Accessibility and figures

[Tracy5DA4]

I think that for accessibility, it is best to have images anchored within the text at the point where they are mentioned. However, this isn't always possible due to layout constraints. For example, a paragraph of text on a page might reference Figure 18 and Figure 19, but only Figure 18 fits on that same page. Figure 19 falls on the next page. Since it seems like InDesign does not allow you to anchor figures to text on another page, what can I do so the screen reader understands that they should jump to Figure 19 on the next page, and then jump back to the previous page to continue 'reading'?

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com · Accepted solution]

Yes, this is a huge shortcoming of InDesign;  graphics that are referenced within body text should be anchored "near" where the point of body text, either at the end of the sentence, end of the paragraph, or end of a major section break. You decide what's most appropriate. Note that they should never be anchored within the sentence itself because this breaks the concentration and comprehension for the user.

In the case you describe, we recommend:

1. use a cross reference hyperlink with a matching "return" hyperlink back to the body text;
2. in the PDF, adjust the location of the graphic's <Figure> tag to follow the body text <P>. This is done in Acrobat, not InDesign because of Indy's lack of tools to anchor on different spreads;
3. Vote for this feature to be added to InDesign: https://indesign.uservoice.com/forums/601021-adobe-indesign-feature-requests/suggestions/41552164-ability-to-anchor-graphics-across-spreads

VOTE!

Without your vote at UserVoice.com, Adobe will not correct this problem.

Encourage your colleagues to vote. We need to get this fixed, and voting is our only way to accomplish this.

You can see other accessibility issues at our clearinghouse, www.PubCom.com/vote where we keep tally of what's requested for InDesign, MS Word, and Adobe Acrobat.

Hope this helps.

[Laubender]

Voted!

Regards,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

Thanks, Uwe @Laubender!

[Steve Werner]

I also voted for it!

Best,

Steve Werner

[Tracy5DA4]

Many thanks, and voted, too! Hope InDesign developers are listening!