This article is for people with visual or cognitive impairments who use a screen reader program such as Microsoft's Narrator, JAWS, or NVDA with the Microsoft 365 products. This article is part of the Microsoft 365 screen reader support content set where you can find more accessibility information on our apps. For general help, visit Microsoft Support home or Fixes or workarounds for recent office issues.
Use Word with your keyboard and a screen reader to insert a picture or image from your computer or an online source. We've tested it with Narrator, JAWS, and NVDA, but it might work with other screen readers as long as they follow common accessibility standards and techniques. You'll also learn how to add alt texts to the pictures to make them more accessible.
Notes:
-
New Microsoft 365 features are released gradually to Microsoft 365 subscribers, so your app might not have these features yet. To learn how you can get new features faster, join the Office Insider program.
-
To learn more about screen readers, go to How screen readers work with Microsoft 365.
In this topic
Insert an image or picture from your computer
-
In your Word document, place the insertion point where you want to insert an image.
-
Press Alt+N, P, D. The Insert Picture dialog box opens. The focus is on the File name text field.
-
Use the Tab key and the arrow keys to navigate to the location of the picture on your computer. When you hear the name of the picture, followed by "Selected," press Enter. The original picture is embedded into your document.
Tip: If your picture has a large file size, it can make your document too large. To reduce the size of your document, you can link to the picture instead of embedding it. In the Insert Picture dialog box, press the Tab key until you hear with Narrator and NVDA: "Insert, split button." With JAWS, you hear: "Leaving menus, Insert button." Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Link to file," and then press Enter.
Insert an image from an online source
If you don’t have the perfect picture on your computer, you can search for and insert a picture from a web location straight from Word.
-
In your Word document, place the insertion point where you want to insert an image.
-
Press Alt+N, P, O. The Bing image search dialog box opens. The focus is on the search text field.
-
Type your search words to describe the picture you're looking for, and then press Enter. The search results are listed, and the focus is on the first matching image.
Tip: To browse for more images from your OneDrive, press the Tab key until you hear "OneDrive," and press Enter.
-
Use the arrow keys to browse the search results. Your screen reader describes each image as you move through the search results.
-
To select an image, press Spacebar.
-
To insert the selected image, press the Tab key until you hear "Insert," and press Enter. Word downloads and inserts the image into your document.
Place a picture in line with text
To be read correctly by a screen reader, the picture has to be in line with the text. By default, Word inserts a picture in line with text, but you can check it to make sure that the screen readers can read the pictures.
-
In your Word document, move the focus to the picture you want. When the focus is on the picture, you hear the file name or number of the picture, followed by "Image."
-
Press Shift+Right arrow key once to select the picture. Then press Shift+F10. The context menu opens.
-
Press the Up arrow key until you hear "Wrap text," and then press the Right arrow key once. You hear: "In line with text." Press Enter. If you don't hear "In line with text," press the Up arrow key until you reach the In line with text button, and press Enter.
Add alt text to an image
Add alt text to the images to make your document accessible to all audiences. For more information on alt text, refer to Everything you need to know to write effective alt text.
-
In your Word document, move the focus to the picture that you want to add alt text to. When the focus is on the image, you hear the page you're on, the file name or the number of the image, followed by "Image." Press Shift+Right arrow key once to select the image.
-
Press Shift+F10 to open the context menu.
-
Press the Up arrow key until you hear "Edit alt text," and press Enter.
-
The Alt Text pane opens, and the focus is on the alt text field. Type alt text for the image.
-
When you're ready, press Esc to return to the body of the document.
See also
Use a screen reader to insert a hyperlink in Word
Use a screen reader to align text and paragraphs in Word
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Word
What's new in Microsoft 365: Release notes for Current Channel
Use Word for Mac with your keyboard and VoiceOver, the built-in MacOS screen reader, to insert a picture or image into a document. You'll also learn how to add alt texts to the pictures to make them more accessible.
Notes:
-
New Microsoft 365 features are released gradually to Microsoft 365 subscribers, so your app might not have these features yet. To learn how you can get new features faster, join the Office Insider program.
-
This topic assumes that you are using the built-in macOS screen reader, VoiceOver. To learn more about using VoiceOver, go to VoiceOver Getting Started Guide.
In this topic
Insert an image or picture from your computer
-
In your Word document, place the insertion point where you want to insert an image.
-
Press F6 until you hear the currently selected tab on the ribbon, for example, "Home, selected, tab." Press Control+Option+Right or Left arrow key until you hear "Insert tab," and press Control+Option+Spacebar.
-
Press the Tab key until you hear "Pictures, menu button," and press Control+Option+Spacebar.
-
Press Control+Option+Right arrow key until you hear "Picture from file," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.
-
A dialog box opens with the focus on a recent images folder. To access the images in this folder, press Control+Option+Right arrow key. To browse to another location, use the Tab key, Shift+Tab, and the arrow keys.
-
When on the correct location, use the Up or Down arrow key to browse the files or subfolders. To open a subfolder, press the Right arrow key.
-
When you've located the correct image file, press Return. The picture is inserted into the document.
Insert an image from an online source
If you don’t have the perfect picture on your computer, you can search for and insert a picture from a web location straight from Word for Mac.
-
In your Word document, place the insertion point where you want to insert an image.
-
Press F6 until you hear the currently selected tab on the ribbon, for example, "Home, selected, tab." Press Control+Option+Right or Left arrow key until you hear "Insert tab," and press Control+Option+Spacebar.
-
Press the Tab key until you hear "Pictures, menu button," and press Control+Option+Spacebar.
-
Press Control+Option+Right arrow key until you hear "Online pictures," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.
-
The Bing image search pane opens. The focus is on the search text field. Type your search words to describe the picture you're looking for, and then press Return. The search results are listed, and the focus is on the first matching image.
-
Press Control+Option+Right or Left arrow key to browse the search results. VoiceOver describes each image as you move through the search results.
-
To select an image, press Control+Option+Spacebar.
-
To insert the selected image, press the Tab key until you hear "Insert," and press Control+Option+Spacebar. Word downloads and inserts the image into your document.
Place a picture in line with text
To be read correctly by a screen reader, the picture has to be in line with the text.
-
In your Word document, move the cursor before the picture you want, press and hold Shift, and then press the Right arrow key once to select the picture. You hear: "Grouped object, you're currently on a grouped object."
-
Press F6 until you hear: "Picture format."
-
Press the Tab key until you hear "Position button," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.
-
Press Control+Option+Left arrow key until you hear "In line with text," and press Control+Option+Spacebar.
Add alt text to an image
Add alt text to the images to make your document accessible to all audiences. For more information on alt text, refer to Everything you need to know to write effective alt text.
-
In your Word document, select the picture that you want to add alt text to. To select a picture in Word, place the cursor before the image, hold down Shift, and then press the Right arrow key. You hear: "Grouped object, you're currently on a grouped object."
-
Press Control+Option+Shift+M. The context menu opens. Press Control+Option+Right arrow key until you hear "Edit alt text," and press Control+Option+Spacebar.
-
The Alt Text pane opens, and the focus in on the alt text field. Type alt text for the image.
-
When you're ready, press Shift+Tab until you hear "Close alt text button," and press Control+Option+Spacebar. The Alt Text pane closes, and the focus moves back to your document.
See also
Use a screen reader to insert a hyperlink in Word
Use a screen reader to align text and paragraphs in Word
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Word
What's new in Microsoft 365: Release notes for Current Channel
Use Word for iOS with VoiceOver, the built-in iOS screen reader, to insert a picture or image into a document. You'll also learn how to add alt texts to the pictures to make them more accessible.
Notes:
-
New Microsoft 365 features are released gradually to Microsoft 365 subscribers, so your app might not have these features yet. To learn how you can get new features faster, join the Office Insider program.
-
This topic assumes that you are using the built-in iOS screen reader, VoiceOver. To learn more about using VoiceOver, visit Apple accessibility.
-
We recommend you read and edit documents in Print Layout View. VoiceOver might not work reliably in other view modes.
In this topic
Insert an image or picture from your phone
-
While editing your Word document, place the insertion point where you want to insert an image.
-
Tap near the top of the screen with four fingers, swipe right until you hear "Show ribbon," and double-tap the screen. You hear the currently selected tab, for example, "Home tab."
-
Double-tap the screen, swipe right or left until you hear “Insert tab,” and double-tap the screen. You hear: “Insert tab.”
-
Swipe right until you hear “Insert pictures button,” and double-tap the screen. The Photos app opens.
-
Swipe right until you hear the image location you want, and then double-tap the screen to select.
-
To browse the images, swipe right or left. As you move, VoiceOver announces the images by the image types and dates.
-
When on the picture you want to insert into the document, double-tap the screen. The picture is inserted and the focus returns to your document with the image selected.
Insert a picture from the camera
You can open the device camera straight from Word for iOS, take a photo, and then insert the photo into the document.
-
While editing your Word document, place the insertion point where you want to insert a picture.
-
Tap near the top of the screen with four fingers, swipe right until you hear "Show ribbon," and double-tap the screen. You hear the currently selected tab, for example, "Home tab."
-
Double-tap the screen, swipe right or left until you hear “Insert tab,” and double-tap the screen. You hear: “Insert tab.”
-
Swipe right until you hear “Insert pictures button,” and double-tap the screen. The Photos app opens.
-
Swipe right until you hear “Insert picture from camera, button,” and then double-tap the screen. The Camera app opens.
Note: If you hear "Word would like to access the camera," swipe right until you hear "OK, button," and double-tap the screen.
-
Swipe right until you hear "Take picture, button," point the camera in the right direction, and double-tap the screen.
-
Swipe right or left until you hear "Use photo, button," and then double-tap the screen to insert the photo. The focus returns to your document.
Place a picture in line with text
To be read correctly by a screen reader, the picture has to be in line with the text.
-
While editing your Word document, slide one finger around the document body until you hear the image you want. When the image is in focus, VoiceOver announces the image file name, followed by "Image," and the image layout. Double-tap the screen. You hear: "Selected."
-
Tap near the bottom of the screen with four fingers, swipe left until you hear "Show ribbon," and double-tap the screen. You hear: "Picture tab."
-
Swipe right until you hear "Wrap text button," and double-tap the screen. Swipe left until you hear "In line with text," and double-tap the screen.
Add alt text to an image
Add alt text to the images to make your document accessible to all audiences. For more information on alt text, refer to Everything you need to know to write effective alt text.
-
While editing your Word document, to select a picture, slide one finger around the document body until you hear the image you want to add alt text to. When the image is in focus, VoiceOver announces the image file name, followed by "Image," and the image layout. Double-tap the screen. You hear: "Selected."
-
Tap near the bottom of the screen with four fingers, swipe left until you hear "Show ribbon," and double-tap the screen. You hear: "Picture tab."
-
Swipe right until you hear "Alt text button," and double-tap the screen.
-
To add alt text, swipe right until you hear "Description, text field," double-tap the screen, and then use the on-screen keyboard to type alt text for the image.
-
When you're ready, tap near the top of the screen with four fingers, swipe right until you hear "Done button," and double-tap the screen. The focus moves back to the document body.
See also
Use a screen reader to insert and change text in Word
Use a screen reader to set line spacing and indenting in Word
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Word
What's new in Microsoft 365: Release notes for Current Channel
Use Word for Android with TalkBack, the built-in Android screen reader, to insert a picture or image into a document. You'll also learn how to add alt texts to the pictures to make them more accessible.
Notes:
-
New Microsoft 365 features are released gradually to Microsoft 365 subscribers, so your app might not have these features yet. To learn how you can get new features faster, join the Office Insider program.
-
This topic assumes that you are using the built-in Android screen reader, TalkBack. To learn more about using TalkBack, go to Android accessibility.
In this topic
Insert an image or picture from your phone
-
While editing your Word document, place the insertion point where you want to insert an image.
-
Swipe left until you hear "More options button," and double-tap the screen. You hear the currently selected tab, for example, "Home tab." Double-tap the screen, swipe right or left until you hear “Insert tab,” and double-tap the screen.
-
Swipe right until you hear “Pictures menu,” and double-tap the screen. The Pictures menu opens.
-
Swipe right until you hear “Photos button,” and double-tap the screen. The default gallery app opens.
Note: If you're signed in and using your organization's phone and account, you might have to switch to your personal account or select a gallery app before you can insert an image into a document.
-
Do one of the following:
-
To navigate through the pictures in the currently selected image storage location, swipe right until you hear the image you want.
-
To navigate to another storage location, for example, Downloads or Images, swipe left until you hear "Show roots button," and then double-tap the screen. Swipe right until you hear the location you want, and then double-tap the screen. Swipe left or right until you hear the image you want.
TalkBack announces the images by their filenames, sizes, and dates.
-
-
When on the image you want to insert, double-tap the screen. The image preview opens.
-
Swipe right until you hear "Done," and then double-tap the screen. The image is inserted and the focus returns to your document with the image selected.
Insert a picture from the camera
You can open the device camera straight from Word for Android, take a photo, and then insert the photo into the document.
-
While editing your Word document, place the insertion point where you want to insert a picture.
-
Swipe left until you hear "More options button," and double-tap the screen. You hear the currently selected tab, for example, "Home tab." Double-tap the screen, swipe right or left until you hear “Insert tab,” and double-tap the screen.
-
Swipe right until you hear “Pictures menu,” and then double-tap the screen. The Pictures menu opens.
-
Swipe right until you hear “Camera button,” and then double-tap the screen. The Camera app opens.
Note: If you hear "Allow Word to take pictures and record video, Allow button," double-tap the screen.
-
To take a picture, swipe right until you hear "Capture," point the camera to the right direction, and then double-tap the screen.
-
The image is captured, and the editing view opens. Swipe right until you hear "Confirm," and double-tap the screen.
-
The image preview opens. Swipe right until you hear "Done," and then double-tap the screen. The image is inserted and the focus returns to your document with the image selected.
Place a picture in line with text
To be read correctly by a screen reader, the picture has to be in line with the text.
-
While editing your Word document, slide one finger around the document body until you hear the image you want. When the focus is on the image, you hear the file name or number of the image, followed by "Image." Double-tap and hold the screen with one finger. You hear: "Cut button."
-
Swipe down-then-left. Then slide one finger near the lower-right corner of the screen until you hear "Not checked, More options switch," and double-tap the screen. The focus moves to the Picture tab on the ribbon.
-
Swipe right until you hear "Wrap text menu," and double-tap the screen.
-
Swipe right until you hear "In line with text," and double-tap the screen.
Add alt text to an image
Add alt text to the images to make your document accessible to all audiences. For more information on alt text, refer to Everything you need to know to write effective alt text.
-
While editing your Word document, slide one finger around the document body until you hear the image you want to add alt text to. When the focus is on the image, you hear: "Selected, Image." Double-tap the screen.
-
Slide one finger near the lower-right corner of the screen until you hear "Not checked, More options switch," and double-tap the screen.
-
The focus moves to the Picture tab on the ribbon. Swipe right until you hear "Alt text menu," and double-tap the screen.
-
Swipe right until you hear "Edit box, for, describe this object for someone who is blind," and double-tap the screen. Use the on-screen keyboard to type alt text for the image. To close the on-screen keyboard, swipe down-then-left.
-
To move the focus back to the document body, swipe down-then-left.
See also
Use a screen reader to insert and change text in Word
Use a screen reader to set line spacing and indenting in Word
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Word
What's new in Microsoft 365: Release notes for Current Channel
Use Word for the web with your keyboard and a screen reader to insert a picture or image into a document. We have tested it with Narrator in Microsoft Edge and JAWS and NVDA in Chrome, but it might work with other screen readers and web browsers as long as they follow common accessibility standards and techniques. You'll also learn how to add alt texts to the pictures to make them more accessible.
Notes:
-
If you use Narrator with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, you have to turn off scan mode in order to edit documents, spreadsheets, or presentations with Microsoft 365 for the web. For more information, refer to Turn off virtual or browse mode in screen readers in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.
-
New Microsoft 365 features are released gradually to Microsoft 365 subscribers, so your app might not have these features yet. To learn how you can get new features faster, join the Office Insider program.
-
To learn more about screen readers, go to How screen readers work with Microsoft 365.
-
When you use Word for the web with a screen reader, switch to the full screen mode. Press F11 to toggle the full screen mode on and off.
-
When you use Word for the web, we recommend that you use Microsoft Edge as your web browser. Because Word for the web runs in your web browser, the keyboard shortcuts are different from those in the desktop program. For example, you’ll use Ctrl+F6 instead of F6 for jumping in and out of the commands. Also, common shortcuts like F1 (Help) and Ctrl+O (Open) apply to the web browser – not Word for the web.
In this topic
Insert a picture from your computer
-
In your Word document, place the insertion point where you want to insert the picture.
-
Press Alt+Windows logo key+N, P, P. The Windows Open dialog box opens. The focus is on the File name text field.
-
Use the Tab key and the arrow keys to navigate to the location of the picture on your computer. When you hear the name of the picture, followed by "Selected," press Enter. The original picture is embedded into your document.
Insert a picture from the web
If you don’t have the perfect picture on your computer, you can search for and insert a picture from a web location straight from Word for the web.
Note: When using photos, images, or clip art, you're responsible for respecting copyright. For images, the license filter in Bing can help.
-
In your Word document, place the insertion point where you want to insert the image.
-
Press Alt+Windows logo key+N, P, F.
-
The Bing image search dialog box opens. The focus is on the search text field. Type your search words to describe the picture you're looking for, and then press Enter. The search results are listed, and the focus is on the first matching image.
-
Use the arrow keys to browse the search results. Your screen reader describes each image as you move through the search results.
-
To select an image, press Spacebar.
-
To insert the selected image, press the Tab key until you hear "Insert," and press Enter. Word downloads and inserts the image into your document.
Place a picture in line with text
To be read correctly by a screen reader, the picture has to be in line with the text.
-
In your Word document, move the focus to the picture you want. When the picture is in focus and selected, you hear: "Image."
-
Press Shift+F10. The context menu opens.
-
Press the Up arrow key until you hear "Wrap text," and then press the Right arrow key once. You hear: "In line with text." Press Enter. If you don't hear "In line with text," press the Up arrow key until you reach the In line with text button, and press Enter.
Add alt text to an image
Add alt text to the images to make your document accessible to all audiences. For more information on alt text, refer to Everything you need to know to write effective alt text.
-
In your Word document, move the focus to the image that you want to add alt text to. When the image is in focus and selected, you hear: "Image."
-
Press Alt+Windows logo key+J, P, E. The Format Picture pane opens, and the focus moves to the Alternative Text section.
-
Press the Tab key until you hear "Description," and then type alt text for the image.
-
To return the focus to document body, press Esc.
See also
Use a screen reader to insert and change text in Word
Use a screen reader to check spelling and grammar in Word
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word
Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Word
What's new in Microsoft 365: Release notes for Current Channel
Technical support for customers with disabilities
Microsoft wants to provide the best possible experience for all our customers. If you have a disability or questions related to accessibility, please contact the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk for technical assistance. The Disability Answer Desk support team is trained in using many popular assistive technologies and can offer assistance in English, Spanish, French, and American Sign Language. Please go to the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk site to find out the contact details for your region.
If you are a government, commercial, or enterprise user, please contact the enterprise Disability Answer Desk.
