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Microsoft Office Excel

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet application designed to track and display data. Its features include calculation, graphing, and other data manipulation tools. Users can write code and implement virtually any numerical function using Microsoft’s Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). 

Accessibility Barriers

  • The ribbon style menu layout may make navigation difficult for screen reader users.
  • Graphs and charts are inaccessible to screen reader users.
  • Large data sets with undefined parameters are not accessible to blind users, low vision users or users with cognitive impairments.
  • External data sources may be inaccessible to screen reader users.

Best Practices

  • Use clear and meaningful row and column labels.
  • Create and/or provide an electronic document listing any relevant formulas and/or macros.
  • Provide text-based alternatives for charts and graphical data.
  • Provide descriptions of charts and graphs in the comment area.
  • Highlight important cells in data sets to aid users with learning/cognitive impairments locate relevant data.
  • Define the parameters for datasets (e.g., lowest and highest values, rows/columns that define the limits of the dataset).
  • Use clear and specific language to identify cells, cell values, and other relevant information when presenting Excel spreadsheets and/or data.
  • Use clear and specific language to describe charts and graphs.