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Q: More Excel questions

for

From: Bevi Chagnon
Date: Apr 17, 2012 6:20PM

I'm trying to sort out a bunch of conflicting issues about accessible Excel
spreadsheets.

From the government agency's guidelines (not Sec. 508 or WCAG):

"Formula cells are indicated by a comment to alert users of their
functionality. The comment is the actual formula in the cell so that an
Assistive Technology (AT) screen reader will alert the user to what it is
doing."

Screen readers can't read formulas in spreadsheets? If AT can't read a
spreadsheet formula, what the heck are they doing in a spreadsheet to begin
with? The function of a spreadsheet is to organize data and perform
calculations via formulas.

Control + F2 reads the formula in JAWS.

Is there a reason why a comment should be placed on the cell with the
formula with the comment repeating the formula?

--Bevi

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