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Re: Inline Images and ALT text

for

From: John Foliot
Date: Jan 13, 2009 2:45PM

Jared Smith wrote:
>
> On Tue, Jan 13, 2009 at 2:09 PM, Janet Sylvia < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
>
> > Is there a standard for embedding images in paragraphs? For instance,
only
> embed images before/after sentences, with contextual clues, etc.
>
> If the image is being used inline in the middle of a sentence, the
> content of that image should be provided in alt text and should make
> perfect sense inline. I can't think of a case where an in-sentence
> image would have alternative text that is out of the context of that
> sentence - even if it is positioned elsewhere (floated, etc.).
>

I have encountered this "issue" once or twice, and while it is (should be)
rare, it does happen (often mid-paragraph).

One thing I have done as a best practices is enclosed my alt text values
inside of square brackets [], and further indicated the "type" of imagery
being displayed. Limited testing/feedback has not returned any negative
comments, and a few positive remarks, so while it is by no means a
"standard", it *is* something that I do as a matter of course in my
personal dev work.

Examples: <img src="path_to_file" alt="[Photo - Jared Smith]" />, <img
src="path_to_file" alt="[icon - PDF]" />, <img src="path_to_file"
alt="[illustration - Pie chart showing user statistics]" />.

As an added bonus, it cleanly segregates the alternative text on text-only
browsers, and to my mind helps further isolate the text for even less
ambiguity.

Contrast: "Jared Smith, M.S., is the Associate Director for WebAIM. Jared
Smith" vs. "Jared Smith, M.S., is the Associate Director for WebAIM.
[Photo - Jared Smith]" Most screen readers, unless configured for maximum
verbosity, tend to ignore/not voice the square brackets, and so would say
aloud: "Jared Smith, M.S., is the Associate Director for WebAIM. Image -
Photo - Jared Smith". All-in-all I believe this is a win for most (the
down side is that some screen readers *will* announce the square brackets,
but I believe that the minimal "noise" generated even then is not a major
barrier/issue).


FWIW

JF