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Re: - Alt text for PDF org chart

for

From: chagnon@pubcom.com
Date: Nov 14, 2023 1:41PM

Because Alt Text is an attribute on a tag (usually the <Figure> tag), it can't have any semantics (such as headings and lists). Alt Text is just a blah blah blah run-on of word soup without much to distinguish the text for those using screen readers.

Plus, per the PDF/UA standard, <Figure> tags can't have lists and tables nested inside the <Figure> tag itself. Practically, I don't know of any assistive technology that can access the <Caption> tag when it's nested inside <Figure> even though that's legal per PDF/UA.

So putting Alt Text on an organizational chart graphic will always be less than ideal for the end user. In most cases, it's barely readable and understandable.

Some options we've developed for our clients are:

1. Use a live-text list that's available to all users. Some options:
– A list in a <Caption> after the chart graphic.
– Hyperlinked to a list in an appendix added to the PDF, or to a webpage on a website. Wording like "An accessible version of this organizational chart is available at..." can help quite a lot.

2. If the source file is Adobe InDesign, you can build the chart with InDesign's tools which allow designers to visually decorate the text to look like boxes/frames while keeping them live text. Keep it all threaded into a logical reading order, and tag the text as headings and/or lists as needed. In the exported PDF, there's no graphic so there's no need for Alt Text because the text content is all there in the live text.

—Bevi

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Bevi Chagnon | Designer, Accessibility Technician | <EMAIL REMOVED>
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PubCom: Technologists for Accessible Design + Publishing
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Upcoming classes at www.PubCom.com/classes
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Latest blog-newsletter – Rethinking Alt Text www.pubcom.com/blog/alt-text/1_rethink-alt-text/index.shtml



-----Original Message-----
From: WebAIM-Forum < <EMAIL REMOVED> > On Behalf Of Suzanne Arden via WebAIM-Forum
Sent: Tuesday, November 14, 2023 8:47 AM
To: WebAIM Discussion List < <EMAIL REMOVED> >; Hayman, Douglass < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Cc: Suzanne Arden < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] [EXTERNAL] - Alt text for PDF org chart

Thanks to everyone who responded so quickly to my question. I have a follow-up for Dough: Just to clarify, would I create a list group within the <figure> tag, underneath the "Image" tag, that would have each position as its own list item? That would not change the pdf visual, but would the screen reader read it since it's a group of tags? I would simiply alt tag the jpg in the pdf as "Org chart for ...[company]" since the list grouping would give the greater detail. Does that make sense?


Suzanne Arden
c: 202-669-8228



On Tuesday, November 14, 2023 at 10:57:39 AM EST, Hayman, Douglass < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:

Suzanne,

Without seeing the chart in question it is difficult to come up with THE answer. But I think that some PDFs I've seen done in a creative and accessible manner, will have the various elements as perhaps list items, headings and so on. While the chart may remain the same visually, the screen reader user can navigate the components in another way. I've also seen where the ALT text will provide the equivalent information provided in a bar graph or pie chart while other PDFs will have those various components as list items.

Doug Hayman
IT Accessibility Coordinator
Information Technology
Olympic College
<EMAIL REMOVED>
(360) 475-7632



-----Original Message-----
From: WebAIM-Forum < <EMAIL REMOVED> > On Behalf Of Suzanne Arden via WebAIM-Forum
Sent: Tuesday, November 14, 2023 7:46 AM
To: <EMAIL REMOVED>
Cc: Suzanne Arden < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Subject: [EXTERNAL] - [WebAIM] Alt text for PDF org chart

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What is the best way to describe a lengthy org chart in a PDF document?
Suzanne Arden
c: 202-669-8228