InDesign Cannot Artifact Leader Dots [Accessibility]

[brenbrenbren]

InDesign has no way of artifacting leader dots. This can only be done in PDF. Leader dots are commonly used in tables of contents to guide the reader's eye from the end of the entry to the page number. Leader dots are voiced by access technologies such as screen readers and force users with disabilities to hear, "DOT DOT DOT DOT DOT DOT DOT DOT DOT DOT DOT DOT DOT DOT DOT DOT DOT DOT DOT DOT DOT DOT DOT DOT ..." If they are not artifacted. This is a painstaking process that requires InDesign users to learn PDF Remediation, a highly specialized skillset that is typically outside the role of the average Graphic Designer. Currently, the process for artifacting leader dots is to ind the first leader dot in the Tags tree. Right click on it and choose Show in Content Panel. Expand the content containers until you find the first set of leader dots. Right click on them and choose “Create Artifact.” Ignore the options panel and click “OK” to set the artifact. Repeat with all other leader dots. This issue affects EVERY SINGLE InDesign user who is required to make accessible content. Please make artifacting leader dots an option within InDesign so painstaking remediation is not required.

[kglad]

<moved from cc desktop ideas>

[brenbrenbren]

This is where Adobe told me to post it after I submitted this in admin console.  🤷

[kglad]

post it here, https://indesign.uservoice.com/forums/601021-adobe-indesign-feature-requests

[Willi Adelberger]

Instead of dots use a stroke with a dotted line, as it will increase flexibility. Look at the example.

[brenbrenbren]

Yes, you can do that, and artifact the dotted line.  But you have to do it manually, instead of using a tab stop with a leader dot that is associated with your Paragraph Styles.

[John Mensinger]

Could also be done with a Character Style applied using a GREP Style within the Paragraph Style.

[brenbrenbren]

That is an intriguing idea!  Do you have a resource on that and is this method confirmed to be accessible?

[Willi Adelberger]

Did you look into the example? I did it automatically.

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

@Willi Adelberger, this is a fantastic solution.

And yes, it is automatically done, not manually.

Look at Willi's example more carefully:

• The TOC paragraph style has a nested character style to format the leader rule before the tab stop.
• The matching nested character style sets the underline to generate a thin, 1/2 point dotted rule.
• Because InDesign does an excellent job of artifacting all rules (well, in the recent versions of InDesign!) the dotted leader rule is now artifacted.

Thank You Willi!

— Your grateful colleague, Bevi

[Frans v.d. Geest]

@Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com Well Bevi, I wrote about that technique on my blog in... 2009 already! 😉

It then became handy again four years ago for accessibility (so I wrote about it again in 2019)

But, in Dutch!

https://fvdgeest-dtp.blogspot.com/2009/06/inhoudsopgave-beter-uitpunten_24.html

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

THANK YOU FRANS!

@Frans v.d. Geest 

[brenbrenbren]

This is truly excellent.  I was told this was NOT possible to do in InDesign at an accessibility conference so I reported it.  Thank you for providing this workaround!

[notannhavoc]

I'm having a similar problem - underlined text  - the underline needs to be artifacted  in the resultign pdf but I cannot  selct it in the ID file to  set it as artifact - tried  Willi's workaround but it also generated a line that  is seen as a path - someone said ID does an excellent job of artifacting lines - not so -  perhaps an earlier version - certainly not the current version 18.5