Images – Easier Way to add ALT Text

This idea has been developed and deployed to Canvas

              
  Idea open for vote Wed. July 6, 2016 - Wed. October 5, 2016  Learn more about voting...

 

When I upload my own image on a page it would be great to automatically have the Image Attributes display so that I can change the Alt text. The default ALT text, which is the file name, likely means nothing to someone who cannot see the picture. I imagine many users don’t know how important it is to take the extra step to change this label to something meaningful.

 

 

     

Comments from Instructure

For more information, please read through the https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-13886 .

31 Comments
lezonl2
Community Contributor
Author

So happy to see this as part of the beta release notes today!

Renee_Carney
Community Team
Community Team
This idea has been developed and is On Canvas Beta How do I access the Canvas beta environment?

For more information, please read through the Canvas Beta Release Notes (2017-12-18) .

christopher_phi
Community Champion

While the new feature to enable alt text and indicating decorative text through the Content Selector is much needed and a great addition, I believe it is a separate issue than the one indicated in this idea. As far as I can tell the add image functionality in the rich text editor still: 

  1. Puts the image name in by default. 
  2. Does not provide any way to indicate that an image is decorative. 

Hopefully those are on the roadmap, for now we can definitely be grateful that alt text can be added through the content selector. 

mtuten
Community Contributor

I've actually wondered about the use of periods for alt text. Seems to me that having a period at the end might give a clearer auditory indication that a screenreader has reached the end of the alt text and is about to start reading the surrounding text again.

Does anyone have any additional insights on this?

Renee_Carney
Community Team
Community Team
This idea has been developed and deployed to Canvas 

 

For more information, please read through the Canvas Production Release Notes (2018-01-06) .

Renee_Carney
Community Team
Community Team

 @christopher_phi  

I'm confused by your comment, sorry.

Here are the new features that have been released (alt text & decorative image box).  This covers the two things you have listed.

263266_pastedImage_2.png

Renee_Carney
Community Team
Community Team

 @lezonl2  Thank You  for submitting this idea, as well as,  @kmeeusen  Thank You ,  @ted_curran  Thank You ,  @ProfessorBeyrer  Thank You ,  @myanalunas  Thank You ,  @holly_smythe  Thank You ,  @mtuten  Thank You , cadatko Thank You , rsmith Thank You ,  @tbunag  Thank You ,  @leturno  Thank You ,  @ejp10  Thank You ,  @lezonl2  Thank You ,  @siouxgeonz  Thank You , &  @christopher_phi  Thank You  for your contributions. Your investment in this idea helped refine a feature which is now part of Canvas! 

myanalunas
Community Novice

Thank you to the team working on this feature - it is very much appreciated!

Meg

christopher_phi
Community Champion

Thank you  @Renee_Carney  - I perhaps understood the scope of this issue. This release adds alt text and the ability to identify something as decorative in the content selector sidebar, which is fantastic. However, there is still no way to indicate that an image is decorative when using the default "Insert / Edit Image" in the rich text editor (RTE): 

dialog box of the default insert _ edit image functionality from the Canvas Rich Text Editor Toolbar, no option to indicate text is decorative.

If the original issue was only referring to showing the attributes through the content selector then it is indeed, fixed. With the new alt text functionality in the content selector it also requires the user to either add alt text or indicate the an image is decorative before they upload it which is great. In the RTE experience you can upload an image without any alt text and it inserts the file name as the alt text, which is often not helpful. 

Hopefully those same two changes are coming to the experience of adding an image through the RTE, I'll look at submitting a separate idea for that. Thank you for your follow up. 

KristinL
Community Team
Community Team
Status changed to: New