longdesc (HTML attribute)
| IE7 | FF2 | Saf3 | Op9.5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| None | None | None | None |
| Depr. | Version |
|---|---|
| No | HTML 4.01 |
Example
The longdesc
attribute refers to a text file
"stocks.txt":
<iframe src="stock-prices.php" height="200" width="200" frameborder="1" title="The latest stock prices, including Nikkei, FTSE100" longdesc="stocks.txt"> </iframe>
Description
For non-visual browsers (for
example, people accessing web content using screen reader software), it
can be difficult to understand what the embedded iframe
content is used for. The simplest way to identify an iframe’s
content/purpose is with the title
attribute (as shown in the example, it should only be a brief
description - a helpful summary rather than an unnecessarily
overcomplicated hurdle). In order to provide more information/orientation
for non-visual browsers, you may use the longdesc
attribute to point to a file that contains a complete description of the
iframe’s purpose or content.
Value
URL for a file which contains the extra descriptive text, most likely a simple .txt file.
Compatibility
| IE | 5.5 | None |
|---|---|---|
| 6.0 | None | |
| 7.0 | None | |
| Firefox | 1.0 | None |
| 1.5 | None | |
| 2.0 | None | |
| Safari | 1.3 | None |
| 2.0 | None | |
| 3.0 | None | |
| Opera | 9.2 | None |
| 9.5 | None |
The
longdesc attribute has almost zero practical use,
even with today’s good standards-aware browsers. Despite the best
intentions, no browser on the support charts makes it clear to the user
when there is extra information for the iframe in the
form of a descriptive text file. But why would they need to, though? If
you can see the content, the content effectively explains itself! This
attribute really is not aimed at sighted users, hence the lack of
support.
User-contributed notes
There are no comments yet.
Add a note
To post a note on this topic, please log in with your SitePoint username and password. If you don't have an account yet, you can create a new account for free.
