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Internet Explorer 6 and Pictures - Show Image Descriptions (ALT Text)

SUMMARY: Display alternative text in Internet Explorer 6 while waiting for an image to load.

Normally, when Internet Explorer 6 loads images, it sets aside room for the image on the webpage while the image is loading. A box signifies this area. If you are using a high-speed Internet connection, most images load quickly. However, on a dial-up connection, image loading may be slow, and you might like to know descriptions of the loading images before they actually finish downloading.

To describe images, some webpages use what is called ALT text. This text may note that a picture is a menu, headline graphic, or they may fully describe the image's contents or say nothing at all. If you are on a slow connection, you may want this text to be displayed so that, at least for the websites that support ALT text, you can see what is about to appear while the image is still downloading to your machine. To turn this feature on:

1. From Internet Explorer, choose "Tools" then "Internet Options".

2. When the "Internet Options" multi-tabbed dialog box appears, choose the "Advanced" tab.

3. Scroll down to "Multimedia".

4. Check "Show image download placeholders".

5. Click "OK" to close the dialog box.