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Digital Accessibility

Video Callouts

You will need to offer alt text for your video thumbnail because it functions as a link, and every link must have accessible text.

Adding & Replacing Alt Text

Consider alt text every time you add a new thumbnail or replace an existing image.

  1. Select your thumbnail image, then click the Image icon to get to the Insert/Edit options.
    • The top display of edit options for an OU Campus page. A button with a folder icon is followed by four tab options, Preview, Edit, Properties, and Versions. To the right are four more buttons, the first with a checkmark, then a box icon and downward error, then with a yellow lightbulb icon, and finally, a green Publish button with a dropdown arrow. There is also a small gray circle with a white question mark in it next to the Publish button. The first row of icons includes Save, cancel, scissors, two stacked papers, a clipboard with an empty paper, a clipboard with filled paper, binoculars, undo and redo errors, spell check, italics, bold, bullets, numbered list, increase and decrease indent, quotation marks, x squared, x with a subscript, left align, center, right align, full width text, link, envelope, and anchor. The second row includes Paragraph and a dropdown, Styles and a dropdown, and an image icon in a garnet rectangle for emphasis followed by a dash, an arrow pointing left, C in a circle, a puzzle piece, two arrows in an oval, Insert component symbol, table with a dropdown, and four arrows pointing outwards to maximize content. The head on the page being edited includes the UofSC monogram, South Carolina, and Communications and Public Affairs.
       
  2. Make sure that the "Decorative" option box is left unchecked.

  3. Add your alt text to the "Description" box. Click "OK" to confirm.
    • The Insert/Edit Image dialogue box over a grid layout with the words Heading and Image partially visible. The modal includes two tabs, General and Appearance. On the General tab, Source and its text field, an unchecked Decorative box, and Description with text field that says Placeholder Grid Image are surrounded by a garnet rectangle for emphasis. Tooltip and ID both display empty text fields. Dimensions fields are empty, with Constrain proportions checked. Class dropdown shows (not set), and there are Cancel and OK buttons towards the bottom of the modal.
       

Captions & Alt Text

Most of the time, alt text and captions serve very different purposes. However, if your caption conveys all of the visual information found in your image, you can mark the image as decorative to keep a screen reader from reading the same description twice.

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