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Wrap text within cells so that all text is clearly spaced out and visible.
How you know whether a table in a spreadsheet is marked up
1. Place cursor at top left and tab across. If the table is not marked up, the cursor tabs beyond the final column and on across the worksheet indefinitely. If the table is marked up, the cursor reaches the final row in the table, then clicks to the start of the next row.
2. If you scroll down a marked-up table, the headers at the top of the table appear in the grey ribbon above the worksheet itself.
Merged cells and heading rows
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In reality many tables are created with multiple header rows which often feature merged cells. Here are some common problem layouts and fixes.
1. If a merged cell contains information, the information can be cut and pasted into a description cell above. On close examination, the information in the parent row often repeats the table title and so is redundant.
In this example the merged top row which simply says 2020/21 is either already implicit in the table title, or could be cut and pasted out into a row directly above the table explaining that these are results for 2020 to 2021.
2. If a merged header cell sits above sub-headers, the 'parent' header title can be incorporated into each of the sub-headers and the overarching row deleted. So in the example above, the phrases 'Response summary' and 'vaccine uptake' can be pasted into the 'child' header rows below, thus:
With three header rows the table was impossible to mark up as a table. Now, with only one header row, it can be marked up. All that remains is to mark it up (as explained above) and make a few cosmetic and formatting changes:
- remove colour
- left justify title and sub-title
- write a description sentence
- remove bold except for header row
3. If there are only 2 or 3 tables with merged parent headings, they can be divided into smaller tables.
Try and find workarounds, for example, 1.
just one heading row and no merged cells.Vital notes go above the table
Notes
Many tables require explanatory notes. The rule is, if information is vital for understanding a table, for example spelling out abbreviations or explaining the presence of empty cells or of notes in some cells, then this should be explained above the table. The source of the data, if it is different for each worksheet, should go in a row above the table.
Notes of secondary importance, for example, the status of some data, can be positioned after the table.
If the source varies from sheet to sheet, this should be indicated above the table.
Minimise footnotes, avoid asterisks
Footnotes
Currently, many tables include footnotes using symbols and superscript and, most often of all, asterisks. This should all be avoided. Some screen readers do not read superscript or asterisks. The partially sighted will struggle ot make out tiny numbers or letters in superscriptMany tables include footnote indicators such as asterisks or other symbols.
Best practice is to create a separate worksheet for notes (labelled ‘Notes’) and insert [note 1], [note 2] etc instead of a symbol in the appropriate place in the table, with a sentence above the table explaining that all notes are presented within the Notes worksheet.
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