Deprecated
This feature is no longer recommended. Though some browsers might still support it, it may have already been removed from the relevant web standards, may be in the process of being dropped, or may only be kept for compatibility purposes. Avoid using it, and update existing code if possible; see the compatibility table at the bottom of this page to guide your decision. Be aware that this feature may cease to work at any time.
The obsolete property longDesc
on
the HTMLImageElement
interface specifies the URL of a text or HTML file
which contains a long-form description of the image. This can be used to
provide optional added details beyond the short description provided in the
title
attribute.
Syntax
descURL = htmlImageElement.longDesc;
htmlImageElement.longDesc = descURL;
Value
A DOMString
which may be either an empty string (indicating that no long
description is available) or the URL of a file containing a long form description of the
image's contents.
For example, if the image is a PNG of a flowchart.
The longDesc
property could be used to provide an explanation of the flow
of control represented by the chart, using only text. This can be used by readers both
as an explanation, but also as a substitute for visually-impaired users.
Usage notes
This property is obsolete and should no longer be used. Instead of
using longDesc
to provide a link to a detailed description of an image,
encapsulate the image within a link using the <a>
element.
Consider the following older HTML:
<img src="taco-tuesday.jpg" longDesc="image-descriptions/taco-tuesday.html">
Here, the longDesc
is used to indicate that the user should be able to
access a detailed description of the image taco-tuesday.jpg
in the HTML
file image-descriptions/taco-tuesday.html
.
This can be easily converted into modern HTML:
<a href="image-descriptions/taco-tuesday.html">
<img src="taco-tuesday.jpg">
</a>
With that, the image is a link to the HTML file describing the image in more detail.
Specifications
Specification | Status | Comment |
---|---|---|
HTML 4.01 Specification The definition of 'HTMLImageElement.longDesc' in that specification. |
Recommendation | Provides an actual description of this property; the HTML5 spec only says it's deprecated. |
Browser compatibility
BCD tables only load in the browser