Non-Visual Navigation of Tables in Spreadsheets

This paper presents a new system for non-visual navigation of spreadsheet tables using synthesis speech. The purpose is to provide a flexible hierarchical non-visual navigation for tables in Excel. The hierarchical view of the spreadsheet contents along with the user ability to select the table provides more flexibility than current assistive technologies. The proposed system allows the user to select a table and choose between different navigation options for the navigation. The proposed approach introduces the solution in two stages: table detection and recognition and non-visual navigation of the selected table. The system is implemented as a plug-in for Microsoft Excel with an accessible interface.