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Use a screen reader to insert a picture or image in Mail

This article is for people with visual or cognitive impairments who use a screen reader program such as Windows Narrator, JAWS, or NVDA with 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.

Use Mail for Windows 10 with your keyboard and a screen reader to add images into your email messages. We have 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.

Notes: 

In this topic

Insert an image from your device

Make your emails livelier and add an image to your email message body from the local storage on your device.

Note: To learn how to add images as attachments, refer to section "Open or add attachments" in Basic tasks using a screen reader with Mail.

  1. In your email, place the focus where you want to insert the image.

  2. Press Alt to move the focus to the row of ribbon tabs. You hear the currently selected ribbon tab.

  3. Press the Left or Right arrow key until you hear: "Insert tab."

  4. To move to the ribbon, press the Down arrow key once. You hear the first option on the ribbon, for example, "Files, button."

  5. Press the Right arrow key until you hear "Pictures, button," and press Enter. The WindowsOpen dialog box opens with the focus on the File name text field.

  6. Do one of the following:

    • Type part of the file name and press the Down arrow key to browse the matching results. When you find the right image, press Enter to insert it.

    • Press Shift+Tab once to move the focus to the file list and use the arrow keys to navigate to the image you want. To open a folder, press Enter. To go back to the previous folder level, press Alt+Up arrow key. When you find the right image, press Enter to insert it.

Note: By default, Mail opens the Pictures folder on your PC. If the image you want is stored somewhere else, you must first navigate to that folder using the navigation pane tree view of the Open dialog box.

Add alternative text to an image

Make your email more accessible and add alternative text to the images in your email.

  1. In your email, to select the image to which you want to add alternative text, press the Up or Down arrow key until you reach the inserted image.

  2. Press Alt to move the focus to the row of ribbon tabs. You hear: "Picture tab."

  3. To move to the ribbon, press the Down arrow key once. You hear the first option on the ribbon, for example, "Rotate, button."

  4. Press the Right arrow key until you hear "Alt Text, button," and then press Enter. The Alt Text dialog box opens with the focus on the Title text field.

  5. Type the alternative text title.

  6. Press the Tab key once. You hear: "Description." Type the alternative text description.

  7. Once you're done, press Esc to exit the dialog box. The focus returns to the Alt Text button on the ribbon.

See also

Screen reader support for Mail and Calendar for Windows 10

Use a screen reader to save an image or attachment from an email in Mail

Keyboard shortcuts in Mail

Basic tasks using a screen reader with Mail

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Mail

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.

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