[Athen] Google Suite Accessibility

[Top Tech Tidbits via athen-list]

Hi Robin,

 

Below are some tips, workarounds, and references I’ve collected that may help. Of course, Google’s G Suite apps often update, so sometimes solutions vary depending on the current interface.

 

1.) Navigating and “Verbalizing” Data in Google Sheets

 

Freezing Headers

 

One recommended practice is to freeze the row and column headers. Although it doesn’t automatically cause screen readers to announce headers for each cell, it does keep the header rows/columns in view, making manual referencing easier:

 

1.	Open the View menu.
2.	Select Freeze → pick 1 row (or however many header rows you have).
3.	If you have a column header, also select Freeze → pick 1 column.

 

Named Ranges for Tables

 

*	Using Data → Named ranges… sometimes helps with navigation for screen readers.
*	You can define a named range for the “table” area, and that can give you a quick way to jump to or reference it.

 

Verbalizing Row/Column Headers

 

*	As you’ve noted, “Verbalize on row/column changes” is inconsistent depending on the screen reader and browser.
*	A common workaround is the same as yours: use the shortcuts to read the entire row or column, then interrupt the speech once you’ve heard the necessary header.
*	Some screen readers (JAWS, NVDA) have custom table reading commands that might help. For instance, pressing certain reading shortcuts (e.g., NVDA’s NVDA + Shift + C to read column headers) may or may not work in Sheets depending on updates.

 

Official Docs

 

*	Google’s official Screen Reader support page for Sheets: Google Sheets accessibility documentation

 

2.) Resizing Images via Keyboard

 

Resizing images strictly by keyboard in Google Docs or Sheets is tricky. Here are a few workarounds:

 

1.	Access the Image’s Position & Size Sidebar (if available)

*	Focus on the image (using Tab or arrow keys to navigate until the image is selected).
*	Press Shift + F10 (or the Context Menu key) to bring up the context menu.
*	Look for an option like Image options or Size and rotation (it can vary by app).
*	In some cases, you can type in numerical values for width/height.

 

2.	Use the Format Menu (in Google Docs)

*	With the image selected, open the Format menu → Image → Image options (or Alt text).
*	This opens a sidebar for size, rotation, and other settings. You can usually navigate these options with Tab and the arrow keys.

 

(If you’re in Google Sheets specifically, image manipulation can be more limited than in Docs/Slides. You might consider inserting images in a drawing object for more robust editing.)

 

3. Adding Alt Text to Images in a Cell

 

When an image is placed inside a cell, the usual steps are:

 

1.	Focus on or select the image (Tab or arrow keys, or use the navigation to highlight the cell).
2.	Press Shift + F10 (right-click equivalent) to open the context menu.
3.	Look for Alt text or Image options → Alt text.
4.	Fill in the description and save.

 

In some cases, especially if the image is “inline” within the cell or behind an additional layer, the context menu might not include “Alt text.” If that happens:

 

*	Try using the Format → Alt text menu approach (in Docs/Slides).
*	Or move the image out of the cell into the drawing canvas or an inline object, then add alt text.

 

Unfortunately, Google Sheets often lags behind Docs/Slides in alt-text handling for images. Sometimes the only workaround is to insert the image as a drawing (Insert → Drawing) and then add alt text within the Drawing tool.

 

4. Additional Resources and Best Practices

 

*	Google Accessibility Shortcuts:

*	Docs Editor Keyboard Shortcuts
*	Using G Suite with Screen Readers

*	NVDA & JAWS Scripts for Google Apps:

*	There are occasional community add-ons or scripts that improve navigation. Checking communities like NVDA Add-ons might help.

*	ChromeVox (if using a Chromebook or Chrome browser with ChromeVox installed) sometimes behaves differently from JAWS/NVDA. It may or may not better handle Sheets’ verbalization features.

 

5. Finding and Sharing Workarounds

 

Because these apps are constantly updated, community knowledge is extremely valuable. If you have a group using G Suite with different screen readers (NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, TalkBack, ChromeVox), it’s helpful to compare notes. Sometimes a method that doesn’t work in NVDA might partially work in JAWS, or vice versa.

 

If you still have trouble:

 

1.	File a Feedback Report in the Google product (Help → Report a problem).
2.	Post in the Google Accessibility Help Community (Google Help Forums) for direct input from Google’s product experts or other advanced users.

 

I hope some of these tips and references help you explore workarounds in Sheets, Docs, and Slides. If you have more specific scenarios or run into a new keyboard trap, feel free to reach out again. The more we share findings in the accessibility community, the quicker we discover (or inspire Google to fix) these gaps.

 

Best of luck!

 

Aaron Di Blasi,  <https://www.pmi.org/> PMP

 

 <https://www.linkedin.com/in/aarondiblasi/> 

 

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From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu> On Behalf Of Eckelberry, Robin via athen-list
Sent: Friday, December 27, 2024 1:04 PM
To: athen-list at u.washington.edu
Subject: [Athen] Google Suite Accessibility

 

Hello ATHEN!

 

Does anyone in this group use Google Docs, Sheets, and/or Slides quite a bit? I'm testing and trying to create best practices for each, but for certain things, I feel a bit stuck.

 

For example, in Google Sheets, for tabular data, it seems that most of the "Verbalize to screen reader" commands within the Accessibility menu do not work, such as "verbalize on column changes" or "verbalize on row changes," with or without the data being formatted as a table. When trying to read the headers for a data cell, the best that I can come up with is using the shortcut to verbalize the entire column or entire row and then silencing after the header is read. And that is only understandable if there is no content in the sheet before where the headers actually begin. I'm also finding that resizing an image cannot be done via keyboard, and adding alt text to an image when placed within a cell cannot be done via keyboard.

 

If anyone has experience who I could maybe talk to a bit more about any of these Google products, I would appreciate it!

 

Thank you,

Robin

 

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Robin Eckelberry

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Robin.Eckelberry at nelnet.net <mailto:Robin.Eckelberry at nelnet.net> 

 

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