WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

Re: IMAGE OF TABLE LINKED TO DESCRIPTIVE FILE

for

From: Mark Rew
Date: Nov 1, 2002 8:49AM

Hi Laurie,

The alt tag solution would be very difficult to make truly Section 508
compliant. This is because it will be hard to associate data values with the
corresponding row and column headings.

In a project I worked on a couple of years ago we used alt tags for each td
element in the table. The alt tags restated the appropriate heading
information then the data value. Again, we had an html table with graphics in
the table cells.

The best solution would to use an html table. Hence, you would only need an
alt tag for the graphical data, the screen reader could associate the cell
with the row or column headings. You may need to use the scope attribute in
the heading cells. Even Jaws is able to track when the scope attribute is
being used.

Mark Rew

----- Original Message -----
From: "Laurie Davis-Covin" < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
To: < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Sent: Friday, November 01, 2002 9:47 AM
Subject: IMAGE OF TABLE LINKED TO DESCRIPTIVE FILE


> As I have the time to review items in this forum, I find that some give
> rise to many different thoughts on the issue of accessibility and the
> techniques used to make Web pages accessible.
> I would like to hear your thoughts on the following situation.
>
>
> Someone asked me - if in lieu of inserting a descriptive link before their
> simple data table, which is a gif file,
> would it be considered accessible to make the table a link to the
> description of the table. In the alt tag say, for instance,
> "This is an image of a table listing names of members under each of three
> different departments,
> A, B and C; the link leads to a description of this table."
>
> Personally, it appears to me to be a bit contrived - and the table, as a
> gif file, begins its life as being less accessible.
> But, please give me your opinions. I've learned so much from this forum!
>
>
>
> Laurie Davis-Covin, Web Specialist
> SAIC @ National Institute of
> Standards and Technology
> 100 Bureau Drive
> Admin. Building, Room E 220
> Gaithersburg, MD 20899
> Ph: 301-975-8027
>
>
>
>
>
> ----
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, or view list archives,
> visit http://www.webaim.org/discussion/
>
>


----
To subscribe, unsubscribe, or view list archives,
visit http://www.webaim.org/discussion/