> -----Original Message----- > From: Hope Stewart [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Saturday, 4 June 2005 12:40 PM > To: Web Standards Group > Subject: [WSG] alt tags and image captions > > Having never seen/heard a screen reader in action, I am > uncertain about how > to make some aspects of coding user-friendly for those using > screen readers.
If you have got Windows XP or Windows 2000 you should have a screenreader (Narrator) installed. In my case I find it under Programs > Accessories > Accessiblity > Narrator. It's not as good as Jaws, but probably enough to get an idea of how they work. > Specifically, I find my alt tags are almost always the same > as my captions. > For example, if I insert an image of Joe Smith, my code might > look something > like this: > > <p><img src="images/joe_smith.jpg" alt="Joe Smith" /></p> > <p class="photocaption">Joe Smith</p> > Does the screen reader read, "Joe Smith Joe Smith"? Yeah, they will repeat it. If I remember correctly they will read something like "Image Joe Smith, Joe Smith". > If so, I > would have > thought that this repetition would get very annoying > especially if there are > a lot of images on the page. I guess it would be a bit repetitive. With an alt tag you generally write what can be seen in the image. "Joe Smith" doesn't really tell me whether the image you have is a photo of Joe Smith, Joe Smith the cartoon character, or a signature of Joe Smith. So to be a bit more specific you would probably write into the alt tag "Photo of Joe Smith". Depending on the purpose of the photo, you might even have more detail in the alt tag: "Photo of Joe Smith at the last accounting conference". Hope this helps. Andreas Boehmer User Experience Consultant Phone: (03) 9386 8907 Mobile: (0411) 097 038 http://www.addictiveMedia.com.au Consulting | Accessibility | Usability | Development ****************************************************** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm for some hints on posting to the list & getting help ******************************************************
