A small table and a picture with alt text

A table organises facts in rows and columns — for example, three time slots and where they happen. Microsoft’s accessibility guide says that, in general, you should avoid tables if you can present the same information another way, such as short paragraphs with headings. If you do use a table, keep it simple and use it for data only. Specify column header information. Do not merge or split cells, nest one table inside another, or leave completely blank rows or columns, because screen readers count cells and can lose their place.

To insert a table, Microsoft’s steps are: choose Insert > Table, then choose how many boxes you want across (columns) and how many down (rows). Two new tabs appear: Design and Layout (Table Tools). On the Design tab, in Table Styles Options, choose Header row. Then click in the first cell of the top row, type the column name, and press Tab to move to the next column.

A good practice table for this course might have two columns and three or four rows: “Item” and “Notes,” or “Time” and “Place.” It is not a spreadsheet. If you need numbers that add themselves up, that skill belongs in *Microsoft Excel Basics*, not here. Keep the table narrow enough to read on a phone screen; Microsoft warns that fixed-width tables can force extra sideways scrolling.

You do not need Total Row, banded styles, or nested tables today. Simple facts, a header row, and clear column names are enough.

A small picture can help a community notice — a simple photo of a hall entrance, or a logo staff say you may use. Look for Picture on the Insert tab. The next choices differ by version (a folder on this computer, stock images, or other sources). Ask a tutor to point to the control that opens a file you are allowed to use. Do not insert pictures from unknown websites, and do not use a photo of another person without their okay. On a shared computer, use a practice image staff provide.

Once the picture is on the page, it still needs alternative text (alt text) if it carries meaning. Microsoft says alt text helps people with visual disabilities understand pictures and other graphical content. When someone using a screen reader reaches a picture, they hear the alt text; without it, they may only know that a picture is there. Briefly describe the object and its context in one or two sentences. Microsoft says not to start with phrases such as “a graphic of” or “an image of,” and not to repeat the sentence that already sits beside the picture.

If the visual is only decoration — Microsoft’s example is a stylistic border — you can mark it as decorative instead of writing alt text. People who use screen readers then hear that the object is decorative, so they know they are not missing a fact. Prefer real text in the document over words that exist only inside an image. If a picture contains important words, repeat those words in the page itself.

Microsoft’s steps to add alt text (Microsoft 365 on Windows, opened 10 November 2026) are: right-click the object and select View Alt Text, or select the object and then open its format menu (for example Picture Format) and select Alt Text. In the Alt Text pane, type one or two sentences that describe the object and its context for someone who cannot see it. To mark a visual as decorative, open the same pane and select Mark as decorative; the text box then becomes unavailable.

Word may generate automatic alt text. Microsoft says you can approve it if it is satisfactory, and you can turn automatic alt text on or off under File > Options > Accessibility. If automatic text appears, read it. Remove leftover comments such as a note that the content may be incorrect, and rewrite anything that does not match the picture.

You can also ask Word to look for missing alt text. Microsoft says the Accessibility Checker runs in the background and can be opened with Review > Check Accessibility. For this basic course, it is enough to add your own short description and to keep the table simple. Save when you are done.

1. In your practice document, insert a small table (two or three columns, a few rows).
2. Turn on Header row and type column names.
3. If you have a practice picture you are allowed to use, insert it from the Insert tab.
4. Open View Alt Text (or Picture Format > Alt Text) and write one or two sentences, or mark the picture decorative if it has no meaning.
5. Optional: Review > Check Accessibility and see whether alt text is mentioned.
6. Save. Do not insert private photos of other people.

When is a two-column table clearer than a list? When would a sentence be easier, especially on a phone?