Markers and Alt text

Oct 27, 2021

Hi everyone,

I have a question about markers and alt text:

I am building a course where I have markers positioned over screenshots of Word to explain certain functionalities. 

My understanding is that when you tab to a marker, the screen reader instructs you to press the spacebar (or enter) to activate the marker. However, I also wanted to give learners information on where the marker is positioned over the screenshot, to give them context (e.g. Marker positioned over MS Word Review tab).

Would it be OK for me to add this information in the marker's alt-text field? Will the screen reader read both the alt-text and the text in the marker's label, or will the screen reader only read the alt-text? 

Thank you in advance!

2 Replies
Katie Riggio

Greetings, Alice!

Thanks for those great details.

Since you're describing the marker, I recommend adding that descriptive text (e.g., brief placement details and its purpose) to the alt text for the marker.

Here's a 0:23-second video of how the NVDA screen reader interacts with a marker with alt text and a label title and description. Also, here are some great resources about accessibility:

Let me know if that helps!