Edit the Alt Text for an Image in Microsoft Office

To edit the alt text on an image inserted into a Microsoft Office file, right click the image (or control click in on a Mac) and use the context menu to open the pane to edit the alt text.

Figure 2. Right click (or control click) an image in any Office file to see the command to "Edit Alt Text."

In a recent change, Microsoft adds auto-generated alt text to images that are added to Microsoft files. While that alt text will allow the file to "pass" an accessibility check, it is usually not sufficient to meet the intent of alt text. (The text "a screenshot of a phone" is applied to a wide range of images!) For this reasons, faculty should compose their own alt text.