Write the Table First: A Better Way for Blind Users to Create Tables

Ishe Chinyoka

- 4 minutes read

Table of Contents

Every few weeks, someone asks the same question in our accessibility groups:

“How do I create a table in Microsoft Word?”

The answers are usually the same.

Go to Insert.

Choose Table.

Select the number of rows and columns.

Press Tab to move between cells.

There is nothing wrong with this advice.

It works.

But I would like to suggest something different.

Instead of creating the table first, create the data first.

For many blind users, this turns out to be simpler, faster, and much easier to edit.

Remember What a Table Really Is

A table is not a collection of boxes on the screen.

A table is a collection of records and fields.

The boxes are simply one way of displaying them.

That means we do not have to begin with the boxes.

We can begin with plain text.

Method 1: Write a CSV

Suppose you want a small contact list.

Instead of inserting a Word table, simply type:

Name,Phone,City
Alice,555-1234,Harare
Brian,555-8877,Bulawayo
Chipo,555-9921,Mutare

You have already created a perfectly valid table.

Word cannot display it as a grid yet, but the information is complete.

Even better, the file is readable in any text editor.

Method 2: Write a TSV

Some people prefer tabs instead of commas.

That is equally valid.

Press the Tab key between fields.

Your text might look like this:

Name    Phone    City
Alice   555-1234 Harare
Brian   555-8877 Bulawayo
Chipo   555-9921 Mutare

The spacing above is only illustrative.

What matters is that each field is separated by an actual tab character.

Many applications import tab-separated data automatically.

Why This Is Easier

Think about what happens while entering information directly into a Word table.

You constantly move left.

Right.

Down.

Across.

If you forget a column, adding it later may require navigating the entire table.

By contrast, editing plain text is something blind users already do every day.

Each line represents one record.

Each comma—or tab—marks the next field.

There is no invisible grid to keep track of.

You simply write.

Turning Text into a Word Table

Once your CSV or TSV data is complete, converting it into a proper Word table takes only a few steps.

First, select the block of text.

Then use Word’s Convert Text to Table command.

Word asks which character separates the fields.

Choose:

  • Commas for CSV
  • Tabs for TSV

Press OK.

Instantly, Word creates a fully formatted table.

You spent your time entering data instead of wrestling with a grid.

Doing the Same in LibreOffice Writer

LibreOffice Writer offers a similar feature.

After selecting the CSV or TSV text, use the command that converts text into a table.

Again, simply tell Writer whether the separator is a comma or a tab.

Within seconds, your plain text becomes a formatted table.

The principle is exactly the same.

The data came first.

The formatting came afterwards.

Going the Other Way

The reverse process is just as useful.

Suppose someone sends you a Word document containing a large table.

Perhaps you want to analyse it using Python.

Or SQLite.

Or R.

Or the Unix command line.

Keeping the information inside Word may not be the best option.

Instead, convert the table into text.

Word can convert a table into text using commas or tabs as separators.

After conversion, your data might look like this:

Date,Customer,Amount
2026-08-01,Alice,250
2026-08-02,Brian,175
2026-08-03,Chipo,300

Now the same information can be opened almost anywhere.

It has escaped the document and become plain data.

Why Textsmiths Prefer This Workflow

This approach has advantages that extend far beyond accessibility.

A CSV file can be:

  • imported into Word
  • opened in LibreOffice Calc
  • analysed in Excel
  • queried using SQLite
  • processed with Python
  • explored in R
  • transformed with awk
  • filtered with grep
  • version-controlled using Git

One simple text file serves every purpose.

You are no longer tied to a single application.

Accessibility Is About Working Smarter

Accessibility is often presented as learning keyboard shortcuts.

Those shortcuts certainly matter.

But accessibility is also about choosing workflows that fit the way we work.

Blind users naturally think in sequences.

Plain text is sequential.

Tables are two-dimensional.

It therefore makes sense to create the sequential representation first and generate the two-dimensional view only when it is needed.

Rather than fighting the grid, we let the computer build it for us.

The Textsmith’s Perspective

One of the recurring ideas at The Textsmith is that presentation should follow content.

We write Markdown before generating HTML.

We write LaTeX before producing a PDF.

We write source code before compiling a program.

Why should tables be any different?

Create the information first.

Represent it as plain text.

Convert it into a table only when someone needs to see the grid.

For many blind users, this is not merely a different technique.

It is often a better way of thinking about tables altogether.