Explanation

A textOnVisual access mode indicates that a publication contains images of text. It is expressed in metadata using the textOnVisual value.

As textOnVisual describes a characteristic of visual content, it is considered a modifier of the visual access mode value and you should always pair the two values together.

Images of text are where the text is part of the image data so can only be read visually. JPEG and PNG are two common image formats that cannot preserve text separate from the visual canvas it is drawn on. SVG, on the other hand, has markup elements to contain and present text content, which allow reading systems and assistive technologies to access the character data independent from its rendering.

Do not set the textOnVisual value when the text does not carry information necessary to understand the publication. Corporate logos and the title on a cover page are a couple of examples of image text that is considered decorative.

The value is sometimes paired with colorDependent if color perception is the only way to differentiate information (e.g., colored text to differentiate different learning levels or related topics).

A textOnVisual access mode is common in publications produced using the EPUB format, particularly for comics and manga, but is less common for audiobooks. It is only potentially relevant when an audiobook also contains supplementary material beyond the audio.

Examples

Example 1 — EPUB 3
<meta property="schema:accessMode">visual</meta>
<meta property="schema:accessMode">textOnVisual</meta>
Example 2 — EPUB 2
<meta name="schema:accessMode" content="visual"/>
<meta name="schema:accessMode" content="textOnVisual"/>
Example 3 — Audiobooks
"accessMode": ["auditory", "visual", "textOnVisual"]

ONIX Mapping

The textOnVisual value maps to list 81 code 49 ("Images of text").

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