Hearing a value such as 120 is insufficient when you cannot tell whether it belongs to January, February or a different row entirely. A table may display bold headings without exposing them as headers to assistive technology. Orca's dynamic headers can supply useful reading context for that table.

Begin with a small table whose meaning you can establish, using help from the document owner where necessary. Identify the actual row containing column labels and the column containing row labels. Do not guess from formatting alone when the sheet contains title rows, subtotals or merged sections.

Assign the correct header direction

Using your configured Orca modifier, move to the row containing the column headings and press Orca Modifier+R. To use a column as the row headings, move to that column and press Orca Modifier+C. GNOME documents these as dynamic header assignments for Orca.

Now move across two ordinary data cells in the same row. Listen for the changed column context and confirm it matches the intended headings. Then move down within one column and check the row context.

Orca announces a header when that header changes; it need not repeat the same column name during every downward move. This difference helps distinguish normal concise output from a missing assignment.

Clear an incorrect assumption

If the labels do not match the cells, stop interpreting the values. Double-press the corresponding assignment command to clear it, as GNOME documents, then establish the correct row or column before trying again.

Repeat the small test when moving to another differently structured table. Do not assume a useful assignment for a simple monthly grid also describes a subtotal area or a second table below it.

Keep this reading aid separate from document repair. It does not establish that the original file contains accessible header markup for other readers. Ask the author to provide a properly structured table when it will be shared widely.

Acceptance means you can identify both the value and its row/column meaning during the actual reading task. An announced number without reliable context is not enough for a decision.

Sources: GNOME documentation.