How to Fix PDF Tags and Figure Structure Exported from InDesign
Question details
The user needs to correct custom tag names and fix the structural order of figures in a PDF exported from Adobe InDesign to ensure proper accessibility and reading order.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Ensuring PDF accessibility and compliance (PDF/UA) for documents exported from InDesign.
- Observed behavior
- The exported PDF contains non-standard custom tags instead of standard tags, and figure tags are appearing outside the root element or in the wrong visual sequence.
Ensure you have access to Adobe Acrobat Pro, as the free Acrobat Reader does not include the Tags panel required for editing document structure.
Map Custom Tags and Reorder the Tag Tree in Acrobat
Use Acrobat's built-in role mapping feature to convert InDesign's custom tags into standard PDF accessibility tags, and manually adjust the reading order.
InDesign often exports its own paragraph style names as custom tags (like <Story> or <_1_hd>) instead of standard PDF tags (like <P> or <H1>). Acrobat provides a quick way to map these custom roles to standard ones without manually renaming every tag.
In Adobe Acrobat, go to View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes and select Tags to open the tag tree structure.
Click the Options menu (the list or gear icon) at the top of the Tags panel, scroll near the bottom of the list, and select 'Apply Role Mapping to Tags'. This will update the display to show standard tags.
Scroll through your tag tree to find figure or caption tags that are out of sequence or appear outside the main root element.
Click and hold the misplaced tag, then drag and drop it into the correct location within the tag tree so it matches the document's visual reading sequence.
Correct the Source Document in InDesign
Fix the tagging and structure issues directly in the InDesign source file to ensure all future PDF exports are automatically compliant.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why do my PDF tags from InDesign show up as <Story> or <_1_hd>?
InDesign often exports its own custom style names as tags instead of standard PDF accessibility tags. You can fix this in Acrobat by selecting 'Apply Role Mapping to Tags' in the Tags panel options to display standard tags.
How do I fix figure tags that appear outside the root element?
You can manually drag and drop the figure tags into the correct position within the <Document> root in Acrobat's Tags panel. However, anchoring the images correctly in the InDesign source file is the most effective long-term solution.
What is the PDF/UA standard mentioned in accessibility checks?
PDF/UA (Universal Accessibility) is an ISO standard for accessible PDF documents. It ensures that the document's tag tree is properly structured so that assistive technologies, like screen readers, can interpret the text, headings, and figures correctly.
Can I automate the rearrangement of the PDF tag tree?
There is no fully automated way to rearrange a broken tag tree in Acrobat because the software cannot guess the intended visual sequence of an improperly structured file. The most efficient method is to structure the source document correctly before exporting.
