Accessible PDF (tagged PDF) and (accessible) EPUB with Publisher?

[JohannaH]

I checked the specs of this new version of Publisher. There are many nice features in there. What seems to be missing is the export of a tagged and accessible PDF (PDF/UA). Also I don't see how I could publish a digital book (EPUB3) with this app.

I really hoped for some competition for Adobe InDesign which is capable of such output. Even Word produces such accessible PDFs and EPUB (with WordToEpub plugin).

With the output of Publisher still focused on print only I don't have many reasons to use it. All digital documents for governmental institutions and, within a few years in the EU, for many commercial companies as well, need to be accessible. Besides, I don't want to exclude anyone from using my documents.

I don't mind if I need to do some extra work with a tool like Adobe Acrobat for PDF or Sigil, Calibre, Ace by Daisy for EPUB3, but now I need Word, InDesign or some other app to create the document or book when I really would have liked to use Affinity Publisher.

[TeleriT]

I agree with JohannaH. Accessible PDF output is essential to many of my clients, and I was so hoping that we would get tagged PDF export with this version. I don't fancy hand remediating 150-page reports from scratch for accessibility and I cannot afford to outsource remediation. So, back to InDesign for those types of documents.

[ZedNo]

I'd love to see this worked on as well. I know it's not a very sexy feature but it's such important functionality!

[galexa]

I'm trying not to be shocked that they haven't included ePub and other export options in the new version. A quick search shows it being asked for in 2018 so maybe it's never going to happen. Disappointed but no need to upgrade so...

[Distill7]

For formatting books, I moved away from Publisher to Word so I can export epubs quickly and not have to format the book twice.

[R. C. Schletty]

11 hours ago, galexa said:

I'm trying not to be shocked that they haven't included ePub and other export options in the new version. A quick search shows it being asked for in 2018 so maybe it's never going to happen. Disappointed but no need to upgrade so...

I am also shocked. ePub export was the first thing I looked for when I saw the Affinity 2 announcement. Serif, please give us your roadmap for this very important feature that needs to be part of Affinity Publisher.

[Pyanepsion]

9 hours ago, Distill7 said:

For formatting books, I moved away from Publisher to Word so I can export epubs quickly and not have to format the book twice.

What an idea! Instead, use Jutoh (€40 to €80) which is by far the most efficient specialized software.

[Distill7]

1 hour ago, Pyanepsion said:

What an idea! Instead, use Jutoh (€40 to €80) which is by far the most efficient specialized software.

I actually have a workflow between Word and Sigil for ebooks that involves minimum editing.

[Guest]

The lack of tagged PDF support and ePub export in Publisher v2.0 is utterly baffling to me. I know Serif doesn’t share their product roadmaps, but providing some indication of whether these features are coming (or not) would go a long way to ease the concerns of those folks who have been waiting for these features for years (including myself).

Yes, in the meantime I will continue to use my existing workarounds (PrinceXML for tagged PDF, Pages for fixed layout ePub, Vellum for reflowable ePub, and BBEdit/Sigil and ePubChecker for tweaking the finer details), but being able to largely work seamlessly within the Affinity suite would ideal.

[Pyanepsion]

41 minutes ago, Distill7 said:

I actually have a workflow between Word and Sigil for ebooks that involves minimum editing.

Yes. There is also Calibre, Kindle Create, and others. They are all useful programs, but they are not as powerful and have some errors that are detrimental when you want to get a quality ebook. You only get what you pay for... which is not much. 😇

[Distill7]

1 hour ago, Pyanepsion said:

Yes. There is also Calibre, Kindle Create, and others. They are all useful programs, but they are not as powerful and have some errors that are detrimental when you want to get a quality ebook. You only get what you pay for... which is not much. 😇

Can Jutoh create Fixed Layout ePubs from PDF files?

[R. C. Schletty]

I had done several reflowable ebooks using MS Word (rough draft from my client) > InDesign > Calibre. When that same client switched from doing his rough book draft in Word to Affinity Publisher, I ran into problems with tagging and the TOC, and of course could not export to reflowable EPUB3 from Publisher. So his manuscript had to be copied over to Adobe InDesign, whereupon I did the export to Calibre as EPUB3.

Edited November 10, 2022 by R. C. Schletty

[Distill7]

5 hours ago, Pyanepsion said:

Yes. There is also Calibre, Kindle Create, and others. They are all useful programs, but they are not as powerful and have some errors that are detrimental when you want to get a quality ebook. You only get what you pay for... which is not much. 😇

Thanks man. Jutoh solved a lot of the problems I had with Sigil. It works great.

[GyroGearloose]

I was really looking forward to the new version of Publisher.
And I was just about to hit the buy button for the Universal version.

That there is no well working ePub export is more than disappointing.

What do you want with a DTP program in 2022 that can't export ePubs???

I have also been using Jutoh for years and will probably continue to do so.

If there is no clear information from Affinity that this feature will be added soon, I will probably not update.

This is really sad news 😞

[JohannaH]

Whatever you use to create an EPUB, make sure it's accessible.

Here are some resources:

https://inclusivepublishing.org/toolbox/accessibility-guidelines/

https://www.w3.org/TR/epub-a11y-11/

https://www.w3.org/groups/wg/epub/publications

 

 

[MattiasL]

Affinity publisher is great! But EPUB and txt export must be implemented. The lack of it is a serious drawback.

[Lark]

I was just leaning towards getting V2 but no ePub accessibility makes it impossible to switch. It's a vital function, and I'm shocked that in 2022 it's not automatically included.

[Pyanepsion]

  

17 hours ago, MattiasL said:

The lack of [EPUB] is a serious drawback.

Normal ! No extension of any DTP software that makes EPUB is satisfactory. It's a horror.

Just as the paper pencil and the milk ration differ even though they are made from a living being, and it is impossible to switch from one to the other once they have entered the manufacturing process; even though they basically use the same text, the world of print (DTP) is far too far removed from the world of digital screens (EPUB). Everything is different. The basis of the colors (RGB vs CMYK), the resolution (98 vs 400), the relativity of the dimensions (relative vs fixed), the relativity of the positions (relative vs fixed), the weight of the objects (0,8 MB vs 80 MB), etc.

The only realistic solution is to use EPUB software that works directly on the original text, not an extension.

[CuriousPuffin]

Hi, I'm new to making PDF's accessible. Since I work with Affinity Publisher I stumbled across this topic. 

Do any of you kind people know a work around for a document already made with Publisher?

[HawaiiAna]

On 3/1/2023 at 8:40 AM, CuriousPuffin said:

Hi, I'm new to making PDF's accessible. Since I work with Affinity Publisher I stumbled across this topic. 

Do any of you kind people know a work around for a document already made with Publisher?

Same here. I would love to know too. There is a lot of talk about accessibility and some countries are implementing strict laws. It's just going to get bigger and bigger. I rarely use forums but this topic is too important and I already posted 4 comments hoping to attract Serif's attention to it. And if they are working on it why not tell everybody so we can sleep peacefully knowing the feature is coming. 

[JessYellow]

Would be nice to get some response here from the Company. Hellooo

 

 

 

@Serif Info Bot

[Commontater]

As with others here, I am going to request that EPUB be added as an output format. I've been researching options for book layout and had already purchased the latest Affinity 2 suite, but it's disappointing to have to go from program to program to get the required format, especially if an error turns up and the whole process must be redone.

Due to timelines, I can't hold off on creating the final output until there is an EPUB output available. If this is implemented, though, I'd be happy to use Publisher.

 

Edited May 12, 2023 by Commontater

[PSDfield]

On 5/14/2023 at 12:19 AM, Red Sands said:

"it makes it crystal clear to potential customers why they cannot choose Affinity. "

Publications Office of the European Union: Accessible publishing

Does WCAG apply to PDFs?

Why PDF Accessibility is Important For Higher Education

Understanding accessible PDFs (What is an accessible pdf, and why does it matter?)

Accessible PDF Best Practices

please serif change this.

 

can anyone reccomend tool to check if PDFs are accessible? (without Acrobat DC Pro)

[R. C. Schletty]

Affinity 2.1 has arrived. Still no mention of accessible PDF and accessible E-PUB!

 2.1 update – May 2023

https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/whats-new

5 things you need to know about Affinity 2.1

https://affinityspotlight.com/article/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-affinity-21/?utm_source=SpotlightEmail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SpotlightNewsletter

Affinity 2.1 introduces some highly requested new features, plus hundreds of usability improvements to Affinity’s most-loved tools. Here are five things (and more!) you need to know about the first free update for V2.

Write to Melanie and tell her to apply firm pressure to decision makers at Affinity!

Melanie Khareghat
Spotlight editor

As editor of Affinity Spotlight Melanie oversees the stories, interviews and tutorials published on the site. Outside of work she enjoys travelling, reading crime thrillers, Pilates and dabbling in a spot of oil painting. Get in touch with Melanie if you would like to contribute or be featured on Affinity Spotlight.

[David Cake]

I, sadly, can only add my voice to the chorus here. Essentially, not being able to produce tagged PDF makes Publisher simply not usable for a wide range of work - particularly, in many countries all government work. 
I’d be happy if it required you to do some work to get it to full PDF/UA compliance. But tagged PDF really needs to come from within the app. It would be great if Affinity gave us any indication at all of the state of these issues.