[Athen] feedback on alt text language for Word table

[Samantha Johns]

Hello all,

For tables and other objects I am recommending including the necessary or
important information within the body of the text.

I will use the caption to identify the object and title. I use Alt text to
describe the table briefly if it is not done within the body of the text
supporting the object.

Hope that is helpful,


* <http://www.pdx.edu/oai/>*

*Samantha Johns*

*Accessibility & **Course Support Specialist *

Portland State University
1825 SW Broadway
Smith Memorial Student Union, Mezzanine 209
Portland OR 97201
(503) 725-5642




On Fri, Aug 21, 2015 at 11:30 AM, Howard Kramer <hkramer at ahead.org> wrote:


> Hi Karen,

>

> This is for Word.

>

> -Howard

>

> On Fri, Aug 21, 2015 at 11:52 AM, Karlen Communications <

> info at karlencommunications.com> wrote:

>

>> Are we talking Word or HTML?

>>

>> In Word, a caption above the table would provide the description, for

>> example, "Ranking of research manufacturers." Alt Text for Word tables is

>> used to provide information on any structural oddities or issues with the

>> table...things like merged or split cells.

>>

>> I agree, it should be concise. Keep in mind too that columns are letters

>> and Rowan are numbers just as with Excel. Those are the coordinates we hear.

>>

>> Cheers, Karen

>>

>> Sent from my iPad

>>

>> On Aug 21, 2015, at 1:41 PM, Lisa Brandt <lisa.brandt1 at pcc.edu> wrote:

>>

>> For this kind of thing, I usually try to make it a little less wordy (ha

>> ha). I think you can relay the same information but make it more compact,

>> like so:

>>

>> Alt text: "Table with 4 columns, 2 header rows, and 7 data rows. First

>> header row: first two columns blank; header 'Data Source' spans last two

>> columns. Second data row: Rank, Manufacturer, Data Source - Gartner, Data

>> Source - International Data Corporation (IDC)."

>>

>> I try to make things as compact as possible and get the meat of it up

>> front, since anyone using a screen reader would likely be skipping to the

>> next thing as soon as they hear enough to know if it's something they want

>> to read in detail. But people who actually have to read the stuff might

>> have a different opinion than I do (smiley face).

>>

>> If I were doing this as a description rather than alt text, I might

>> present it in more of a hierarchical outline rather than adhering to the

>> format of the table.

>>

>> Lisa

>>

>>

>> On Fri, 21 Aug 2015 09:36:45 -0700, Howard Kramer <hkramer at ahead.org>

>> wrote:

>>

>> Hello All:

>>

>> I'm developing a MOOC with a couple of colleagues on Inclusive eLearning

>> and I have a section on alt text for Word Tables. I've noticed some

>> examples of alt text for tables which are very minimal in the information

>> provided - basically just the structure of the table and if there were

>> merged cells. Do you think this example provides too much information in

>> the alt text?

>>

>> Alt text: “This is a 4 column by 9 row table with 2 header rows and 7

>> data rows. The first row has one header for Data Source which spans column

>> 3 and 4 above the names of the two research firms in row 2. The second row

>> headers are Rank, Manufacturer and the names of the two research firms:

>> Gartner and International Data Corporation.”

>>

>> I will also recommend that the first 2 rows be designated as repeating

>> header rows in Word and will add a "true" caption on top.

>>

>>

>> Data Source

>>

>> Rank

>>

>> Manufacturer

>>

>> Gartner

>>

>> International Data Corporation (IDC)

>>

>> 1

>>

>> Samsung <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Electronics>

>>

>> 24.6%

>>

>> 24.5%

>>

>> 2

>>

>> Nokia <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia>

>>

>> 13.9%

>>

>> 13.8%

>>

>> 3

>>

>> Apple Inc. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc.>

>>

>> 8.3%

>>

>> 8.4%

>>

>> 4

>>

>> LG <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LG_Electronics>

>>

>> 3.8%

>>

>> 3.8%

>>

>> 5

>>

>> ZTE <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZTE>

>>

>> 3.3%

>>

>> -

>>

>> 5

>>

>> Huawei <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huawei>

>>

>> -

>>

>> 3.0%

>>

>> Others

>>

>> 34.0%

>>

>> 46.4%

>>

>>      Top Five Worldwide Total Mobile Phone Vendors, 2013

>>

>>

>>

>> Thanks in advance.

>> -Howard

>>

>>

>> --

>> Howard Kramer

>> Conference Coordinator

>> Accessing Higher Ground

>> 303-492-8672

>> cell: 720-351-8668

>>

>> AHEAD Association of Higher Education and Disability

>>

>>

>>

>>

>> --

>> Lisa Brandt, PCC Disability Services

>> Accessibility Technician

>> Alternate Media Formats Technician

>> 971-722-4366

>> SY CC 260

>>

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>>

>

>

> --

> Howard Kramer

> Conference Coordinator

> Accessing Higher Ground

> 303-492-8672

> cell: 720-351-8668

>

> AHEAD Association of Higher Education and Disability

>

>

> _______________________________________________

> athen-list mailing list

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> http://mailman13.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list

>

>

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