Module 7: Adding Alternative Text to Images and Other Objects

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Voice Over (VO): Accessible Electronic Document Community of Practice, AED-COP.

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VO: You are watching how to author and test Microsoft PowerPoint presentations for accessibility.

VO: This is module seven, adding alternative text to images and other objects. This video is one in a series showing how to make a PowerPoint presentation section 508 conformant.

VO: Assistive technology cannot infer meaning from images and other objects such as pictures, images of text, images of tables, shapes, and icons with hyperlinks.

VO: Therefore, when adding images and objects into your presentation, you must also apply alternative text or alt text to those images and objects.

VO: When trying to figure out what to write for alternative text, think about the purpose of the image and not what the image looks like.

VO: The alternative text should fully convey the meaning of the image and not focus on what the image is.

VO: If you remove the image or object from your presentation and replaced it with alternative text and no key information was lost, then chances are you provided the proper amount of descriptions in your alternative text.

VO: To enter alt text, select the image, object, or shape. Right click or hold shift and press F10 and select Edit Alt Text.

VO: In the description field, enter information that states the purpose for a meaningful image or object in as few words as possible while remaining clear.

VO: For decorative objects, enter a space or two spaces between quotes or simply select the mark as decorative option, then select Close.

VO: Select an image or object, right click or hold shift and press F10. Select Edit Alt Text and read the description field.

VO: Also, look for a caption or description of the image or object in nearby text. Does the image, object, or shape have descriptive text as alt text or is described in the surrounding text?

VO: If not, the document fails this test. Now, select an image or object that is just for decoration.

VO: Right click or hold shift and press F10 and select the Edit Alt Text. Read the description field.

VO: Does the description field of decorative images or objects contain two blank spaces between quotes?

VO: If not, the document fails this test. When we select this image, the Alt Text field does not contain descriptive text.

VO: This example is not accessible. When we select this image and navigate to Edit Alt Text, we can see that descriptive text has been entered in the Alt Text field.

VO: This example is considered accessible. Thank you for watching Module 7.

VO: You are encouraged to watch the other modules in this video series and revisit modules to gain a mastery of the information provided.

VO: To learn more about Section 508, visit www.section508.gov. This video is a product of the Accessible Electronic Document Community of Practice, Chief Information Officers Council, and the Federal Aviation Administration.

VO: administration.