Introduction

Below you will learn how to review the properties of a cell, the formula within a cell, and the comments assigned to a cell using SuperNova and Dolphin ScreenReader commands.

Reading time: 10 minutes approx.

Video

The following video introduces this topic. The video content and more are discussed in detail below.

Reviewing cell properties

In the previous section you learnt about the Speak keys you can use to review your cell co-ordinates and review the content of a cell in more detail.

You can inspect the properties of a cell in even more detail by using the Speak cell properties hotkey. The Speak cell properties hotkey provides additional information such as cell alignment, wrap text status, and border style.

The Speak cell properties hotkey is: CAPS LOCK + C.

By default, the Speak cell properties hotkey provides a significant stream of information, which may be difficult to digest as a single spoken string.

If this is the case, you can press LEFT SHIFT + CAPS LOCK + C to present the information in a popup edit box, which you can review at your leisure using the Arrow Keys. When done, press ESCAPE to close the edit box.

You can also restrict the output to a specific set of properties. This is done through the "Cell Properties Configuration" dialog box.

To open the "Cell Properties Configuration" dialog box: Press LEFT CONTROL + CAPS LOCK + C.

You can use the Up, Down, Add, and Remove buttons to arrange what properties are to be spoken and in what order. Select the Close button when done.

Reading formulas and comments

When using a Low, Medium, or High Verbosity Scheme, you will be told when a cell has a formula and when it has a note.

Tip: Excel 365 Notes provide the same functionality as Comments in standard desktop editions of Excel. For this reason, SuperNova and Dolphin ScreenReader continue to report notes as comments.

When a cell contains a formula, speech will say "has formula" and when a cell contains a note, speech will say "has comment". A Braille display will show "fmla" and "cmnt" respectively.

You can use the Speak additional focus information hotkey to speak the formula and note. Press LEFT SHIFT + NUMPAD 0 or, if you are using the Laptop Universal Hotkey Set, press LEFT CONTROL + CAPS LOCK + UP ARROW.

Alternatively, you can automate the announcement of the formula text and comment text by changing to a High Verbosity Scheme.

Summary

Here, you learnt about the ways you can review the properties of a cell, a formula, and a comment. You also discovered how to modify a Verbosity Scheme to automate the output of formula and comments as you navigate through a worksheet.

Quiz

1. You press CAPS LOCK + C to review the properties of a cell. Is this statement true?
2. You press LEFT CONTROL + CAPS LOCK + C to modify the cell properties announced by SuperNova and Dolphin ScreenReader. Is this statement true?
3. You press the Speak focus hotkey to review the comment assigned to a cell. Is this statement true?

End of section

Select the link below to continue to the next section.

To revisit a previous section, please scroll to the top of this page and choose the section from the Available Content menu.

But before you move on, here are the answers to the quiz questions:

1. True.
2. True.
3. False.