Alt-text (alternative text) is a native accessibility field in Canto for image assets. It allows teams to add descriptive text that conveys the content of an image to screen readers, search engines, and publishing platforms — so assets remain accessible wherever they're used.
Alt-text is available to all customers and is activated by default. No setup is required to start using the field.
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Please note: Alt-text is supported for image assets only. |
How to add or edit alt-text
The Alt-Text field is available on the Information Page, Preview Page, and in the upload and bulk metadata editors. Click the field, enter a description, and save your changes.
Translation
The alt text field can be translated. From the Preview page, click on the globe icon to add required language variations.
How to make alt-text required in upload workflows
Administrators can mark the alt-text field as required so that it must be completed before an upload can proceed.
Navigation: User Menu > Settings > Configuration Options > Upload Settings
In the Upload Settings, locate the Alt-Text field and check the box to mark it as required.
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Please note: When at least one field in the metadata editor is set as required, the Skip button is replaced with a Cancel button. Closing the metadata window will also cancel the upload. |
For more information on configuring the upload metadata editor, see the article "Custom Configuration - Overview".
How to make alt-text required in Upload Links
Administrators can also require alt-text when configuring an Upload Link, ensuring external contributors provide a description at the point of submission.
- Open or create an Upload Link (App Switcher > Upload Links).
- Go to the Settings tab.
- In the metadata section, add the Alt-Text field and mark it as required.
For more information on Upload Links, see the article "Create an Upload Link".
How alt-text behaves
Downloaded files
Alt-text is stored in Canto and is not embedded in the downloaded file. It is not written to EXIF, IPTC, or XMP metadata. Systems that need to use alt-text should retrieve it via the Canto API.
New versions
Alt-text is retained when a new version of an asset is uploaded. There is a single alt-text value shared across all versions of an asset — it persists unless explicitly updated.
Portals & Share links
Alt-text renders as the HTML attribute on the image assets embedded in Portals and Share links.
API access
The alt-text field is returned as part of the asset metadata response via the Canto API, including locale-specific values where applicable. For more information, see api.canto.com
Third-party integrations
Third-party connector integrations do not currently read the alt-text field from Canto. If your publishing workflow relies on a connector, alt-text will need to be applied in the destination system. Support for connector-based alt-text delivery is planned for a future release.
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Please note: This applies to the Canto WordPress Integration, Canto Wrike Integration, and Canto TYPO3 Integration, among others. |