How would you tag a table like this for accessibility

[Phlegmaticcat]

Hello everyone,

Looking for advice on best approach to tag a table like this. Should I do this in. Indesign or Acrobat? 

How would screen readers read this? 

[Mike Witherell]

Screen readers would not read this well, unless you are ok with having the speech synthesizer say: "Bullet, Bullet, Bullet". Tables are inherently sight-oriented, and your example is particularly so. Screen reader technology has limitations when it comes to tables. You might consider describing this in an entirely different way in a text narrative in the alt text tag. That comes close to suggesting re-designing your presentation. Some organizations go so far as to provide a phone number to call to have a person explain complex visual content to folks with vision limitations. 

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com · Accepted solution]

When symbols are used in a table, it must be clear what each symbol means. "Bullet" will be announced for each one, and that doesn't really help users understand the table. Users are looking for either a Yes or No in each field.

2 suggestions:

In InDesign, adjust the table to use "Yes" instead of each bullet. I know, doesn't look as nice, but it does correctly convey the information.

Or, using Acrobat, select each bullet in the table and give it Actual Text of "Yes". Note that Actual Text is not the same as Alt Text.

It would be so helpful to be able to apply Actual Text to the live bullets directly in InDesign, but that feature is not available if the bullets are live text glyphs (U+2022).

But if the bullets are graphics rather than live glyphs, select each one, and right-click to bring up Object Export Options. Set the Actual Text in the middle tab, like this:

Set Actual Text on graphics (not live text).

OK, that was 3 suggestions. Such a bonus! <grin>

[Frans v.d. Geest · Accepted solution]

To add to that: set the left column to be a Header column, don't forget the Scope, can only be done in Acrobat not in InDesign (unless you use MadeToTag!)

[Phlegmaticcat]

Thank you everyone, I described the table in detail and defined the correct scope and span of columns. 

My file shows the most wanted Green Tick now 🙂 

Thank you. 

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

Green Tick ... isn't life great? <grin>

Glad this worked for you.