Web developers and designers…please take note: text content in an image is not accessible to everyone.

According to the WCAG 2.1 – 1.4.5 – Images of Text (Level AA) Guideline:

“If the same visual presentation can be made using text alone, an image is not used to present that text.”

WHY

Users with disabilities need to be able to adjust the size of text as needed.

SOLUTION

Use Google Docs to convert image text to simple text.

NOTE: You need to have a Google account so you can access Google Docs in order to make this work.

EXAMPLE

Let’s say you need to extract the text of a poem that is available only in an image.

In order to convert the image content to text, use the following steps:

1. Go to drive.google.com.

2. Upload the poem image file to Google Docs.

3. Once the poem image file is uploaded, right-click on the uploaded poem image thumbnail.

4. Select Open with >> Google Docs.

The image file will be converted to text in a Google Doc.

The original image appears at the top of the screen. The text you can copy appears in blue (as you highlight the text) in the lower pane.

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WCAG 2.1: 312 checkpoints covering A, AA and AAA W3 accessibility guidelines
Section 508: 15 US federal guidelines covered by 59 accessibility checkpoints

Find out more about Mary Gillen’s Accessibility Testing & Remediation Services: Websites, PDFs, Office Docs & Videos

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