Figures/Graphics/Media

This Tag Set provides several elements related to the still graphic images and the multimedia objects contained within an article. These elements do not contain the image or object; they point to an external file that contains the image or object. The primary ones are:
Inline Graphic
The simplest graphic object is the <inline-graphic>, which is used when the image should appear inline with surrounding text. Inline graphics may contain no labels, titles, or captions. A typical inline graphic is an empty element (except for Accessibility elements), using an attribute to point to a logo or to a special math or chemistry symbol that is used inside a paragraph or a title. (Best Practice: If the image represents a special private character, the <private-char> element should be used instead of <inline-graphic>.)
Graphic
Still images that do not appear inline are tagged with the <graphic> element, typically inside a figure (<fig>), which holds associated information such as a title, caption, etc. (see below). When an image in an article has no associated information (title, caption, etc.), a <graphic> element should not be embedded in a <fig> element.
Most <graphic> elements are empty (except for Accessibility elements), used only to point to the external file. When a <graphic> is within a figure (<fig>), the associated <caption> is within the <fig>.
Accessibility: A <graphic> that is not inside a <fig> or <table-wrap> should contain several sub-elements, including <alt-text> and <long-desc>, which are especially important to enable access for visually impaired users. For graphics inside another element (such as a <fig>), the containing element typically holds the accessibility information, although in rare cases the accessibility elements may need to be in both places.
Media
Objects such as an MP3 sound clip accompanying an article are tagged with the <media> element, typically inside a figure (<fig>), which holds associated information such as a figure number, title, caption, etc. (see below). When a media object in an article has no associated information (title, figure number, etc.), a <media> element should be not be embedded in a <fig> element.
Accessibility: A <media> object that is not inside a <fig> or <table-wrap> should contain several sub-elements, including <alt-text> and <long-desc>, which are especially important to enable access for visually impaired users. For objects inside another element (such as a <fig>), the containing element typically holds the accessibility information, although in rare cases the accessibility elements may need to be in both places.
Figures
Figures are typically a numbered wrapper for images and media and their metadata, used to associate a graphic or media object with related information (such as a caption, title, or credits and other attribution) or with other graphic, media, or textual objects. Inside a figure (<fig>), the most commonly occurring related information is a caption (<caption>).
Like tables, figures typically contain titles and captions. In JATS, the <title> element is included inside the <caption> element. A <caption> may contain many kinds of text associated with its figure, typically a <title> (which acts as a heading for the figure) and one or more descriptive paragraphs (<p>). Previous versions of this Tag Library put any legend inside the <caption>, tagged as a list within a <p>. The element <legend> now follows the <caption> inside the <fig>.
Figures do not always contain pictures. While many <fig> elements contain graphic objects (<graphic> or <media>), a <fig> element may also contain a variety of display and textual objects, such as formulas, chemical structures, poetry, tables, bulleted or numbered lists, simple paragraphs, definition lists, or a mixture of any of these items as well as one or more graphic objects.
Positioning Graphic Objects
In common with other block-level display objects, figures, graphics, and media objects may take the @position attribute, which is used to indicate where the object should be displayed. The values for this attribute are slightly overloaded, as two values indicate the position of the object (such as a graphic) in relation to the text:
anchor
Object should appear exactly where it is found in the narrative flow.
float
Object should appear near its position in the narrative flow, but it may float to the top of a page or column, or into another window.
and two indicate the relationship between the object (such as a graphic) and the page, and are typically used by a publisher, not an author.
background
Object, typically a decorative graphic, should appear behind the narrative. This does not displace the narrative; ideally, both the graphic and the narrative are visible, and the narrative is legible through the graphic.
margin
Object should appear beside the text that contains it in the narrative flow, as though it were in the margin of a printed page.
Figure and Graphic Examples
Here is a typical figure with a label, caption, and graphic inside. As is usually the case, the <graphic> element is empty (except for Accessibility elements), only used to point to the external file.
...
<fig id="fg-012">
 <caption>
  <title>My Dog</title>
  <p>He is so sweet! This is his best pose.</p>
 </caption>
 <graphic xlink:href="frontView.png">
  <alt-text>Small spotted dog face, nose forward</alt-text> 
 </graphic>
</fig>
...
Here is a figure that contains no graphics at all, but encloses some bulleted items in a <list>. Note: The @prefix-word attribute has been used in the example below to request a prefix. If numbers are generated on display of an ordered list, the “Pet” prefix will cause the list item numbers to display as “Pet 1. Poodle”, “Pet 2. Persian Cat”, etc. If no numbers are autogenerated, then the prefix word will cause the list item numbers to display as “Pet Poodle”, “Pet Persian Cat”, etc.
<fig id="fg-012">
 <caption><title>Pet Show and Tell Order</title></caption>
 <list list-type="order" prefix-word="Pet ">
  <list-item><p>Poodle</p></list-item>
  <list-item><p>Persian Cat</p></list-item>
  <list-item><p>Weaver Finches</p></list-item>
  <list-item><p>Gecko</p></list-item>
 </list>
</fig>
Here is a figure with three graphics inside. The <fig> element also contains a <title> that applies to all the graphics.
...
<fig id="fg-012">
 <caption><title>Three Perspectives on My Dog</title></caption>
 <graphic xlink:href="frontView.png">
   <alt-text>golden retriever, face forward, lips lifted at corners</alt-text>
  </graphic> 
 <graphic xlink:href="sideView.png">
   <alt-text>golden retriever, view of right side</alt-text>
 </graphic>
 <graphic xlink:href="motionView.png">
  <alt-text>blurry image of running dog from the side</alt-text>
 </graphic>
</fig>
...
Multi-language Figures
JATS provides a basic multi-lingual attribute mechanism ways to assist users who wish to tag the same figure in more than one language. The techniques are the same whether the whole article is in multiple languages or the article is mono-lingual with figures in multiple languages.
To tag a figure in two or more languages, the figure is repeated, once for each language, using the attribute @xml:lang on each figure to name the language and the multi-lingual attributes to provide additional language metadata. For example, the @lang-group attribute can associate the same-content figures into one language group, each figure representing the figure in a different language.
Spanish and English Figure Using Multi-lingual Attributes
This example shows two same-content figures differing only in language: one figure is the original (in Spanish) and one figure is a translation (in English). The figure element has been repeated, placed into an attribute-named language group using the @lang-group attribute. One variant has been marked as the original and the other as a translation using the @lang-variant attribute. One variant has been marked as primary and the other as secondary using the @lang-focus attribute. The figures need not be co-located in the article, and may be presented in any order.
...<front>
    ...</front>
  <body>...
<fig id="f0001" lang-group="f0001"
  position="float" fig-type="scatter-graph" 
  xml:lang="en" lang-variant="translation" 
  lang-source="translator" lang-focus="secondary">
 <caption><p>Evolution of the repetition rate in all sequences</p></caption>
  <graphic xlink:href="RIYA_A_1889289_F0001_OC.jpg" 
    content-type="color" specific-use="web-only"/>
</fig>

<fig id="f0005" lang-group="f0001"  
  position="float" fig-type="scatter-graph" 
  xml:lang="es" lang-variant="original" 
  lang-source="author" lang-focus="primary">
  <caption><p>Evolución de la tasa de repetición en  
  todas las secuencias</p></caption>
  <graphic xlink:href="RIYA_A_1889289_F0005_OC.jpg" 
    content-type="color" specific-use="web-only"/>
</fig>...</body>
</article>
Supplementary Display Objects
Supplementary material is content added to an article to add detail, background, or context by providing, for example, optional multimedia objects such as audio clips and applets; additional XML-tagged sections, tables, or figures that expand on the article; raw data in a spreadsheet; or a software application in a repository. Supplementary material is considered as ancillary to the article rather than integral to the article. The definition of “supplementary material” is both subjective and publisher-dependent. JATS is agnostic on how such material should be supplied to the user, rendered, labeled, or counted.
Supplementary material should be tagged as regular JATS content is tagged and identified (by the @supplemental attribute) as being supplementary. Other than the @supplemental attribute, there is no distinction between the content of a supplementary object and an integral object.
  • If a supplemental structure can be tagged as a JATS element, it should be tagged as one, with the attribute @supplemental set to "yes". For example, if the supplemental object is a figure, it should be tagged as a JATS <fig> element (<fig supplemental="yes" ...>).
  • If a link in the text of an article points to an external supplementary object, such as a video or a .jpeg image, the link should be tagged using <graphic> or <media> element, with the attribute @supplemental set to "yes". For example, if the supplemental object is a still image, it should be tagged as a <graphic> element (<graphic supplemental="yes" .../>).
Note: An object that cannot be fully represented in print or static HTML page (such as a movie, sound file, or animation) should not automatically be considered supplemental. If the object is necessary for understanding the article (in other words, the object is “integral” to the article, it should be tagged at the appropriate location in the text using one of the <graphic>, <media>, or <ext-link> elements, without a @supplemental attribute.
Context for Graphics and Media
Several other block-level elements may contain graphic objects, for example, see <boxed-text> and <disp-formula>. For specifics, see the Context Table for where the specific graphic/media objects (<graphic>, <inline-graphic>, <media>, and <inline-media>) may be used.
Accessibility Related Resources
For information on providing Accessibility information for figures, graphics, and media, see Accessibility