How do I get JAWS to connect cells to headers in a Word/PDF document?

Question

I am currently testing out a PDF document that has 8 columns and 2 rows, where the top row is the header row, and the second row is the main data connected to the top row. I need to to connect the data of the second row to the header in the first row.

In this case the top row are years (2016, 2017, 2018, etc.) and the second row contains the data for the first row (23, 15, 22, etc.) I have put in the table in MS Word as instructed by multiple sources on the net and made sure the top row is marked as column headers. I then convert it to PDF. When I use JAWS to read the document it will say "Table has 8 columns and 2 rows", as expected. Then it just readse row one, 2016, 2017, 2018, etc...and then row 23, 15, 22, etc...with not context to what the numbers mean. When using NVDA it will say Column 1 2016, Row 2 23.

So, is there a way to have JAWS function similar to NVDA?

Answer 1

A quick Google search led me to this Adobe Community post. Apparently, the scope of the table cell properties must be set using Acrobat Pro if you want JAWS to read aloud the header along with the cell contents as you move from cell to cell. Not an issue in NVDA. Follow the link for full instructions.