Summary
This article is for university faculty, staff, and students to create and share accessible Excel spreadsheets. It explains why Excel spreadsheets may pose accessibility challenges and provides best practices and how-to documentation to help Excel spreadsheets meet digital accessibility standards.
Body
Overview
This article is for university faculty, staff, and students to create and share accessible Excel spreadsheets. It explains why Excel spreadsheets may pose accessibility challenges and provides best practices and how-to documentation to help Excel spreadsheets meet digital accessibility standards.
Making Excel Spreadsheets Accessible
It is required that all digital content meet digital accessibility standards. Excel is powerful for working with data, but it presents accessibility challenges, especially for screen reader users. Excel software is highly visual and relies on spatial relationships, like rows and columns, which aren’t always conveyed clearly through assistive technology. Issues such as merged cells, missing headers, and unlabeled charts can disrupt the logical reading order.
Best Practices
To help make Excel workbooks accessible, follow these best practices from the Microsoft Excel Accessibility Quick Card by the Minnesota IT Services Office of Accessibility. Note: It's recommended to use the desktop version of Excel for access to all accessibility features.
Quick Summary:
- Do your data tables have clear row and column headers? Use descriptive headers so people using screen readers can understand how each data cell relates to the table structure. Keep tables simple whenever possible.
- Have you avoided merged cells and unnecessary blank cells? Merged cells and blank cells used for visual spacing can interrupt reading order and make navigation harder for assistive technologies. Use alignment, borders, or formatting instead of merging cells or adding empty spaces.
- Does each worksheet have a unique, descriptive name? Rename worksheet tabs so they clearly describe the content of each sheet. Descriptive names help users understand the workbook structure and navigate more efficiently.
- Is information conveyed without relying on color alone? Do not use color as the only way to show status, meaning, or priority. Add text labels, symbols, or other visual indicators so the content remains understandable for people with color vision differences.
- Is the reading and navigation order logical? Organize content in a clear top-to-bottom, left-to-right sequence. Avoid placing related information in scattered locations that make keyboard or screen reader navigation confusing.
- Do meaningful images, charts, and graphs include appropriate alternative text? Add concise alternative text that communicates the purpose or key takeaway of each visual. If a chart contains important trends or comparisons, ensure that this information is also available in the surrounding text or data.
- Is the text readable with sufficient contrast? Use clear fonts and ensure text has sufficient contrast against the background so it is easier to read for people with low vision. Avoid light text on light backgrounds or dark text on dark backgrounds.
- Are frozen panes used carefully? If you freeze rows or columns, make sure this does not make the worksheet harder to understand or navigate. Keep important headers visible, but avoid layouts that confuse assistive technology and users.
- Did you run the Accessibility Checker and complete a manual review? Use Excel’s Accessibility Checker to catch common issues, then do a final manual review to confirm the spreadsheet is understandable, navigable, and accessible to a wide range of users.
Training
More Resources
Restrict Access to Your Excel Spreadsheets