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Re: SmartArt and Alt Text

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From: Steve Green
Date: Feb 3, 2023 2:27AM

I have only done a little testing of Smart Art, but everything I have seen supports what Nick says.

Steve Green
Managing Director
Test Partners Ltd


-----Original Message-----
From: WebAIM-Forum < <EMAIL REMOVED> > On Behalf Of <EMAIL REMOVED>
Sent: 03 February 2023 09:23
To: <EMAIL REMOVED>
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] SmartArt and Alt Text

I'm working on some PowerPoint accessibility for a client and finding that screen reader behaviour with Smart Art and grouped shapes in general is quite poor. I'm using PowerPoint 365 on Windows 10.



When navigating to a piece of SmartArt with NVDA 2022 it just announces 'shape' and does not mention any text within the SmartArt. Pressing Enter starts navigation within the SmartArt, then the Tab key to move from element to element, but again there is no announcement of any text. I've not done exhaustive testing, but there's no reason to believe the behaviour will be much different with different types.


JAWS 2023 announces the text of SmartArt (in its entirety). Again, pressing Enter enters navigation and as you move from block to block with Tab, JAWS announces the text, along with heading/list level info, and sometimes numerous instances of 'blank'. The reading order is often incorrect and there's no way to change it because the Reading Order pane treats it as a single object.



There is no semantic information about the structure of the SmartArt (not that I would really expect this), so users have no idea what how each piece relates to each other (e.g. whether there's a hierarchical relationship, whether it's a linear process, etc). You could add alt text, as this is read out before the text contained within the SmartArt, and this may or may not clarify - it all depends on the specific diagram and its complexity.


I don't like using SmartArt in general as it doesn't allow me the level of fine tuning I need in layout. I would generally create individual shapes to build up a diagram, but that itself has issues. For instance. If you group a bunch of shapes and provide suitable alt text for this group, both JAWS and NVDA then navigate through the individual elements within that group and announce what they are, even if they are individually marked as decorative.
It's potentially very confusing for the user. A quick workaround for a multi-component shape is to create and group the elements, then use PowerPoint's in-built 'Save as picture' functionality to create a png (you can do the same thing with SmartArt too). Then insert the png, add alt text, and delete the original version. You could of course create the image in a proper illustration package as you'll have more control over image quality, but this is a quick way round if you don't have access/time for that.





Nick

- - -

Nick Bromley

Director & Accessibility Consultant

Red Kite Digital Accessibility Ltd



-----Original Message-----
From: Lori Schulze <EMAIL REMOVED> <mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Sent: 01 February 2023 21:30
To: <EMAIL REMOVED> <mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Subject: [WebAIM] SmartArt and Alt Text



I'm trying to find out if alt text should be added to SmartArt, either in Word or PowerPoint. I have found conflicting answers.



I'm not sure how AT users interact with SmartArt. If it does need alt text, should it be applied to the individual components?



Any guidance is appreciated. Thank you.





*Lori Schulze*

Center for Educational Networking (CEN)

6412 Centurion Drive, Suite 100

Lansing, MI 48917

517-908-3904

<mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> > <EMAIL REMOVED> | <http://www.cenmi.org>; www.cenmi.org



*The Center for Educational Networking is an Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Grant Funded Initiative through the Michigan Department of Education, Office of Special Education.*