To help others better understand what an object contains, it’s a good idea to use alternative text. Alternative text is a phrase or word that can be added as an attribute in an HTML document such as Google Docs.
The alt text will be located in an empty box that would usually include the image. By adding alt text in your Google Docs document, you’re making your file accessible to visually impaired users.
How to Add Alternative Text in a Google Docs File
To add alternative text to an object in a Docs file, open a file that already has an object in it or go ahead and add one if you’re opening a new document. You can add an object by clicking on the Insert tab at the top and choosing what you want to add.
Once the object has been added, you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Alt + Y for Windows users and Cmd + Option + Y for Mac users. You can also right-click on the object and click on alt text.
When the alt text window appears, you’ll need to type a description in a few sentences that best describe that object you added to the file. So, if anyone is using a screen reader, they are aware of what the object you added is about. Don’t forget to click on the blue OK button to save your changes.
Conclusion
That’s all there is to it when it comes to adding alt text to an object in any Google Docs file. The only tedious part of the process is that you’ll need to repeat the process for all the objects you want to have alt text. The good thing is that the process is quick and easy.
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