Microsoft Excel
Structure
Excel is a powerful spreadsheet software designed to manage and analyze data. Excel's organizational structure revolves around three key elements: Workbooks, Worksheets, and Cells. The workbook is the primary file containing all the data. Within each workbook, users can create multiple worksheets. This allows users to organize and separate different types of data. Individual worksheets are comprised of many cells. Cells are formed by the intersection of columns (A - Z) and rows (1 - 1,000,000). The cell is where users enter data, text, numbers, and formulas.
Action Items
Ensuring accessibility in Excel is essential for creating inclusive and usable documents. Refer to the Accessibility Checklist to verify that your file meets the needs of all readers. In addition, Excel users must complete the following action items to fully achieve accessibility standards.
All documents should have the title and language set in Document Properties. The title should be concise and meaningful, reflecting the document's purpose. The title can be used to quickly identify the intent of a document without opening it. Meanwhile, the document language indicates the spoken language in which the text is written. Correctly set language properties allow screen readers and assistive technologies to accurately read and interpret the content.
Add Metadata
A document's title and language is part of its metadata. Metadata is the descriptive information embedded within a file that helps identify and organize the document. This data is not visible to the eye; rather, it is contained within the code. Additional metadata includes the author's name, a subject description, and keywords. This metadata helps users and systems quickly locate the document in a library, database, or search engine by matching the keywords to search queries. In Excel, this additional data can be entered in the same dialogue box as the document title.
Assigning unique, descriptive names to all Excel worksheets is essential for effective organization and navigation. Descriptive sheet names clarify the content and purpose of each worksheet, making it easier to locate specific data. This practice is especially important for screen reader users, as it enhances their ability to navigate files.
Renaming Sheets
By default, Excel names worksheets as Sheet 1, Sheet 2, etc. To rename a worksheet, navigate to the bottom of the Excel file where the sheet tabs are located. Right-click on the default sheet name, select Rename from the menu, and then type the new name directly into the sheet tab. Press Enter to save the new name.
Data for each worksheet should generally begin in cell A1. Since A1 is the default starting point for new spreadsheets, screen readers automatically begin reading data from this cell. If no text appears in cell A1, screen readers may may interpret the worksheet as blank. Therefore, it is best to put the most important information (such as a header or table title) in this cell.
Headings are signposts that structure text documents and allow readers to more easily navigate their way around a document. More than simply just bolded or italicized words, headings provide extra information about the structure of the document at the code level. To enable screen readers to read your Excel files correctly, you will need to create headings that identify titles and major sections of your worksheets.
Using the Cell Style Tool to Apply Headings
Creating headers in Excel involves more than simply bolding or emphasizing text. In Excel, you can only create headings using the Cell Style tool. Follow the steps in the tutorial below to create headings using the Cell Styles tool.
Alternative text (or alt-text) is the short written description that typically appears in place of an image on a webpage or in a document. The purpose of alt-text is to textually describe a visual image in such a way that someone who can't see the image can understand that image's meaning. This is especially important in Excel. When screen readers encounter charts and graphs in Excel, they read them as images. Unless alternative text (alt-text) describing what is in the image, chart, or graph is provided, a screen reader will simply announce “Image” and move on.
To set the alt-text of an image, chart, or graph in Excel, follow the instructions outlined in the tutorial below.
Automatic Alt-Text
Microsoft Office automatically generates alt-text for images, either using artificial intelligence, or inserting the filename or URL that the image originally came from. Automatically generated alt-text is, at best, only a guestimate. At its worst, automatic alt-text is actually more harmful than helpful. It's important to check alt text manually to ensure that if offers a helpful description.
Run the Accessibility Checker to test for accessibility issues. This checker scans your document for potential issues that might prevent people with disabilities from accessing the content properly. It will highlight the issues, provide suggestions on how to fix them, and then prompt you to fix these issues. For more information, see Microsoft's Support documentation on Improving Accessibility with the Accessibility Checker.
Resources
- For more help, see Section 508's mini-series How to Make an Accessible Spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel. This series explains and demonstrates the minimum steps needed to ensure your Microsoft Excel spreadsheet is accessible.
- Get step-by-step instructions and best practices for making your Excel document accessible with Microsoft Support's page on Accessibility Best Pratices with Excel Spreadsheets.
- Use the Accessibility Checklist for Microsoft Excel Documents to gauge how compliant your course resources are with Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title II regulations, and WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines.