Spreadsheets are invaluable for recording and interpreting data. Learn how to create them so all students can benefit. Making your Excel spreadsheets digitally accessible provides an inclusive learning experience, complies with the University of Missouri System’s Digital Accessibility Policy, and fulfills the accessibility criteria of the 5 Pillars Quality Review.
Do you need a spreadsheet?
A spreadsheet is intended to collect data and perform calculations. Before you move on to learning how to create accessible spreadsheets, consider whether another format might be more appropriate for your purpose, such as a Canvas page or a Word document with an accessible table.
Creating accessible Spreadsheets
If a spreadsheet is the best way to present your material, Microsoft offers an extensive guide: Accessibility best practices with Excel spreadsheets.
Color in Excel
Be sure you are Using Color Accessibly to provide correct and sufficient color contrast, and to avoid common mistakes like using red.
Accessible Excel charts
See Accessibility Skills: Images and Alternative Text to review the accessible use of images, including complex images and data visualization.
Alt text in Excel
Be sure to add alternative text to any data visualization (and any other images you add to your spreadsheet). If users have the data to refer to, the alt text does not need to encompass every detail, but it should summarize the purpose or the overall trends.
Descriptive links in Excel
As with other documents, descriptive links are necessary for accessibility. Avoid hyperlinked URLs or vague link text such as “click here.”
If you are confident that users will print your spreadsheet but might want to refer to the URL later, you should still create a descriptive link, but it would be acceptable to add the URL afterward (but not hyperlinked); for example, “University of Missouri System (umsystem.edu).”
Checking accessibility in Excel
As with other Microsoft Office applications, you can find the Microsoft Accessibility Checker under Review and Check Accessibility.
Errors and warnings
The Microsoft Accessibility Checker will flag issues as errors or warnings in Excel:
Errors include
Warnings include
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Tables that have split, merged, or nested cells
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Sheet tabs that lack meaningful names
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Lack of color contrast
Learn more