Automatic alternative text on mages

Hi all,

Our users don't understand what alt text is and frequently they just type anything into the box as it is a required field on our templates.

Has anyone developed an automatic solution to generating alt text for images, we have simplified the process of adding an image by using image::size to return width and height of an image by the way.

Regards

tsrookie

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Comments

Dwayne

My mages usually prefer to provide their own text. (Sorry. I just couldn't resist it.)

About the only options I can think of, unless you've got some piece of software that can figure out the contents of the image, would be to either use the filename (or some variation of it, like replacing '_' with spaces) or have a piece of metadata associated with the image, and use that.

Of course, with the metadata solution, you're still in a situation where somebody could enter gibberish, but at least it's only once per image, instead of being repeated every time that image is referenced.

--

Current project: TS 5.5.2/6.1 W2K

Michael

Generally ALT text is important for compliance reasons and couldn't be successfullly automated.

Acts such as the DDA in the UK are making it a requirement that web sites are accessible to vision impaired users utilising screen readers. ALT text can be an important way of making sure the site remains usable. If your sites are not accessible then it is increasingly likely that legal action can result.

The W3C have published some guidelines on this which are helpful

For more information on the UK situation and the DDA you could read this.

I am pretty sure there is a US equivalent (if that is where you are located).

Perhaps this is an 'opportunity' for some user education and a good way of justifying the benefits of CMS -- helping to ensure that you don't get sued

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Michael