Field
Last updated on
Jun 2, 2026
Learn about accessibility metadata, ARIA roles, and structural enhancements available when exporting Adobe InDesign documents to EPUB.
InDesign includes accessibility features that improve screen reader compatibility and assistive technology support for exported EPUB documents. These enhancements let you define accessibility metadata, apply ARIA roles, and ensure proper structural tagging so EPUB content is more usable for a wider range of readers and assistive technologies.
Tip
To access this feature, select File > Export and set a File name and select EPUB (Fixed Layout) in the Save as type option. In the EPUB - Fixed Layout Export Options dialog box, select Metadata and then the Accessibility tab.
Accessibility Metadata
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Function |
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Accessibility Feature |
Provides a list of all the applicable accessibility characteristics of the content. |
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Accessibility Hazard |
Provides a list of all the applicable hazards that can be physiologically dangerous to some users. |
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Access Mode |
Specifies how information contributing to resource understanding is encoded in the resource. |
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AccessMode Sufficient |
Provides a list of single or combined access modes that are sufficient to understand all the intellectual content of a resource. |
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Accessibility Summary |
Provides the summary of the content. |
Accessibility Credentials
More Accessibility enhancements
InDesign supports accessible EPUB export through structured tables, figures, semantic tagging, and ARIA roles.
- Tables include proper headers and data cells, including column headers, for assistive technologies.
- Figures can be exported with captions using figure and figcaption tags, allowing screen readers to announce captions. Live Captions are also supported.
- Drop caps are styled with a special technique (pseudo-element) to preserve text recognition for screen readers.
- SVGs can be exported with image tags, retaining vector quality and accessibility metadata such as alt text and decorative roles.
- Context breaks can be mapped to tags like hr to indicate section separation. These can be created using empty paragraphs, text, or inline images and styled through paragraph settings.
- ARIA roles can be applied at the object or frame level and through paragraph or character styles to help screen readers identify content types such as notes, chapters, or credits.
- Glossaries can be structured using definition list semantics, improving navigation in reflowable EPUBs.
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