How to Add Alternative Text to a Chart in Excel

Making your data understandable isn't just about choosing the right chart type, it's about ensuring everyone can access the insights you're presenting. Adding alternative text, or "alt text," to your Excel charts is a small step that makes a massive difference for accessibility. This tutorial will walk you through exactly how to add alt text to your charts in Excel, including best practices for writing descriptions that are genuinely helpful.

What Is Alt Text, and Why Does It Matter for Excel Charts?

Alternative text is a written description of a non-text element, like a chart, image, or table. Its primary goal is to provide context and meaning for individuals who can't see the visual content. People with visual impairments often use screen reader software, which reads the content of a document aloud. When a screen reader encounters a chart, it reads the alt text to describe what the chart shows.

Without alt text, a screen reader might say something generic like "Chart 1" or just "Object," leaving the listener with no understanding of the data you're trying to share. Think of it as describing a picture over the phone to someone - you wouldn't just say "it's a picture", you'd explain what's in it.

But accessibility isn't the only benefit:

• Inclusive Communication: It ensures that all key stakeholders, regardless of ability, can engage with your analysis and be part of the conversation.
• Better Context for All: When you export your Excel chart as an image for a presentation or website, good alt text provides clear context for everyone and improves SEO.
• Compliance: For many organizations, particularly in government and education, following accessibility standards like WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is a requirement.

Writing good alt text turns your Excel chart from a purely visual medium into a universally accessible piece of information.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Add Alt Text to an Excel Chart

Adding alt text in modern versions of Excel (Microsoft 365, Excel 2019, and newer on both Windows and Mac) is straightforward. Here are three simple methods to get it done.

Method 1: The Right-Click Menu (Quickest Approach)

This is the most direct way to access the alt text field.

1. Select Your Chart: Click anywhere on your chart to select it. Make sure you see the border appear around the entire chart object.
2. Right-Click: Right-click on the outer border or a blank area of the chart (not on a specific element like a single bar or the legend).
3. Choose "Edit Alt Text...": In the context menu that appears, click on Edit Alt Text....
4. Write Your Description: An "Alt Text" pane will open on the right side of your screen. Type your description into the text box. The changes are saved automatically once you click out of the box.

Method 2: Using the Format Pane

If you already have the "Format Chart Area" pane open for other adjustments, you can find the alt text option there too.

1. Open the Format Pane: Right-click on your chart and select Format Chart Area...
2. Navigate to Size & Properties: In the pane that opens on the right, look for a series of small icons at the top. Click on the icon that looks like a square with resizing arrows, labeled Size & Properties.
3. Expand the Alt Text Section: Click on the dropdown arrow next to Alt Text.
4. Enter Your Text: Type your description in the box provided.

Method 3: From the Excel Ribbon

You can also access the alt text feature directly from the main ribbon menu at the top of Excel.

1. Select the Chart: First, click on your chart to make it active.
2. Open the Format Tab: A new contextual tab called Chart Format (or just Format in some versions) will appear in the ribbon. Click it.
3. Click Alt Text: In the Accessibility group, click the Alt Text button. This will open the same Alt Text pane on the right-hand side of your worksheet.
4. Add Your Description: Fill in the text field with your descriptive text.

One bonus feature you'll see here is a checkbox labeled "Mark as decorative." This should almost never be used for a data chart. Its purpose is for purely ornamental visuals that don't add information. For any chart containing data, you should always provide a useful text alternative.

Best Practices for Writing Meaningful Chart Alt Text

Knowing how to add alt text is only half the battle. Knowing what to write makes all the difference. Writing a helpful description is an art. Here are some key principles to follow.

• Start With the Basics: Begin by stating the chart type and what it generally represents. For example, "A bar chart showing..." or "Line graph of..."
• Communicate the Main Takeaway: Don't just list data points. What is the key insight, trend, or comparison the chart is meant to show? What do you want your audience to conclude after seeing it? This is the most crucial part.
• Be Concise but Thorough: Your goal is to be clear and informative without writing a short story. A couple of sentences are usually sufficient to convey the essential information.
• Avoid Redundant Phrases: Never start with "Image of..." or "Picture of...". Screen reader software already identifies the element as a chart or image, so this just adds unnecessary noise.
• Context Is Queen: Think about your audience. What do they already know? What information is most important for them to understand from this specific visualization? A chart used in a detailed financial report may need a more technical description than one used in a general company-wide newsletter.
• Include Key Data Points: Mention critical values, such as peaks, lows, totals, or significant comparative figures that support your main takeaway.

Examples: Good vs. Bad Alt Text for Common Charts

Let's look at some practical examples to see how these principles apply.

Example 1: Monthly Sales Bar Chart

Imagine a bar chart showing rising sales throughout the year.

• Bad Alt Text: Sales chart 2024. (Vague and unhelpful.)
• So-so Alt Text: Bar chart of monthly sales revenue. (Identifies the chart, but provides no insight.)
• Good Alt Text: Vertical bar chart showing monthly sales revenue for 2024. Sales show a steady growth trend, starting at 110,000 in January and peaking at 195,000 in December. (Clear, insightful, and includes key data points.)

Example 2: Website Traffic Line Graph

Imagine a line graph that shows a massive traffic spike after a marketing campaign.

• Bad Alt Text: Website traffic. (Provides no context.)
• So-so Alt Text: Line graph of website sessions per day last month. (Better, but misses the key event.)
• Good Alt Text: Line graph of daily website sessions in October. Traffic remained stable around 1,500 daily sessions until a marketing campaign launched on October 22nd, causing a sharp spike to over 8,000 daily sessions. (Highlights the cause-and-effect relationship shown in the data.)

Example 3: Market Share Pie Chart

Imagine a pie chart breaking down the market between your company and two competitors.

• Bad Alt Text: A pie chart. (Completely uninformative.)
• So-so Alt Text: Pie chart of market share by company in Q4. (Identifies the topic but lacks the actual data.)
• Good Alt Text: Pie chart analyzing Q4 market share. Our product leads with 55%, followed closely by Competitor A with 35%, and Competitor B with 10%. (Clearly communicates the proportions and key players.)

Don't Forget Excel's Built-In Accessibility Checker

Excel has a fantastic built-in tool that can help you find accessibility issues, including missing alt text, before you share your workbook.

To use it:

1. Go to the Review tab in the Excel ribbon.
2. Click the Check Accessibility button.
3. An "Accessibility" pane will open on the right, listing any issues it finds, grouped by errors, warnings, and tips.

If you have any charts (or other objects) missing alt text, it will appear under the "Errors" section. You can click on the issue directly, and Excel will select the chart in question and even give you a dropdown of recommended actions, including "Add a description," which will open the Alt Text pane for you. Running this checker should be the final step in your workflow before you share your data.

Final Thoughts

Adding alt text to your Excel charts is a quick habit that vastly improves the usability and inclusivity of your data. By writing a clear, concise summary that conveys the core message of your visualization, you ensure that every member of your audience, regardless of ability, can access and understand your hard work.

Making data insights effortlessly accessible is exactly what we focus on building at Graphed. While manually creating charts in Excel is powerful, it can be time-consuming to build, update, and annotate everything correctly. With Graphed, we help you get straight to the insights by letting you use simple conversational language to build entire real-time dashboards from your connected marketing and sales data sources like Google Analytics, Shopify, or Salesforce, giving your team immediate clarity without the manual work.