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Accessibility Features and Limitations in InDesign  

Chad Chelius
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CreativePro Magazine Issue 11 coverThis article appeared in Issue 11 of CreativePro Magazine.

Of all the possible source document formats for accessible PDFs, InDesign offers the best starting point. Admittedly, as a dedicated user for over 20 years, I could be biased. I love using InDesign because it gives me the freedom to design beautiful layouts and the control to output well-structured, accessible PDF files from them. To be fair though, InDesign does have some shortcomings. In this article, we’ll analyze what it does well and where it falls short when creating accessible PDF files.

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More Resources To Master Accessibility

Join us at the 5th annual Design + Accessibility Summit, the essential HOW-TO event for design professionals who need to master accessibility, coming to a device near you October 8–11, 2024.

It’s no secret that accessibility is a hot topic. In fact, ensuring your documents are accessible is not just a good idea: it’s the law. Whether you’re extending your company’s DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) focus, expanding your market to include the estimated 25% of the population who have disabilities, or safeguarding your company against legal risks, it’s important to make accessibility a business priority.

Creative professionals must learn how to design documents that are accessible for people with vision and hearing impairments, mobility challenges, cognitive, and other disabilities. And those who ramp up their knowledge and expertise in accessibility will find themselves in high demand supporting their business’ efforts; while those who don’t will risk falling behind.

At The Design + Accessibility Summit, you will learn practical techniques for building accessible documents with InDesign, Acrobat, PowerPoint, and other tools widely used by creative professionals.


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Chad Chelius
Chad Chelius is a trainer, author, consultant, and speaker residing in the Philadelphia area. He’s been using Adobe products for over 25 years and began his career in the design and publishing industry. As an Adobe Certified Instructor and a consultant, he teaches and advises on all Adobe print and web products, specializing in InDesign and InCopy workflows, Illustrator, and PDF accessibility using Adobe Acrobat. He works with clients both large and small, in and outside the United States, helping them to solve problems, work smarter, and more efficiently using Adobe products.
  • Adrienne Grace says:
    September 13, 2022 at 12:31 pm

    Great overview! I was also excited to hear on the ChaxChat podcast that you’ll be recording some updates to your LinkedIn Learning course on advanced PDFs. Can’t wait to hear when that’s available.

    Reply
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