How to select an image in a Word document that has drawings on it

You should be able to select multiple objects with Shift + click, assuming that both the drawings and the images are wrapped (that is, the Text Wrapping is NOT set to "In line with text" for each of them). Doing this gives you access to the options on the Shape Format ribbon tab, which may help. For example, you can group the objects and then add Alt text to the group as a whole.

Dear @LCH,

Good day. Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum!

I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused. In my test environment, I followed your description, and everything worked as expected, so I have not been able to reproduce the issue you reported.

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In the meantime, please try repairing Office first. You can refer to Repair an Office application - Microsoft Support and then check the result. 

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To select an image in a Word document that has drawings (like text boxes and arrows) on it, you can try the following methods:

1. Use the Selection Pane: This feature allows you to see all objects in your document, including images and drawings. You can access it by going to the Home tab, clicking on Select in the Editing group, and then choosing Selection Pane. From there, you can select the image directly without affecting the drawings.
2. Click and Drag: If the image is behind the drawings, you can try clicking and dragging around the image. This may help you select the image without selecting the drawings.
3. Send Drawings to Back: If you are okay with temporarily moving the drawings, you can select the drawings, right-click, and choose Send to Back. This will allow you to access the image underneath. After you have added the alt text, you can bring the drawings back to the front by selecting them and choosing Bring to Front.
4. Group Objects: If you frequently need to work with both the image and the drawings, consider grouping them. Select both the image and the drawings, right-click, and choose Group. This way, you can move them together while still being able to select the image when needed.

These methods should help you manage the image and drawings effectively without removing any elements permanently.