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Adobe InDesign Procedures
Working examples and additional guidance for most of the procedures outlined in this chapter are
also provided in the latest Adobe InDesign templates provided for:
• NPS Inventory & Monitoring Program briefs and small documents. Available for download at:
http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/reports/index.cfm?tab=0&BriefsTemplates=open#BriefsTemplates
• NPS-wide Natural Resource Technical Report (NRTR), Natural Resource Report (NRR) and
Natural Resource Data Series (NRDS) report series. Available for download at:
http://www.nature.nps.gov/publications/nrpm/nrrnrtr.cfm
When working with Adobe InDesign CS6 or later (earlier versions are not recommended) making the
final PDF file accessible for reports generated in Adobe InDesign is relatively easy. Just make sure
to:
1) Use Paragraph Styles that are set to export to PDF format using accessibility tags (see
subchapter: Adobe InDesign Procedures / Use Paragraph Styles for All Text Elements).
2) Provide alternate text for all figures, images, and other graphic elements (see subchapter: Adobe
InDesign Procedures / Graphic Elements).
3) Design tables to be accessible in the final PDF (see subchapter: Formatting Tables in Adobe
InDesign).
4) Export the final Adobe InDesign document to PDF format in a way that assures that accessibility
tags are exported to PDF correctly (see subchapter: Adobe InDesign Procedures / Exporting the
Final Adobe InDesign Document to PDF Format).
This document is a work in progress. Please contact Fagan Johnson if you have any questions or see
something that needs to be changed.
Use Paragraph Styles for All Text Elements
All text elements in I&M briefs, reports, and other documents generated using Adobe InDesign
should use the proprietary fonts: Adobe Frutiger LT Std and NPS Rawlinson OT (click
links to download and install these fonts as needed, NPS only).
To install these fonts on most Windows machines, simply unzip the zip files inside the
C:\\Windows\Fonts\ folder. If you do not have permission to do this on your computer,
contact your local NPS IT staff for assistance.
The only instances when non-proprietary fonts are allowed in I&M briefs, reports, and other
documents produced in Adobe InDesign: are for text inside charts and/or figures, complicated
mathematical formulas (use appropriate font symbols as required), and for computer output and
application instructions (use Courier New font).
After installing the proprietary fonts, using the Paragraph Styles built into one of our document
templates above, is the simplest way to consistently apply the NPS proprietary fonts throughout an
entire document.
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More About NPS Rawlinson Font Variations
There are three basic variations of NPS Rawlinson OT font. You may use any of these
variations as you see fit inside your reports. Descriptions of these variations and some suggestions
for use are below.
NPS Rawlinson OT Condensed (in MS Word: NPSRawlinsonOTCn): Was primarily designed to
save print space. With regular paragraphs, many people also find this variation the easiest to read on
a computer screen. We suggest that you use this font variation for regular paragraph text for most
I&M briefs, brochures, and reports.
NPS Rawlinson OT (in MS Word: NPSRawlinsonOT): Was the basis for all other variations of this
font. It was designed primarily for print distribution. Many people find it easier to read on printed
pages than NPS Rawlinson Condensed. We suggest that you use this variation for regular
paragraph text inside any report with a significant print distribution (more than 50 printed copies will
be distributed).
NPS Rawlinson OT Oldstyle (inMS Word: NPSRawlinsonOTOld): Was designed to be a more
ornate and elegant variation. Some people find this variation the easiest to read on printed pages,
while others reserve it primarily for report titles, quotes, etc. This variation also works well as regular
paragraph text for reports with a significant print distribution.
About the Paragraph Styles Used in Template Headings
Section heading examples provided in our I&M brief and brochure templates use Paragraph Styles
I&M brief H1 - H3. Headings in Adobe InDesign templates for NRTR, NRR, and NRDS
reports use Paragraph Styles nrps Heading 1-5. These heading Paragraph Styles are set to
export to PDF format with standard HTML markup heading tags H1 - H3. This arrangement
helps to assure that report headings will be read correctly by software for the visually-impaired (per
Section 508).
As long as you use NPS proprietary fonts, and assign that text to a Paragraph Style that is also set to
tag the final PDF with H1-3 tags, as appropriate, you may edit and update the heading font and
related text effects as desired.
About the Paragraph Styles Used for Other Template Text
Most of the other Paragraph Styles in our document templates are set to export to PDF format with
standard HTML markup paragraph tags (P). This arrangement helps to assure that report text will be
read correctly by software for the visually-impaired (per Section 508).
As long as you use NPS proprietary fonts, and assign that text to a Paragraph Style that is also set to
tag the final PDF with a P tags, you may edit and update the font and related text effects as desired.
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To See and/or Edit the Font Settings for the Paragraph Styles Provided in our Templates
1) Open the Paragraph Styles panel (Type / Paragraph Styles menu option).
This will open the Paragraph Styles menu. The computer displayed above has the Paragraph
Styles menu docked along the right-hand side of the program screen (recommended).
2) Left-click with your mouse and select/highlight the text of interest.
les
This will highlight the Paragraph Style used for that line of text in the Paragraph Sty
panel.
Continued on Next Page
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3) Right-click on the selected Paragraph Style, and choose the Edit “....” option (the first
option).
4) On the Par
agraph Style Options pop-up window, use the left-hand navigation menu
to see and/or edit the attributes for that Paragraph Style.
Continued on Next Page
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Tagging Other Custom Paragraph Styles for Section 508 Accessibility Compliance
If you decide to use a custom set of Paragraph Styles, make sure that they are set to export to PDF
format with the appropriate HTML markup tags (per Section 508).
To do this for a single Paragraph Style:
1) Open the Paragraph Styles panel (Type / Paragraph Styles menu option).
This will open the Paragraph Styles menu. The computer displayed above has the Paragraph
Styles menu docked along the right-hand side of the program screen (recommended).
2) Right-click on the Paragraph Style of interest, and choose the Edit “....” option (the first
option).
Continued on Next Page
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3) On the Paragraph Style Options pop-up window, left-click with your mouse to select
the Export Tagging option (the last option) in the left-hand navigation menu.
4) Near the bottom of the window, select the desired PDF / Tag option from the drop-down
menu, and click the OK button. Available options and suggestions for use:
P (paragraph tag): use this tag for all Paragraph Styles that will be used for any and all
text that is not a Heading or an Artifact.
H1- H5 (heading tags): use these tags for all first through fifth order headings.
Artifact (background element that is skipped by screen readers):
use this tag for all headers and footer text, and is sometimes used for figure captions.
Graphic Elements (Figures, Images etc.)
The figures, images, and photographs found in the templates listed at the beginning of the Adobe
InDesign Procedures chapter of this document provide working examples for the guidance and
procedures below.
Adding Alternate Text to Graphic Elements
(Mandatory for all Maps, Images, Photographs, Graphic Shapes, etc.)
While we are very flexible with the format and layout of graphic elements, they all must have
alternate text (per Section 508). Alternate text is read aloud by screen readers to people with visual
and certain cognitive disabilities. The alternate text should be descriptive enough to entirely replace
the graphic element for users that cannot see the graphic element.
For documents that contain more than a handful of graphic elements, adding alternate text while in
Adobe InDesign is the fastest and most efficient way to make sure that all graphics in the final PDF
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have alternate text. To add alternate text to a graphic element that was previously added to an Adobe
InDesign page:
1) Left-click with your mouse on the Selection Tool option in the left-hand tool bar (usually
the top-most option), and click on the Image Frame to select/highlight it.
2) Choose the Object / Object Export Options menu item.
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3) On the next screen, left-click on the Alt Text tab and set the Alt Text Source drop-
down list to the Custom option.
4) Add the desired alternate text to the dialog box, and click the Done button.
Importing Graphic Elements into Adobe InDesign
Graphic elements can easily be added to an Adobe InDesign document in multiple ways. Regardless
of the type of image being imported, the original image should be relatively close to the print file size
that will be used in the final page in Adobe InDesign. Image quality can degrade significantly
whenever you enlarge the image size more than 10% - 15%, or shrink the image size more than 50%.
Importing Raster Image Files (.tif, .jpg, .png, .bmp, etc.)
This is the most common method used to import images to Adobe InDesign. Images should be saved
to at least 1,200 dots per inch (dpi) or greater (many print shops now suggest 2,400 dpi or greater),
and approximately the same print size as will be used in Adobe InDesign.
1) In Adobe InDesign, choose the File / Place menu option.
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