MS Excel Chapter 7: Links
- Daniel LaGrow
Instructions
Section 7.1: Links in General
When making links in Excel, you need to follow several different rules to make them accessible.
The first rule is that all links must stand out from surrounding text. We want users to be able to tell that your text is a link. By default, the link text in Excel changes from black to blue and underlined. You should stick to this style because blue is visible to many people, including some who are color blind. The underline is also helpful as a second queue.
This link blends into the text around it. A person using a screen reader or someone with low vision may have a hard time finding the link.
This link is colored blue and stands out from the normal text. Now readers will have an easier time finding the links.
The second rule is if you only change the color to make the link stand out, the color contrast between the link text and the normal text should have a high color contrast ratio. A ratio of 4.5:1 or higher is best.
This link has a very low contrast ratio, so it is very hard to see.
The third rule is that all links need to have meaningful text. Avoid using words like “Click here” and “Link to.”
Section 7.2: Website Links
When making website links in Excel, you need to follow two rules to make them accessible.
The first rule is that all links must lead to its intended website. Be sure the links do not have any spelling errors or the wrong address.
The second rule is that a complete URL text can be displayed along with a meaningful text link. This rule is important because in some cases, we want to provide the URL and meaningful link so that if a user wants to copy and paste the link in a web browser, they have the ability to do so. Make sure that if you do use a URL, that there are no changes made to it.
Section 7.3: Links within the Same Excel Workbook
If want your links to go from one spreadsheet to another, you need to make sure that they point to the right cell reference. By default, the cell reference is set to Cell A1. You may want to change that if you want a reader to start at a certain point in a spreadsheet.
Section 7.4: Links to Files
When Inserting a Link to another File, the Workbook and the Linked File must be on a Shared Network Dive or a Similar Location. Using links between files is accessible since screen readers will automatically read the text and announce that there is a link. However, you do need to be careful when using this method because users would need to access both files. If both files are saved in a shared network drive or a similar location, the link will not break.
Section 7.5: E-mail Address Links
Email address links should have the full name of the person and not have spelling errors.