How do I create accessible texts and fonts in Microsoft Excel?
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Instructions
Section 1.1: Fonts
As cool as some fonts look, its best to just use the ones that are easiest to read.
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MS Excel provides you with hundreds of fonts to choose from. Some of them are good to use, but you want to be careful since many are not accessible.
How to choose a font:
Go to the Home Tab.
In the Font Section, click the font dropdown menu.
Choose a font you would like to use.
When using fonts, you want to use fonts that are easily readable and not distracting or fancy. Fonts like Times New Roman, Verdana, and Georgia are examples of good fonts to use. It is not recommended to use fonts like Algerian, Jokerman, or Script MT Bold.
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While these fonts look more interesting, users with disabilities may have a hard time reading them. |
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These fonts are much easier to read. |
To keep things simple and easy to read, make sure the font is over 12 points in size. To change your font size,
Go to the Home Tab.
In the Font Section, select the font size button and select the size font you want.
Section 1.2:
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Text Attributes
Screen readers do not recognize capitalized letters , so there is no point to relying on capital letters unless certain settings are changed. You do not need to use all caps to emphasize text.
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Instead, include an additional cue so the reader will be able to know the difference between content.
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This example list shows unnecessary capitalization in letters. Screen readers will not emphasize the text even when it is in all caps. |
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This example shows a new way to show the important content. Screen readers will read the (covered) label and tell the reader that it will be on the test. |
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DO NOT TYPE A SENTENCE LIKE THIS. |
the words “Complete” or “Incomplete” next to the persons name. Now if someone reads this, they will have an easier time knowing if they finished the training or not. |
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Use capitalizations to show the IMPORTANT text. Be sure to use capitalizations sparingly. |
Section 1.3: Bold, Italic, and Underlined Text
Screen readers do not recognize bold, italic, or underlined text. They will just read it as if it were normal text. In order to emphasize meaning in the text, you need to create a second way for people to see the text. A good rule of thumb is to use bold text, italics, and underlined text sparingly.
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This example only shows the text bolded. The screen reader will not read the bold text and understand how its important. |
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This example shows the text bolded and has an addition queue. The “(work still owed)” queue will be read by screen readers, and it will be easier for a reader to understand the content. |
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This an example that is difficult to read, has way too many things bolded and italicized. The underlining also distracts readers and can make it harder to understand. |
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This example uses bold, italics, and underlining text sparingly. Only change the important words. This will make the content easier to read. |
Section 1.4: Strikethrough
When a screen reader reads text with strikethrough like normal text. So when you use strikethrough, be sure to give a second indicator. This will give the screen reader another queue to give the reader.
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The table shows the words are struck through. However, if a person with visual issues sees this, they would struggle to know which items are crossed out. The screen readers will also not tell them which item is crossed out. |
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This table shows both queues. The screen reader will tell the reader the completed tasks as labeled |
Section 1.5: Highlighting
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 with visual problems.
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This example only highlights the text and does not provide an additional queue for a screen reader to tell the reader that the highlighted text means something. |
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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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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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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. Use capitalizations to show the IMPORTANT text. Be sure to use capitalizations sparingly. |
Section 1.3: 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,
In NVDA, go to the Preference Tab, then click Document Formatting.
Select the Font Attributes check box in the pop up box. Click Apply in the bottom right corner.
In JAWS, you can examine the font attributes at the cursor, including whether or not there is strikethrough, by pressing INSERT + F.
Section 1.4: 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. If the text cell goes on for too long, you can shrink it to a reasonable size. Your text will appear in multiple rows of text. This is okay as long as it is all visible in one cell.
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This text is completely hidden. This would be hard for anyone to read. |
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Wrap Text has been applied and now all of the text is visible and easy to read. |
When you have overflowing text, all you have to do is extend the cell. To extend the cell, double click the line between the cell you are typing in and the one next to it. Excel will automatically expand the cell to make the content fit inside.
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Now the cell fits inside Cell A1. |
Section 1.
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5:
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Symbols and Special Characters
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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.
The AT Symbol
The Ampersand
The Slash
The Copyright Symbol
The Registered Symbol
The Trademark Symbol
Paragraph
Bullet
US Dollar
Euro
British Pound
Japanese Yen
Paragraph SymbolPercent
Bullet
Degrees
One Half
One Fourth
Three Fourths
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