Add Alt Text to an Object in Excel (Images / Charts / Shapes)

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For people who use screen readers, alt text (short for alternate text) allows the reader to interpret what an object is about.

Alt text is a short description that you give to an object, such as a picture or a table, so that someone who is using a screen reader can tell what the object represents.

In this article, we will take a look at different methods as to how to add alt text to an object in Excel.

Method 1: Add Alt Text Using the Right-Click Menu

In this method, we will use the right-click menu to insert alt text for an object.

This is the easiest method for adding alt text to images and objects in Excel.

For demonstration purposes, I will use the following picture (you can choose any picture that you want).

image for which alt text needs to be added

(Image by Dawid Cedler from Pixabay)

And here are the steps to add alt-text to this image in Excel:

  1. Select the picture.
  2. With your mouse cursor placed on the picture, right-click to bring up the context menu.
right click on the image
  1. From this menu, select the Edit Alt Text option (it may say View Alt Text in your menu).
click on the edit alt text option
  1. The Alt Text window will open up to the right of the Excel worksheet as shown.
ALT text pane appears
  1. In the description box, write the alt text related to the image. In this case, I will write the following: “A motorbike parked on the side of a road.”
enter the alt text in the box

Your description can be longer than this. You can see above the text field that Excel recommends 1-2 detailed sentences to describe the picture completely.

  1. Once done, close the window by clicking on the close button on the top right corner.
Close the alt text pane

So in this method, we have seen how to add alt text to a picture using the right-click menu.

The same is also valid for other objects such as charts, graphs, etc. Please note that the Edit Alt Text option from the right-click menu is available in Excel versions 2019 and above.

Also read: How to Rotate Text in Excel?

Method 2: Add Alt Text Using the Picture Format Option

In this method, we will look at another way to add alt text to a picture in Excel.

We will use the Picture Format tab from the ribbon.

This tab only becomes available when a picture is selected. For demonstration purposes, we will use the same picture that we saw in the first method.

Below are the steps to add alt text to an object in Excel:

  1. Select the picture by clicking on it.
  2. From the ribbon, select the Picture Format tab.
Click on the Picture format option
  1. Under the Picture Format tab, select the Alt Text option.
Click on Alt Text
  1. The Alt Text window will open up to the right of the Excel worksheet.
  1. In the description box, write the alt text related to the image. In this case, I will write the following: “A motorbike parked on the side of a road.”
Enter the ALT text in the box
  1. Once done, close the window by clicking on the close button in the top right corner.

In this example, I showed how to add alt-text to an image. The same steps can also be used to add alt text to other objects, such as shapes or charts. 

Also read: Can’t Push Objects Off the Sheet in Excel – How to Fix!

Method 3: Add Alt Text Using the Review Tab

In this method, we will take a look at another way to add alt text to a picture in Excel.

This time, we will use the Review tab.

For the demonstration, we will use the same picture as we did in the first method.

Below are the steps to add alt text to an object in Excel:

  1. Select the picture.
  2. From the ribbon, go to the Review tab.
Click on the Review tab
  1. Under the Review tab, select the Check Accessibility drop-down option.
Click on check accessibility
  1. The following drop-down menu will appear.
Accessibility drop-down menu
  1. From this menu, select the Alt Text option.
Click the ALT text option
  1. The Alt Text window will open up to the right of the Excel worksheet.
  1. In the description box, write the alt text related to the image. In this case, I will write the following: “A motorbike parked on the side of a road.”
Enter the alt text in the box
  1. Once done, close the window by clicking on the close button in the top right corner.

So in this method, we have seen how to add alt text to a picture using the Review tab. The same is also valid for other objects such as charts, graphs, etc.

Please note that the Alt Text option under the Check Accessibility drop-down menu is available in Excel versions 2019 and above.

Method 4: Adding Alt Text for Tables

In this method, we will take a look at adding alt text to a Table inside Excel using the right-click menu.

Adding alt text to tables is slightly different from adding alt text to pictures or charts.

Let’s take a look at how to do so.

For demonstration purposes, I will use the following Table created in Excel. 

Excel Table
  1. With your mouse cursor placed on the table, right-click to bring up the context menu and then click on the Table option
Click on the Table option
  1. From this sub-menu that appears, select the Alternative Text option.
Click on the Alternative text
  1. The Alternative Text window will open up as shown.
Alternative Text window will open
  1. In the Title text field, enter the title for your table. In this case, I will write the title as follows: “Company Sales”
Enter the title of the alternative text
  1. In the Description text field, enter the description for your table. In this case, I will write the description as follows: “This table shows the sales made by the company from the month of January to June.”
Enter the description of the Alt text
  1. Once done, click on OK.
Click ok

In this method, we have seen how to add alternative text to a table in Excel. This option is only available to users who have Excel version 2019 or above.

Method 5: Adding Alt Text Using VBA

For more advanced Excel users, this method will demonstrate how to add alt text to an object using VBA code.

As an example, we will use the same picture as we did in the first method. Let’s see how to add the alt text from the steps below.

  1. Select the picture.
  2. Note down the picture name in the Name Box. This will be used to reference the picture in the VBA code.
Note the Picture name in name box
  1. Open the VBA editor by pressing ‘Alt + F11’ on your keyboard. The following window will appear.
Open the VB Editor
  1. From the menu bar at the top, click on Insert.
  2. Under the Insert menu, select the Module option.
Insert the module
  1. This will insert a new module where you can write your VBA code.
Module code window

The VBA script to add alt text is shown below:

'Code developed by Steve Scott from https://spreadsheetplanet.com
Sub Alt_Text()
ActiveSheet.Shapes.Range(Array("Picture 2")).Select
Selection.ShapeRange.AlternativeText = "A motorbike parked on the side of a road."
End Sub

In line 2 of the above code, Picture 2 (written inside double quotes) is the name of the picture, which we noted down from the Name Box in step 2.

In line 3, after the equals sign, the description/alt-text is written inside double quotes.

  1. Copy and Paste the above VBA code into the module window.
  2. To run the code, bring your cursor anywhere within the code and then press the ‘F5’ key on your keyboard. (or you can click on the green triangle icon in the toolbar)
run the code

The alt text will be added to the object. So in this method, we have seen how to add alt text to a picture in Excel using VBA code.

The same is valid for other objects such as charts, graphs, etc.

In this article, we have seen multiple ways of adding alt text to objects.

Use Methods 1, 2, and 3 to add alt text to objects such as pictures, charts, graphs, etc., using the right-click menu or through the ribbon.

You can also alt text to Excel tables, as shown in method 4.

Method 5 is for advanced Excel users who want to add alt text to objects using VBA code. Be mindful that Methods 1 through 4 are for users who have Excel version 2019 or above.

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I am a huge fan of Microsoft Excel and love sharing my knowledge through articles and tutorials. I work as a business analyst and use Microsoft Excel extensively in my daily tasks. My aim is to help you unleash the full potential of Excel and become a data-slaying wizard yourself.

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