ALT images

[freakmode]

Hi

Thinking of upgrading to v7 next week. Can you directly enter ALT text for images with v7?

This is via the Actinic interface, not via DW or similar.

Thanks

[Nadeem]

Hi there

At the moment the alt tags comes from the product title, so if you product is called "Magazine", the alt tag for the images will also be the same. You could simply use custom variables to define user alt tags. The only thing with this, is that you will need to do it for each products, otherwise they will not have the default alt tag from the product.

To do this, simply go to "Advance | Custom Properties" and click on the "+" sign. Here for the new row, type in "ALTIMAGE". and click "OK". Now that the customer properties created, now we will have to use this.
To do this, simply go to "Advance | Template Manager | Section". Click on the button that says "IMAGE". Now it should bring up "Act_ProductImage.html".
Find the line that says

ALT="NETQUOTEVAR:ALTERNATETEXT"

Change this to read:

ALT="CUSTOMVAR:ALTIMAGE"

Now on your products, click on the properties tab, click on the "+" sign, and select "ALTIMAGE" for the dropdown list.
In the value, type in your alt tag keywords. Put a tick on "Use as CUSTOMVAR"

Thats it.

Kind Regards

[Breda]

alt tags on section images

Hi,
I can't seem to get the top level section images to take the customvar alt tag that I created. I have made the custom var, when into the section properties and chose it there. I put the customvar:alttagtext into the pages Act_SectionLineImage.html page and the Act_SectionHeadImage.html page but when I preview the site the top level images have no alt tag and the section images in the sub folders are displaying the customvar alt tag.

Has anyone put custom alt tags on their top level section images?
Regards,
Breda

[NormanRouxel]

These should work the same as any other Section.

Make sure these Section Links are using the same layout as the others. If so you'll need to transplant your CustomVar into them.

If in doubt go to Design / Options / Miscellaneous and temporarily uncheck Compact HTML/CGI. This will add informative comments regarding Templates to the generated pages.

Then preview a page and look at the source to see what Templates are being used.

Don't forget to re-check Compact HTML/CGI afterwards.

[Breda]

alt tags on section images

Hi Norman
I tried unticking the html but it gives errors straight away and the products dissapear.

I have put the site up on the temp location.
http://www.picnic.ie/acatalog

If you roll your mouse over the section images no alt tag comes up, if you click on Celtic urns, test test comes up which is the customvar alt text that I have put on the Celtic urns section at the top level, so it seems to affect the sub sections and not the top level.

Regards,
Breda

[NormanRouxel]

I tried unticking the html but it gives errors straight away and the products dissapear

That shouldn't happen. Something must be really broken in your templates.

As I said, Properties work fine at the top-level sections for me.

Try putting alt="XX CUSTOMVAR:ALTIMAGE" and see what shows.

If you don't see the XX then you're fixing the wrong Template.

[Duncan Rounding]

...At the moment the alt tags comes from the product title

Hmmm - another little snippet of info perhaps?

[Breda]

alt tags on section images

HI,
I tried Norman's test, I put XX into the template ActSectionNavImage.htm and the result is as you'll see here:

http://www.picnic.ie/acatalog/

XX comes up a the alt tag on the top level sectons, even though I have the customvar set on this level to be Test Test, then when you click into Celtic Urns which is a sub section it brings up the Test Test on those, I have a customvar on the Avoca to show Avoca Urn.

I'm baffled at this stage.
Regards,
Breda

[NormanRouxel]

Ahah. I see it now. There seems to be a buggette.

Custom Properties set at the Section level work fine in the SectionLine Template.

However if you use them in the SectionNavImage Template, you get the ones from the parent section.

There may be a kludgy fix but it would only work if you could guarantee to have an image for every Section.

Replace Act_SectionNavImage.html with

<!-- SectionNavImage HTML begin -->
<IMG SRC="NETQUOTEVAR:IMAGEFILE"
	  BORDER=0
	  NETQUOTEVAR:IMAGEHEIGHT
	  NETQUOTEVAR:IMAGEWIDTH
	  NETQUOTEVAR:OTHERIMAGEMARKUP
	  ALIGN="ABSMIDDLE"
<!-- SectionNavImage HTML end -->

We've removed the ALT tag and the closing >
And in your SectionLineTemplate replace the fragment

NETQUOTEVAR:SECTIONIMAGE

with

NETQUOTEVAR:SECTIONIMAGE alt="CUSTOMVAR:ALTIMAGE">

where we add the ALT tag and close the <IMG... with a >

[Breda]

alt tags on section images

Hi Norman,
As usual you are spot on, it worked great, you can see it on the same url if you refresh the page.
And it dosen't seeem to affect the alt tag on the product pages as I am happy to have them as the product name.
thanks for your help.
Regards,
Breda

[NormanRouxel]

As a final touch you may want to extend this to have

NETQUOTEVAR:SECTIONIMAGE alt="CUSTOMVAR:ALTIMAGE" title="CUSTOMVAR:ALTIMAGE">

as Firefox takes a rather literal interpretation of the ALT tag and doesn't display it as expected (it's really meant for blind users, text only displays, etc - the correct tooltip type tag is TITLE.