In the last module, we discussed, among other topics,
the importance of real text and PDFs.
And the importance of structure provided through headings in both Word and
PDF documents.
We also touched upon the importance of alternate text,
that is providing short text descriptions for images.
This week we'll talk more about selecting appropriate alternate text,
also known as alt text.
And descriptions for images and for other complex objects such as tables and graphs.
Let's review and expand on the recommendations for
alternate texts that we introduced last week.
As a rule, alternate texts should be succinct and accurate.
Your description should describe the image accurately, but as concisely as possible.
Usually a few words will suffice, although a sentence or two is permissible.
Although there is no definitive or hard limit, 100 characters or
less is a typical suggested maximum length.
We'll talk about methods for describing more complex images that require longer
descriptions later in this module.
Avoid using image of or graphic of in the description.
Assistive technologies, such as screen readers,
already convey this information to the user and this will just add to redundancy.
For example, in this segment from a Wikipedia page on the Guggenheim Museum,
the alt text NYC- Guggenheim Museum.jpg or JPG describes a photo of the museum.
A better choice of the alt text would simply be Guggenheim Museum.
The NYC at the beginning and
JPG at the end of the text apparently carried over from the file name.
This part is not necessary and will cause confusion when read aloud by assistive
technology or viewed by someone who has images turned off on their device.
If this article was about the diverse architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright,
then it might be appropriate to succinctly describe the building in greater
detail with at text such as,
cylindrical shaped Guggenheim Museum with a striking gray concrete exterior.
The key to deciding how to describe an image with alt text is to consider what
information the image is conveying.
Then try to convey that information concisely.
In the next video, we'll show more examples and review the process for
entering alt text for images in Word using the Word accessibility checker.
We'll also introduce the procedure for describing tables, and
making them more accessible in Word documents.