Make Exported .PDF Files With Editable Text For Accessibility Purposes

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
January 31, 2023
54 replies
22821 views

Currently exported .PDFs out of Figma are not accessible, because the text is flattened as images.

I would like to request an option for exported .PDFs to have editable text.

This would be a game changer for our team to move off of Sketch! 😃 (Sketch allows for .PDFs to export with editable text, but Figma does not)

Share an idea

Margot_Gabel1

+1! PDF export in Figma is not great as of now.

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DianaDAuthor

Yeah, I’m really hoping it improves. It works the way I’d like it to in their competitor Sketch, but not Figma. Would be a game changer for them to consider updating it. Finger crossed!

Hampus_Svallfors

Just exported my resume as PDF in desktop Figma on Mac. All text seem to be regular selectable text. Also hypertext links open as expected.

I’m very interested in hearing how PDFs from Sketch work and how it’s different from an accessibility point of view. I’m no PDF expert, so I can’t really tell the difference between my PDF and a great accessibility approved PDF.

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DianaDAuthor

It may appear text is selectable/accessibile… however when you look closer/click edit you’ll see it’s one big image - all vector and can’t be made accessible. 😕 I wrote to Figma about this, they explained to post about it in the forms and continue to look at their release notes if it’s updated. I’m surprised it’s not solved yet.

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DianaDAuthor

Hi Hampus here’s for context: -

Also - If you can vote for this idea that would be greatly appreciated. 🙂 They recommended I post here for visibility.

"Hi Diana,

Unfortunately, per our Guide to exports in Figma

Figma does not currently support exporting editable text. You will not be able to edit any text in a PDF exported from Figma. You can still select and copy text when viewing the PDF in the browser, or other compatible software."

Lawren_Ussery

+1 for this feature request. Our team LOVES building documents in Figma. However, due to the PDF output not being accessible by a screen reader, we have to shift back into building docs in InDesign so they’re compliant. It is a painful step backward for our design process – once you start making stuff in Figma, it is REALLY hard to go back to using clunky Creative Cloud apps.

Figma Team: please consider building screen reader accessibility into your PDF export feature! We would love you for it!

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DianaDAuthor

Couldn’t agree more. We have a huge team that would get great value from this feature.

Tami_Gaines

YESSSSS PLEASEEEE, Figma make this update! My team and I create in Figma all the time and love it, but have had to recently re-create designs in InDesign for the reason of accessibility.

If you could build in screen reader accessibility into the PDF export, it will make a lot of your users, who are want to also share with the accessible community, very happy!