This guide covers how screen readers, keyboard navigation, and other tools interact with some of our most complicated interfaces and visualizations.

Accessibility in rich text fields

Airtable supports rich text entry when fields are configured to accept it. Text can be formatted by using a keyboard as discussed in this article.

General accessibility in interfaces

Airtable interfaces are built to work with assistive technologies. All interfaces consist of the following elements:

• Skip links for main content and accessibility feedback

• Left navigation, with links back to airtable home as well as to other interfaces

• Header bar with interface title and some of the following:

  • Call to action buttons

  • Description

  • Preset filters

  • Facets for modifying the data presented in the interface. Each facet is a dialog focus trap which can be closed with the esc key. A published interface page is configured by the interface’s builder. When enabled, the data can be refined further via the following options:

    • Grouping

    • Filter

    • Sort

    • Row-height and layout

    • Visualization

    • Search

Accessibility in publicly shared and embedded interface pages

A publicly shared interface page—and that same page embedded in another website—renders your layout and its elements, but not the surrounding Airtable navigation. The skip links, left navigation, and header bar described above are part of the signed-in experience, so a visitor who arrives through a public link or an embed won't see them.

If you're publishing an interface page on a site that has to meet an accessibility standard such as WCAG, Section 508, or ADA requirements:

• Start with our accessibility statement and VPAT. See the "Do you publish VPATs?" question in the FAQs section below for what the current VPAT covers and how to request it.

• Give the embed an accessible name. Add a title attribute to the iframe code you copy from Embed this page so that screen reader users know what the frame contains.

• Pair chart-heavy pages with a text alternative. Chart elements convey their meaning visually, so include a summary or a data table alongside the embed on your host page.

• Contact us before you publish if you need a formal answer. Write to list-accessibility@airtable.com for questions tied to a procurement or compliance review, and we can connect your IT team with the right team at Airtable.

Accessibility in interface grids

A grid will have role=”application” and is a single tabstop on the page. Due to performance reasons around rendering large amounts of data, it is best to rely on the built-in navigation tools.

1. With the grid application focused, press Enter or Return to start navigating the grid. When inside the grid, press Esc to exit the grid and return focus to the original tabstop. From there, press Tab to move to the next control on the page.

2. When you first enter the grid, your focus will be placed on the first cell of the first row. Navigate across rows and columns with the arrow keys.

3. Press Tab to move the cursor one cell to the right, and Shift+Tab to move it one cell to the left.

4. The grid may be configured to allow inline edits. If enabled, press Enter or Return to edit the contents of the cell. Depending on the cell type, this might be a single form control, or a set of form controls. Linked record, multiple select, multiple collaborator, attachment, and AI fields open a set of controls and keep Tab inside the cell editor, so Tab moves between those controls instead of moving to the next cell. Press Esc to leave the editor and return to navigating the grid.

5. The grid may be configured to allow a detailed record view. If enabled, press space to open the detailed view. This will transfer focus to a dialog, but focus is purposely not trapped. Close with esc or by pressing the “Close” button.

6. Rows can be selected with a checkbox left of the first cell. A range of cells can be selected with shift + arrow keys

7. An additional context menu based on the focused or selected cells can be opened with ctrl + shift + m.

8. In a grid embedded in a record's detail side sheet, Tab may move focus to the surrounding record-detail controls instead of to the next cell. If this happens, press Tab to reach the grid, press Enter to activate it, and use the arrow keys to move between cells. To leave the grid, press Esc and then Tab. A source table grid or a full-page interface grid always gives standard cell-to-cell Tab navigation.

Keyboard shortcuts

A list of keyboard shortcuts can be opened by holding CMD or CTRL & /. This article covers the keyboard shortcuts available in Airtable.

FAQs