Southern New Hampshire University

Adding Alternative Text in Excel (macOS)

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How to Add Alt. Text to Images, Shapes, and Icons

Right-click the Image, Shape, or Icon

The menu from right-clicking the image.

Select “Edit Alt. Text…”

"Edit Alt Text" button from the drop-down menu.

Explain What the Image, Shape, or Icon is

Alt. text box with the words “The SNHU logo” entered into the text box

In this example, you could say, “The SNHU logo.” If the image shape or icon is only "decorative," then put a check mark in the box "Mark as decorative" to let the screen reader and user know that image is not important content.

How to Add Alt. Text to Graphs and Tables

Select the Entire Graph

Excel with a graph selected.

Right-click on the Graph

Menu from right-clicking on the graph.

Select “Edit Alt. Text …”

The "Edit Alt Text…" button from the drop-down from right-clicking.

Explain What the Graph Shows in the Description Box

The Alt Text description box with a short explanation entered in.

Include information to understand the content. For this example, “The time it takes during the study for the trial to be completed. As the trials increase, also does time.”

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