Skip to main content
T
triciab91790197
Participant
September 1, 2018
Answered

Alt Text that includes bold and italic text?

  • September 1, 2018
  • 3 replies
  • 1929 views

Is it possible to create Alt Text in Indesign that includes bold, italic, or a specific font and have those formatting options appear in the PDF output? I'm working with Microsoft Word documents that are imported into Indesign. The author has added formatting to the text he intends to become Alt Text for an affiliated graphic. I'm copy/pasting the text using the command: Object > Object Export Options > Alt Text > Custom. Once I paste the text into the "Custom" dialog box, there are no options to format the text with bold, italic, or a specific font. Is this even possible? When I export to PDF the text is just plain, no formatting.

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Barb Binder

    Hi Tricia:

    As far as I know, no.

    The purpose of Alt text is to create alternate text that can be read out loud in lieu of viewing an illustration. This allows screen readers to describe graphical elements that illustrate important concepts in the document so that someone with a visual impairment can understand the content of the document without being able to see it for themselves.

    ~Barb

    3 replies

    Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
    Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
    Legend
    September 3, 2018

    Per the PDF/UA and WCAG standards for international accessibility, no formatting is allowed in Alt-text. So not bold, italics, etc.  No hyperlinks, either.

    Think about it: why would someone who is blind give a rat's patootie what font is used?

    People who use screen readers can't see the bold, italics, colors, or any other visual formatting to begin with!  Having written 10 of thousands of Alt-text over the past 20 years, I've never had the need to bold or italicize anything in an alt-text description of what a photo/graphic is about. Not sure what your client is trying to accomplish by doing this.

    If visual formatting is so important, then create a visual caption under the graphic or build the text into the body text/narrative portion of the document.

    Here's a great free guide to writing Alt-text published by the Social Security Administration: https://www.ssa.gov/accessibility/files/SSA_Alternative_Text_Guide.pdf   I recommend it to my clients and students in my accessible documents classes.

    |    Bevi Chagnon   |  Designer, Trainer, & Technologist for Accessible Documents ||    PubCom |    Classes & Books for Accessible InDesign, PDFs & MS Office |
    Colin Flashman
    Community Expert
    Colin FlashmanCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    September 2, 2018

    I agree with Barb, it's an accessibility feature. More information is available here: Adobe InDesign accessibility

    It sounds as if the alt text is being used in lieu of a caption, but the two are different concepts - I would expect a caption to be visible under a picture and contain formatting, but alt-text would be interpreted by a PDF reader that is being used for accessibility purposes so that the image can be described out loud.

    If the answer wasn't in my post, perhaps it might be on my blog at colecandoo!
    Barb Binder
    Community Expert
    Barb BinderCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    September 1, 2018

    Hi Tricia:

    As far as I know, no.

    The purpose of Alt text is to create alternate text that can be read out loud in lieu of viewing an illustration. This allows screen readers to describe graphical elements that illustrate important concepts in the document so that someone with a visual impairment can understand the content of the document without being able to see it for themselves.

    ~Barb

    ~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training
    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices