TDX Knowledge: Add Alternative Text to Images in TDX

Alternative text, or "alt text", provides a text equivalent for images, charts, graphs, and more. This article discusses how to add Alternative Text in TeamDynamix (TDX) Knowledge Base articles.

Before creating Alternative Text in TDX, familiarize yourself with the importance of Making Images Accessible Using Alternative Text.

This article covers the following topics:

• Setting the alt text attribute in a TDX Knowledge article
• Setting "null" alt text in a TDX Knowledge article
• Additional Resources

Setting the alt text attribute in a TDX Knowledge article

When you add an image in a Knowledge Base article, you must provide alternative text using the alt text attribute.

1. After Adding an Image to an Article in editing mode, select the image and then select the Image button . 
   1. Alternatively, double clicking on the image opens the image's editing attributes. 
2. Add your alternative text to the Alternative Text field. This HTML attribute is automatically generated when you fill out the Alternative Text field in the Image Properties dialog box.
   
3. What you enter into the Alternative Text field depends entirely on the image's context. A good guideline here is to think: what meaning is a sighted user deriving from this image? Then, use that information to write your alt text. This will ensure that anyone who can't see the image is still getting equal access to its meaning.
   1. For example, in the context of this article, the alt text for the image above could be: TDX Image Properties window, Image Info tab filled out displaying: URL, Alternative Text, values for Width, Height, and Border. and an image Preview.

Setting "null" alt text in a TDX Knowledge article

If the information provided by an image is already described in the surrounding text, and the image provides no additional information, you may be able to use null (empty) alt text. This allows assistive technology, such as a screen reader, to ignore it. Otherwise, the screen reader will read both the surrounding text and the alt text which would be repetitive and distracting.

To generate "null" alt text in TDX, you should leave the Alternative Text field blank.

Note: The HTML for the "null" alt attribute will be "" in the Source Code (two quotation marks without a space).

Additional Resources

• WebAIM is an organization dedicated to web accessibility. Their top-notch website has an Introduction to Web Accessibility which includes a section on Alternative Text. 
• Add an Image to an Article