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Did you know that making data tables accessible helps everyone understand the data—and ensures people using screen readers can navigate them too?

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Tables are an effective way to present data, but they must be accessible to ensure everyone can understand and navigate them—including people using screen readers or other assistive technologies. This guide outlines best practices for creating simple, accessible tables in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and PDF. For detailed instructions by document type, visit Create Accessible Digital Products on Section508.gov.

Microsoft Word

1. Insert a Table
   • In your Word document, select Insert > Table and select the number of rows and columns needed. The number of rows and columns can be modified later as needed. 
2. Set a Header Row
   • Select the table then navigate to the Table Design tab.
   • Check the box for Header Row to mark the first row as column headers.
   • Ensure that the First Column checkbox is selected, unless the information in each column of your table is unrelated.
   • Ensure headers have meaningful and concise text.
3. Repeat Header Row Across Pages 
   • With the table still selected, navigate to the Table Layout tab.
   • Check the button labeled Repeat Header Rows so that the header repeats whenever the table spans more than one page.
4. Avoid Merged or Split Cells
   • Keep a simple row-and-column structure.
   • Merging or splitting cells can confuse screen readers.
   • Word does not provide tools to make complex tables accessible. 
5. Add a Caption
   • Right-click or select the table again and choose Insert Caption.
   • In the Caption dialog box, enter a clear, descriptive title such as “Table 1: Monthly Sales Data”.
   • Choose the label Table and set the position (above or below the table).
   • Click OK to add the caption.

Microsoft PowerPoint

1. Insert a Table
   • Use Insert > Table and select the number of rows and columns needed. The number of rows and columns can be modified later as needed.
2. Avoid Merged or Split Cells
   • Keep a simple row-and-column structure.
   • Merging or splitting cells can confuse screen readers.
   • PowerPoint does not provide tools to make complex tables accessible. 
3. Use Simple Formatting
   • Avoid unnecessary colors and shading that don’t contrast well with the template being used.
   • Ensure text is readable with sufficient font size.
4. Define Header Rows
   • Select the first row, go to Table Design, and check Header Row.
5. Add Descriptive Title for Table
   • In slide text, add a descriptive title such as “Table 1: Monthly Sales Data”.
   • Alternatively, right-click the table, select Edit Alt Text, and provide a brief description of the table’s contents. This is similar to adding a caption in Word, since captions are not available in PowerPoint.  

Microsoft Excel

1. Use Tables Instead of Freeform Grids
   • Select all of the data and press Ctrl + T (Cmd + T on MacOS) to create a table.
   • Check My Table has Headers to use the first row of your data as the header row.
   • Use the default or update the Table Name with a descriptive name on the Table Design tab.
   • Ensure that each table on a worksheet is defined as a table and has a unique Table Name.

1. Define Headers Properly
   • Ensure the first row contains column names and is formatted as a header.
   • Avoid blank cells within headers.
2. Enable Accessibility Features
   • Go to Review > Check Accessibility to identify and fix issues.
3. Avoid Merged or Split Cells
   • Keep a straightforward table structure without merged cells to improve navigation.
   • Keep a simple row-and-column structure.
   • Merging or splitting cells can confuse screen readers.
   • Excel does not provide tools to make complex tables accessible. 

PDF Documents

1. Create Tables in a Source Program
   • Use Microsoft Word or Excel to design the table before converting it to PDF.
   • Disable Repeat Header Rows when the Word document is intended to be a PDF. 
2. Use Tagged PDFs
   • When saving from Word, go to File > Save As > Select PDF.
   • Click Options, and ensure Document structure tags for accessibility are checked.
   • Avoid using Print as PDF as document structure tags are generally omitted.
3. Verify with a PDF Reader
   • Use Adobe Acrobat Pro’s* Accessibility Check tool to confirm table structure and proper tagging.
   • Check that column and row headings are programmatically identified as headings. 
4. Merged or Splitting Cells
   • Merged cells in PDF table headers are possible, but require careful handling to ensure accessibility for users of assistive technologies like screen readers.
   • Ensure for every data cell, you have associated it with the IDs of the relevant headers.

Tips for All Platforms

• Use Descriptive Headers: Ensure that column and row headers clearly define the data.
• Provide Context: Use <captions> element, or surrounding text, to explain complex tables.
• Use Built-in Checkers: Use the accessibility checkers built into your authoring tools for a cursory check of your document.
• Where complex table structures are required, use HTML or PDF file formats as they allow Headers and ID attributes to programmatically associate data cells.

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