Creating Accessible PDFs Using Adobe InDesign CS3

Working in Acrobat 9

Sample Tutorial (in progress)

It is best to make as many changes as you can in the InDesign file so it can be re-used, but it is not possible to get all things. Doing a full-check for accessibility on the PDF often reveals several things that need to be fixed in Acrobat. Empty tags need to be cleaned up and the tabbing order often needs to be restructured. There are some changes you can only make in Acrobat. I like creating Bookmarks in Acrobat.

Set the Document Language

Set the Tabbing Order

Checking Tabs in the Order Panel

Fine-Tuning Tags

Create Bookmarks

 

Set the Document Langage

File > Properties > Advanced > Dropdown Menu > Choose Language

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Check the Tabbing Order
Checking the tabbing order

  1. Go to "View" > "Navigation Panels" > "Pages" and select all pages in document.
  2. Right click and choose "Page Properties".
  3. In "Tab Order" tab, choose "Use Document Structure" and click OK.

Note: The pink notes in the above image were generated when an accessibility full-check test was run on the PDF.

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Checking Tabs the Order Panel
Accessing and checking the Order Panel

To access the Order Panel and check Tabs, go to
View > Navigation Panels > Order

You will see your content grayed out with numbers indicating the reading order for each page. To correct the order you will have to open your "Tags" Pane "Options" and access the Touch Up Properties Dialog Box. If you find a number with an empty grayed box it means you have an empty tag that should be deleted.

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Fine-Tuning Tags
Using touch up in Acrobat

Do this very carefully. Save a copy first. Changes cannot be undone.

Use the Touch Up Properties Dialog Box to make changes to tags, go to "View" > Navigation Panels > Tags Panel > Options > Properties > Touch Up Properties Dialog Box.
Locating the tag pane in Acrobat

Check Images and Caption tags. Delete all empty tags in between. Look for split links and headings.

To Change the Role Map use the "Role Map Dialog Box". You can access this by going to View > Navigation Panels > Order > Tags > Edit Role Map. Select paragraph style in "Role Map" and then click the "Change Item" button. Type in the name of the tag and click OK.

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Create Bookmarks

creating bookmarks

  1. Create bookmarks in Acrobat using "Create Bookmarks from Structure". It creates anchor links for your bookmarks to take readers to the headings and subheadings you specify in your hierarchy.
  2. Turn on "Show Text Snippits" in the Structure Pane to help you to identify your tagged elements.
  3. Footnotes cannot be tagged in InDesign.
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Many Accessibility Resources can be found online. Here are a few that might be helpful:

Acrobat Help and Support

Adobe® Acrobat® 9 Pro Accessibility Guide: Best Practices for Accessibility

Acrobat Users Community Forum (accessibility)

PDF Technology Center

The Role Map is used by Acrobat to associate InDesign Paragraph Style names with PDF tags.

Changes to the Role Map cannot be undone. Save a copy!

Dragging a <story> element from one position to another is OK, but dragging a <P> element (a paragraph inside of a story) moves the paragraph to another place.


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