Search code examples
rtml

How to get rid of stupid "pad" labels produced by RTML functions?

I am unlucky to be in charge of maintaining some old Yahoo! Store built using their RTML-based platform.

Recently I've noticed that HTML code generated by some RTML functions is sprinkled all over with "padding images" (or whatever is the conventional name for those 1x1 pixel images used to enforce layout). I have nothing against using such images, but... all those images are supplied with an ALT attribute like this:

<img href="http://.../image1x1.gif" alt="pad">

With all due respect to the original authors of RTML, but they must have been smoking something when they came up with this "accessibility enhancement"... :-(

Anyway, here are my questions:

  1. Does anybody know a list of all RTML functions that generate HTML with all these "pad" images?

  2. Is there any way to get rid of all those alt="pad" attributes without rewriting a lot of RTML code?

NB: This may sound a little cynical, but improved accessibility is not the main goal here. The main goal is to stop exposing those moronic alt="pad" attributes to Google and other smart search engines. So client-side scripting is not going to help, as far as I know.

Thank you!

P.S. Probably, most of you are really lucky and never heard of RTML. Because if somebody would establish a prize for software products based on

commercial success
------------------
    usability

ratio, this RTML-based "platform" would probably win the first place.

P.P.S. Apparently someone from Yahoo! finally listened, because I can no longer find those silly "pad" tags in the RTML generated for our store. Nevertheless, one of the ideas offered in response to my original question does provide a very practical solution - not just to the original problem but to any similar problem with RTML platform. See the winning answer - it's really good.

Solution

  • Nice try from the other posters, but there is a very simple RTML command that will do it. . .

    TEXT PAT-SUBST s GRAB
                     MULTI
                         HEAD
                         BODY
                         TEXT @var-with-alt-tag-equals-pad-in-it
                 frompat "alt=\"pad\""
                 topat   ""

    The above RTML will find all instances of alt="pad" and replace it with nothing.