Sometimes web developers use images in web pages to depict text, usually
in order to achieve specific typographical or graphical effects that are
not possible when styling HTML text. This is best avoided where
possible, as text in images cannot be restyled to suit the preferences
of the end-user. Usually, images are used only for special elements of
the page like navigation items, buttons, and headings. But in really bad
implementations, developers use them for body text. That is the case
with the scanworcester.com homepage.
One of the ways to put images into an HTML page is to use the IMG
element. When you do that, you're supposed to provide a text equivalent
for the image using the ALT attribute of the image. This ALT text can be
substituted for the image when using a browser that does not support
images, when images are disabled, when images fail to load, and when
browsing the page with a screen reader or aural browser.
The scanworcester.com homepage developer is misusing the ALT attribute
as an error message in the event that images are disabled. Rather than
specifying a text equivalent for the embedded image, he is using the ALT
text: "Images must be enabled in your browser. Optimal resolution:
800x600 or greater". In other words, it is the developer who created
that message not VoiceOver or Safari. He or she apparently does not know
the proper purpose of the ALT attribute, and has only considered the
case of images being disabled.
Hope that helps.
--
Benjamin Hawkes-Lewis
Jed Barton wrote:
Hey guys, alright, got a minor problem.
I'm trying to navigate a sight,
scanworcester.com
It's a live scanner feed where i can use itunes to hear audio.
When i load the sight, it's saying i have to have immages enabled on my
browser.
I went in to voiceover and it said they are enabled. Did i miss
something, perhaps in the browser?
Where should i check to see if they are enabled?
Thanks,
Jed
