Use a screen reader to create a chart and select a chart in Excel

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This article is for people who use a screen reader program with the Office products and is part of the Office Accessibility content set. For more general help, see Office Support home.

Windows Mac

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Use Excel 2016 with your keyboard and a screen reader such as JAWS or Narrator, the built-in Windows screen reader, to create chart in a worksheet and to select a chart so you can work with it. When you create a chart, you can choose the chart type, style, orientation, and more. To make changes to an existing chart (for example, to modify the layout or to add a title, data labels, or alt text), you first select it.

Notes:

New Office 365 features are released gradually to Office 365 subscribers, so your app might not have these features yet. To learn how you could get new features faster, visit When do I get the newest features in Office 2016 for Office 365?.
For keyboard shortcuts, go to Keyboard shortcuts in Excel 2016 for Windows.
This topic assumes that you are using JAWS. To learn about JAWS for Windows, refer to JAWS for Windows Quick Start Guide.
This topic assumes that you are using the built-in Windows screen reader, Narrator. To learn more about using Narrator, go to Get started with Narrator.
This topic assumes you are using this app with a PC. Some navigation and gestures might be different for a Windows phone or tablet.

Create a basic chart

Select the data you want to include in your chart. For example, to create a chart of expenses by category in your monthly budget worksheet, select the Category column and the Actual cost column.

Tip: To quickly select a data range, name it. Screen readers read the name of the data range, which makes the information easier to select. For example, in your monthly budget worksheet, you could select the Category column and the Actual cost column and then name the range ActualCostByCategory. Refer to Use a screen reader to name a cell or data range in Excel 2016.
To open the Insert tab, press Alt+N.
Select a chart type:
- To create a Column or Bar chart (to compare values across a few categories), press C. To select the type of Column or Bar chart, use the Down Arrow key and the Right Arrow key, and then press Enter.
  
  Tip: You can quickly insert a basic Bar chart in a worksheet. Select the data you want to include in your chart, and press Alt+F1. The chart is added to the worksheet and is listed in the Selection pane.
- To create a Pie or Doughnut chart (to show a proportion of a whole when your total equals 100%), press Q. To select the type of Pie or Doughnut chart (to show a portion of a whole when your total equals 100 percent), press Q. To select the type of Pie or Doughnut chart, use the Down Arrow key and the Right Arrow key and then press Enter.
- To create a Line or Area chart (to show trends over time or categories), press N. To select the type of Line or Area chart, use the Down Arrow key and the Right Arrow key and then press Enter.
- To review a set of recommend charts for your data, press R. The Insert Chart window opens with a chart customized to showcase your data and the focus on the OK button. To select the recommended chart type, press Enter. To exit the Insert Chart window, press Esc. The recommended charts are customized to your data. For example, in the monthly budget example, if your Category column contains long text, a Clustered Bar chart might be recommended.
The chart is added to your worksheet.

Select a chart so you can work with it

To work with a chart in Excel (for example, to add data labels or to make changes to the layout), you must first select it.

Tip: To quickly move the focus to the first floating shape such as a chart or text box, press Ctrl+Alt+5. Then, to cycle through the floating shapes, press the Tab key. To return to the normal navigation, press Esc.

An easy way to select a chart is to use the Selection pane.

To open the Selection pane, do one of the following:
- Press Alt+P, A+P. The Selection pane opens with the focus on the Show All button.
- Press Alt+Q. The focus moves to the Tell Me edit box. When you hear "Tell Me, Edit, Type and text," type Selection pane and then press Enter. The focus moves to the Selection pane, and then press Enter. The focus moves to the Selection pane.
To browse the items in the Selection pane, use the Down Arrow key.
When you hear the name of the chart you want, press Enter. This selects the chart so you can work with it.

In this topic

Create a basic chart
Select a chart so you can work with it

Create a basic chart

Select the data you want to include in your chart. You can select cells by holding down Shift and using the arrow keys to expand the range of selected cells. VoiceOver announces the selected cells after each keystroke. For more keyboard shortcuts related to selecting data, refer to Select cells, columns, or rows.
Press F6 until you hear the name of the current ribbon tab, for example, "Home, selected, tab." Press the Right or Left arrow key until you hear "Insert, tab," and then press Spacebar to open the tab.
Do one of the following to select a chart type:
- To create a Column or Bar chart (to compare values across a few categories), press the Tab key repeatedly until you hear "Column, menu button," and press Control+Option+Spacebar. To select the type of Column or Bar chart, use the arrow keys to find the option you want, for example, "Clustered Bar, button," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.
- To create a Pie or Doughnut chart (to show a proportion of a whole when your total equals 100%), press the Tab key repeatedly until you hear "Pie, menu button," and press Control+Option+Spacebar. To select the type of Pie or Doughnut chart, use the arrow keys to find the option you want, for example, "3-D Pie, button," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.
- To create a Line or Area chart (to show trends over time or categories), press the Tab key repeatedly until you hear "Line, menu button," and press Control+Option+Spacebar. To select the type of Line or Area chart, use the arrow keys to find the option you want, for example, "Line, button," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.
- To review a set of recommend charts for your data, press the Tab key repeatedly until you hear "Recommended Charts, menu button", and press Control+Option+Spacebar. Excel offers you several chart types customized for your data. To select a recommended chart type, press the Down arrow key until you find the type you want, and then press Control+Option+Spacebar. VoiceOver describes each recommended option as you land on it.
The chart is added to your worksheet.

Select a chart so you can work with it

To work with a chart in Excel (for example, to add data labels or to make changes to the layout), you must first select it. An easy way to select a chart is to use the Selection pane.

Press F6 until you hear the name of the current ribbon tab, for example, "Home, selected, tab."
Press the Tab key until you hear "Tell me what you want to do, button," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.
Type selection pane and press the Down arrow key to move to the list of Tell Me results. You hear: "Selection Pane." Press Control+Option+Spacebar to open the Selection pane.
To browse the items in the Selection pane, press F6 until you hear "Selection pane, tab," and then press the Tab key until you hear the name of the chart you want. It is now selected so you can work with it.

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