Creating accessible tables in Canvas

Adding scope

The scope attributes in a table helps provide context to screen readers. A scope="col" identifies the header for all the cells in that column, and cells with a scope="row" identifies the header for all the cells in that row. To add column and row scope to a table created in the Rich Content Editor, first insert a table. 

  1. To add scope for a column, select the relevant cells of the table. 
  2. In the Table Menu, select Cell properties (See Fig 1).
    Drop down Table menu, showing options for Cell and Cell properties
    Figure 1: Cell properties option in table menu
  3. Set the Cell type to Header cell (See Fig. 2).
  4. Set Scope to Column (See Fig. 2).
    Cell properties menu, with Cell type set to header cell and scope set to column
    Figure 2: Setting the cell properties for a column
  5. To set scope for a row, repeat steps 1-3.
  6. Set Scope to Row (See Fig. 3).
    Cell properties menu, with Cell type set to header cell and scope set to Row
    Figure 3: Setting the cell properties for a row

Captions

A caption can be used to associate a short description to the table. Captions are not required, but they may be helpful in providing additional context. Captions provide more context to tables and appear in a row above your table's content. Keep captions clear and concise.

  1. To add a caption to your table, select all of the cells.
  2. In the Table Menu, select Table properties .
  3. Select the box next to Caption (See Fig 4).
    Table properties menu, with the Caption option highlighted
    Figure 4: Turning on captions in table properties
  4. Type in the caption (See Fig. 5)
    Example of a caption within a table
    Figure 5: Caption in a table header row

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