Excel Accessibility

Excel has limited support for accessibility – the key is to use it how it was meant to be used (to display and calculate data) and keep it simple.

1. Name & Title – Save with a meaningful name & title.
   • Save the workbook with a meaningful file name.
   • If you save as PDF, click File, Info, look under Properties, and enter the name as the Title.
2. Sheet Names – Give sheets meaningful names.
   • Right-click the sheet name (e.g., Sheet1), pick Rename, and enter a short, meaningful name. (Sheet names can contain spaces.)
   • If there are any unused sheets (e.g., Sheet2), right-click, and pick delete.
3. Cell A1 – Start in A1
   • For simple spreadsheets, start your table in cell A1.
   • If you need to include a title at the top of the sheet, put it in A1; If you need to include instructions, put them in A2.
4. Tables - Use Excel’s “Table” feature.
   • Select the cell where your table will start (e.g., A1). On the Insert menu, click Table (or press Ctrl + T), check the “My table has headers” checkbox, click OK.
   • On the Table Design menu, click Table Name, and enter a short, meaningful name. Table Names can’t contain spaces, so capitalize each word or use underscores between words (e.g., “TestTable” or “Test_Table”).
   • In the Table Style Options section, check the Header Row and First Column checkboxes. All other checkboxes are optional.
   • Put column headers in the first row and row headers in the first column.
   • Don’t merge cells.
   • Don’t include blank columns or rows. 
   • Adjust row height, column width, cell alignment, and borders as desired.
5. Pictures – Include “Alt Text” for Pictures, Shapes, Charts, etc.
   • Excel has two ways of positioning Pictures, “in cell” and “over cell”. Shapes, Icons, Charts, etc., can only be positioned “over cell”.
   • For Pictures positioned “in cell”:
     • Right click the picture, select View Alt Text, and enter what the picture communicates (don’t describe what it looks like).
     • If it doesn’t communicate anything, check “Mark as decorative”.
   • For Pictures, Shapes, Charts, etc. positioned “over cell”:
     • Include the text in a cell behind or below the picture. For charts, include the table with the chart data on the same sheet.
     • Right click the picture, etc., select View Alt Text, and check “Mark as decorative”.
6. Forms – Avoid using Excel for Forms.
   • Excel has limited support for making forms accessible; consider using a different tool, such as Adobe Acrobat, InDesign, or Designer, or Microsoft Forms.
   • If you make a form with Excel, plan to have it tested with a screen reader while you are making it. (Don’t wait until you’re done.)
7. Colors – Use contrasting colors.
   • In the Font and Background color pickers, switch “High-contrast only” on.
   • To check other colors, see our Color Contrast Guide.
8. Check Accessibility – Use Excel’s accessibility checker.
   • Click "Check Accessibility" on the Review menu; review and fix any errors and the accessibility checker finds. 
   • Remember that the Accessibility Checker can’t find everything; just passing the checker doesn’t mean the spreadsheet is accessible.

• Microsoft: Accessibility best practices with Excel spreadsheets
• Section508.gov: Accessible Spreadsheets