Don’t Use Alt Text for Screenshots of Tables: Best Practices for Table Accessibility

Today’s post explores best practices for table accessibility. One common mistake in accessibility is using alt text for screenshots of tables instead of live text. This article explains why this practice falls short of accessibility standards and provides best practices for making your documents fully accessible.

Video Guide

Why Alt Text Is Not Enough for Table Images

The Role of Alt Text

Alt text plays a crucial role in accessibility, describing images for users who rely on screen readers. However, alt text is inadequate for tables, which often contain complex data that users need to navigate. When you use an image of a table with alt text, screen readers read the entire description in one go, preventing users from interacting with the table’s content.

The Drawbacks of Alt Text for Tables

Alt text for table images limits the user’s ability to navigate individual cells and access specific information. In contrast, live text tables allow users to interact with the content, moving cell by cell using assistive technology tools. This interactivity is crucial for users who rely on these tools to fully understand the data.

Live Text: The Better Option for Table Accessibility

Advantages of Live Text

Live text tables offer several key benefits over images of tables:

• Improved Navigability: Users can easily move between cells, rows, and columns.
• Better Assistive Technology Compatibility: Users can leverage keyboard shortcuts and other assistive technology features to interact with the table.
• Accurate Content Delivery: Screen readers can correctly interpret and relay the content of each cell, ensuring full comprehension.

Complying with WCAG Standards

Using images of tables instead of live text violates WCAG standards, which require content to be fully accessible and navigable by all users. Replacing live text with images removes critical navigation features, reducing accessibility and breaching these guidelines.

Best Practices for Creating Accessible Tables

Avoid Using Images of Text

Always avoid using images of text, including tables. Images should be reserved for non-textual content like photos or logos, where alt text can effectively describe the visual content. For all text-based content, including tables, use live text to ensure accessibility.

Recreate Tables with Live Text

If your document includes an image of a table, recreate it using live text. You can do this by copying the table data into a word processor or using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC’s tools to convert the image into editable text. OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software can also help convert text from images into live text.

Ensure Proper Table Structure

When creating tables, structure them correctly with header rows and clearly defined columns. This structure allows assistive technologies to accurately interpret the table, enabling users to navigate the data efficiently.

Using alt text for screenshots of tables is not sufficient for ensuring document accessibility. While alt text works well for simple images, it does not provide the necessary interactivity for complex data like tables. To make your documents fully accessible and compliant with WCAG standards, always use live text for tables.

Let me be your champion for inclusion. I offer tailored solutions (and self-paced courses!) to ensure your documents meet and exceed compliance expectations. For more detailed insights, tutorials, and in-depth discussions on accessibility and related topics, don’t forget to check out my YouTube channel: The Accessibility Guy on YouTube. Subscribe for regular updates!