AuthorTec Accessibility

Easily generate & edit Alt Text

Ensure 508 Compliance

web accessibility

How this tool helps you

  • Scan an entire document to make sure Alt Text is available for each item that needs it.

  • Let the tool automatically generate Alt Text for any item that does not have it.

  • View & edit the Alt Text for each object in the document to improve the description and make it more helpful.

Alt Text Examples

person explaining charts to others

Auto-generated Alt Text for the image shown here would be:

  • Picture

Typical alt text added as the image was inserted might be:

  • Man at screen with pointer

More helpful alt text would be:

  • Person explaining charts to a group during a presentation

 About Images & Alt Text

We add images to a page with text to enhance the user’s experience as they view and read the content.

Images can draw the user in and enhance the user experience by:

  • grabbing attention

  • illustrating the point that is being made

  • making the page more attractive.

But what about users with vision impairment or low vision?

For those who cannot see the text and images, screen reader software uses a speech synthesizer or braille display to read the text on a page, as well as the alt text.

Alt text is necessary for screen reader software to fully convey what is on the screen. Thus the Alt Text must describe the user experience the picture or object is meant to convey.

How is Alt Text generated?

Alt Text can be added by the author as an image is inserted.

And, alt text is sometimes auto-generated by the software program in use to write the content. But in this case the alt text will literally describe the object, such as “slide” or “chart” or “picture” without providing the intent of the object. This diminishes the ability of the screen reader software to truly convey what is on the screen.

Alt Text Best Practices

  • Include an alt text description of very image on a page

  • Review and enhance alt text as needed to convey the intent of the image

Screen reader software requires Alt Text for all non-text items on a page. 

The best alt text describes not just the image but the intent of the image within the context of the written content on the page.