Increase size of alternative text field in Image dialog

Created on 7 February 2024, 11 months ago
Updated 8 February 2024, 11 months ago

Problem/Motivation

The alternative text field in the CKEditor5 image dialog only allows for about 35 characters. This places a cognitive load on content editors whenever appropriate alternative text requires more than 35 characters. My understanding is that ideal alternative text is about 127 characters or less.

It would be better, whenever the alternative text needs to be larger than the field size, to have the default be that all such alternative text is visible while the content editor is initially entering or later reviewing it.

The only currently available work around is to type the alternative text elsewhere and copy it. Again, this places a cognitive load on content editors as well as adding steps to the work.

Steps to reproduce

Steps (in Google Chrome):
1. Go to simplytest.me
2. Type core in the field
3. Select Drupal core, latest version
4. Click the button to create the site
5. Log in as admin
6. If the management menu is not displayed, click Manage
7. Click content
8. Click add content
9. Click Basic page
10. Click in the body field
11. Click the image icon in the WYSIWYG toolbar
12. Navigate to an image in your computer's file system
13. Click Open
14. In the text alternative field, type "012345678 12345678 22345678 32345678"

Expected result: I can see everything that I have typed.
Actual result: Earlier-typed content scrolls out of the visible field contents.

Proposed resolution

Option one: Enlarge the field to as wide as feasible.
Option two: Grow the field horizontally as the content exceeds the field width.
Option three: Grow the field vertically as the content exceeds the field width. I recognize that this is not typical for a plain text field, but it would allow the alternative text to be as long as it needs to be to be as is appropriate for the given image.

I recommend against shrinking the text to fit, as that overrides the content editor's choices regarding font size, an accessibility issue.

Merge request link

Remaining tasks

User interface changes

Same as proposed resolution.

API changes

Data model changes

Release notes snippet

✨ Feature request
Status

Active

Version

11.0 πŸ”₯

Component
Image systemΒ  β†’

Last updated 1 day ago

Created by

πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡ΈUnited States charles belov San Francisco, CA, US

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  • Accessibility

    It affects the ability of people with disabilities or special needs (such as blindness or color-blindness) to use Drupal.

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