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Subject:Re: Alt text for images with callouts From:dick -at- rlhamilton -dot- net To:Peter Neilson <neilson -at- windstream -dot- net> Date:Thu, 10 Dec 2020 16:44:22 -0800
Hi Peter,
Good points. I think the solution in this case will be to work on the text and leave the image as decorative. The process isnât complex enough to make that impractical.
One follow-up. Is the 150 character limitation still important for current screen readers? My impression (possibly faulty) was that this was primarily for older, and possibly obsolete, readers.
Thanks to you and Char for your insights.
Dick
-------
XML Press
XML for Technical Communicators http://xmlpress.net
hamilton -at- xmlpress -dot- net
> On Dec 10, 2020, at 12:49, Peter Neilson <neilson -at- windstream -dot- net> wrote:
>
> Dick,
> As in most writing situations, you need to guess who your audience are and how to address their needs. Here you have to do it in 150 characters or fewer. Often it is impossible or unnecessary, and an empty ALT is all you ought to provide. If a lengthy explanation is necessary, perhaps it should be provided in the text of the document or in a caption.
>
> On Thu, 10 Dec 2020 15:35:35 -0500, <dick -at- rlhamilton -dot- net> wrote:
>
>> Hi Char,
>>
>> Thanks. That does make life easier:-).
>>
>> I wonder, though, whether thereâs a need to say something if the text doesnât clearly show the flow.
>>
>> For example:
>>
>> Figure: A â> B â> C
>>
>> Text:
>> A: does something (but doesnât say what comes next)
>> B: does something else (but doesnât say what comes next)
>> C: does yet more
>>
>> Iâm sure the best thing would be to describe the flow in the text, but if it is complex, then the figure might provide information would be hard to characterize in the text.
>>
>> Any ideas about that case?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Dick
>> -------
>> XML Press
>> XML for Technical Communicators
>> http://xmlpress.net
>> hamilton -at- xmlpress -dot- net
>>
>>
>>
>>> On Dec 10, 2020, at 12:07, Char James-Tanny <charjtf -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi, Dick :-)
>>>
>>> If the process shown in the image reproduces what's in the content, the image doesn't need any alt text (or you could put something like "Graphical representation of the process, with callouts that refer to the steps".
>>>
>>> (If the text doesn't include the process, then it gets more complicated because the alt has a 150-character limit, which isn't enough to describe everything.)
>>>
>>> Char James-Tanny
>>>
>>> On Thu, Dec 10, 2020 at 2:32 PM <dick -at- rlhamilton -dot- net> wrote:
>>> Does anyone have any advice for creating good alt text for an image with callouts?
>>>
>>> E.g., an image that shows some kind of process. It has a standard block diagram that shows steps in the process, each with a callout number that refers to text in the body of the article/book.
>>>
>>> Any thoughts on how best to write alt text in that case?
>>>
>>> Thanks for your help.
>>> Richard Hamilton
>>> -------
>>> XML Press
>>> XML for Technical Communicators
>>> http://xmlpress.net
>>> hamilton -at- xmlpress -dot- net
>>>
>>>
>>>
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