Decorative Images Word 365 Tutorial

One of the big challenges in creating accessible PDF files from Microsoft Office was the lack of a mechanism within MS Word to indicate that an image is irrelevant.

Word 365 has an option for "Mark as Decorative" in Alt Text box.

For Word 365 Users

Microsoft has made strides in making it easier to provide alternative text for images. MS Word 365 includes an Edit Alt Text command that optionally gets you directly to the Alt Text field. Within the Alt Text field, there is an option to indicate if the image is decorative.

For Word Versions Besides Word 365

If your version of Word does not have the "Mark as decorative" checkbox, remove all of the decorative images from the Word Doc. Interpreting pictures with alt text labeled as "decorative" detracts from focusing on the learning at hand.

Note About "Generate a Description for Me"

MS Word 365 includes an artificial intelligence engine that now proposes alternative text based on image analysis is quite remarkable. However, this also underscores the need to effectively label decorative images when the AI engine is proposing the inclusion of a description for an image that is actually decorative. Make sure to write descriptive alt text based on the context.

Decorative Images Word 365 Tutorial

See Word 365 to learn how to mark specific images as decorative.