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Tip

These fonts are much easier to read.

Section 1.2: Font Size

To keep things simple and easy to read, make sure the font is over 12 points in size. To change your font size,

  1. Go to the Home Tab.

    The Home Tab in MS Excel.
  2. In the Font Section, select the font size button and select the size font you want.

    The font section in Excel with the font size dropdown menu highlighted with a red box.A list of font examples with Times New Roman size 10, 12, 14, and 20.

Section 1.

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2:

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Text Attributes

Screen readers do not recognize capitalized letters unless certain settings are changed. You do not need to use all caps to emphasize text. Instead, include an additional cue so the reader will be able to know the difference between content.

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Tip

Use capitalizations to show the IMPORTANT text. Be sure to use capitalizations sparingly.

Section 1.4: Bold, Italic, Strikethrough, or Underlined Text

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sparingly.

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Warning

This list shows unnecessary bold text. Screen readers will not emphasize the text and readers may not be able to tell the bold text from normal text.

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Tip

An additional cue has been provided. Now when a student reads this with a screen reader, they will hear “Name - work still owed.” Now the bold text is not the only cue.

Section 1.

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When highlighting, it is important to be sure it is not the only way to convey meaning. Screen readers will not recognize the highlighted text as highlighted text. So it will only read it as normal text. This will be confusing to someone who has visual disabilities.

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Warning

This example only highlights the text but does not provide an additional queue for a screen reader to tell the reader that the highlighted text means something.

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Tip

This example gives a second queue for the screen reader to read. This will help a reader understand the meaning and context behind a highlighted text.

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3: NVDA Settings for Text

When you use text that is bold, italic, strikethrough, or underlined, be sure to modify the settings in the screen readers. This will allow the screen reader to tell the reader of any bold, italic, strikethrough, or underlined text. To change the settings,

  1. In NVDA, go to the Preference Tab, then click Document Formatting.

    NVDA Settings with Document Formatting highlighted in a red box.
  2. Select the Font Attributes check box in the pop up box. Click Apply in the bottom right corner.

    The Font Attributes box is checked and highlighted in a red box. The Apply button in the bottom right corner is also highlighted in a red box.
  3. In JAWS, you can examine the font attributes at the cursor, including whether or not there is strikethrough, by pressing INSERT + F.

Section 1.

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4: Text Visibility, and Overflowing Text

All text must be visible in a spreadsheet. Sometimes when we type in a spreadsheet, the words may become invisible when we go to the next cell. To fix that, click the Wrap Text button to reformat the text to fit in the cell.

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Now the cell fits inside Cell A1.

Section 1.

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5: Symbols and Special Characters

You can use many different symbols and special characters. However, they must always be communicated in regular text as well. This must be done so the screen readers will read the symbol properly to the reader. Here is a list of 15 symbols and special characters that are good to use, as well as the text you should use for the screen reader to read off.

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