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Inspiring
March 3, 2025
Answered

Metadata: Setting epubAccessibilityConformsTo by script / Missing export to EPUB metadata?

  • March 3, 2025
  • 1 reply
  • 785 views

Hi everyone,

I've tried setting the value for epubAccessibilityConformsTo to "EPUB Accessibility 1.1 - WCAG 2.1 Level AA", but I can't seem to get it quite right:

 

function setEPUBAccessibilityPreferences(){           
    with(app.activeDocument.epubExportPreferences){	
	epubAccessibilityConformsTo = "EPUB Accessibility 1.1 - WCAG 2.1 Level AA"
	epubAccessibilityCertifiedBy = "Certifier"
	epubAccessibilityCredentials = "Credentials"
	epubAccessibilityReportLink = "www.report.link"
	}
};

 

Is there any official documentation for which (string) values are allowed for epubAccessibilityConformsTo?

I've only been able to find the unofficial InDesign ExtendScript API Adobe InDesign 2025 (20.0.0.95) Object Model - EPubExportPreference reference which does not give information beyond stating that epubAccessibilityConformsTo takes a string value.

 

When I try 

function setEPUBAccessibilityPreferences(){           
    with(app.activeDocument.epubExportPreferences){	
	epubAccessibilityConformsTo = "EPUB Accessibility 1.1 - WCAG 2.1 Level AA"	
	epubAccessibilityCertifiedBy = "Certifier"
	epubAccessibilityCredentials = "Credentials"
	epubAccessibilityReportLink = "www.report.link"
	}
	alert(app.activeDocument.epubExportPreferences.epubAccessibilityConformsTo)
};

it correctly shows "EPUB Accessibility 1.1 - WCAG 2.1 Level AA" in the Script Alert.

 

When opening the EPUB export dialogue after running the script, nothing shows in the Conforms To field. I'm using the German version of ID, so it's the field labeled "Entspricht:" in the attached screenshot.

 

Also, I noticed that the EPUB3 metadata after export will not contain 

<meta property="dcterms:conformsTo">EPUB Accessibility 1.1 - WCAG 2.0 Level AA</meta>

but only show

	<metadata xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">
		...
		<!--accessibility options-->
		<meta property="a11y:certifiedBy">Certifier</meta>
		<meta property="a11y:certifierCredential">Credentials</meta>
		<link rel="a11y:certifierReport" href="www.report.link" />
	</metadata>

 even if I manually select "EPUB Accessibility 1.1 - WCAG 2.1 Level AA" from the dropdown menu.

 

At this point, I suspect there is something amiss with ID processing the value for the Conforms To dropdown - has anyone here encountered this issue, too?

Correct answer maw51478118

Thank you very much for your feedback!

I've tested with the English language version, among other things, and initially nothing seemed to work for me, until I finally figured out what the problem was: InDesign CC 2024 (19.4).

By switching to CC 2025 (20.1), the issues disappeared entirely, and my script worked just as well as manually setting the value for the "Conforms To" dropdown. I suppose working with the latest ID version is mandatory now when using accessibility features, which are nominally also present in earlier versions.

 

As for post-processing the EPUB, that is definitely something we will also look into for getting accessibility metadata into the files.

1 reply

Community Expert
March 3, 2025

Hello - it might be a localisation issue with the German version of InDesign. 

 

Try testing with a slightly different string value or in the English version of InDesign. It’s possible the localised UI or an internal mapping is causing the value to be dropped.

 

If the final EPUB is missing the element altogether, you might consider post processing the EPUB (it’s just a ZIP file) to insert the correct metadata.

maw51478118AuthorCorrect answer
Inspiring
March 3, 2025

Thank you very much for your feedback!

I've tested with the English language version, among other things, and initially nothing seemed to work for me, until I finally figured out what the problem was: InDesign CC 2024 (19.4).

By switching to CC 2025 (20.1), the issues disappeared entirely, and my script worked just as well as manually setting the value for the "Conforms To" dropdown. I suppose working with the latest ID version is mandatory now when using accessibility features, which are nominally also present in earlier versions.

 

As for post-processing the EPUB, that is definitely something we will also look into for getting accessibility metadata into the files.

Inspiring
March 5, 2025

You might be interested in this new DAISY tool to write accessibility metadata:  https://daisy.github.io/a11y-meta-viewer/