{"id":8092,"date":"2024-04-26T13:14:22","date_gmt":"2024-04-26T17:14:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/digital-accessibility\/?page_id=8092"},"modified":"2025-12-02T11:44:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T16:44:09","slug":"adobe-indesign","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/digital-accessibility\/adobe-indesign\/","title":{"rendered":"Adobe InDesign"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/one-column.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"class_list":["post-8092","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"lead_in":"","display_title":"","subtitle":"","call_to_action":"","hero_image_placement":"no_image","hero_media":"images","hero_pattern_option":"","hero_video":"","hero_image_landing":"","hero_image_landing_two":"","hero_image_landing_three":"","content_modules_above":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"mb-0 pb-0 mt-0 pt-0 title-line t-below t-yellow","title":"

Incorporate accessibility early in InDesign<\/h2>","content":"To make PDFs from InDesign more accessible, most of the work should be done in InDesign. This strategy cuts down on the remediation work needed in Acrobat Pro. If you have to edit something in InDesign, you won't have to repeat all the remediation steps in Acrobat.\r\n\r\nAccessibility basics<\/a> include fundamental considerations, such as font legibility, good color contrast, meaningful link text, proper link formatting, the use of real lists instead of fake ones, and more.\r\n\r\nHere, we provide specific strategies to make PDFs created in InDesign more accessible.","background_color":"#ffffff","width":"width-medium"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"steps-in-indesign","css_class":"mb-0 pb-0","title":"

Steps in InDesign<\/h2>","content":"

Use Paragraph Styles<\/h3>\r\nThe benefit of using Paragraph Styles<\/a>\u00a0is\u00a0not only accessibility but also consistency of formatting and efficiency. When you change the formatting of a style,\u00a0all text to which the style has been applied will be updated\u00a0with the new format.\r\n\r\nYou will be associating Paragraph Styles you use for your headings and other elements with proper PDF tags next.\r\n

Use headings to organize your document\u00a0effectively<\/h3>\r\nHeadings play an important role in accessibility because they convey\u00a0the structure of content. They benefit those who visually scan the headings and\u00a0those who\u00a0rely on screen readers to voice out existing headings.\r\n\r\nConsider using a naming convention for paragraph styles that indicates the heading level.\r\n\r\nH1 will usually be the title of your document. Follow the heading hierarchy (H1, H2, H3, H4...) without skipping levels. For example,\u00a0don't\u00a0jump from H1 to H3. Text that\u00a0doesn't\u00a0serve as\u00a0a heading should not be marked\u00a0as one.\r\n

Map Paragraph Styles to PDF tags<\/h3>\r\nUse\u00a0Export Tagging<\/a> to define how InDesign Paragraph Styles are tagged in PDF.\r\n
    \r\n \t
  1. Select a paragraph style<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. Go to More Options<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
  3. Go to Style Options<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
  4. Select Export Tagging<\/strong> in a new window<\/li>\r\n \t
  5. Under PDF, change default Tag: [Automatic]<\/strong> to correct tag (P, H1, H2... H6, Artifact<\/strong>)<\/li>\r\n \t
  6. Click OK<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nYou can also modify all the export tags in a single window:\r\n
      \r\n \t
    1. Go to More Options<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
    2. Edit All Export Tags<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
    3. Toggle Show<\/strong> to PDF<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
    4. Map each Style<\/strong> to a Tag<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
    5. Click OK<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n\"Screenshot\r\n

      Add alternative text for\u00a0images<\/h3>\r\nIf you add an image to your content, you must add alternative text to describe it because screen readers\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0read pictures.\r\n
        \r\n \t
      1. Select the image with\u00a0the Selection<\/strong> tool<\/li>\r\n \t
      2. Choose Object <\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
      3. Select Object Export Options<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
      4. Select the Alt Text<\/strong> tab in the Object Export Options dialog<\/li>\r\n \t
      5. Select Custom<\/strong> from the Alt Text Source<\/strong> menu<\/li>\r\n \t
      6. Enter the description in the text field<\/li>\r\n \t
      7. Click Done<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n\"Screenshot\r\n

        Anchor images within the content<\/h3>\r\nSelect and hold the mouse on the anchor icon or the blue square at the top right of the image, then drag it to where you want the\u00a0image\u00a0in the document to\u00a0be read. Release the mouse button.\u00a0This\u00a0will ensure appropriate reading order.\r\n

        Use threaded text\u00a0frames<\/h3>\r\nFor the correct flow of text use threaded text frames<\/a>\u00a0for continuous text, rather than disconnected text frames.\r\n

        Designate header row in\u00a0tables<\/h3>\r\n
          \r\n \t
        1. Go to Table<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
        2. Create Table<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
        3. Type the number of header rows<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nAvoid complex tables. Note that tables with multiple column\u00a0headers\u00a0or row headers require additional remediation in Acrobat Pro.\r\n

          Establish content order in the Articles\u00a0panel<\/h3>\r\nThe Articles<\/strong> panel lets you decide the order of content tags.\u00a0This\u00a0determines the order in which assistive technology will read content.\r\n\r\nDrag and drop frames and objects into the panel to set the reading order. You can organize content into smaller articles too, without changing the page layout.\r\n
            \r\n \t
          1. Go to Window<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
          2. Select Articles<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
          3. Select the page objects: Press and hold the shift key, then click each object in the order you want them to appear, or select all at once and arrange them later in the Articles Panel<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n \t
          4. To add content to the Articles Panel<\/strong>, drag the selected objects\u00a0into it\u00a0and name the Article<\/strong>. A list of objects will then show up in the panel.<\/li>\r\n \t
          5. Repeat for each page!<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

            Specify document title<\/h3>\r\nTo add a title:\r\n
              \r\n \t
            1. Go to File <\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
            2. Select File Info <\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
            3. Type in a Document Title<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nConsider adding more metadata to make the document easier to find.\r\n

              Incorporate various navigation mechanisms<\/h3>\r\nAdd to your file contents tables, bookmarks, hyperlinks, and cross-references to help users navigate to specific content.\u00a0This\u00a0makes it easier for a screen reader\u00a0user to move through\u00a0the document.\r\n

              Export as PDF with settings optimized for accessibility<\/h3>\r\nIf the\u00a0primary purpose is the web:\r\n
                \r\n \t
              1. Go to File <\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
              2. Go to Export <\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
              3. Select Format: Adobe PDF (Interactive)\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
              4. Save <\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
              5. Check Create Tagged PDF<\/strong> and Use Structure for Tab Order<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
              6. Select OK<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nIf\u00a0the document is for print and web:\r\n
                  \r\n \t
                1. Go to File<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
                2. Go to Export <\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
                3. Go to Format: Adobe PDF (Print)<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
                4. Save<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
                5. Set compatibility to Acrobat 6 (PDF 1.5)<\/strong> or higher.<\/li>\r\n \t
                6. Select Create tagged PDF<\/strong>, Bookmarks<\/strong>, and Hyperlinks<\/strong>,<\/li>\r\n \t
                7. Select OK<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","background_color":"#ffffff","width":"width-medium"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"steps-in-acrobat","css_class":"mb-0 pb-0","title":"

                  Steps in Acrobat Pro<\/h2>","content":"
                    \r\n \t
                  1. Set the language in Document Properties<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t
                  2. Change display name from Filename to Document Title<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t
                  3. Set the tab order to use the document structure in the Page Thumbnails pane<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t
                  4. Run the Acrobat accessibility check<\/li>\r\n \t
                  5. Run the PAC accessibility check<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","background_color":"#ffffff","width":"width-medium"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"tools","css_class":"mb-0 pb-0","title":"

                    Tools<\/h2>","content":"