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Create PDFs using InDesign

Adobe InDesign is a powerful tool for creating accessible PDFs. This guide provides step-by-step instructions on using InDesign’s built-in accessibility features and applying best practices for creating accessible content. This guide is adapted from the LinkedIn Learning course, How to Create Accessible PDFs. We encourage you to discover and complete the course for a deeper understanding on creating accessible PDFs.

Adding Metadata to a PDF

Metadata in PDFs act as descriptive labels, providing information like title, author, keywords, and language of the document. Metadata enhances accessibility by helping screen readers and search engines interpret the content, making it easier for users to locate, identify, and navigate the document. Ensuring accurate metadata improves accessibility and usability of your PDF. Refer to the steps below and Figure 1 to for guidance on adding metadata to an InDesign file.

  • Open the File Information Dialog
    1. Go to the File menu and select File Info.
  • Add Basic Metadata
    1. In the File Information dialog, under the Basic category, enter the document Title.
    2. To add optional metadata, fill in the following fields:
      • Author field
      • Description
      • Keywords
    3. Save and export to PDF:
      • Go to File > Export and select the PDF Interactive format.
      • In the Export settings under the Advanced category:
        • Ensure the document title is set to display.
        • A warning symbol appears if a title is missing.
      • When the PDF is opened in Acrobat:
        • The title will display at the top and in the tab.
        • Metadata is visible under File > Properties.
Figure 1 – How to add metadata to an InDesign File

Styles and Tag Structure

Paragraph styles in Adobe InDesign control the formatting of text and manage accessibility tags for exporting PDFs. To learn how to define paragraph styles and properly manage tags, follow the steps below and refer to Figure 2.

  1. Open the Paragraph Styles panel by navigating to Window > Paragraph Styles menu.
  2. Highlight the text you want to apply a tag to.
  3. In the Paragraphs Style panel, right-click the desired style and choose Edit [style name].
  4. In the Paragraph Style Options dialog box, select the Export Tagging section.
  5. Map the paragraph style to the appropriate PDF tag (e.g., map headings to H1, H2) for accessibility.

Shortcut: Quickly edit all export tags at once by selecting Edit All Export Tags from the Paragraph Styles panel menu. To learn how to use this feature effectively, follow the steps below and refer to Figure 3.

Figure 2 – Managing Paragraph Styles and Tags

Organizing Tag Order using Articles Panel

In documents with natural content flow, tag order is typically managed automatically. However, for documents without a natural flow, manual control of tag order is necessary. Users can use InDesign’s Articles Panel to adjust the tag order manually. Follow the steps below or refer to Figure 3 to learn how to utilize the Articles Panel:

  1. Open the Articles Panel via Window > Articles
  2. Select an object and drag it to the Articles Panel to create a new article.
  3. Ensure Include when exporting option is checked.
  4. Drag additional elements in the correct order below the previous item. The items should be listed from top to bottom order. This is reversed from the Reading Order Panel, which will be demonstrated in the next section.
  5. For connected text frames, the Articles Panel treats them as a single frame.
  6. Exclude decorative images from the Articles Panel. Items not added to the Articles panel will not be included in the final PDF tagging order.
  7. After arranging the elements, select Use for tagging order in tagged PDF from the Articles panel menu.
  8. Save the document and export it as a PDF, ensuring spreads are included in the Export settings.
  9. Open the exported PDF and check the tag structure to confirm the reading order is correct.
Figure 3 – Using the Article Panel File

Managing Reading Orders

InDesign allows you to manage the reading order of content in the Layers panel. Follow the steps below and refer to Figure 4 to learn how to manage the reading order:

  1. Open the Layers panel and navigate to the Window > Layers.
  2. In the Layers panel, the reading order flows from the bottom to the top.
  3. Rearrange objects in the Layers panel to adjust the reading order as needed.

To ensure the correct reading order, organize layers and objects thoughtfully. For example:

  • Move images and text frames into the desired order to reflect the intended flow.
  • Place all decorative elements on a separate layer to prevent them from obstructing content or interfering with accessibility.
Figure 4 – Managing Reading Order

Adding Captions to Images

Captions provide a concise summary of visual elements and can serve as an alternative to alt-text when alt-text is unavailable. Follow the steps below and refer to Figure 5 to learn how to properly add captions to your document.

Setting up Live Captions

  1. Go to Object > Captions > Caption Setup.
  2. Select metadata source of caption (i.e., Description). If the image lacks description details, refer to the appropriate section for adding metadata.
  3. Customize caption placement, offset, and paragraph style to fit your design.
  4. Select the image, go to Object > Captions > Generate Live Caption to create the caption.
  5. Live Captions do not automatically wrap text onto a second line, which can cause formatting issues. If your caption extends beyond one line, refer to the Workaround for Caption Tagging and see Figure 6.
  6. Please note: Ensure that images include descriptions in their metadata for captions to export correctly. For guidance on adding metadata to files, see the Adding Metadata to Images section.
Figure 5 – Setting live captions

Workaround for Caption Tagging

  1. Add a text box with the caption of the image and rename the paragraph style to “Caption” (the desired tag).
  2. Drag the text box into the Article panel and Reading Order panel into the correct placement.
  3. Export to PDF and open the tags panel.
  4. Edit the Role Map to remove incorrect mappings (e.g., “Caption” mapped to a P tag).
  5. Confirm the caption is now tagged correctly.
Figure 6 – Workaround Captions

Adding Metadata to Images

  1. Navigate to the image file found in File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) and Right-click on the file and choose Properties (Windows) or Get Info (Mac)
  2. In the details section, add the appropriate values, such as title or description. One of these will be the designated caption.

Creating Accessible Tables

InDesign offers a feature that allows the user to create accessible tables. To ensure accessibility, keep tables simple by using only one header and column row. Follow the steps below and refer to Figure 7 to get started creating tables:

  1. Create tables using the Table menu.
  2. Select how many Body Rows and Columns your table will need. You should only have one Header Row per table. Click and drag how big you want your table; you can adjust this later after adding content.
  3. Enter your data and customize the table’s formatting to your desired style.
  4. Once the table is formatted, export the document to a PDF.
  5. In Adobe Acrobat, open the Tags Panel and remove the table tag nested inside P tags by dragging it out.
  6. Use Reading Order to define the scope of column and row headers. Select cells, right-click, choose Table Cell Properties, and set the scope to Column Header or Row Header.
Figure 7 – Creating Accessible Tables

Creating Hyperlinks

An accessible hyperlink is designed to be easily used and understood. It uses descriptive text that clearly indicates the link’s purpose, avoids vague phrases like “click here,” and ensures proper contrast and focus visibility. Follow the steps below and refer to Figure 8 to learn how to create accessible hyperlinks:

  1. Open Hyperlinks Panel via Window > Interactive > Hyperlinks.
  2. Highlight the text you want to add a hyperlink. Either right-click on the highlighted text or click the plus symbol at the bottom of the Hyperlinks panel.
  3. Enter the URL on the Destination URL field.
  4. Uncheck the Shared Hyperlink Destination option unless you are using the same link multiple times.
  5. For email addresses, select Email under the Link To dropdown.
  6. Add character styles to your link (i.e. underline and change the font color to blue)
  7. Ensure the hyperlink is correct by checking for a green dot in the Hyperlinks panel (InDesign verifies live URLs).
  8. Export the document to PDF. Check the tag structure to ensure the link includes a link OBJR object, making it accessible.
Figure 8 – Adding Hyperlinks

Best-practice for Bulleted Lists

When creating a bulleted list on InDesign, do not manually add bullets by typing them in front of list items. This can lead to accessibility issues. Learn how to create accessible bulleted lists by follow the steps below and viewing Figure 8:

  1. To add bullets properly, highlight the paragraph(s) you want to make a list. Use the Bulleted List button in the control panel to create the bullet.
  2. To adjust bullet spacing, hold the Alt or Option key and click on the Bulleted List” button again.
    • Set the first line indent to -0.125 and the left indent to 0.3125 for optimal spacing.
  3. An alternative way to create a bulleted list is by using Paragraph Styles:
    • Open the Paragraph Styles panel.
    • Create a new style and add the bulleted list function under Bullets and Numbering to it.
    • Apply the new style to the text
  4. To add space before the first bullet and after the last one without adding space between bullets:
    • Right-click the bullet style, choose Edit, and go to Indents and Spacing.
    • Set “Space Between Paragraphs Using Same Style” to 0.
  5. Export the PDF:
  6. Save the file and export it as a PDF.
  7. Verify that each bullet is tagged as a label and the text as L body for proper accessibility.

Creating Accessible Table of Content

A table of contents enhances accessibility by offering a clear, navigable structure, allowing users to quickly locate specific sections using assistive technologies, such as screen readers. It improves the document’s usability for everyone, ensuring inclusive experience and compliance with accessibility standards. Follow the steps bellow to learn how to create an accessible Table of Contents on InDesign:

  1. Prepare the Document:
    • Ensure the content uses styles (e.g., section headers, subheadings)
    • Create a separate text frame on the desired page to hold the Table of Contents.
  2. Access the TOC Feature:
    • Go to Layout > Table of Contents in the menu.
    • Click More Options (if needed) to reveal all settings.
  3. Configure the TOC:
    • Set the title (e.g., “Contents”) and apply a style (like Header).
    • Add the relevant styles (e.g., Section Header, Subhead A, Subhead B) by selecting them and clicking Add.
    • For each entry, select the entry style (e.g., Table of Contents Subheader, Table of Contents Section A) and configure:
  4. Page number placement (after entry).
  5. Right indent tab between entry and number (optional).
  6. Enable PDF Bookmarks:
    • Check “Create PDF Bookmarks” to ensure assistive technologies can use them for navigation.
  7. Save and Build the TOC:
    • Select “Save Style (optional)” to reuse the settings.
    • Click OK to generate the Table of Contents.
    • Place the Table of Contents by clicking inside the text frame.
  8. Export the Document to PDF:
    • Save the file and export to PDF.
    • Save the file and export to PDF.
      • Table of Content entries appear as nested tags within the tag structure.
      • Links are functional and clickable for navigation.
  9. Test Accessibility:
    • Ensure assistive software can follow the links for seamless navigation.

Applying Alt Text to Images and Marking as Artifact

Alt text is a brief description of an image that provides essential information to users who rely on screen readers or have issues loading visuals. It ensures equitable access to digital content. Marking items as artifacts or decorative makes sure they are ignored by assistive technology, like screen readers, preventing unnecessary distraction for viewers and focusing attention on meaningful content. Follow the steps below and refer to Figure 9 to learn how to apply alt text and mark items as artifacts:

  1. Select the image or graphic you want to add alternative text to.
  2. Right-click or go to Object > Object Export Options.
  3. In the Alt Text tab of Object Export Options, choose Custom from the dropdown and enter a meaningful description in the text
  4. Apply the Artifact Tag if necessary:
    • Click on the Tagged PDF tab.
    • In the Apply Tag dropdown, select Artifact.
  5. Export the file to PDF and verify the item has Alt-text
  

    

         
Figure 9 – Adding Alt Text and Marking as Artifacts