5Any pictures, graphs or text boxes within a document must be given alternative text. Alternative text must give an accurate description of what the item is, so that the user’s assistive technology may convey what information is demonstrated by the item. It is a best practice to avoid WordArt and text boxes as they may be inaccessible by screen readers.

There are a couple of different methods to enter alt text for an image:

1. Right-click on the image and select Edit Alt text, then enter appropriate alternative text in the field that appears in the Alt Text sidebar.
2. Perform a single left-click on the image. A Picture Format menu option will appear. Select the Alt text button.

If the image is decorative, leave the field blank and check Mark as decorative.

Do not select the “Generate a description for me” button. The quality of the automatically-generated descriptions is usually very poor, and a description of an image is often not the same as alternative text.

How to Create Good Alternate Text

• Consider the content and function of your image.
• If it provides content to your document, make sure that the information the image provides is described in the alt text.
• If your image only provides a function (for example, providing a portrait of a historical figure described in the text) you need only describe the image. In the case that the image is of a historical figure, write his/her name as the alt text.
• Try not to use “Image of…” or “Graphic of…” as alt text. That is usually evident to the person reading the alt text.
• Do not repeat the information which is contained in the document itself into the alt text. If it’s already in the document, that should be enough.