We often add images to Google Docs and Slides. To make sure everyone can get content from those images, we should also add alt text.
In this video, we go over:
- Why you should always add alternative text in Google Docs and Slides.
- How to add alt text in Google Docs and Slides.
- What NVDA with Chrome announces when an image has and doesn’t have alt text.
Transcript
In this video, we’ll go over why you should always add alternative text in Google Docs and Slides and how to add alt text in these tools.
We’ll also demo with NVDA on Chrome what images in these tools sound like without and with alt text.
Let’s get started.
First, Google Docs and Slides doesn’t have a way to mark an image as decorative. That means assistive technology always announces there’s an image. If the image doesn’t have alternative text, assistive technology users know there’s content they’re potentially missing in the image. So, if you always add alternative text, there’s no longer a question about if they’re missing content or not.
Now, let’s go over how to add alt text in Google Docs and in Google Slides – the process is the same for both. You add alt text by right-clicking the image and selecting Alt text. That opens the Alt Text dropdown in the Image Options. You’ll add the alt text in the Description field. I’ll leave it blank so we can hear how NVDA announces the image with blank alt text.
Next, I’m going to select Advanced options, which is right below the description field. This opens the title field for the image. This field can sometimes pull in the image’s filename, so it’s important to check. In general, I’d always make sure this field is blank because assistive technology could announce it along with the alt text, which isn’t helpful.
Let’s hear NVDA announce an image with no alt text.
NVDA: These are two different dog breeds.
NVDA: Heading two Doberman, Image New Line.
NVDA: Heading two Chihuahua, Image New Line.
NVDA simply referred to it as an “image”. So, the user knows it’s there but doesn’t know if they’re missing any content.
Now, I’ll add alt text to the description field for both images.
NVDA: Heading two Doberman Image all text description
NVDA: large black dog with brown details around eyes and snout.
NVDA: Heading two Chihuahua, image all text description
NVDA: small brown and white dog with pointy ears standing up.
This time, NVDA announced the image’s description.
Remember to always add alternative text to images in Google Docs and Slides. You’re ready to add your own alt text.