cc2018 Alt-Text on Anchored Image wont display after pdf export.

[LoriMod]

I'm editing my user-guides. They were built using cc2017.  I prefer to anchor the graphic frame to text by using a dual method. First place the frame over the desired location and wrap the text around it as explained in your tutorials as "Wrap Around Bounding Box or Wrap Around Object Shape." Then Second, by anchoring the frame to text (usually the end of a paragraph for jump over, or beginning of a paragraph for wrap to the right of). This ensures that if I alter the text, the image will remain in it's relative location.

Friday when I was still using cc2017, the user-guides built with this method then converted to pdf would display the alternate text quite well.

Now that cc2018 is installed, the alt-text will not display in pdf after conversion. After over 8 hours of experimenting and researching your forums, I've discovered that the alt-text will display after conversion if I remove the anchor then add the graphic frame to Articles.

I've tried completely removing an image, replacing with a brand new designated graphic frame, anchored the frame to text. The image alt-text still doesn't show up in the converted pdf if it's anchored.

I've also completed both suggested fixes. The BugFixes_Win.zip. and Don't Import previous settings and preferences.

How can anchor these images, AND have the alt-text work? I have at least a dozen user guides that I've built these last couple of years that needs updates and there is at least one image per page. Please Adobe Team, I need help, I've been trying to fix this for 3 days!

[amaarora]

Hi,

Can you please share the sample document and a small video showing the issue at amaarora@adobe.com?

-Aman

[LoriMod]

Hi Aman. documents and email are on their way. I didn't make a video, but let me know if my written explanation isn't clear and I will make a video explanation.

Something interesting I noticed when putting the email together,

The pdf of the cc2018 user guide doesn’t even seem to recognize the anchored images as anything at all. That’s obvious when you go to the Reading Order option in the Accessibility tool. It's kind of like when you print something on used paper, like those images are part of the background or paper and not part of the document at all.

Thanks for your help.

[LoriMod]

HI Aman, More Information I just found. It looks as if the images I've anchored and tagged as figures are exporting as artifacts.

BTW, those two images on pages 2-03 and 2-04 weren't tagged because I was frustrated, experimenting and forgot to re-tag them before I sent you a copy of the documents, but if you look at any of the other frames you will see that they ARE tagged as figures but in the pdf's they are artifacts. Maybe relevant info?

[LoriMod]

This has still not been answered and the issue is still causing me problems. I've completely uninstalled InDesign and reinstalled then installed the noted update and STILL, any anchored images DO NOT popup TAGS when converted to pdf format.

Note that build 12.1.0.56 x 64 does not have this problem, and exports anchored image custom tags to pdf just fine.

Build 13.0.1 x64 WILL NOT EXPORT the custom tags of anchored images to pdf.

What is going on? I am preparing more sample documents and a video to re-send to you to help you understand my dilemma.

[LoriMod]

Another email, with better documentation just sent. Please, Please, Please help me.

[Cari_Jansen]

Aman,

I've reported this issue as a bug ID-4205726, and also uploaded my file for internal use by engineering team only.

[Cari Jansen]

Are you using the Article panel to control the reading order?

I have just encountered the exact same issue while working on an accessibility project, and discovered that as soon as I enable 'Use for Reading Order in Tagged PDF' from the Articles panel menu, not a single anchored object is Tagged... when exporting from CC (2018) as interactive PDF (my document contains interactive elements as well, so requires this export) and as you say it seems to be handled as an Artefact instead. IF I disable this setting, all anchored images are tagged properly (as you can see using the Reading Order panel in Acrobat).

I re-installed CC(2017) and noticed the issue doesn't exist there, so definitely appears to be a bug in CC(2018)?

Sadly the conversion back to CC(2017) isn't possible for me as I used some of the new CC(2018) features in my design that will require a lot of design rework...

System Info:

Mac OSX High Sierra 10.13.2, InDesign CC (2018) 13.0.1 build.

also ran a test on Windows 10, same InDesign build, same issue.

[amaarora · Accepted solution]

Hi,

We are able to reproduce this issue and working on the fix.

The workaround for now is to remove the entries of anchored images from the Articles panel... as pointed out rightly by Cari.

-Aman

[Cari_Jansen]

Thanks for the update @Aman

[LoriMod]

Hi Aman,

Thanks! Do you know if we will receive notification when the fix is in?

I plan to continue using cc2017 for all of my other work until then. Un-anchoring all of my images, or setting tab order within Acrobat would be an enormous task. I'd rather wait.

[amaarora]

Hi,

As and when the fix is available you will be notified via email if you have voted for the issue here:anchor – Adobe InDesign Feedback

You can open CC 2018 documents in CC 2017 version of InDesign by saving them as idml document

-Aman

[bjd_H3]

I have this problem too. Very very terrible bug! Not sure how to go back to CC2017 but I am required to create many complicated Accesible PDF files and I agree... turning off tab order or un-anchoring images both are NOT reasonable workarounds. This adds way too much time to all my projects! Adobe, please fix this NOW!!!

[LoriMod]

Hi @bjd_H3, Good News! Adobe's been working diligently on this problem. The new pre-release has the fix. Go to their Pre-Release home page and signup, then download the newest release, 13.1.0.75.

While you're working, if you find any bugs, be sure to start a thread on the pre-release forum so they know what's broken. So far I've had great luck with it.

Also, you're welcome to review my thread over there for a previous pre-release. Another user contributed a list of issues he'd experienced.

As far as going back to ID-CC2017, if you decide to go that route, there are things you will need to do to stabilize your fields then install that specific version. Give me a shout if you need more info about doing that.

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

InDesign CC:2018 version 13.1 was released commercially and available to all CC subscribers in early March 2018.

The Alt-text and tagged figures when using the Articles panel has been corrected, as well as other items.

See Release notes at March 2018 (13.1) release of InDesign CC Release Notes

[LoriMod]

HI Cari,

Sorry for the delay in responding. Monday was a holiday and yesterday a snow day.

Yes, one of my reasons to use the Articles Panel is to help with reading order, I tried many export options, but never thought of this one. On preliminary investigation, it seems to work, but causes it's own set of problems. Instead, I think I'm going to stick with cc2017 for all of my other documents (until they shake out the bugs). Luckily I'd only ruined one of them in cc2018. I'd made so  many edits and tweaks in that document that it would be impossible to re-create it in cc2017.

Unfortunately I didn't follow my own rule when I clicked that update button. But I don't think it was entirely my fault. My rule is to never, ever install an upgrade until it's been thoroughly vetted by other users and pronounced relatively bug-free. I do not apply this rule to an update, because generally (at least in my ap-dev circle) an update is an enhancement or bug-fix for an existing version, whereas an upgrade is a new version. Because Adobe displayed the button on the Apps page of their CC window as 'Update', I'd just assumed that it was a fix/enhancement and not a version change. More fool me!

Thanks for your input!