Topics:

• New font menu in InDesign and Illustrator
• New cool font technologies—yeowza!
• Tag tree order vs. Order panel
• Classes

Newsletter | August 2018

Preview of software updates

Usually in the fall, both Microsoft and Adobe release major updates to their programs. My crystal “rumor” ball doesn’t see anything that clouds that theory.

Adobe has released a preview of one new feature for its font menus in Illustrator and InDesign. Cool. Very handy for designers.

Read more and see the demo in today’s blog at www.pubcom.com/blog/2018_08-08/font-tech-1.shtml.

New cool font tech!

We also review several new font technologies that are in development and will be on your desktop in the future. More cool stuff!

Look at the demos for vairable width fonts and SVG “color” fonts in the blog.

See https://www.pubcom.com/blog/2018_08-08/font-tech-1.shtml#newtech

Reading Orders

We often get asked which reading order is needed for accessibility.

The tag reading order is required in the standards but we still recommend checking the architectural/construction order in the Order Panel (sometimes mistakenly called the Z-Order).

It was the original order for A T and some still use it, such as some Braille embossers and other devices for other disabilities.

It’s also used by many of our everyday technologies, too, not just for accessibility.

Acrobat's Reflow utility is a minor user of this order. I see Reflow used in senior centers, for example. If we create better PDFs, Reflow is a useful tool for those with failing sight and becomes a handy tool for those who don't need a full featured screen reader.

Putting it into practice, we recommend:

1. Making sure the tag tree order is correct.
2. Making sure the Order panel is fairly close to the Tag Tree's order. Doesn't have to be a perfect match, but at least something that will present a logical order for those devices that use it.

Keep in mind that the Tag Tree shows the order of the entire document, from start to finish. The Order panel, instead, is page based and creates a reading order for each individual page, one page at a time. This can affect how much effort you put into correcting the order.

The best strategy is to control the Order in your original source file. Then, both orders in the exported PDF should come out correct.

Upcoming classes

If you’re following the government fiscal year calendar, now’s a good time to pick up a class or two with end-of-year funds.

See our class calendar for August and September at www.pubcom.com/classes

Need customized or group training? We offer a “winter-spring” discount for group training scheduled between November 1st and May 15th.