How do I export an EPUB from Adobe InDesign?

File → Export → EPUB (Reflowable) for standard books. Set EPUB version to 3.0, select your TOC style for navigation, set Split Document to your chapter heading style, and set image resolution to 150 PPI. Check the Articles panel reading order before exporting.

Why is text missing from my InDesign EPUB export?

InDesign only exports text in non-overflowing text frames. If your text frame shows a red overflow indicator, the overflowing text is silently omitted. Fix all text overflow before exporting via Edit → Find/Change or by resizing frames.

Should I export EPUB from InDesign or convert the PDF?

Export directly from InDesign whenever possible. InDesign has semantic information (paragraph styles, TOC, reading order) that produces better EPUB structure. PDF conversion reconstructs this from a rendered page, which is less accurate. Only convert from PDF if the InDesign file is unavailable.

How to Export EPUB from Adobe InDesign — Settings and Fixes (2026)

Q: How do I fix wrong reading order in an InDesign EPUB?

Use the Articles panel (Window → Articles) to explicitly set reading order. Drag all content into the Articles panel in the correct sequence — InDesign uses this order for EPUB export, overriding the stacking order of frames on the page.

June 12, 2026 · 8 min read

Contents

EPUB 2 vs EPUB 3 export
Key export settings
Common problems and fixes
Post-processing in Sigil
FAQ

Adobe InDesign's built-in EPUB export produces workable output for simple layouts, but requires careful settings choices and often post-processing for complex documents. This guide covers what to set, what to expect, and how to fix the most common issues.

EPUB 2 vs EPUB 3 export

InDesign supports exporting both EPUB 2 (legacy) and EPUB 3 (current standard). Use EPUB 3 for all new work — it's required for most retailers and accessibility compliance. EPUB 2 is only useful if you're targeting very old reading systems.

In InDesign: File → Export → EPUB (Fixed Layout) or File → Export → EPUB (Reflowable). Choose Reflowable for books and documents intended for e-readers; Fixed Layout for content where exact visual placement is required (children's books, art books).

Key export settings

General tab

EPUB version: Set to EPUB 3.0.
Cover: Rasterize First Page (creates a cover image from your InDesign cover) or Choose Image (specify a separate cover file).
Navigation TOC: Select your InDesign TOC style here. This becomes the EPUB nav document. If you have no TOC style defined, InDesign will not generate a proper navigation structure.
Split document: Based on Paragraph Style Export Tags — InDesign will start a new XHTML file at each heading with the specified style. Set this to your Chapter Heading style to generate proper chapter divisions.

Text tab

Include InDesign TOC entries: On.
Footnotes: Set to "After paragraph" (not "After story") for proper EPUB footnote placement.
Lists: Use InDesign's native list styles, not manually created list-like paragraphs.

Object tab

Image size: Relative to Page (recommended). Use 100% for standard e-readers; reduce to 75% if file size is a concern.
Image resolution: 150 PPI for e-readers (good quality, reasonable file size). 72 PPI is too low; 300 PPI produces unnecessarily large files.
Image format: Automatic (JPEG for photos, PNG for graphics and screenshots).
Ignore object-level export settings: Leave unchecked unless you've set custom export settings per-object.

Conversion Settings tab

CSS options: "Include Embeddable Fonts" — check this if you have licensed embeddable fonts. Verify font license permits EPUB embedding before enabling.
Additional CSS: You can inject a custom CSS file here to override InDesign's generated styles. Useful for fine-tuning typography after export.

Common problems and fixes

Problem: Text overflow / missing content

InDesign only exports text in linked (non-overflowing) text frames. If your text frame has an overflow indicator (red plus icon), that text will be missing from the EPUB.

Fix: Fix all text overflow before exporting. Use Edit → Find/Change to locate overflow, or use the Story Editor to see full text.

Problem: Reading order is wrong

InDesign determines reading order by the stacking order of text frames on the page. If your sidebar reads before the main body text, the stacking order is wrong.

Fix: Use the Articles panel (Window → Articles) to explicitly define reading order. Drag content into the Articles panel in the correct sequence. InDesign uses this order for EPUB export.

Problem: Table of contents is missing

The EPUB nav TOC is missing or only contains a few entries.

Fix: You must have a TOC Style defined in InDesign (Layout → Table of Contents Styles). The TOC style must reference your heading paragraph styles. Select this style in the General export tab under "Navigation TOC".

Problem: Images are too large or too small

Images appear wrong size in the EPUB.

Fix: In the Object export settings, set image size to "Relative to Page" at 100%. For images that should be full-width, ensure they span the full text frame width in InDesign.

Problem: Generated CSS is messy / hard to edit

InDesign generates verbose, class-heavy CSS that's difficult to read or modify.

Fix: Open the EPUB in Sigil after export, remove InDesign's generated CSS, and replace with a clean stylesheet. The content structure is correct — only the styling needs cleanup.

Post-processing in Sigil

For production-quality EPUBs from InDesign, post-processing in Sigil (free, open source) is often worthwhile:

Open the exported EPUB in Sigil.
Run EPUBCheck (Tools → Validate EPUB with W3C EPUBCheck) to identify structural issues.
Review and clean the CSS: remove unused classes, consolidate duplicate rules.
Check the nav document: ensure all chapters are linked with correct titles.
Add accessibility metadata to the OPF if required (schema:accessMode, schema:accessibilityFeature, etc.).
Run EPUBCheck again to confirm a clean bill of health.

FAQ

Should I export EPUB directly from InDesign or export to PDF first?

Export directly from InDesign for best results. PDF-to-EPUB conversion loses the semantic structure InDesign has (paragraph styles, TOC, reading order) and requires you to reconstruct it. InDesign's direct EPUB export preserves that structure even if it needs cleanup.

Does InDesign export support EPUB accessibility metadata?

InDesign 2024 and later include basic accessibility metadata fields in the export dialog (title, language, accessibility summary). For full EPUB Accessibility 1.1 compliance, post-processing in Sigil is still recommended to add the complete schema:accessibility* metadata set.

Why is my InDesign EPUB failing EPUBCheck?

Common causes: deprecated EPUB 2 elements in the output (even when EPUB 3 is selected), inline styles that don't conform to EPUB CSS profile, and missing or malformed nav documents. Run EPUBCheck to get the specific error, then fix in Sigil.

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