Common Microsoft Excel Accessibility Issues Flagged by Panorama

Commonly flagged accessibility issues within Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, according to Panorama’s accessibility checker, are listed within this article. Steps on how to remediate the common accessibility issues are also included.

When creating Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, it is important to run the Excel accessibility checker to ensure content within the file is accessible. Excel spreadsheets can suffer from accessibility issues that limit usability. The Panorama accessibility checker within eLearn may flag accessibility issues which aren't caught by the Excel accessibility checker. This article identifies commonly flagged accessibility issues in Excel according to Panorama and addresses how to fix them.

When remediating existing Excel files for accessibility, please complete the accessibility work within Microsoft Excel. Open the original Excel file or download it from eLearn and then begin your accessibility work. Do NOT attempt to fix the Excel accessibility issues within Panorama. Once you fix the identified accessibility issues, replace the new accessible file in eLearn with the file that had the flagged accessibility errors.

The document is malformed.

1. In Excel, create a new document by clicking “Blank Workbook”.
2. In the old file, copy the contents.
3. Paste the copied contents into the new document.

The document is missing a title.

1. In Excel, Click on “File”.
2. Click on “Info” on the left side of the File screen.
3. On the right side of the page underneath Properties, click beside “Title” to type in a title.

The item does not have an alternative description.

1. Open the workbook in Excel.

2. Open the Accessibility Checker by selecting Check Accessibility in the Review tab.

3. In the Accessibility Assistant panel, select Missing alt text.

4. Enter a brief description that summarizes the contents of the image. Aim for less than 120 characters.

   1. If the image is decorative or aesthetic, select Mark as decorative to have screen readers ignore it.

   2. Refrain from using Generate alt text for me as it is often not accurate.

5. Repeat step 4 for all remaining images in the workbook.

For more information about alt-text, refer to the Alternative Text (Alt-Text) resource.

Sheet does not have text in cell A1.

Screen readers start reading Excel sheets from cell A1. To make a sheet accessible to screen readers, use cell A1 as a description for the sheet. This can include a title for a table or instructions for a more complex sheet.

1. Open the workbook in Excel.

2. Ensure each sheet has text in cell A1. If not, type in a value or add text.

3. Repeat for any other sheets in the workbook missing text in cell A1.

The hyperlink text is not descriptive.

1. Open the workbook in Excel.

2. Select the cell with the link.

3. Right-click the cell and select Link in the Insert tab or press Ctrl + K.

4. Type a descriptive title in the Text to display field. Be sure the title is meaningful and describes where the link will go.

5. Select OK in the Edit Hyperlink window.

Insufficient contrast between foreground text and background.

Excel spreadsheets often use color, whether it be differentiating negative values from positive values or condensing complex data into visually appealing charts. It is important that these colors stand out from one another or from the background so valuable information is not lost to readers who cannot differentiate colors, whether due to colorblindness or other visual impairments.

NOTE: Do not rely on color alone to convey information when creating spreadsheets and charts in Excel. Use additional symbols in text (i.e. negative values are shown in -red) and utilize patterns in charts to differentiate areas.

1. Open the workbook in Excel.

2. Open the Accessibility Checker by selecting Check Accessibility in the Review tab.

3. In the Accessibility Assistant panel, select Hard-to-read text contrast.

4. Choose a new font color, background color, or highlight.

5. Repeat step 4 for all remaining contrast issues.

The font size is smaller than 9 points.

Small font size is a common accessibility issue that affects all audiences with functioning vision. To sighted readers, it can be inconvenient. Readers with less vision may not be able to understand the spreadsheet at all unless they zoom in or magnify the text. 12 pt is an ideal minimum font size for text in a spreadsheet.

1. Open the workbook in Excel.

2. Select the cell with text below 9 pt.

3. Choose a font size greater than 9 pt, preferably at least 12 pt, from the font size dropdown in the Home tab.

4. Repeat step 3 for all text smaller than 9 pt.