for my students so we can get into some more complex design issues.

 

But to narrow accessible PDFs down to the essentials:

 

  1. Everything in the document must tagged, even it's an artifact (which is am attribute on the Figure tag).
     
  2. Each element must have the correct tag that identifies its purpose and context. Examples: H1  - H6 for headings, Note for footnotes.
     
  3. The PDF's Tag Tree must have a logical Tag reading order.
     
  4. The PDF's architectural reading order (the Order panel) must also be logical.
     
  5. All graphics must either have appropriate Alt Text or are artifacted.
     
  6. All hyperlinks must be accessible hyperlinks. Includes: cross references, index entries, TOCs, URLs, and email addresses.

 

There are more requirements and accessibility features to meet PDF/UA and WCAG accessibility standards, but these 6 items are the foundation that must be there for all PDFs to be usable and accessible for the majority of users.

 

|    Bevi Chagnon   |  Designer, Trainer, & Technologist for Accessible Documents ||    PubCom |    Classes & Books for Accessible InDesign, PDFs & MS Office |
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    Eriq49MorseAuthor
    Inspiring
    February 7, 2022

    I notice that your note seems to refer only to Acrobat, which I sort of understand, I am sort of hoping to do some of the work in InDesign. For instance I have a repeating graphic logo on every page, which should be an artifact. Can I tag and export it as such in InDesign?

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    Eriq49MorseAuthor
    Inspiring
    February 9, 2022

    With your help, I seem to be in good shape. Many thanks, Bevi

    Dave Creamer of IDEAS
    Community Expert
    Dave Creamer of IDEASCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 1, 2022

    Here is some info:

    https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/using/creating-accessible-pdfs.html

    https://www.adobe.com/accessibility/resources.html

     

    I believe this is the old PDF you might be referring to:

    https://www.adobe.com/content/dam/acom/en/products/indesign/pdfs/creating-accessible-pdf-documentw-with-adobe-indesign-cs6-v3.pdf

     

    David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)
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