Leaving alt tag field blank?
Nov 28, 2023
Hello,
A coworker brought this article to my attention: https://articulate.com/support/article/Rise-How-to-Add-Alternative-Text-to-Images
It seems to imply that we can leave the alt tag field blank, and that a screen reader would then overlook the image. Is that true? Does Rise somehow enter "" (the syntax for decorative images) if we leave that field empty? It would be a great time-saving if it were true.
My experience shows that if the field is empty, a screen reader will read aloud the actual file name of the image. Has something changed? Do I need to test again?
Please advise.
3 Replies
The Update on October 4 for Rise 360 - When you leave alt text for an image blank, it’s marked as decorative and ignored by screen readers.
Yes, thank you, that's where I read about this. Still, I can still hear "image" when using Firefox, if the alt tag field is blank. This fix appears to work in Chrome and Safari only? Please confirm.
Hi Jennifer,
I am sorry to hear that you are getting inconsistent behaviour with Firefox. Are your device and Firefox browser fully updated?
Here is an article on how to update Firefox: Update Firefox to the latest release
If they are both fully updated, and the screen reader is still reading the images, feel free to open a case here: Submit a Support Case
Our support engineers would love to take a closer look.