What Can You Click To Add Alternative Text To An Object?

To add alternative text (alt text) to an object, you can most commonly right-click the object and select the 'Edit Alt Text' option from the context menu. This method is standard across many Microsoft Office products, such as Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, and often in other applications as well. Other ways include using an object's format menu or a specific accessibility checker.

Why is alt text important?

Alt text is a critical component of web and document accessibility. It serves two primary functions:

• Accessibility for visually impaired users: Screen readers and other assistive technologies read alt text aloud to users who are blind or have low vision, providing a verbal description of the image, chart, or other visual element.
• Context for search engines and content failures: Search engine bots use alt text to understand the content of an image, which can help with search ranking. The text also appears in place of an image if it fails to load.

How to add alt text in popular applications

Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel)

The process for adding alt text is very similar across Microsoft's suite of products and works for objects like pictures, charts, shapes, and SmartArt.

1. Right-click the visual object (e.g., an image or chart).
2. From the pop-up menu, select Edit Alt Text... or View Alt Text....
3. A pane will open on the right side of the window.
4. In the text field, type a concise and descriptive explanation of the object and its purpose.
5. Optional: Mark as decorative. If the image serves no informational purpose (e.g., it's a stylistic border), check the box labeled Mark as decorative. This tells screen readers to skip the object entirely.

Note on older Office versions: In some older versions, you may need to right-click and select a menu item like Format Picture or Format Object, then find the Alt Text or Size & Properties tab.

Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides

Google's applications also offer a simple, standardized way to add alt text.

1. Right-click the image, drawing, or graphic you want to describe.
2. Select Alt text from the context menu.
3. A dialog box will appear.
4. Enter your descriptive text in the Description box. While there is a Title field, the Description is what screen readers will typically use.
5. Click OK to save your changes.

Web development (HTML)

For web content, alt text is added directly into the HTML code using an alt attribute within an <img> tag.

• Example: <img src="puppy.jpg" alt="A golden retriever puppy chewing on a red chew toy.">
• In this case, the alt text is the text you type inside the quotation marks after alt=.

Best practices for writing effective alt text

• Be descriptive and concise: Imagine you are describing the image to someone over the phone. Focus on the most important information, but keep it brief (ideally under 150 characters).
• Explain the image's purpose or function: The best alt text doesn't just describe what is happening in the image, but explains why it is relevant to the surrounding content.
• Avoid redundancy: Don't start with "Image of..." or "Picture of..." since screen readers already announce that the element is an image.
• Use the "decorative" option appropriately: Use the "Mark as decorative" option only for visual elements that have no informational value. A complex chart, for example, should always have a full description.