Assigning Long Descriptions to Images in Word
This section explains how to create accessible images in your generated output by assigning long descriptions to images.
Image Long Descriptions
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and Section 508 guidelines require you to include long descriptions for each image in an HTML document. You can use the longdesc attribute and a long descriptions stored in an external .txt file to assign a long description to an image. When you use this approach, the long descriptions are referenced in the HTML <img> tag in the longdesc attribute as shown in the following example:
<img src="mission.gif" height="240" width="386" alt="The Mission" longdesc="mission.txt" />
The longdesc attribute in the <img> tag provides a link to a separate page where a long description is available. The link is invisible to sighted users, but when a conformant screen reader application reads the longdesc attribute, it loads the file referenced in the longdesc attribute and reads it. In the previous example, the screen reader would load and read the mission.txt file.
ePublisher provides the following options for assigning long descriptions to images:
  • You can use the ImageLongDescText marker to assign a long description to an image. With this method, you assign a long description to an image using a description you include in a marker you insert into your source document. For more information, see Specifying Long Descriptions for Images in Word.
  • You can use the ImageLongDescByRef marker to assign a long description to an image by referencing a long description saved in an external text (.txt) file. With this method, you specify the path to the external text file in a marker. For more information, see Using Text in External Files to Assign Long Descriptions to Images in Word.
If you assign long descriptions to some, but not all of you images, you can use the ImageLongDescNotReq marker. Use this marker when you use accessibility reports to verify that all images have long description but you have certain images in your source document that do not require a long description. For more information, see Excluding Images from Accessibility Report Checks in Word.
Although using the longdesc attribute is recommended in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and in 508 guidelines, older screen readers and many current browsers do not support this attribute and few online content developers use this attribute. As a result, the longdesc attributed benefits a only a small number of users. Only users who use modern screen readers can access the longdesc attribute easily. Older screen readers did not support this attribute. In addition, even users who use the latest version of screen reader may be unfamiliar with the longdesc attribute and may not know how to access long descriptions using their screen reader because the longdesc attribute is used so infrequently in online content.
If you use the ImageLongDescText marker to assign long descriptions to images, as an interim solution ePublisher allows you to display a D link immediately after the image. The D link is an upper case letter D link that directs users to another page that contains the text you specified in the ImageLongDescText marker. Although a D link is not required for accessible Web pages, it can be used in addition to the longdesc attribute. The D link technique works in all browsers, but it is less elegant than using the londesc attribute. Some users may be confused when they see a D link on the page, while other users will ignore the D link.
If you want to use D links in addition to the longdesc attribute when you generate output, your Stationery must have the D link option enabled. If you have permissions to modify target settings in ePublisher, you can enable the D link option setting in an project. For more information about enabling the D link option in an project, see Specifying Accessibility Settings. For more information about permissions required to modify target settings using ePublisher Express, see Working with Target Settings.
Specifying Long Descriptions for Images in Word
To assign a long description to an image, your Stationery and template must have the ImageLongDescText marker type configured. Your output format must also support this feature.
When you use the ImageLongDescText marker to assign long descriptions to images, ePublisher generates an external text file that contains the long description you specify. When a conformant screen reader application reads the generated page, it loads the .txt file referenced in the longdesc attribute on the page and reads the file.
The following procedure provides an example of how to specify long descriptions for images in Microsoft Word source documents using Microsoft Word 2003. Steps for specify long descriptions for images in Microsoft Word may be different in other versions of Microsoft Word.
To assign a long description to an image using marker text in a Microsoft Word source document
  1. In your Microsoft Word source document, locate the image to which you want to assign a long description.
  2. Right-click the image, and then click Format Picture or Format Object.
  3. Change the layout setting of the image to Top and Bottom by completing the following steps:
    Note: By default when you insert images into Microsoft Word, Microsoft Word inserts the image using the Inline with text layout setting. In order to specify the image scale for image output files, you must group the image and the text box that contains the ImageLongDescText marker. However, you cannot group images using the In line with text layout setting in Microsoft Word. To work around this known Microsoft Word issue, if you have an image that uses an In line with text layout setting, use the Top and Bottom layout setting for the image while you insert the ImageLongDescText marker, and then reapply the In line with text layout setting after you group the image and the ImageLongDescText marker.
    1. On the Layout tab, click Advanced.
    2. On the Text Wrapping tab, click Top and Bottom.
    3. Click OK, and then click OK again to close the window.
  4. Select your image.
  5. On the Insert menu, click Text Box, and then click to the right of your image. Microsoft Word inserts a text box.
  6. Insert your cursor into the text box, and then complete the following steps:
    1. On the WebWorks menu, click Markers.
    2. In the Markers field, selectImageLongDescText from the list of markers.
    3. In the Value field, type the long description you want to specify for the image.
    4. Click OK. ePublisher inserts the ImageLongDescText marker into the text box.
    5. Select the text box.
    6. Right-click the selected text box, and then click Format Text Box.
    7. On the Colors and Lines tab, in the Fill area, in the Color field, select No Fill.
    8. In the Line area, in the Color field, select No Line.
    9. Click OK.
  7. Drag and drop the text box onto the image.
  8. Select the text box and the image.
  9. Right-click the selected text box and image, and then click Grouping  > Group.
    Note: When you select Group, the location of the image in your Microsoft Word source document may change in relation to the text in your source document. For example, the image may move up or down in your Microsoft Word source document. This is known Microsoft Word behavior. You may need to scroll up or down in your source document to the new location of the image to find the image.
  10. If your image previously used the In line with text layout setting for the image, reassign this style to your image by completing the following steps:
    1. Right-click only the image, and then click Format Object.
      Note: You must ensure you right-click only the image, and not on the text box or the grouped text box and image. If you right-click on the text box or the grouped text box and image, Microsoft Word does not display the Format Object menu option on the context menu.
    2. On the Layout tab, click In line with text.
    3. Click OK, and then click OK again to close the window.
  11. Save your Microsoft Word source document.
  12. Generate output for your project. For more information, see Generating Output.
  13. Verify ePublisher assigned the long description to the image by completing the following steps:
    1. On the View menu, click Output Directory.
    2. In the <TargetName>\images folder, verify that ePublisher created a .txt file that contains the long description you specified in the ImageLongDescText marker, where TargetName is the name of your target.
      For example, if you specified a long description for <ImageName>.png, verify that ePublisher created an ImageName.txt file in the images folder, where ImageName is the name of the image to which you assigned a long description.
    3. In the <TargetName> folder, open the page that contains the image to which you assigned the long description in Notepad and verify that the longdesc attribute references the <ImageName>.txt file ePublisher created for the image, where TargetName is the name of your target, and ImageName is the name of the image to which you assigned a long description.
    4. If you used the ImageLongDescText marker and the Stationery designer configured your Stationery to support D links, open the page in a browser, verify that the D link displays in the browser, and then click the D link and verify that a page opens that displays the long description that you specified in the ImageLongDescText marker.
Using Text in External Files to Assign Long Descriptions to Images in Word
Use the ImageLongDescByRef marker to assign long descriptions to images using text in external files. To assign a long description to an image, your Stationery and template must have the ImageLongDescText marker type configured. Your output format must also support this feature.
The following procedure provides an example of how to use text in external files to assign long descriptions to images in Microsoft Word source documents using Microsoft Word 2003. Steps for using text in external files to assign long descriptions to images in Microsoft Word may be different in other versions of Microsoft Word.
To assign a long description to an image using marker text in a Microsoft Word source document
  1. Create a .txt file that contains each image long description.
  2. Place each image long description text file in a folder in the <ProjectName>\Formats\<TargetName>\Files folder for your project, where ProjectName is the name of your ePublisher project and TargetName is the name of your target.
    For example, place the each image long description in the following location:
    <ProjectName>\Formats\<TargetName>\Files\longdescriptions\imagelongdescription.txt
    where ProjectName is the name of your ePublisher project, TargetName is the name of your target, longdescriptions is the name of the folder where you placed the image long description, and imagelongdescription is the name of the .txt file that contains the image long description.
  3. In your Microsoft Word source document, locate the image to which you want to assign a long description.
  4. Right-click the image, and then click Format Picture or Format Object.
  5. Change the layout setting of the image to Top and Bottom by completing the following steps:
    Note: By default when you insert images into Microsoft Word, Microsoft Word inserts the image using the Inline with text layout setting. In order to specify the image scale for image output files, you must group the image and the text box that contains the ImageLongDescByRef marker. However, you cannot group images using the In line with text layout setting in Microsoft Word. To work around this known Microsoft Word issue, if you have an image that uses an In line with text layout setting, use the Top and Bottom layout setting for the image while you insert the ImageLongDescText marker, and then reapply the In line with text layout setting after you group the image and the ImageLongDescText marker.
    1. On the Layout tab, click Advanced.
    2. On the Text Wrapping tab, click Top and Bottom.
    3. Click OK, and then click OK again to close the window.
  6. Select your image.
  7. On the Insert menu, click Text Box, and then click to the right of your image. Microsoft Word inserts a text box.
  8. Insert your cursor into the text box, and then complete the following steps:
    1. On the WebWorks menu, click Markers.
    2. In the Markers field, selectImageLongDescByRef from the list of markers.
    3. In the Value field, type the path to the .txt file that contains the long description you want to assign to the image.
      For example, type:
      ./longdescriptions/imagelongdescription.txt
      where longdescriptions is the name of the folder where you placed the image long description, and imagelongdescription is the name of the .txt file that contains the image long description.
    4. Click OK. ePublisher inserts the ImageLongDescText marker into the text box.
    5. Select the text box.
    6. Right-click the selected text box, and then click Format Text Box.
    7. On the Colors and Lines tab, in the Fill area, in the Color field, select No Fill.
    8. In the Line area, in the Color field, select No Line.
    9. Click OK.
  9. Drag and drop the text box onto the image.
  10. Select the text box and the image.
  11. Right-click the selected text box and image, and then click Grouping  > Group.
    Note: When you select Group, the location of the image in your Microsoft Word source document may change in relation to the text in your source document. For example, the image may move up or down in your Microsoft Word source document. This is known Microsoft Word behavior. You may need to scroll up or down in your source document to the new location of the image to find the image.
  12. If your image previously used the In line with text layout setting for the image, reassign this style to your image by completing the following steps:
    1. Right-click only the image, and then click Format Object.
      Note: You must ensure you right-click only the image, and not on the text box or the grouped text box and image. If you right-click on the text box or the grouped text box and image, Microsoft Word does not display the Format Object menu option on the context menu.
    2. On the Layout tab, click In line with text.
    3. Click OK, and then click OK again to close the window.
  13. Save your Microsoft Word source document.
  14. Generate output for your project. For more information, see Generating Output.
  15. In Output Explorer, verify ePublisher assigned the long description to the image using the long description in the external file when it generated output by completing the following steps:
    1. On the View menu, click Output Directory.
    2. In the <TargetName> folder, open the page that contains the image to which you assigned the long description using an external file in Notepad and verify that the longdesc attribute references the external text file that contains the long description for the image, where TargetName is the name of your target.
Excluding Images from Accessibility Report Checks in Word
In some instances, alternate text is sufficient for an image, and assigning a long description to an image in addition to alternate text would be redundant. However, you may have configured Accessibility reports to check for images without long descriptions and notify you when an image does not have a long description.
In this scenario, while you want an Accessibility report to notify you when you have an image without a long description, you do not want to be notified when you deliberately did not assign a long description to an image because assigning a both a long description and alternative text would be redundant. To address this issue, you can use the ImageLongDescNotReq marker to exclude an image that deliberately does not have a long description from validation when you generate Accessibility reports. For more information about Accessibility reports and configuring and generating Accessibility reports, see Accessibility Reports, Configuring Reports, and Generating Reports.
To exclude images without long descriptions from Accessibility reports, your Stationery and template must have the ImageLongDescNotReq marker type configured. Your output format must also support this feature.
The following procedure provides an example of how to exclude images without long descriptions from Accessibility report checks in Microsoft Word source documents using Microsoft Word 2003. Steps for excluding images without long descriptions from Accessibility report checks in Microsoft Word may be different in other versions of Microsoft Word.
To exclude an image without a long description from Accessibility report checks in a Microsoft Word source document
  1. In your Microsoft Word source document, locate the image without a long description that you want to exclude from an Accessibility report check.
  2. Change the layout setting of the image to Top and Bottom by completing the following steps:
    Note: By default when you insert images into Microsoft Word, Microsoft Word inserts the image using the Inline with text layout setting. In order to specify the image scale for image output files, you must group the image and the text box that contains the ImageLongDescNotReq marker. However, you cannot group images using the In line with text layout setting in Microsoft Word. To work around this known Microsoft Word issue, if you have an image that uses an In line with text layout setting, use the Top and Bottom layout setting for the image while you insert the ImageLongDescNotReq marker, and then reapply the In line with text layout setting after you group the image and the ImageLongDescNotReq marker.
    1. On the Layout tab, click Advanced.
    2. On the Text Wrapping tab, click Top and Bottom.
    3. Click OK, and then click OK again to close the window.
  3. Select your image.
  4. On the Insert menu, click Text Box, and then click to the right of your image. Microsoft Word inserts a text box.
  5. Insert your cursor into the text box, and then complete the following steps:
    1. On the WebWorks menu, click Markers.
    2. In the Markers field, selectImageLongDescNotReq from the list of markers.
    3. In the Value field, do not enter any text. You do not need to enter any text in this field when you insert a ImageLongDescNotReq marker.
    4. Click OK. ePublisher inserts the ImageLongDescText marker into the text box.
    5. Select the text box.
    6. Right-click the selected text box, and then click Format Text Box.
    7. On the Colors and Lines tab, in the Fill area, in the Color field, select No Fill.
    8. In the Line area, in the Color field, select No Line.
    9. Click OK.
  6. Drag and drop the text box onto the image.
  7. Select the text box and the image.
  8. Right-click the selected text box and image, and then click Grouping  > Group.
    Note: When you select Group, the location of the image in your Microsoft Word source document may change in relation to the text in your source document. For example, the image may move up or down in your Microsoft Word source document. This is known Microsoft Word behavior. You may need to scroll up or down in your source document to the new location of the image to find the image.
  9. If your image previously used the In line with text layout setting for the image, reassign this style to your image by completing the following steps:
    1. Right-click only the image, and then click Format Object.
      Note: You must ensure you right-click only the image, and not on the text box or the grouped text box and image. If you right-click on the text box or the grouped text box and image, Microsoft Word does not display the Format Object menu option on the context menu.
    2. On the Layout tab, click In line with text.
    3. Click OK, and then click OK again to close the window.
  10. Save your Microsoft Word source document.
  11. Generate output for your project. For more information, see Generating Output.
  12. Generate an Accessibility report and confirm that ePublisher did not generate an Image is missing a long description message for the image. For more information about generating Accessibility reports and Accessibility report messages, see Generating Reports and Accessibility Report Messages.
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Last modified date: 01/28/2026