Catch issues earlier
Find common problems such as missing alt text, export tags and heading hierarchy issues while you are still working in InDesign.
Highlander Accessibility Checker
InDesign accessibility checker plugin
Find common PDF accessibility issues in your InDesign document before you export.
Check your source document, locate affected objects and get guidance on what to fix. Reduce repeated export-and-check cycles when producing reports, guides and other publications.
- 30-day free trial
- From £149 per year
- Team licences available
Available through Adobe Exchange.
Less rework. Clearer next steps.
Find accessibility issues before you export to PDF
Built for designers and communications teams producing reports, guides and other publications. Check accessibility in your InDesign source document, where many fixes can be retained for future exports.
Know what to fix next
Review prioritised findings, locate affected objects where supported, and use the guidance to understand why an issue matters and how to address it.
Share your findings
Export an HTML report to share findings with colleagues and support your document review process.
A more efficient PDF workflow
Fix issues at source. Keep the improvements.
When you update a report or reissue a guide, fixes made only in the exported PDF may need to be repeated. Addressing issues in the InDesign document helps retain those improvements for future exports.
The checker supports your pre-export review. Final PDF checks and human judgement remain part of the process; an automated check alone cannot guarantee PDF/UA compliance.
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Check in InDesign
Run the plugin against your source document and review the findings.
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Fix and review
Make corrections, review items that need human judgement, and refresh the results as many times as needed.
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Export and validate
Export your tagged PDF, then check the finished file using Acrobat, PAC or another suitable PDF accessibility tool.
Checks and reporting
What does the InDesign accessibility checker check?
Review common source-document issues across structure, text, images and interactive content. These are examples of some of the checks and reporting tools available in the plugin.
Document structure and text
- Document titles and bookmarks
- Table of contents structure
- Language settings and heading hierarchy
- Symbol fonts and small text warnings
- Accessibility-related PDF export settings
Tagging and reading order
- Paragraph and object style export tags
- Untagged content
- Articles panel configuration
- Reading order indicators for manual review
- Articles tagging-order settings
Images and graphics
- Missing alternative text
- Decorative image settings
- Artifact configuration
- Images and captions needing review
- Placed PDFs
Tables and lists
- Missing table headers
- Empty cells
- Table structure issues
- Layout tables needing review
- Manual bullets and numbering
Links and interactive content
- Broken links
- Raw URLs and vague link text
- Forms and buttons
- Interactive objects needing review
Reports and guidance
- Accessibility dashboard and readiness indicator
- Recommended fix order
- Exportable HTML reports
- Navigation to affected objects where supported
- Guidance on findings and suggested corrections
Meet the developer
Built from practical InDesign experience
Andy Gardiner
Andy has over 25 years’ experience teaching Adobe software, including over a decade as an Adobe Certified Instructor. He delivers accessible PDF training for design and communications teams in councils, universities, charities and other organisations.
He is the author of Designing the Adobe InDesign Way, published by Packt. His experience helping teams prepare accessible documents informed the development of Highlander Accessibility Checker, with guidance designed to help users understand findings and address issues in their InDesign files.
- PGCE-qualified teacher
- CompTIA Certified Technical Trainer
Want to build your document accessibility skills? Explore accessible PDF training
Your questions answered
InDesign accessibility checker FAQs
What is Highlander Accessibility Checker for InDesign?
Highlander Accessibility Checker is an Adobe InDesign plugin that checks InDesign documents for common PDF accessibility issues before they are exported to PDF.
Does it replace Acrobat or PAC?
No. The plugin checks the InDesign source document before export. Acrobat, PAC and other PDF accessibility tools are still needed to check the final exported PDF. Identifying issues earlier can reduce the work required after export.
Can it guarantee PDF/UA compliance?
No automated pre-export checker can guarantee PDF/UA compliance on its own. The plugin helps identify source-document issues that can affect PDF/UA readiness and accessible PDF production. Human review and validation of the finished PDF remain necessary.
What does the plugin check?
It checks issues such as document titles, language settings, heading hierarchy, export tags, Articles panel setup, reading order indicators, missing alt text, decorative image settings, table structure, list formatting, links, forms and placed PDFs.
See the plugin documentation for more detail about individual checks and how to interpret findings.
Who is it designed for?
It is designed for InDesign users, designers and communications teams in organisations such as councils, universities, charities and the NHS that need to create more accessible PDFs.
Does it check the final PDF?
No. It checks the InDesign document before export. The exported PDF should still be checked using Acrobat, PAC or another suitable PDF accessibility checker.
Does it help reduce PDF remediation work?
Yes. Identifying and addressing issues in InDesign before export can reduce the remediation required in the finished PDF.
This is particularly useful for documents that are updated and reissued regularly. Fixes made only in the exported PDF may need to be repeated with each new edition. Addressing issues in the source document helps retain many of those improvements for future exports.
Documentation and support
Get started with the plugin
Find installation instructions, guidance on running checks, and help interpreting results and exporting reports.
Read the documentationNeed help?
Use the plugin support form if you encounter a problem. Include your InDesign version, plugin version and a description of what happened.
Get plugin supportVersion history
- 1.0.1 — Initial release: comprehensive InDesign accessibility preflight, grouped and filterable findings, Accessibility Readiness score, object navigation, manual-review approval, licensing, and HTML report export.
- 1.0.2 — Added clearer trial and purchasing prompts, licence-key entry, and restricted summary mode for unlicensed users.
- 1.0.3 — Refined the licensing and trial interface, including clearer action buttons and links.
- 1.0.4 — Minor visual and interface polish.
- 1.0.5 — Maintenance release with small stability and workflow refinements.
- 1.0.6 — Introduced the automatic 30-day full-access trial, trial-status banner, days-remaining display, and post-trial summary-only mode.
- 1.0.7 — Licensing reliability and validation improvements.
- 1.0.8 — Expanded table checking, including detection of tables without designated header rows or columns; raised the recommended version to InDesign 2026 (21.5.1). Whilst the plugin still works on earlier versions of InDesign, some newer features will not be supported.
- 1.0.9 — Maintenance and InDesign compatibility refinements.
- 1.0.11 — Improved update checking and notifications; added optional report-creator attribution and report branding improvements. Also introduced privacy-conscious reporting of installation and completed-check statistics, including trial/licence status and installed plug-in version.
- 1.0.12 — Improved performance when checking table header coverage, particularly in large tables. Optimised detection of body cells that may lack applicable row or column headers.
- 1.0.13 — Fixed a bug around licence authentication which was introduced in 1.0.12.