Create Accessible Word Documents
Alternative Text
Visual information needs an equivalent text description. Descriptions can be provided by adjacent text, a figure caption, or the alt text field. Adjacent text and figure captions are accessible to assistive technology and provide context, purpose and meaning of visual content to all users. Alt text relays information via code that is read by screen reader software to aide users to understand visual information. Decorative images are graphics that are included solely for aesthetic purposes or are accompanied by equivalent text description.
Who benefits from accessible images
Visual information must have a text equivalent to ensure blind and visually impaired learners have equitable access to learning material. Images, charts, diagrams, SmartArt, and any visual information must have a text equivalent.
The following recording demonstrates screen reader software reading three examples of alt text: one with no description, one with poorly written alt text, and one example of effectively written alt text.
How to ensure accessible images
To ensure visual information is accessible to all readers:
- Add a descriptive figure caption.
- Add an adjacent text description and mark image as decorative.
- Add alt text to the image.
- Select the visual and move to the Picture Format tab and choose Alt Text.
- Right-click on a visual and select View Alt Text…
- Select the visual and move to the Picture Format tab and choose Alt Text.
Learn more about text descriptions of visuals.
Automatically generated descriptions
By default, Word will generate alt text for images when they are added to a document. Word will mark these as Missing alt text in the Accessibility Assistant panel. When viewing the alt text for a graphic, you can select Approve, however auto-generated descriptions are generally not sufficiently accurate, informative, or descriptive and must be reviewed and (almost always) improved.
By default, images are added inline as this presents the image in order to assistive technology. Changing the text wrapping will be flagged by the Accessibility Assistant. Decorative images can be used with various types of text-wrapping.
Double Check
Word’s Accessibility Assistant notes 2 errors under Media and Illustrations: Missing alt text and Image or object not inline. Missing alt text notes images that do not have alt text or are not marked as decorative. Image or object not inline flags images and objects that are set with any text wrapping other than inline with text.
To resolve these errors, add alt text as described above or provide an equivalent description and mark as decorative. Learn more about fixing image accessibility errors. Ensure images are inline with text or marked as decorative (when decorative or accompanied by other alternate description).
Next
Move to the next page to understand Structure or select another accessibility practice to learn about.
