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Bug 25401 - Alt text should refer user to location of long description
Summary: Alt text should refer user to location of long description
Status: RESOLVED FIXED
Alias: None
Product: HTML WG
Classification: Unclassified
Component: CR alt techniques [please use LC1 instead] (show other bugs)
Version: unspecified
Hardware: PC Windows NT
: P2 normal
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: steve faulkner
QA Contact: HTML WG Bugzilla archive list
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords: a11y
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2014-04-21 18:16 UTC by dmacdona
Modified: 2014-05-21 13:15 UTC (History)
1 user (show)

See Also:


Attachments

Description dmacdona 2014-04-21 18:16:01 UTC
1) I think screen reader users should be explicitly informed that information below is the alternative... rather than deducing it from the heading above the alternative.

alt="Flowchart: Dealing with a broken lamp.">

I would add "full description below"

alt="Flowchart: Dealing with a broken lamp. Full description below">
========

alt="Bar chart: Average rainfall in millimetres by Country and Season."

Same here

alt="Bar chart: Average rainfall in millimetres by Country and Season. Table of data below"
Comment 1 dmacdona 2014-05-13 01:36:53 UTC
This example does not appear to have an explicit programmatic association between the image and the long description. And there does not appear to be a reference to the data in the alt, to make an implicit association... there is the similarity between the alt and the caption text, but I think we need to provide an example that can be replicated, and there are not many situation where the alt and the title of the long description will be the same.

====Current===

<img src="rainchart.gif" alt="Bar chart: Average rainfall in millimetres by Country and Season.">
  <table>
  <caption>Rainfall in millimetres by Country and Season.</caption>
  <tr><td><th scope="col">UK <th scope="col">Japan<th scope="col">Australia</tr>
  <tr><th scope="row">Spring <td>5.5 (highest)<td>2.4 <td>2 (lowest)</tr>
  <tr><th scope="row">Summer <td>4.5 (highest)<td>3.4<td>2 (lowest)</tr>
  <tr><th scope="row">Autumn <td>3.5 (highest) <td>1.8 <td>1.5 (lowest)</tr>
  <tr><th scope="row">Winter <td>1.5 (highest) <td>1.2 <td>1 lowest</tr>
  </table>

===Suggestion===
<img src="rainchart.gif" alt="Bar chart: Average rainfall in millimetres by Country and Season. Table of data follows:">
  <table>
  <caption>Rainfall in millimetres by Country and Season.</caption>
  <tr><td><th scope="col">UK <th scope="col">Japan<th scope="col">Australia</tr>
  <tr><th scope="row">Spring <td>5.5 (highest)<td>2.4 <td>2 (lowest)</tr>
  <tr><th scope="row">Summer <td>4.5 (highest)<td>3.4<td>2 (lowest)</tr>
  <tr><th scope="row">Autumn <td>3.5 (highest) <td>1.8 <td>1.5 (lowest)</tr>
  <tr><th scope="row">Winter <td>1.5 (highest) <td>1.2 <td>1 lowest</tr>
  </table>
Comment 2 dmacdona 2014-05-13 01:43:57 UTC
as per Janina's suggestion "Long description follows" would be better than "below"
Comment 3 steve faulkner 2014-05-21 13:15:14 UTC
fixed by a different method using figure/aria

have added figure/figcaption + aria to provide grouping and association

<figuer role="group" aria-labelledby="caption">
<img src="rainchart.gif" alt="Bar chart: Average rainfall in millimetres by
Country and Season.">    
<table>    
<caption id="caption">Rainfall in millimetres by Country and Season.</caption>  
<tr><td><th scope="col">UK <th scope="col">Japan<th scope="col">Australia</tr>  
<tr><th scope="row">Spring <td>5.5 (highest)<td>2.4 <td>2 (lowest)</tr>    
<tr><th scope="row">Summer <td>4.5 (highest)<td>3.4<td>2 (lowest)</tr>    
<tr><th scope="row">Autumn <td>3.5 (highest) <td>1.8 <td>1.5 (lowest)</tr>    
<tr><th scope="row">Winter <td>1.5 (highest) <td>1.2 <td>1 lowest</tr>    
</table>
</figure>