Adding page numbers to an accessible pdf created in Indesign

[Cath8000]

Hello, I've just started to create accessible pdf's for a client I do some work for. The pdf seems to have worked well and can be read on a screen reader. One thing I'm not sure of though is how to add page numbers so that they will be read by the screen reader correctly. Would anyone have tips on this?

Thanks for your help.

[Mike Witherell]

Physical page numbers are regarded by many in the accessibility community as unnecessary to the assistive speech reader. What is your viewpoint on that?

[AndreiCT]

Did this change in new ADA new standards? I actually have a request for page numbers to be readable.

[hammer0909]

You could add the page numbers to the master page in Adobe InDesign and that would cause them to appear on each page in the document. That being said, for PDF accessibility, you typically don't want the physical page numbers to be read because Acrobat manages the page number of the document in the Acrobat interface. Page numbers are typically artifacted in the PDF so that they aren't read. BTW, if you add page numbers to the master pages in InDesign, they are automatically artifacted 😉

[AndreiCT]

This was helpful, thank you, Chad, esp "if you add page numbers to the master pages in InDesign, they are automatically artifacted" - any way to remove/bypass this restriction? I actuallly need the pagination to be tagged/read by the screen reader, what's the best approch to make that happen in InDesign?

[Kay Saleh]

I would like pagination to be narrarated too ... does anyone know how? Thanks...

[Abhishek Rao]

Hello @Kay Saleh, 

Thank you for your question! I understand that you'd like to have pagination narrated in InDesign.

Currently, InDesign doesn't have a built-in feature to narrate pagination directly. However, you can add alternative text descriptions to your pagination elements, which can be read by screen readers. This is particularly useful for creating accessible PDFs. Below is how you can do it: 

1. Select the pagination text or object you want to add a description to.
2. Go to the "Object menu" and choose "Object Export Options".
3. Under the "Alt Text" tab, you can enter a description for the pagination. This text will be read by screen readers when the PDF is viewed by users relying on assistive technologies.

If you need more specific guidance, please let me know which version of InDesign you’re using and your operating system details, and we’ll be happy to assist further.

Thank you, 
Abhishek Rao

[Frans v.d. Geest]

Alt text? If, and that is a very big 'if'(!),  you want this, use Actual text.

[Kay Saleh]

Thank you Abhishek ... I chose this like you said - is this correct? Many thanks!

[Derek Cross]

Hi Cath

Chad is an expert in producing accessible PDFs – he's produced several Lynda.com online video tutorials, such as: Acrobat DC: Creating Accessible PDFs  (you can get a 30-day free trial)

[Cath8000]

Thank you all for your advice, that's really helpful.