Alt Text is a piece of text that briefly describes the content of the image, which is used to help visually impaired users understand images and improve document accessibility. 1. Alt Text allows screen readers to read image information; 2. Comply with compliance requirements; 3. Add steps: Select the picture → Right-click "Edit alternative text" → Enter the description; 4. Pay attention to the version and the location of the picture; 5. The description should be concise and avoid duplication of words such as "picture"; 6. Functional picture description purpose; 7. Decorative pictures can be left blank; 8. Word to PDF can retain Alt Text; 9. Pictures in tables or shapes need to be processed separately.

It is not difficult to add alternative text to images in Word, mainly to improve the accessibility of the document and allow screen readers to better describe the content of the image. The point is to find the correct setting position and then write a concise description.

What are alternative words and why are they important?

Alt Text is a short text description that tells the content of the visually impaired user's picture. Adding Alt Text to Word documents not only improves accessibility but also complies with compliance requirements for some organizational or government documents.

How to add Alt Text to an image in Word

The steps are actually very simple, and the newer version of Word (Office 365 or 2019 or above) is suitable for Windows and Mac:

1. Insert or select an image.
2. Right-click on the image and select Edit Alt Text.
3. Enter a description in the sidebar.
4. Click Close or continue editing other images.

Note: If you cannot see the "Alternative Text" option, it may be because the Word version is too old, or the image is embedded in tables, shapes, or charts, and you may need to process it in a different way.

Some practical suggestions for writing alternative texts

Writing Alt Text is not just about writing something casually. The key is to describe the core content of the picture clearly, but not too long-winded.

• It is mainly simple : for example, "A orange cat lying on the windowsill basking in the sun" is more suitable than "There is a cat in this photo, it looks very happy and there is sunshine outside the window".
• Avoid repeating words such as "picture", "image", etc .: because the screen reader will already say that this is a picture.
• Functional pictures should explain the purpose : For example, an arrow icon should be written with "arrow to the right to indicate the next step", rather than "arrow picture".
• Decorative pictures can be left blank : if the picture is just used to beautify the page without practical meaning, you can not write Alt Text, or label it as "decorative".

Frequently Asked Questions and Notes

Sometimes you may encounter some minor problems, here are a few common ones:

• Alt Text edit box not found?
  Make sure you are using a newer version of Word, which is not supported by the older version.

• Automatically add Alt Text after inserting the picture?
  Currently Word does not support automatic filling and needs to be added manually.

• Is Alt Text still there after Word document is converted to PDF?
  If you export to PDF through Word and choose to retain accessibility information, Alt Text will also be preserved.

• How to add pictures in tables or shapes?
  You can try to take out the image separately and add Alt Text, or use the "Format Picture" panel to add description.

Basically that's it. The operation is not complicated, but it is easily overlooked. If you are a person who often produces reports, teaching materials or external documents, taking some time to add alternative text is a good habit worth developing.

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