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

Read out loud symbol with the label Screen reader content. This topic is about using a screen reader with Office

This article is for people who use a screen reader program with the Office products and is part of the Office Accessibility content set. For more general help, see Office Support home.

For people who aren't using a screen reader, see Insert pictures (Windows) or Insert pictures in Office for Mac.

Windows Mac iOS Android Windows 10 app Outlook Web app

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Use Outlook 2016 with your keyboard and a screen reader such as Narrator, the built-in Windows screen reader, to add images into your email messages. For example, insert pictures from your computer or device or from an online source on the web, such as Bing.com.

Notes:

New Office 365 features are released gradually to Office 365 subscribers, so your app might not have these features yet. To learn how you could get new features faster, visit When do I get the newest features in Office 2016 for Office 365?.
For keyboard shortcuts, go to Keyboard shortcuts for Outlook.
This topic assumes that you are using the built-in Windows screen reader, Narrator. To learn more about using Narrator, go to Get started with Narrator.
This topic makes note of the JAWS functionality as well. To learn more about JAWS for Windows, go to JAWS for Windows Quick Start Guide.
This topic assumes you are using this app with a PC. Some navigation and gestures might be different for a Windows phone or tablet.

Insert a picture from your computer

In an email message, place the focus at the insertion point where you want to insert the picture.
To move to the Insert tab on the ribbon and open the Insert Picture dialog box, press Alt+N, P. As the focus moves to the File name box in the Insert Picture dialog box, you hear "Insert Picture dialog." The Insert Picture dialog box opens the default folder for the pictures on your computer or device (typically, the Pictures folder).
To move between folders and then select one in the Insert Picture dialog box:
- Press the Tab key until the focus is on the folders and files in the Insert Picture dialog box. You hear the name of one of the folders or files.
- To move between and select folders and files, use the arrow keys. As you select, you hear the folder's name.
- When you hear the name of a folder you want to open, press Enter.
  
  Tip: When you press Enter, the focus may move from the folder. If this happens, the focus moves to an item in the left pane. To return the focus to the folders, press the Right arrow key.
- Repeat this procedure until you find the folder that contains your picture.
To insert your picture from the currently selected folder, select the file that you want and press Enter.

Or, you can press F6 to move the focus to the File name box (you'll hear "File name"), and then type the file name for the picture and press Enter.

Insert a picture from an online source

Note: Bing Image Search filters are based on the highly respected Creative Commons license system. To better understand the licensing options, refer to Filter images by license type. Remember, you're responsible for respecting the rights of others' property, including copyright.

In an email, place the insertion point where you want to insert the image.
To move to the Insert tab on the ribbon and open the Insert Pictures dialog, press Alt+N, F. As the focus moves to the Bing Image Search box in the Insert Pictures dialog, you hear "Insert Picture."
Type a word or phrase that describes the type of picture you want, and then press Enter twice.
To move through the image search results and select images, use the arrow keys. You hear a description of each image you select.

Tip: To type a different word or phrase, tab to the Bing Image Search box. You hear "Search Bing, Enter your search term." (This option is not available when using JAWS.)
To download and insert an image from the search results, first select the image by pressing Spacebar and then press the Tab key until you reach the Insert button. You hear "Insert button." Then, press Spacebar. The focus returns to your message, and you hear: "Message edit."

Add alt text to an image

In your Outlook email, select the picture that you want to add alt text to.
To open the context menu, press Shift+F10.
Press the Up or Down arrow key repeatedly until you hear: "Format Picture." Press Enter.
Press F6 until you hear: "Effects, 2 of 4, selected." With JAWS you hear: "Effects grid, 2 of 4."
Press the Right arrow key once. You hear: "Layout and Properties, 3 of 4, selected." With JAWS you hear: "Layout and Properties grid, 3 of 4."
Press the Tab key repeatedly until you hear: "Off, Alt Text, button." With JAWS you hear: "Alt Text button." Press Enter.
Press the Down arrow key to move to the Title box, and type the alt text title for the image.
Press the Tab key once to move to the Description box, and type the alt text description. When done, press Esc to return to the message.

In this topic

Insert a picture from your computer
Insert a picture from an online source
Add alt text to an image

Insert a picture from your computer

You can easily add a picture in your email using your keyboard and VoiceOver. To insert pictures, your message must be formatted using HTML.

In an email, place the focus where you want to insert the picture.
To go to the menu bar, press Control+Option+M. You hear: "Menu bar Apple."
Press the Right arrow key until you hear "Format," and then press the Down arrow key until you hear: "Insert picture ellipses."
Press Spacebar. The Insert File dialog opens.
To browse to the location where the picture is saved, press the Tab key until you hear: "Sidebar table."

Tip: To open the Sidebar, press the Tab key until you hear "Show Sidebar button" and then press Spacebar.

The focus moves to the list of favorite locations, such as All My Files or Documents. Press the Up or Down arrow keys until you hear the location you want.
When on the correct location, press the Tab key. Then press the Up or Down arrow keys to browse to the subfolder or file you want. To enter a subfolder, press the Right arrow key.
When the correct file is selected, to insert the picture, press Enter or Control+Option+Spacebar. The picture is inserted in the email.

Insert a picture from an online source

Searching for and inserting pictures from online sources directly from Outlook isn't currently supported. However, you can still add an online picture to your email by searching for the picture online, saving a local copy, and then inserting the local copy in the email.

Using a web browser, go to www.bing.com. The focus moves to the Bing Search box.
In the Search box, enter a keyword for the type of image you're looking for and then press Enter.

Note: Bing Image Search filters are based on the highly respected Creative Commons license system. To better understand the licensing options, refer to Filter images by license type. Remember, you're responsible for respecting the rights of others' property, including copyright. In the License filter, you can filter search results to All Creative Commons only or you can choose to see all images. If you choose All, your search results will expand to show all Bing images. To select a license option, use the Up or Down arrow keys and then press Spacebar to select.
To filter the search results to images only, in your Bing search results, press Option+Tab until you hear "Link, Images," and then press Enter.
To navigate to the image results, press Option+Tab or Option+Shift+Tab. You hear: "Link, image, image results for <the search keywords>."
To open the full-sized image, press Enter.
To download the image, press Option+Tab until you hear "Image result for <the search keywords>" followed by the file name and extension. Press Command+S.
The Save as dialog opens. The focus is in the file name field. To choose the save location, press the Tab key until you hear "<Current save location>, Where, column, pop-up button," and then use the Tab and the arrow keys to select a location. To save, press Command+S.

Tip: Save the images in your Documents to make them easier to insert in an Outlook document.
In Outlook, place the focus where you want to insert a picture. Insert the picture you just saved using the instructions in Insert a picture from your computer.

Add alt text to an image

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

Navigate to the image in your email, and press Control+Option+Spacebar to select it.
With the focus on the image, press Shift+Command+2. You hear: "Add alt text." The Format Picture task pane opens.
Press the Tab key until you hear "Edit text, blank, title," and then type a descriptive title for the image.
Press the Tab key. You hear: "Edit text." Type a description of the image.
To exit the Format Picture task pane, press Shift+Tab until you hear "Close Format picture button," and then press Spacebar.

In this topic

Insert a picture from your iPhone
Insert a picture from an online source

Insert a picture from your iPhone

Note: Make sure you allow Outlook for iOS to access your Photos in your iPhone Settings.

In a new email message body, place the focus where you want to insert the picture.
Swipe right until you hear "Attach file or photo button," and then double-tap the screen.
To insert a picture from your phone, swipe right until you hear "Choose photo from library button," and then double-tap the screen. Photos opens, and you can select the picture you want to insert.
To browse the Photos folders, swipe right or left until you hear the folder you want. To open the folder, double-tap the screen.
When in the folder you want, swipe right or left to navigate to the file you want. When on the file, to insert the picture, double-tap the screen.
The picture is inserted, and the focus moves to the new email message body.

Insert a picture from an online source

Searching for and inserting pictures from online sources directly from Outlook for iOS isn't currently supported. However, you can still add an online picture to your email by searching for the picture online, saving a local copy, and then inserting the local copy in the email.

Using a web browser app, go to www.bing.com. The focus moves to the Bing Search box.
In the Search box, double-tap the screen and type a search keyword for the type of image you're looking for using the on-screen keyboard. When done typing, swipe left until you hear "Done button," and then double-tap the screen. Swipe left until you hear "Search button," and double-tap the screen. The Bing search results page opens.

Tip: To find the keyboard, explore the items on the screen. To explore, place a finger on the screen and drag it around. VoiceOver announces the items as you land on them. To select an item, lift your finger and double-tap the screen.

Note: Bing Image Search filters are based on the highly respected Creative Commons license system. To better understand the licensing options, refer to Filter images by license type. Remember, you're responsible for respecting the rights of others' property, including copyright.
To filter the search results to images only, in your Bing search results, swipe right until you hear "Images link," and then double-tap the screen.
To navigate to the image results, swipe right. VoiceOver announces the images as "Image results for <the search keywords>, link image."
To open the full-sized image, when on an image, double-tap the screen.
After opening the full-sized image, to download it, swipe right until you hear "Image results for <the search keywords>, image," and then double-tap and hold your finger on the screen until you hear "Alert, save image button." Double-tap the screen to save. The picture is saved in Photos, in the All Photos folder.
In Outlook, place the focus where you want to insert the picture. Then insert the picture you just saved using the instructions in Insert a picture from your iPhone.

In this topic

Insert a picture from your phone
Insert a picture from an online source

Insert a picture from your phone

Note: Make sure you allow Outlook for Android to access your photos, media and files on your phone in the App permission in Settings.

In a new email message, swipe right until you hear "Attach files," and then double-tap the screen.
To insert a picture from your phone, swipe right until you hear "Choose from photos," and then double-tap the screen. The Open from menu opens.
To go to Photos, swipe right until you hear "Photos," and then double-tap the screen. The Select a photo menu opens, and you can select the picture you want to insert.
To browse the folders, swipe right or left until you hear the folder you want. To open the folder, double-tap the screen. When in the folder you want, swipe right or left to navigate to the file you want. When on the file, to insert the picture, double-tap the screen.
The picture is inserted, and the focus moves to your email message.

Insert a picture from an online source

Searching for and inserting pictures from online sources directly from Outlook for Android isn't currently supported. However, you can still add an online picture to your email by searching for the picture online, saving a local copy, and then inserting the local copy in the email.

Note: Make sure you allow the web browser app to access your photos, media and files on your phone in the App permission in Settings.

Using a web browser app, go to www.bing.com. Then to go to the Bing Search box, swipe right until you hear: "Collapsed. Enter your search term combo box."
In the Search box, double-tap the screen and type a search keyword for the type of image you're looking for using the on-screen keyboard. When done typing, swipe right until you hear "Search button," and double-tap the screen. The Bing search results page opens.

Tip: You can find the keyboard by exploring the items on the screen. To explore, place a finger on the screen and drag it around. TalkBack announces the items as you land on them. To select an item, when on the item, lift your finger. Depending on your device settings, you may need to double-tap the screen to insert the character.

Note: Bing Image Search filters are based on the highly respected Creative Commons license system. To better understand the licensing options, refer to Filter images by license type. Remember, you're responsible for respecting the rights of others' property, including copyright.
To filter the search results to images only, in your Bing search results, swipe right until you hear "Images link," and then double-tap the screen.
To navigate to the image results, swipe right. TalkBack announces the images as "Image result for <the search keywords>, link."
To open the full-sized image, when on an image, double-tap the screen.
After opening the full-sized image, to download it, swipe right until you hear "Image result for <the search keywords>, graphic," and then double-tap and hold your finger on the screen until you hear "Image result for <the search keywords>, showing items." Swipe right until you hear "Download image," and then double-tap the screen to save. The picture is saved in Photos in the Download folder.
In Outlook, in a new email message, insert the picture you just saved using the instructions in Insert a picture from your phone.

In this topic

Insert a picture from your device
Add alternative text to an image

Insert a picture from your device

Spice up your emails and add a picture from the local storage on your device.

In an email, place the focus where you want to insert the picture.
Swipe left or right until you hear "More options button," and then double-tap the screen.
Swipe right until you hear "Insert, button collapsed," and then double-tap the screen. You hear: "Files button."
Swipe right until you hear "Pictures button," and then double-tap the screen. The Photos app opens.
Swipe right or left until you hear the picture you want, and double-tap the screen to select.
To insert the picture, swipe right until you hear "Insert, app bar button," and then double-tap the screen.

Add alternative text to an image

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

In an email, to select the image to which you want to add alternative text, swipe left or right until you hear "Selected, image."
Swipe right until you hear "More options button," and then double-tap the screen.
Swipe right until you hear "Picture button," and then double-tap the screen. The Picture menu opens.
Swipe right until you hear "Alt text button," and the double-tap the screen. You hear: "Title, editing." The Alt Text dialog opens, the focus is on the Title text field, and the on-screen keyboard pops up.
Type the alternative text title.
Swipe right until you hear "Description, editable text," and then double-tap the screen.
Type the alternative text description.
To exit the dialog, swipe left or right until you hear "Done button," and then double-tap the screen.

In this topic

Insert a picture from your device
Insert a picture from an online source
Add alt text to an image

Insert a picture from your device

Spice up your emails and add a picture from the local storage on your device.

In an email, place the focus where you want to insert the picture.
Press the Tab key until you hear "Insert pictures inline button," and then press Spacebar. The Open dialog opens.
Navigate to the picture you want, and then press Alt+O. The picture is inserted in the email.

Insert a picture from an online source

Searching for and inserting pictures from online sources directly from Outlook Web App isn't currently supported. However, you can still add an online picture to your email by searching for the picture online, saving a local copy, and then inserting the local copy in the email.

Using a web browser, go to www.bing.com. The focus moves to the Bing Search box.
In the Search box, enter a keyword for the type of image you're looking for and then press Enter.

Note: Bing Image Search filters are based on the highly respected Creative Commons license system. To better understand the licensing options, refer to Filter images by license type. Remember, you're responsible for respecting the rights of others' property, including copyright. In the License filter, you can filter search results to All Creative Commons only or you can choose to see all images. If you choose All, your search results will expand to show all Bing images. To select a license option, use the Up or Down arrow keys and then press Enter to select.
To filter the search results to images only, in your Bing search results, press the Tab key until you hear "Images, link," and then press Enter.
To navigate to the image results, press the Tab key. You hear: "Image results for <the search keywords>."
To open the full-sized image, press Enter.
Press the Tab key until you hear: "Image result for <the search keywords>." The focus moves to the image.
Press Shift+F10. The context menu opens.
Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Save picture as," and then press Enter.
The Save as dialog opens. The focus is on the file name field. To choose a save location, press the Tab key and the arrow keys until you hear the location you want. To select, press Enter. To save the image, press Alt+S.
In Outlook, place the focus where you want to insert a picture. Insert the picture you just saved using the instructions in Insert a picture from your device.

Add alt text to an image

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

In an email, to place the focus on the image to which you want to add alternative text, press Shift+Down or Up arrow until you hear: "End of line, selected."
Press the Tab key. You hear: "Unchecked font check box."
Press the Right arrow key until you hear "Add alternate text to image button," and then press Spacebar. You hear: "Dialog focus on editing."
Type the text, and then press the Tab key until you hear OK button, and then press Spacebar.

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