[nfbcs] Excel questions

[Jason Polansky]

Hello this is my first post to this list. My name is Jason Polansky, and I am a blind student at Messiah College in Pennsylvania, studying business. I am taking a class called strategic use of information tech, and we are working on Excel. So far, I have completed the Hadley Institute's course, but it only really covers basic concepts. I know how to apply number formats with control-1, auto-fit cells through the ribbon, edit cells, use simple formulas, sort items in a database, and select, copy, and paste. Currently, my peers are learning to use auto-fill and the v-lookup function. They will also be doing graphs, pivot tables, and charts. My professor and I are not sure how much of these features are accessible with a screen reader. We are both having difficulty finding good comprehensive resources on these topics, if there are any. I want to learn as much as I can and have as much knowledge as my peers, but we're not sure how I can gain this valuable knowledge. The book that they are using primarily focuses on using the mouse, but has some keyboard shortcuts. Honestly, I think someone needs to write a book on using excel with a screen reader. It was suggested that I call the Microsoft Accessibility answer desk, but they did not have any answers and in fact, said that they have never had anyone ask these questions. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.