Alt Text and Title Attributes

You can accomplish much of the work of making your content accessible by setting alt and title attributes on various elements—such as links, images, forms, and multimedia. These two attributes, although similar, are not identical.

Alt An alt attribute is intended to provide alternative information for elements that cannot be seen (e.g., visually impaired individuals cannot see images in your output). The alt attribute text should briefly describe what the element is about.
Title A title attribute is created when you add screen tip (or tool tip) text for an element. The title attribute text should provide additional information about the element.

Table of Alt and Title Elements

Following are the different types of elements for which you can set alt and/or title (screen/tooltip) attributes.

Element	Alt Attribute (Alternate Text)	Title Attribute (Screen Tip)
Audio (Links and Embedded) Inserting Audio Files Editing Audio
Concept Links Editing Concept Links Applying Alt Text
Controls (e.g., Buttons, Labels, Input Boxes) Controls in Standard Skins
Cross-References¹ Inserting Cross-References Editing Cross-Reference Destinations
Drop-Down Text Editing Drop-Down Effects Applying Alt Text
Equations Inserting Equations Editing Equations
Expanding Text Editing Expanding Text Applying Alt Text
Glossary Term Links Editing the Style of Glossary Term Links Applying Alt Text
Image Hyperlinks Inserting Image Hyperlinks Editing Image Hyperlinks
Image Maps Creating Image Maps
Images Inserting Images Editing Images
Keyword Links Editing Keyword Links Applying Alt Text
Movies (Links and Embedded) Inserting Videos Inserting Mimic Movie Links in Content Files Inserting Mimic Movie Links in Browse Sequences Inserting Mimic Movie Links in TOCs Editing Videos
QR Codes Inserting QR Codes Editing QR Codes
Related Topics Links Editing Related Topics Links Applying Alt Text
Table of Contents (TOC) Icons TOC Entries in Standard Skins
Text Hyperlinks¹ Inserting Text Hyperlinks Editing Text Hyperlinks
Togglers Editing Togglers Applying Alt Text
Toolbar Items Toolbar Items in Standard Skins
Topic Popups Inserting Topic Popups Editing Topic Popups
¹When you add a screen tip a <title> tag is created in the markup.