Creating Accessible PDFs with Adobe InDesign and Adobe Acrobat Pro
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.
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
Course outline
- 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 MS-Word
- 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
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
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.)
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.
About the lead course developer
David Berman is the principal of David Berman Communications. He has over 25 years of experience in graphic design and strategic communications. He has worked extensively in adapting the printed word for electronic distribution, including the development of software interfaces.
David was appointed a high-level advisor to the United Nations on how design and accessible IT can help fulfill the Millennium Development Goals more rapidly.
In 2013, The World Wide Web Foundation had David personally audit the accessibility of benchmark Web sites from over 40 countries for their global report on the state of the Web.
He is an Invited Expert to W3C (the authors of WCAG) and a member of the ISO standards committee on accessible PDF documents.
His book (Do Good Design, Pearson/Peachpit) about how design can be used to create a more just world speaks about universal design and accessibility, and is now available in 6 languages, as well as braille.
He has extensive experience as a senior consultant in applying accessibility and standards to government websites, as well as to private sector clients such as IBM, both as a strategist and compliance testing leader. He regularly teaches accessibility principles as part of his professional development workshops, and developed a custom two-day workshop for the National Research Council on common look and feel. His plain writing, design, and accessibility work include award-winning projects for the City of Ottawa, the Ontario government, and the federal government of Canada.
Clients include IBM, Justice Canada, HRDC, Canada Revenue Agency, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Region of Ottawa-Carleton and the Ontario Literacy Coalition.
David has been featured in the Financial Post, the Globe and Mail, the Ottawa Citizen, the Montreal Gazette, Marketing, Applied Arts, HOW, and Communication Arts magazines, as well as ABC and CBC.
In addition to operating as one of the leading design strategists in Canada’s capital, David ranks #1 on speakerwiki.org on this topic for a reason. His arc as an internationally-celebrated expert speaker has brought him to over 50 countries. David is a National Professional Member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS) and the Global Speakers Federation (GSF).
David has served as Ethics Chair of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, was named a Fellow (the highest professional honour for graphic designers in Canada) in 1999, and has served as a director and sustainability chair of Icograda, the world body for graphic and communications design.
Who should attend
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.
Language and location
English or French available on-site, online, or hybrid event.
“I love David’s approach.”
-Carole Dubuc, Canadian Armed Forces
“Clear, concise, and very useful.”
-Annette Kallevig
“Excellent, eye-opening, and not preachy!”
-Carrie Walker-Boyd, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
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Adobe invented PDF … now it’s an ISO standard
Reviewed April 29, 2025