Guidelines: Accessible Excel Documents
The "May Items" can provide added functionality for people with disabilities.
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Specify the expansion of each abbreviation or acronym in a document where it occurs. In a limited space such as the cells in Excel, one may be tempted to abbreviate headers. If headers are abbreviated, or an acronym appears, expand the abbreviation or acronym in every place it appears. This helps to increase the usability of the document by clarifying the different aspects in the file. This feature also helps users find what they are looking for quickly and easily.
Extend columns that contain word-wrapped information. If any cell contains word-wrapped information, widen the column until all of the information is on one line. This point is important for those using screen-readers, which cannot register word-wrapped text very well, and thus read the information in an adjacent cell on the right before reading the second line of a word-wrapped cell.
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Create bulleted lists automatically: Try checking the "automatic bulleted lists" option in "AutoFormat As You Type" section of the AutoCorrect dialog box. This will automatically generate accessibly formatted lists.
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Save the document in text-only format. Saving a Word document as a text file allows for the quick and easy removal of colors, highlighting, and formatting. If the document is readable as a text-only file, it should be accessible.
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Print the document using black ink only. If the colored text is hard to read on a black-and-white printer, many users will have to work harder to assimilate the information.
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Consider using sans-serif fonts. Undecorated sans-serif fonts, such as Arial, Helvetica, or Verdana, are easier to read in large print than serif fonts such as Times New Roman or Courier.
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Combine related worksheets into one large worksheet if requested by a student. It may be difficult for some students who cannot effectively use a mouse to switch between worksheets. A student may request that
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