Participating Frequently

Question

PDFs posted online (hyperlink format for Section 508)

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
September 23, 2019
5 replies
762 views

How are hyperlinks formatted in a PDF for posting online and so that they are accessible? Is it underlined blue text or something different? Does the text have to be underlined blue or can there be some other format? Also, if there is a reference for this information, that'd be great!

[Subject line edited by moderator to include Section 508]

This topic has been closed for replies.

jane-e

Community Expert

Hi

When you create a hyperlink in InDesign, by default it creates a Character Style called "Hyperlink".

The Character style can be redefined. It creates and uses a Swatch called Hyperlink, which is blue. The swatch can also be redefined.

You don't "have" to do anything, but as Nancy says, there are best practices, and it's a good idea to follow them.

~ Jane

L

lynn26555652Author

Participating Frequently

All set! Thank you!

BobLevine

Community Expert

Interactivity in PDFs viewed anywhere but Acrobat or Reader is nothing but a crapshoot. This is especially true when viewing a browser.

Jongware

Community Expert

Which effectively means that "blue underlined text" may just do nothing at all. Personally speaking, I prefer to see my web addresses as 'regular' text, and if the mouse pointer turns into a little hand, that's a bonus.

L

lynn26555652Author

Participating Frequently

Thank you. I should have added that these hyperlinks formats are specifically to meet the standards for 508 accessible documents for the internet.

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

I have moved this question to InDesign for you.

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

L

lynn26555652Author

Participating Frequently

Thank you, Nancy. I guess I should have added that these hyperlinks formats are specifically to meet the standards for 508 accessible documents for the internet.

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

Like I said, read WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 as those are the recommednations for 508, ADA compliance. It may seem duanting at first but mostly it's common sense.

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

Read the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0 and 2.1) for details. Underlines help users immediately notice links. Color isn't important. But sufficient contrast is essential.

https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/

Also see User agent stylessheets

https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/rendering.html#the-css-user-agent-style-sheet-and-presentational-hints

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

Nancy OShea

Community Expert

Which software or service are you using please?

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert

L

lynn26555652Author

Participating Frequently

We use InDesign CC. We used to format hyperlinks with no underline and used whatever color we liked or if the hyperlink color matched the document we'd use that color. We are now being asked if we should always underline and make the text blue for all hyperlinks in a PDF posted online.

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