Excel 2019: NVDA fails to report table row/column headers in protected sheets

[Mister-Kayne]

Steps to reproduce:

1. Open Excel 2019 and create a new worksheet with a table containing row and column headers.
2. Set NVDA Screen Reader to "Report Column/Row Headings" in the worksheet.
3. Verify that NVDA correctly reports the row and column headers.
4. Protect the worksheet by pressing ALT+R+P+S and providing a password.
5. Attempt to navigate the worksheet using NVDA; note that the screen reader fails to report the row and column headers.

Actual behavior:

NVDA fails to report row and column headers when the worksheet is protected.

Expected behavior:

NVDA should continue to report row and column headers even when the worksheet is protected.

NVDA logs, crash dumps and other attachments:

N/A

System configuration

OS Name: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
OS Version: 10.0.19045 Build 19045
OS Manufacturer: Microsoft Corporation
System Type: x64based PC

NVDA installed/portable/running from source:

INSTALLED

NVDA version:

2025.1 (2025.1.2.36913).

Windows version:

Windows 10

Name and version of other software in use when reproducing the issue:

Excel 2019

Other information about your system:

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i33210 CPU @ 3.20GHz, 2 Cores, 4 Logical Processors
BIOS Version/Date: American Megatrends Inc. 4.6.5, 31082022
BIOS Mode: UEFI
BaseBoard Manufacturer: INTEL Corporation
BaseBoard Product: H61
Platform Role: Desktop
Locale: United States

Other questions

Does the issue still occur after restarting your computer?

YES

Have you tried any other versions of NVDA? If so, please report their behaviors.

NO

If NVDA add-ons are disabled, is your problem still occurring?

YES

Does the issue still occur after you run the COM Registration Fixing Tool in NVDA's tools menu?

YES

[seanbudd]

Thanks for filling this out - can you please give us the full version number of Excel

[CyrilleB79]

I have tested:

• Excel 2019 (Microsoft® Excel® LTSC MSO (16.0.14334.20090) 64 bits)
• with a 3x3 table between A1 and C3.

I have set A1 as first cell of columns and rows headers with NVDA+alt+C/R. When the sheet is unlocked, all headers are normally reported when navigating between cells. When the sheet is locked:

• row headers are not reported
• only the first column header is reported, the headers of columns 2 and 3 are not
• side note: pressing NVDA+alt+C/R seems buggy when the sheet is locked: it adds additional first cells for column/row headers, but does not remove the previous ones...

[Mister-Kayne]

Thank you for your question, Excel 2019 came with Microsoft Office Home and Business 2019 - en-us ‎19-‎07-‎2025 which I downloaded from my Microsoft account. I was not able to get the version details from the application I am not signed into my Microsoft account From: Sean Budd ***@***.***> Sent: 23 July 2025 10:01 AM To: nvaccess/nvda ***@***.***> Cc: Mister Kayne ***@***.***>; Author ***@***.***> Subject: Re: [nvaccess/nvda] Excel 2019: NVDA Screen Reader fails to report table row/column headers in protected sheets (Issue #18537) seanbudd left a comment (nvaccess/nvda#18537) <#18537 (comment)> Thanks for filling this out - can you please give us the full version number of Excel <https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/office/about-office-what-version-of-office-am-i-using-932788b8-a3ce-44bf-bb09-e334518b8b19> — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#18537 (comment)> , or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ASWKTLPKVAWF4SDNYANWXSL3J4F2DAVCNFSM6AAAAACCCDBBXGVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZTCMBVGY2TAOJTG4> . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[CyrilleB79]

@seanbudd you have added "component/UIA-ms-office" but Excel, by default, does not use UIA yet in NVDA.

[Mister-Kayne]

Thank you so much for following up, I am trying to make sense of what your comment is about. From my understanding, you are asking me to disable UIA in Excel OR this comment is for someone else? From: Cyrille Bougot ***@***.***> Sent: 04 August 2025 05:50 PM To: nvaccess/nvda ***@***.***> Cc: Mister Kayne ***@***.***>; Author ***@***.***> Subject: Re: [nvaccess/nvda] Excel 2019: NVDA Screen Reader fails to report table row/column headers in protected sheets (Issue #18537) CyrilleB79 left a comment (nvaccess/nvda#18537) <#18537 (comment)> @seanbudd <https://github.com/seanbudd> you have added "component/UIA-ms-office" but Excel, by default, does not use UIA yet in NVDA. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#18537 (comment)> , or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ASWKTLORAFBSSALJVOZJ5NT3L5FY3AVCNFSM6AAAAACCCDBBXGVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZTCNJQGM4TGNZWHA> . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[seanbudd]

@CyrilleB79 - we believe this can only be fixed by fixing this with UIA and moving to UIA by default

[CyrilleB79]

@seanbudd thanks for clarification.

It's worth noting that this issue is opened for Excel legacy (non-UIA) which is the default.

Is the issue already fixed when UIA is enabled?

• if yes, the UIA label is misleading and we should rather have a "legacy Excel" label. This issue should then be closed when Excel is by default UIA and when the checkbox to disable Excel is dropped from advanced settings
• if not, there are actually 2 issues: one for UIA that should be fixed and one for legacy that can remain open until legacy mode is totally dropped

[seanbudd]

When UIA is enabled, column and row headers work differently. This should work in protected sheets, but needs testing to confirm.

[Mister-Kayne]

Thank you for following up on my bug report! I'd be happy to test it out for you. I'd appreciate step-by-step guidance on how to go about testing this, as it would ensure I cover all the necessary scenarios. Your guidance would be really helpful in this regard. From: Sean Budd ***@***.***> Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2025 10:21 AM To: nvaccess/nvda ***@***.***> Cc: Mister Kayne ***@***.***>; Author ***@***.***> Subject: Re: [nvaccess/nvda] Excel 2019: NVDA Screen Reader fails to report table row/column headers in protected sheets (Issue #18537) seanbudd left a comment (nvaccess/nvda#18537) <#18537 (comment)> When UIA is enabled, column and row headers work differently. This should work in protected sheets, but needs testing to confirm. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#18537 (comment)> , or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ASWKTLPRVMHY45D6TE7PML33OP5EPAVCNFSM6AAAAACCCDBBXGVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZTEMBUGE4DCNZVHE> . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[seanbudd]

@Mister-Kayne - you can test this by using the latest version of Excel, enabling UIA for excel in advanced preferences. With UIA, column headers are set via Excel natively, not using the NVDA keyboard commands

[Mister-Kayne]

Thank you for the instructions. I attempted to test this on a Windows 11 PC using Microsoft Excel for Microsoft 365. I enabled UIA for Excel in the advanced settings, added column headers to the first row, and protected the sheet. However, NVDA didn't read the column headers as expected. I also tried defining the column headers using NVDA's keyboard commands after unprotecting the sheet, and then re-protecting it, but that didn't work either. I'm not sure why it's not working as expected. If you have any further guidance or troubleshooting steps, I'd appreciate it. From: Sean Budd ***@***.***> Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2025 5:07 AM To: nvaccess/nvda ***@***.***> Cc: Mister Kayne ***@***.***>; Mention ***@***.***> Subject: Re: [nvaccess/nvda] Excel 2019: NVDA Screen Reader fails to report table row/column headers in protected sheets (Issue #18537) seanbudd left a comment (nvaccess/nvda#18537) <#18537 (comment)> @Mister-Kayne <https://github.com/Mister-Kayne> - you can test this by using the latest version of Excel, enabling UIA for excel in advanced preferences <https://download.nvaccess.org/releases/beta/documentation/userGuide.html#UseUiaForExcel> . With UIA, column headers are set via Excel natively, not using the NVDA keyboard commands — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#18537 (comment)> , or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ASWKTLPNYUCC2R34PZ2RVBL3OUBDBAVCNFSM6AAAAACCCDBBXGVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZTEMBYGQ2TGNRZGQ> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>