- From: Charles McCathieNevile <charles@w3.org>
- Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 17:13:46 -0400 (EDT)
- To: Jeff Isom <jeff@cpd2.usu.edu>
- cc: <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
Well, the best way would be to have some real markup that can be used, such as the longdesc attribute for img. Unfortunately HTML browsers have been really slow to implement this - although it is now in a handful of browsers, including iCab (the one I use so the one I know best). It can be helpful to include a title for the link, or to use a graphic that includes the title as an alternative, which says "description of preceeding image" or something helpful. (Having to skip through these is why longdesc would be a better way to do it). Wheter to put a long description in is a judgement call. It is often useful - for example if someone says "click on the apple icon" it is handy to be able to check through the longdescs until you find an icon that claims to look like an apple. It is crucial for some images - for example a sewing pattern. cheers Charles McCN On Tue, 24 Apr 2001, Jeff Isom wrote: I understand the purpose of the "d" link is to provide the user with a description of a complex graphic. Should all images have "d" links or only those that are complex? In other words, although a description of an image may not be essential to the content of the site, would it be a good idea to give the user and opportunity to experience the graphic in a more meaningful way? In addition, it seems that using the "d" tag could be confusing to the user if there were a number of complex graphics on the page. As the user tabbed throught the links they would hear "link d" . . . "link d" . . . "link d". They would have to work to figure out what image the link refers to. I know this is convention for describing images, but is it the best approach? Jeff ----------------------------------- Jeffrey Isom Instructional Designer Web Accessibility in Mind (http://www.webaim.org) Center for Persons with Disabilities Utah State University Logan, Utah 84322-6800 (435) 797-7582 -- Charles McCathieNevile http://www.w3.org/People/Charles phone: +61 409 134 136 W3C Web Accessibility Initiative http://www.w3.org/WAI fax: +1 617 258 5999 Location: 21 Mitchell street FOOTSCRAY Vic 3011, Australia (or W3C INRIA, Route des Lucioles, BP 93, 06902 Sophia Antipolis Cedex, France)
Received on Tuesday, 24 April 2001 17:13:48 UTC