Creating Accessible PDFs with Adobe InDesign and Adobe Acrobat Pro
Easy steps for including your entire audience.
Learn how to do up to 90% of your accessibility heavy lifting in Adobe InDesign before exporting to PDF, then do the final touch-up Adobe Acrobat Pro (or your PDF editor of choice) to create a fully conforming accessible PDF.
Ready to book? Contact us to book this event online or at your site, customized for your group.
“David made the online course interactive & allowed questions throughout the training which made the course more interesting.”
Theresa Presson, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals
About the course
Our courses incorporate adult learning principles and activities appropriate to a variety of learning styles: they qualify for continuing education credits (aka CEUs) certified by organizations such as IAAP and PPAC.
- Introduction
- Review of WCAG 2
- Introduction to PDF/UA
- Orientation to applying WCAG standards to document design and layout
- Creating accessible PDFs in Adobe InDesign
- Working with text structures (headings, lists, and tables)
- Table structure fundamentals and best practices
- Column and row headings
- Captions and summaries
- Accessible table design in InDesign
- Creating and formatting tables to meet accessibility standards
- Ensuring proper reading order and structure for accessibility
- Using table styles and properties for efficiency
- Accessible tables in Adobe Acrobat
- Exporting tables from InDesign to Acrobat maintaining accessibility features
- Inspecting and repairing any table issues in Acrobat
- Working with images (placement and alt text)
- Working with layout (columns, text boxes, and text flow)
- Working with Headers and Footers (mastheads, page numbering and sections)
- Adding additional accessibility features
- Awareness of interactive features to enhance user experience
- Exporting to PDF
- Setting the export options
- Exporting the PDF
- “Touching up” the resulting PDF document in Adobe Acrobat (or your fav PDF editor)
- Checking and repairing the document structure
- Creating artifacts for decorative and/or repetitive elements
- Adding additional accessibility features
- Testing with automated tools and compliance methodologies
- Techniques for testing and validating document accessibility
- Testing and repairing with the Acrobat Accessibility Checker
- Testing and repairing with PAC 3
- Using the WCAG Checklist
- Identifying and resolving common accessibility issues
- Introduction to functional testing
- Using keyboard navigation
- Using zoom and reflow
- Replacing the document colours
- Using a screen reading device
- Involving real users
- Introduction to axaio MadeToTag (accessibility plug-in for Adobe InDesign)
- Overview of axaio MadeToTag
- Using MadeToTag to add additional accessibility features in InDesign
- Using MadeToTag to test and repair issues in InDesign
- Using MadeToTag to export to accessible PDF
The course platform is Zoom, configured to work for everyone, including all federal departments (test room available).
Accessible event: We are passionate about creating inclusive, accessible events that accommodate and delight everyone: All our courses meet or exceed accessibility standards, and include accessibility features such as accessible learning material files, live captions, integrated audio description, and specific accommodations for every participant who has requested. Recordings are available. Please tell us how we can help further!
*Joining us online? Your remote participation is live on your computer or tablet, with a moderator assigned to you who is in the room. You hear and see us, and we hear you (and see you too, if you insist!).
Here’s a sample lesson preview…
Five reasons why we should care about accessibility
Transcript | Five reasons why we should care about accessibilityThis is a transcript of the video Five reasons why we should care about accessibility
(TEXT ON SCREEN: Five reasons why we should care about accessibility – Lesson excerpt from eAccessibility with David Berman)
(David Berman appears on screen and faces the camera for the duration of this video. David is wearing a dark grey suit with a black shirt and tie. Also on the screen are slides he is speaking to: David audio describes all relevant slide content as he goes.)
What I want to bring you to is five reasons why we need to care about accessibility. And the first one is, there’s just so many of us on the planet today. I’m showing a picture of Times Square, New Year’s Eve. There’s perhaps over a hundred thousand people packed in there.
And I’m going to start a poll. I’m going to show you how the polls work. So I’m going to launch a poll. And I’m going to ask you the question– and I’m asking it now out loud as well as in writing. What proportion of people do you figure regularly experience a substantial disability? And the way the poll works is I launch the poll. And those of you that can see the screen c see that there’s five choices– 6%, 9%, 15%, 18%, or 100%. I’m asking you to tell me what proportion of people you think regularly experience a substantial disability. And you can use the poll tool. Or you can use your voice to announce your result, and we’ll log it in as well for you.
I’m just going to leave that poll in as I’m watching over 70% of us have voted already. All right, it looks like almost everyone has now voted. We’re over 80%. I’ll just leave it open a few more moments. And I’m going to close the poll now.
And here’s our results. So what do we got? Well, so the majority of us chose the fourth of the five answers, 18%. So the majority of us are thinking 18% of people live with a substantial disability. And you’re kind of right.
I think it’s 100%. We’ll see why that is soon enough. But whether it’s 18% or it’s 100%, I think we get it.
And so if we look at the 18%– and how many people are living on the planet these days? I’m going it’s say 7 billion people, of which 18%– so it’s 18%, 7 billion. That’s about a fifth. That’s about 1.2 billion people who aren’t buying our products or aren’t getting our message about health care or whatever reason. That’s a lot of people to leave out. And of course, if we’re into publishing on the web, we want to reach everyone.
Now, the second reason to care about accessibility is search. Statistics show us that, at least in Canada and the United States, over 70% of retail purchases begin with an online search. And Google search engine, the AI engine is getting smarter and smarter, but still, perhaps, has the cognitive ability of perhaps a four-year-old. And because of that, if we follow accessibility principles to structure our information away that Google’s confident that it understands the relative importance of information, and it’s confident that you’re presenting information that is credible, then it increases the chance that your results are the ones that are going to be presented, and that your results are going to be presented at the right time to the right people. And everyone wants that. For many organizations we work with, search alone was worth the investment in creating an accessible product.
The third reason– and I’m showing a picture right now of Stephen Hawking as an example of the importance, from a human resources perspective, that if we want to attract and retain the very best people, there’s not an HR department on the planet that wants to eliminate 18% of the potential people to help make their organization succeed right off the bat because you can’t work there. And indeed, part of our process with creating accessible products isn’t just to make sure that the output, the end product is accessible, we actually want to create products in a way that everyone can be involved in every step of the process of creating the product, whether it’s the content management system authoring in a website, or if we’re creating a document that, even while the document is still in Word or PowerPoint, we want an accessible experience and not just wait for the final publishing of the website or the publishing of, let’s say, a result in PDF or an EPUB file.
The fourth reason is the social justice reason. It’s just the love– I’m showing a picture of someone who looks shockingly like me hugging a tiger. And well, it’s just the right thing to do. Here in Canada, we may not be the most glamorous country on the planet. But a lot of people do give us kudos for often demonstrating how we can create a civilization that doesn’t leave folk behind.
But the fifth reason, the fifth reason is the regulatory reason. And whether it’s federal regulations, or provincial or state regulations, or– we’re all federations here. Hey, Canada, US, it’s true. We’re all federations. All right. So we can talk federal. OK, so at the federal level, a lot of you, I know, are here because you’re it’s being demanded of you that in order to comply to meet or exceed what the government is now demanding that you need to know how to do these things.
(TEXT ON SCREEN: David Berman Communications)
Tip: for a fully keyboard-accessible alternative for this video, either view it in Chrome or any Android or iOS device, view it in Firefox with the YouTube ALL HTML5 add-on installed, or disable Flash in current Internet Explorer.
Typical agenda for a full-day course
9:00 to 10:15: PDF idealism, Why We Should Care, Deficits, Assistive Technologies
10:15 to 10:30: break
10:30 to 11:45: Overview of sustainable PDF, Section 508, AODA, and the new Standard on Web Accessibility, WCAG 2.0 Principle 1
11:45 to 12:45: lunch
12:45 to 14:15: WCAG 2.0 Principles 2 and 3 through the PDF lens
14:15 to 14:30: break
14:30 to 16:30: WCAG 2.0 Principles 4, QA tools for PDF, Beyond AA
For whom will this course be useful?
This course is targeted to all project managers, Webmasters, production coordinators, IT professionals, strategists, and controllers involved in developing documents.
This course delivers knowledge required for EN 301 549, WCAG 2.0, and WCAG 2.1 Level A and Level AA awareness training as documented in the Government of Canada’s Accessibility Responsibility Breakdown, as well as current Treasury Board policy and evolving Accessible Standards Canada standards. This course incorporates adult learning principles and activities appropriate to a variety of learning styles, and qualifies for CEUs.
What every attendee gets
When David Berman Communications hosts this as a course*, regular ticket holders receive:
- a complimentary, comprehensive 150+ page learning guide, detailing every applicable accessibility standard (also
available separately for $89, with optional 1-on-1 distance coaching) - a thirty-minute one-on-one personal coaching tele-session with David within a month
- the option to attend this course again in the future, should there be a public event, as a refresher, at no additional cost
- the option to attend the first half on one date and the second half at a future date
- a money-back guarantee: if, after coaching, you don’t think you’ve got your money’s worth, we’ll refund your entire fee
(*If you are attending one of our courses hosted by another organization, confirm which of these items apply.)
Duration
One-day course (optionally split into two half-days), half-day course, or keynote/webinar/lunch-and-learn presentation.
Objectives
Upon completion, participants will be able to create an accessible PDF (WCAG and PDF/UA-compliant) using Adobe InDesign and Adobe Acrobat Pro.
Prerequisites
- None
Recommended pre-knowledge
- Familiarity with WCAG 2
- Familiarity with Adobe InDesign
- Familiarity with Adobe Acrobat Pro
Ready to book your training?
Contact us: Email courses@davidberman.com, call +1-613-728-6777 or contact us your fave way to book this event online or at your site: for a keynote, webinar, lunch-and-learn, half-day, or full-day event, customized for your group.
Accessible events: We are committed to creating inclusive and accessible events that delight all participants. We invite accommodation requests in advance, providing support such as live captioning and ASL interpretation as needed. For questions about other accommodations or preferences (or if you need expert advice on anything that can’t wait until then!), contact courses@davidberman.com or call 613-728-6777.
Coaching or Training? Decide what best fits for your team
| What you get | Coaching | Training |
|---|---|---|
| (less if you take the Early Tiger discount!*) |
||
| Half-day seat | ✔Yes | ✔Yes |
| 160+ page learning e-guide | ✔Yes | ✔Yes |
| Guaranteed-to-run | ✔Yes | ✔Yes |
| Any recording that may be produced *** | choice of either attending live or receiving the recording | ✔Yes |
| Course certificate shipped to you | – | ✔Yes |
| Free cancellation option | –No | ✔Yes |
| Free one-on-one telecoaching post-course | – | ✔Yes |
| – |
Group Discounts
- Pricing for up to 5: no discount
- Pricing for 6th to 10th: 20% discount
- Pricing for 11th to 20th: 30% discount
“David made the online course interactive & allowed questions throughout the training which made the course more interesting.”
Theresa Presson, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals
“Makes you feel you are part of the course.”
Arup Ghosh, BMO Financial Group
“What I think you have done for me is given me a different way of looking at accessibility. Which, I think is incredibly valuable.”
Jennifer Cowan, Accessibility Coordinator, County of Elgin
About the lead course developer David Berman
Expert Speaker on Web Accessibility
David Berman is one of perhaps 20 people in the world to hold CPWA certification and 100 people globally to hold CPACC certification, the World’s only certifications for accessibility professionals. These certifications are issued by IAAP (International Association of Accessibility Professionals). IAAP is a division of G3ICT, for which David is an International Advisor. In June 2025, David Berman Communications was rated #1 nationally by the federal government’s procurement agency regarding accessibility conformance testing for websites, documents (PDF and non-PDF), mobile apps, and non-Web software.
In 2018, David was appointed to the Global Council of the IAAP.
David is a member of the ISO committee for accessible PDF (PDF/UA).
David has over 30 years of experience in design and communications, and has worked extensively in the adaptation of content for electronic distribution, including accessible Web and software interface development.
David was appointed by Ontario’s Minister in charge of accessibility to serve on the standards review committee for Ontario’s world-leading AODA accessibility regulations.
He was contracted by Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s World Wide Web Foundation to audit online accessibility in over 40 countries for the annual theWebIndex.org benchmark report.
As author of Do Good Design (Peachpit/Pearson 2009/2013/2018), expert speaker, designer, communications strategist, and accessibility consultant, his path has brought him to over 50 countries.
In 2015, he was named an Invited Expert to W3C, the authors of WCAG. The same year he was appointed International Universal Design Champion for the Government of Ireland.
In 2009, David was appointed a high-level advisor to the United Nations on how accessible Web design can help fulfill the Millennium Development Goals.
He regularly teaches WCAG accessibility as part of his professional development workshops. His work includes award-winning projects for the City of Ottawa, the Ontario government, and Canada’s federal government.
David has provided consultancy, training and testing to IBM, the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services’ AODA office, and the Norwegian Design Council on accessibility issues, and has worked on over 20 federal websites where such an appreciation is mandatory. He has provided design and consulting work for the International Space Station, Justice Canada, Health Canada, The World Bank, the Sierra Club, Statistics Canada, the Canada Revenue Agency, Treasury Board Secretariat, and the Ontario Literacy Coalition, serves as the WCAG Standards Specialist for eAccessibility for Harrowsmith’s Almanac, as well as extensive work involving applying accessibility guidelines to large government web presences.
In 2000, David was elected Vice-President of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, and is currently the national Ethics Chair. He is a past Vice-President and current Sustainability
David is Chair of Carleton University’s Carleton Access Network for accessible information technology, run out of Carleton University’s Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities as an initiative of the School of Engineering and has provided accessibility training and consulting to schools across Ontario.
Chair of Icograda, the world body for graphic design. He was the first elected President of the Registered Graphic Designer of Ontario, which holds an official role in the deployment of accessibility standards in Ontario.
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