Alt text in Word

Whenever you use images in a document, they must be inline with the text and have alt text, so that a screen reader can access them. This relates to WCAG 1.1.1 which states:

1.1 Provide text alternatives for any non-text content so that it can be changed into other forms people need, such as large print, braille, speech, symbols or simpler language.

Video instructions

Microsoft Office applications all use a similar method for adding alt text, so although the video that follows was created using Word, the same method can be used for PowerPoint and Outlook.

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Text instructions

  1. Select the image.
  2. Either right-click and select Edit Alt Text or go to the Format Picture menu and select Alt Text.
  3. Delete any automatically generated alt text.
  4. Type your alt text in the box.
  5. Check that your image is inline with text (not wrapped).
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