Checking a workbook before you share it
Find what a screen reader user couldn't get at with the accessibility checker, and see what a workbook holds with workbook statistics.
Before you send a workbook to someone, two tools on the Review tab help you check it: the accessibility checker and workbook statistics.
Check accessibility
- Click Check in Review › Accessibility.
- Read the list in the Accessibility dialog.
- For an item with a location on the sheet, click Go to to close the dialog and select it.
- Click Close.
Each item shows its level and where it is, then what the problem is for the person reading, then how to fix it. Items are listed with errors first:
| Level | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Error | Content someone using a screen reader can’t get at |
| Warning | Content they can get at, with difficulty |
| Tip | Worth doing; nothing is broken without it |
If nothing is found, the dialog says Nothing found. Charts have titles, tables have headings, links say what they point at, and nothing is merged.
The checker looks through every sheet in the workbook:
| What it finds | Level | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| A chart with no title | Error | Give the chart a title with Chart › Layout › Title… |
| A picture with no description | Error | Select it and use Format… in the Selection pane to describe it. See Pictures, shapes and text boxes. |
| A shape with no description and no words in it | Warning | Describe it, or add words, in Format… |
| Merged cells on a sheet | Warning | Use Across selection alignment instead of merging, which looks the same and keeps the cells |
| A table without a header row | Error | Turn the header row on |
| A table column still called Column1, Column2 and so on | Warning | Type a heading over it |
| A link whose cell shows the address itself, or nothing | Warning | Type the name of what it points at in the cell |
| Text too faint against its fill: a contrast below 4.5 to 1, or 3 to 1 for large text (18 points, or 14 points bold) | Error below 3 to 1, otherwise Warning | Darken the text or lighten the fill. One item covers every cell formatted the same way. |
| A conditional formatting rule that changes only colours | Warning | Add bold, or use an icon set, so the rule doesn’t rely on colour alone |
| A sheet still called Sheet, Sheet1, Sheet2 and so on, in a workbook with more than one sheet | Tip | Rename it after what it holds |
Workbook statistics
Click Statistics in Review › Proofing. The Workbook statistics dialog counts what the workbook holds:
| Count | What it counts |
|---|---|
| Sheets | Sheets in the workbook |
| Cells with data | Cells that hold a value or formula |
| Formulas | Cells that hold a formula |
| Distinct functions used | Different worksheet functions used in formulas |
| Cells showing an error | Cells whose value is an error |
| Tables | Tables |
| Charts | Charts |
| PivotTables | PivotTables |
| Slicers | Slicers |
| Defined names | Defined names |
| Notes | Cells with a note |
| Comment threads | Comment threads |
| Unresolved threads | Comment threads not yet resolved |
| Queries | Queries |
Cells showing an error and Unresolved threads are highlighted when they aren’t zero, since they are the counts most worth dealing with before you share a file. Click Close when you are done.
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