Setting Column and Row Headings in Excel 2007 with NVDA V2014.3

Setting and Reading Excel Column and Row Headings with NVDA

One of the most important echo features when you are working in Excel is the ability to have column and row information spoken as you move through data. This translates to the following behaviour:

• Moving up and down data in the current column, the screenreader reads cell data and the corresponding row heading.
• Moving left and right through data in the current row, the screenreader reads the cell data and the corresponding column heading.

The bottom line is that you need to have some contextual information echoed for the data you are moving through. When you don't have this option, the whole process of making sense of the worksheet becomes a nightmarish mish-mash of moving backwards and forwards to continually check and re-check information. Horrible!

So, let's demonstrate this title-reading feature in NVDA and Excel 2007:

Setting Column and Row Headings in NVDA

1. Open MS Excel and focus in cell A1, type in the word "Sales" and press the ENTER key to leave the edit mode. Tap the UP ARROW to move to cell A1 and confirm the edit with speech.
2. Press the RIGHT ARROW to move to cell B1 and type a heading, "January" for example.
3. Press RIGHT ARROW again to move to cell C1 and type another heading, "February" for example.
4. Press RIGHT ARROW again to move to cell D1 and type another heading, "March" for example.
5. Using the LEFT ARROW, move back along the cells in row 1 until you have focus in cell A1. Press the DOWN ARROW to move to cell A2 and type in the first row heading, for example "Cars".
6. Staying in row 2, use the RIGHT ARROW key to move to the next cell (B2) and type in a number. This will be my sales figure for cars in January.
7. Another press of the RIGHT ARROW moves the focus to the adjacent cell in the row, C2. As before, type in another number, this will be the car sales figure for February.
8. Move right again and focus will be in cell D2. Type another number and this will be the car sales figure for March.
9. With all the values in row 2 complete move back along to column A with the LEFT ARROW. Now press the DOWN ARROW to move to cell A3.
10. Using the same approach as in the previous steps, complete several other rows of figures - don't go overboard, just another few rows of data to give you something more to work with. (In my example here I have chosen types of transport as my row headings but feel free to choose whatever you wish.)

My test data is now complete, I have several rows of figures each sitting with a row heading (my row headings are Cars, Bikes, Ships and Trains) and a column heading (January, February and March). So, I can check what the sales figure for a transport type is for any particular month simply by going to the appropriate cell. However, even in a small table of data like this, the feedback is not that helpful - I don't have the important heading information to build that meaningful context around the numbers.

This is exactly where heading reading comes in. Any screenreader worth its salt will allow you to "remember" the row and column that has your heading information in it. By doing this, the screenreader can then automatically echo that information back as you physically navigate through the data. That way, instead of just numbers being spoken, the extra feedback lets you build up a fuller picture of the information.

Let's give it a bash:

1. Starting with columns first, locate the first cell that contains a column heading - in my case cell B1. With focus on that first column heading cell, use the NVDA keystroke of: INSERT SHIFT C. This will set the reading of the column heading information to the current row.
2. Now, reposition the cursor by moving to the first cell that contains a row heading - which, in my example, is A2. With focus on that cell, use the NVDA keystroke of: INSERT SHIFT R.
3. With both of these settings completed, now drift through your data. Notice that NVDA now speaks the data and the relevant column or row heading.

This column and row heading ability is one of those features that, after you start using it, you'll never ever want to be reading worksheet information without it - it really is that good.

I'll be returning to this feature in a later post, but for now get Excel out and have a play with NVDA.

For more information on NVDA please visit:

www.nvaccess.org