The Basics

Module 5.1: The Basics

• Terminology Preview (24 min)
• entering Data and Navigating Spreadsheets Preview (20 min)
• Simple Formulas (37 min)

Constructing a Table

Module 5.2: Constructing a Table

• Building Blocks for a Basic Data Table (18 min)
• Define name – A Feature That Makes Using Excel Much Easier (98 min)
• Entering Data and Summing Columns and Rows (14 min)
• Copying Formulas Using Relative and Absolute Cell References (57 min)
• Number Formatting In Cells (41 min)
• Merging and Centering Cells (12 min)

Editing Basics

Module 5.3: Editing Basics Basic editing actions include selecting cells, data ranges, entire rows, columns, and sheets, as well as deleting, copying, moving and pasting them.

• Editing Individual Cells (8 min)
• Selecting and Editing Data Ranges (22 min)
• Inserting and Deleting Rows and Columns (31 min)

Sorting Data

Module 5.4: Sorting Data In Excel, you can quickly and easily sort columns alphabetically, numerically and by date. While a bit more complicated than simple sorts, you can also perform multi-level sorts. Sort commands are found in three places: the Editing group of the Home tab, the Sort and Filter group of the Data tab, and via the Applications key. we will only discuss accessing them via the Applications key.

• Simple Sorting (36 min)
• Multi-Level Sorting (30 min)

Multiple Worksheets

Module 5.5: Multiple Worksheets So far, all our work has involved a single worksheet. However, you can have multiple worksheets in a single file. With large datasets and multiple tables, it quickly gets unwieldy to place them all on a single worksheet. Printing them in hard copy can also be a nightmare. If you have detailed company sales data for a year and want to present it on a monthly basis, it makes more sense to create twelve worksheets rather than put all twelve tables on a single worksheet. To navigate an Excel file with multiple worksheets, press Control Page down to go to the next worksheet and Control Page up to go to the previous worksheet. This is a Windows keystroke so works with all three screenreaders. With JAWS, you can get a list of worksheets by pressing Control Shift

Filtering

Module 5.6: Filtering Filtering allows you to temporarily hide some data in a dataset so you can zero in on those data that you want to examine more closely. This is especially useful for working with large datasets. Filtering can be done for columns with text in them (city, state, country, etc.) as well as numeric values (simple numbers, currency, dates, etc. we will start with a couple of examples using just text. Let’s say that you are the Eastern Massachusetts regional manager of a retail chain that operates throughout New England. The database you are working with contains 20,000 records with information on each store, employee, and transaction over the last year. If your goal is to focus on just the stores in the Boston area, filtering allows you to temporarily narrow the visible d

• Filtering Columns with Text Values (37 min)
• Filtering Columns with Numeric Values (11 min)
• Detecting Existing Filtering Information (14 min)

Pivot Tables

Module 5.7: Pivot Tables Pivot tables are useful for reorganizing relevant data fields into tables so you can zero in on the information you want to analyze. They are called “pivot tables" because, from a visual perspective, dragging and dropping selected data columns from an initial data table “pivots” these into a new table. we have used pivot tables for organizing conferences. we needed to track how many people had registered, how much they had paid, add up voluntary donations to the organization, their lunch choice, whether they preferred receiving the agenda electronically, in Braille, or large print, and several other things. we also used pivot tables to present results of a survey with ten or fifteen questions about the accessibility of voting machines. Without resort to pivot tabl

• Creating Pivot Tables (48 min)
• Filtering Pivot Table Data (15 min)
• Refreshing Pivot Tables (23 min)

Basic Visual Considerations for Formatting Worksheets

Module 5.8: Basic Visual Considerations for Formatting Worksheets Figuring out how to Format worksheets for sighted audiences can be overwhelming. To avoid confusing you too much, this module covers just the basics. For many users, it’s all that’s needed. Module 5.9 will cover more advanced formatting topics, including printing considerations. If you are preparing a spreadsheet for a sighted audience, the basic things you need to know about to make it visually acceptable are: Font and cell formatting information revealed by your screenreader with Insert F. How to change font settings. Making cell dimension information understandable by switching to the Page layout view. Cell text visibility and column width adjustment to ensure that cell data is not hidden by data in adjacent columns. T

• Checking Cell Formatting with Insert F (19 min)
• Changing Fonts (27 min)
• Switching to Page Layout View (24 min)
• Adjusting Column Width (43 min)
• Text Wrapping (29 min)
• Adjusting Row Height for Column Headers (12 min)

More Advanced Formatting and Printing Considerations

Module 5.9: More Advanced Formatting and Printing Considerations If you would like to go beyond the basics and make your spreadsheets more visually appealing and easier for sighted users to navigate, you can add page headers and footers, and freeze panes. You can incorporate other formatting features such as borders, table formatting, and table styles.

• Headers and Footers for Sheets (26 min)
• Freeze Panes (27 min)
• Formatting Tables (5 min)
• Table Styles (65 min)
• Adding Borders (47 min)
• Printing (67 min)

Additional Tools and Features

Module 5.10: Additional Tools and Features Excel has many more tools and features. Some of the most useful ones are described in this module. Two features unique to JAWS – monitor cells and chart reading – are also covered.

• Hiding and Unhiding Columns and Rows (19 min)
• Fill In Data Series (42 min)
• Comments and Notes (22 min)
• Removing Unwanted Verbosity (17 min)
• Dropdown Lists (38 min)
• Monitor Cells With JAWS (14 min)
• Creating Charts and Reading Them with JAWS PictureSmart (58 min)

Strategies for Interpreting “Difficult” Spreadsheets

Module 5.11: Strategies for Interpreting “Difficult” Spreadsheets Some spreadsheets you receive from sighted people will not be laid out in tidy rectangular blocks and may be difficult to decipher. For example, a convention among accountants is to add lots of empty cells between the data. Spreading things out like this visually separates categories and sub-categories. Horizontal and vertical cell merging may also be used for this purpose. This makes it difficult for screenreader users to interpret sheet layout and the corresponding data. Choosing the best cell to initiate the Define name command can be tricky, and will probably yield less-than-perfect results. The practice file entitled “Temple Income and Expenses.xls” is an example of a “difficult” spreadsheet. we received a version of