Alternative Text: A Brief 
Introduction 
Accessibility Video Tutorials 

Katie Allen 
Center on Victimization and Safety 
Vera Institute of Justice 

December 19, 2019 

This project was supported by Grant No. 2016-TA-AX-K068 awarded by the Office on Violence Against 
Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations 
expressed in this program are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the 
Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women. 


What we will cover in this video 

In this video, we will discuss & demonstrate: 

What is alternative text? 
Why does alternative text matter for survivors with 
disabilities? 
How can I use alternative text to make my images and 
other visual elements accessible for survivors? 
How can I add alternative text in Microsoft Office and 
on Facebook? 


Vera Institute of Justice Center on Victimization and Safety logo 

What is Alternative Text? 
And why does it matter for accessibility? 


What is alternative text? 

Alternative Text: briefly describes the meaning of an 
image, graph, chart, or other non-text item 

• You can type alternative text into the image format 
in an electronic document or web content 
• It is not visual. It is mostly for survivors using 
screen readers and other assistive technology. 
• It is not just for images, but also for charts, graphs, 
buttons, graphics, symbols, logos, etc. 



Definitions: Assistive Technology 

• Screen Reader: software that communicates displays 
(text, images, icons ,etc.) from a computer to users in 
a non-visual way, through speech or Braille. 
• Text-to-Speech Technology or Speech Synthesis: general 
term for the technology that reads text from your computer 
aloud. Many applications and plug-ins are free and open-
source. 



• Refreshable Braille Display: device that 
communicates the written text from a screen reader on 
a computer to a user in Braille. 



When should we use Alternative 
Text? 

Always! 

• All images, photos, charts, graphics, graphs, 
logos, symbols, and any non-text element in 
electronic documents or on websites and 
social media need alternative text. 
• Check out our National Resource Center’s Social 
Media Access Tip Sheet to learn more about 
social media accessibility and alternative text. 



Screen Reader Demo: 
Voice Over 

purple ribbon for domestic violence awareness

Alternative Text on your website 

• Your website and social media pages 
are the gateways for many survivors to 
access services. 
• You can check to see if you website 
includes alternative text by using a 
Web Accessibility Evaluation tool, 
WAVE. 
• Copy and paste your website URL into 
WAVE, or use the browser plug in. 




• The results on the side bar will tell you 
if you are missing alternative text, and 
how to fix it. 


WAVE tool screen shot with 6 errors and 25 contrast errors. 

How to Add Alternative Text 
In Microsoft PowerPoint for Mac & Facebook 


How to describe an image 

a survivor and a female crisis counselor are meeting in a counseling room. The counselor listens and takes notes.
• Context is everything. 
• Be accurate and succinct. 
• Describe the meaning of 
the image, not the 
appearance. 


• Avoid redundancy. Don’t 
add “Image of…”, “picture 
of…”, or “link to”. 
• Only mark the images as 
“decorative” if it is not 
meaningful information. 



How NOT to describe an image 

a survivor and a female crisis counselor are meeting in a counseling room. The counselor listens and takes notes.
• “Two women sitting in 
an office on green 
spotted armchairs 
talking and taking 
notes. One woman is 
wearing an aqua shirt 
with a blazer and the 
other woman is facing 
her and has red hair.” 
• “Two women” 



Image Caption vs. Alt Text 

Two U.S. Navy soldiers stand in support of survivors of sexual violence, with a flag that says, "always stop it before it starts"
https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Media/News/SavedNewsModule/Article/1831361/sexual-assault-awareness-month-kicks-off-with-record-attendance/
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (April 5, 2019) 
Sailors assigned to the aircraft 
carrier USS George H.W. Bush 
(CVN 77) stand next to flags with 
encouraging messages d uring a 
kickoff event for Sexual Assault 

screen shot of the alternative text box in microsoft powerpoint for mac with a prompt that says, "How would you describe this object and its context to someone who is blind? (1-2 sentences recommended). there is an option "mark as decorative" and a button to "generate a description for me"
The alternative text is 

added to the format of 
the picture. It is not 
visible. 

Awareness and Prevention Month. 


Adding Alternative Text 

Young, Black woman with glasses, standing on a train station platform, smiling confidently.
13 

Another way to add Alternative 
Text 

• Adding alternative text may be different depending on 
your version of PowerPoint and whether you are using a 
Mac or PC. 
• Another way to add Alternative Text is to: 
• Go to the Format drop-down menu and choose 
“Format Object”. 
• Click on the “Size and Properties” option, (the 
option with the square and arrows pointing in 
different directions). Click “Alt Text” from the list. 
• The Alt Text box will appear in the side bar. You can 
add a title and brief description. 







Alt Text on Facebook 

Facebook automatically 
generates alt text for 
your images, but it is 
almost always inaccurate. 
Don’t worry – you can 
change this! 

Artemis the cow cat is sitting on her desk, looking very surprised , in front of a lamp.

To Recap: Alternative Text 

Alternative Text is important for survivors with a variety of 
disabilities. 

All images, charts, graphics, 
graphs, and non-text items in 
electronic documents and web-
based materials should include 
alternative text. 
Survivors who use assistive 
technologies access images and 
non-text items through alt text. 


Alt text descriptions should be 
accurate and succinct. 
You can add alt text in Microsoft 
Office & Facebook, and check 
your website’s alt text with 
WAVE. 
Captions and alt text should be 
different from each other. 



Thank you! 

For more information and videos about accessible 
content, visit: www.endabusepwd.org 

Ending abuse of people with disabilities is a team effort. 
Contact us for support: 

End Abuse Email Address: cvs@vera.org 
End Abuse Phone Number: (212) 376-3096 
End Abuse Toll Free Phone Number: (855) 274-8222