Adobe XD adds Live Caption and Keyboard Flow testing to support accessible prototypes

Design · 4 min read

Adobe has rolled out features in XD designed to make accessibility testing part of the design phase. Live Caption overlays can be enabled on prototype recordings and during playback to surface automatic captions, speaker labels, and timestamped transcripts. Designers can edit captions inline and export them as part of handoff artifacts.

The Keyboard Flow tool allows designers to record a keyboard-only path through a prototype, replay it to verify focus order and visibility, and generate a report that flags focus loss, hidden focusable elements, and missing skip links. The tool integrates with design systems so components can carry meta-data about intended keyboard behavior.

Adobe said the features are targeted at teams who want to reduce accessibility regressions between design and development. The company is also publishing a set of starter keyboard flows and captioning presets tailored for common accessibility scenarios.