Can I wrap img alt text?

Question

I have an image set by css style to 100x75. When it doesn't load, the alt text loads into the space, but expands the container to beyond 100px width.

How can I prevent this? Either by cutting it off or wrapping it.

Answer 1

In general, there is no way to control how alt texts are displayed, and most browsers produce their own version (some use tooltips, some in the status bar at the bottom). You cannot use markup in alt texts, though some browsers will represent a line-break as a line break (most won't, though). See this article for more.

Answer 2

Just dont have the alt text as long if possible

Answer 3

The alt attribute is for alternate text; it should be short and describe the function it has or the content it presents.

Here's a good read on the subject from Roger Johansson on 456 Berea Street - Writing good alt text

All in all, if you're writing a paragraph, then you're doing it wrong. Look at using the longdesc attribute (which is a link to a page describing the image that complements the alt text).

HTH

Answer 4

Well, I figured it out to some degree. I just wrapped the image in a container of the same size. I guess my browser (Firefox) was not wrapping the text because it was an inline element.

Thanks everyone for your responses.