WEBVTT 00:00:02.970 --> 00:00:06.260 >> Welcome to the webinar, Excel and Accessibility. 00:00:06.260 --> 00:00:10.200 My name is Sid Sharma, I'm the DOI Section 508 program manager. 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:13.340 >> And I'm Catherine Emmett, Bureau of Land Management. 00:00:13.340 --> 00:00:16.920 >> So what is Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act? 00:00:16.920 --> 00:00:21.340 In 1998, Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 00:00:21.340 --> 00:00:25.290 to require all federal agencies to develop, procure, 00:00:25.290 --> 00:00:29.300 maintain and use Information and Communication Technology -- 00:00:29.300 --> 00:00:32.240 ICT -- that is accessible to everybody, 00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:34.360 including individuals with disabilities. 00:00:34.920 --> 00:00:37.850 The purpose of the law is to ensure that federal employees 00:00:37.850 --> 00:00:40.490 and members of the public with disabilities 00:00:40.490 --> 00:00:43.260 have access to and use of information and data 00:00:43.260 --> 00:00:45.520 that is comparable to the accident 00:00:45.520 --> 00:00:48.170 and use provided to individuals without disabilities. 00:00:48.720 --> 00:00:51.550 Section 508 was enacted to eliminate barriers 00:00:51.550 --> 00:00:53.290 in information technology 00:00:53.290 --> 00:00:54.960 to make available new opportunities 00:00:54.960 --> 00:00:56.900 for persons with disabilities, 00:00:56.900 --> 00:00:59.030 and to encourage development of technologies 00:00:59.030 --> 00:01:00.780 that will help achieve these goals. 00:01:01.810 --> 00:01:03.980 So when Section 508 was enacted, 00:01:03.980 --> 00:01:05.910 it required the U.S. Architectural 00:01:05.910 --> 00:01:08.630 and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, 00:01:08.630 --> 00:01:12.080 the U.S. Access Board, an independent federal agency, 00:01:12.080 --> 00:01:15.360 to develop accessibility standards for ICT. 00:01:16.310 --> 00:01:21.060 These accessibility standards are available at 36 CFR 1194. 00:01:21.910 --> 00:01:25.130 According to the U.S. Access Board's accessibility standards, 00:01:25.130 --> 00:01:28.940 all public facing electronic content must be accessible. 00:01:29.890 --> 00:01:32.950 Electronic content that is not public facing, 00:01:32.950 --> 00:01:35.510 but is official business and is communicated through one 00:01:35.510 --> 00:01:38.160 or more of the following nine categories, 00:01:38.160 --> 00:01:40.100 is an agency official communication, 00:01:40.100 --> 00:01:41.700 and must be accessible. 00:01:42.360 --> 00:01:44.540 The nine categories are as follows: 00:01:45.140 --> 00:01:49.930 An emergency notification, an initial or final decision 00:01:49.930 --> 00:01:53.210 adjudicating an administrative claim or proceeding, 00:01:54.180 --> 00:01:57.200 an internal or external program or policy announcement, 00:01:58.460 --> 00:02:00.980 a notice of benefits, program eligibility, 00:02:00.980 --> 00:02:03.630 employment opportunity or personnel action, 00:02:04.960 --> 00:02:06.880 a formal acknowledgment of receipt, 00:02:08.130 --> 00:02:11.320 a template or form, a survey or questionnaire, 00:02:11.920 --> 00:02:15.660 educational or training materials and intranet content 00:02:15.660 --> 00:02:17.260 designed as a webpage. 00:02:18.640 --> 00:02:20.320 Now in addition to the law under U.S. 00:02:20.320 --> 00:02:22.370 Access Board's accessibility standards, 00:02:22.890 --> 00:02:24.840 the Federal Acquisition Regulation -- 00:02:24.840 --> 00:02:29.920 FAR -- requires federal agencies, when acquiring ICT, 00:02:29.920 --> 00:02:32.140 to ensure that individuals with disabilities 00:02:32.140 --> 00:02:34.520 have access to and use of information and data 00:02:34.520 --> 00:02:36.620 that is comparable to the access 00:02:36.620 --> 00:02:39.270 and use provided to individuals without disabilities. 00:02:39.950 --> 00:02:43.090 The FAR provides policy and procedures 00:02:43.090 --> 00:02:46.760 for the acquisition of goods and services by federal agencies. 00:02:46.760 --> 00:02:48.280 Now within the Department of Interior, 00:02:48.280 --> 00:02:50.500 we have a Section 508 policy, 00:02:50.500 --> 00:02:53.810 it's at 375 Departmental Manual Chapter 8, 00:02:54.390 --> 00:02:56.020 and it provides bureaus and offices 00:02:56.020 --> 00:02:57.810 with policy and responsibilities 00:02:57.810 --> 00:03:00.480 for implementing the requirements of Section 508 00:03:00.480 --> 00:03:02.720 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. 00:03:03.540 --> 00:03:06.490 Now one of the responsibilities identified in the DMs 00:03:06.490 --> 00:03:10.040 for document readers, so any individual or office 00:03:10.040 --> 00:03:13.370 that is developing electronic documents for dissemination 00:03:13.370 --> 00:03:15.810 or posting on an agency's website 00:03:15.810 --> 00:03:18.460 must ensure that documents are accessible prior 00:03:18.460 --> 00:03:20.360 to posting or dissemination. 00:03:20.360 --> 00:03:21.810 Now in addition to this training, 00:03:21.810 --> 00:03:23.900 the CIO Council Accessible Electronic 00:03:23.900 --> 00:03:26.710 Document Community of Practices developed basic authoring 00:03:26.710 --> 00:03:29.090 and testing guides for creating accessible 00:03:29.090 --> 00:03:32.890 Excel files, and you can get to these resources through the DOI 00:03:32.890 --> 00:03:43.100 Section 508 website, at www.DOI.gov/ocio/section508. 00:03:43.710 --> 00:03:45.630 So that was a quick background on Section 508. 00:03:45.630 --> 00:03:47.090 I'll turn it over to Catherine. 00:03:47.090 --> 00:03:50.770 >> So first, all I want to do is make an Excel spreadsheet. 00:03:50.770 --> 00:03:52.310 How does that affect me? 00:03:52.310 --> 00:03:54.320 Well, if you're asking yourself that question, 00:03:54.320 --> 00:03:57.100 just look at these basic requirements for creating 00:03:57.100 --> 00:03:59.410 Excel documents that are accessible. 00:03:59.410 --> 00:04:02.520 We have document formatting requirements. 00:04:02.520 --> 00:04:04.840 These are things like using descriptive filenames 00:04:04.840 --> 00:04:06.130 in your document, 00:04:06.130 --> 00:04:09.850 and having a good title under Document Properties. 00:04:09.850 --> 00:04:13.070 When we get to text formatting, we want to be sure we use 00:04:13.070 --> 00:04:15.480 built-in features to organize our content, 00:04:15.480 --> 00:04:18.660 and we want to use unambiguous names for our links. 00:04:19.380 --> 00:04:21.130 When it comes to object formatting, 00:04:21.710 --> 00:04:23.970 we need to duplicate vital info 00:04:23.970 --> 00:04:26.380 that's in our headers and foots and watermarks. 00:04:26.380 --> 00:04:29.480 You want to use built-in features to create data tables, 00:04:29.480 --> 00:04:32.560 and use alternate text for images and graphs. 00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:34.050 When we get to color, 00:04:34.050 --> 00:04:37.220 we have to be sure we don't use color alone to convey meaning, 00:04:37.220 --> 00:04:41.630 and that we always use an acceptable color contrast. 00:04:41.630 --> 00:04:44.000 We're going to unpack these one at a time. 00:04:44.860 --> 00:04:46.390 The first thing I want to show you 00:04:46.390 --> 00:04:48.310 is the Excel Accessibility Checker. 00:04:48.310 --> 00:04:50.570 The Accessibility Checker checks the document 00:04:50.570 --> 00:04:53.080 for any content individuals with disabilities 00:04:53.080 --> 00:04:55.050 may find difficult to read. 00:04:55.050 --> 00:04:58.340 The Accessibility Checker is located on the File tab, 00:04:58.340 --> 00:05:01.890 and this is in the same place in PowerPoint, Excel and Word, 00:05:01.890 --> 00:05:04.150 so if you know how to use the Accessibility Checker 00:05:04.150 --> 00:05:06.280 in any one of these programs, 00:05:06.280 --> 00:05:08.290 you know where it is in all of them. 00:05:08.290 --> 00:05:11.260 Let's take a look at the Accessibility Checker. 00:05:11.260 --> 00:05:14.620 You'll see here I have a pretty complicated Excel spreadsheet. 00:05:15.180 --> 00:05:17.390 So I'm going to check it for accessibility, 00:05:17.390 --> 00:05:19.240 using the Accessibility Checker. 00:05:19.240 --> 00:05:23.490 I'm going to go to the File tab on the left, under Info, 00:05:23.490 --> 00:05:25.710 I am dragging down to check for issues, 00:05:25.710 --> 00:05:28.360 and I'm going to select Check Accessibility. 00:05:28.360 --> 00:05:29.990 When I select Check Accessibility, 00:05:29.990 --> 00:05:33.250 the Accessibility Checker opens in the right side of the screen. 00:05:33.250 --> 00:05:35.420 You'll see my Inspection Results, 00:05:36.610 --> 00:05:38.580 and it gives me a warning here. 00:05:39.200 --> 00:05:43.280 It says I have merged cells -- 53 merged cells. 00:05:43.280 --> 00:05:45.900 And if I click on there, Merged Cells, 00:05:46.460 --> 00:05:49.410 you'll see all of the merged cells listed. 00:05:50.330 --> 00:05:52.120 And if I need to go to any one of these, 00:05:52.120 --> 00:05:53.870 all I have to do is click on it, 00:05:53.870 --> 00:05:57.260 and the Accessibility Checker takes me right there 00:05:57.260 --> 00:05:58.790 so I can fix my content. 00:05:58.790 --> 00:06:02.600 In addition to identifying any accessibility errors, 00:06:02.600 --> 00:06:06.410 the Accessibility Checker also includes additional information 00:06:06.410 --> 00:06:09.100 on how and why to fix that mistake, 00:06:09.100 --> 00:06:12.310 and you'll see it below the Inspection Results. 00:06:12.310 --> 00:06:14.750 So I'm going to close the Checker, and open it up again, 00:06:14.750 --> 00:06:16.730 to help us all remember exactly where it is. 00:06:16.730 --> 00:06:18.430 We're going to go to the File tab, 00:06:19.020 --> 00:06:22.140 Check for Issues, and Check Accessibility. 00:06:22.140 --> 00:06:24.730 Now the Accessibility Checker updates in real time, 00:06:24.730 --> 00:06:27.390 so anytime I correct one of these errors, 00:06:27.390 --> 00:06:29.270 it will disappear from the list. 00:06:29.270 --> 00:06:33.300 And when the list is empty, your work is most likely done. 00:06:35.360 --> 00:06:38.260 So this slide is just a quick screen 00:06:38.260 --> 00:06:40.970 shot of the Accessibility Checker Inspection Results, 00:06:40.970 --> 00:06:44.150 and again, how to fix any errors. 00:06:45.940 --> 00:06:48.730 Then we're going to move on to our document formatting, 00:06:48.730 --> 00:06:50.230 and we're going to start off 00:06:50.230 --> 00:06:52.220 talking about descriptive filenames. 00:06:52.220 --> 00:06:55.020 A descriptive filename identifies the document 00:06:55.020 --> 00:06:57.390 or its purpose. It helps everyone locate 00:06:57.390 --> 00:06:59.289 and open and switch between documents. 00:07:00.430 --> 00:07:02.760 Basically, you want to know what you're opening 00:07:02.760 --> 00:07:04.370 before you actually open it, 00:07:05.090 --> 00:07:08.040 so you know where you're going and what to expect. 00:07:08.040 --> 00:07:11.200 So you don't want documents or titles like "Untitled 1," 00:07:11.200 --> 00:07:14.160 "Untitled 2," or titles that don't even include words 00:07:14.160 --> 00:07:16.500 or make any sense at all, because you'll find it hard 00:07:16.500 --> 00:07:18.670 to remember what's actually in that content 00:07:18.670 --> 00:07:21.270 if you go to retrieve it at some point in time, 00:07:21.270 --> 00:07:22.990 and people that you send the document 00:07:22.990 --> 00:07:25.090 to also won't know what to expect 00:07:25.090 --> 00:07:26.690 before they open the document. 00:07:27.340 --> 00:07:30.950 So please use a descriptive filename. 00:07:32.910 --> 00:07:34.860 Now we're moving on to text formatting. 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:37.530 We want to be sure that we always use 00:07:37.530 --> 00:07:39.740 the built-in features to organize content. 00:07:39.740 --> 00:07:42.650 When we use built-in features, we're creating a structure 00:07:42.650 --> 00:07:45.250 that screen readers and assistive technology users 00:07:45.870 --> 00:07:48.390 can use to read information in the correct order, 00:07:48.390 --> 00:07:50.140 just left to right, top to bottom. 00:07:50.690 --> 00:07:54.050 So you'll see on this side, we have a fiscal year 00:07:54.050 --> 00:07:57.970 2017 grants award table; it's pretty simple. 00:07:57.970 --> 00:07:59.710 We just have our three columns -- 00:07:59.710 --> 00:08:02.310 Grantees, the States and the Type of Institution -- 00:08:02.310 --> 00:08:05.400 so this is a simple table to read left to right, 00:08:05.950 --> 00:08:07.550 top to bottom. 00:08:09.840 --> 00:08:11.810 Moving on to links -- 00:08:11.810 --> 00:08:14.880 it's important to provide unambiguous names for links. 00:08:14.880 --> 00:08:17.660 This is a lot like a descriptive filename. 00:08:17.660 --> 00:08:19.250 You want to describe the destination, 00:08:19.250 --> 00:08:20.510 its function or purpose, 00:08:20.510 --> 00:08:22.340 so you want to know what you're getting into 00:08:22.340 --> 00:08:24.150 before you open the link. 00:08:24.150 --> 00:08:26.340 If you have several links on a page, 00:08:26.340 --> 00:08:27.940 and you name them all things like, "Click Here," 00:08:27.940 --> 00:08:29.170 "Learn More," "Read More," 00:08:29.170 --> 00:08:31.750 "Read More" -- that's not very helpful. 00:08:31.750 --> 00:08:35.910 Assistive technology won't be able to convey that information 00:08:36.830 --> 00:08:38.820 that distinguishes the distinct links. 00:08:39.930 --> 00:08:43.430 So, how to create unambiguous filenames for links in Excel? 00:08:44.120 --> 00:08:47.020 Well, under the Insert tab, you want to select Hyperlink. 00:08:48.170 --> 00:08:51.490 You enter the text describing designation, 00:08:51.490 --> 00:08:54.420 function or purpose in the Text to Display field. 00:08:54.420 --> 00:08:57.060 So let's take a look at how this really works in Excel. 00:08:57.060 --> 00:09:00.480 I'm going to open up a very simple table here 00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:04.650 that lists the DOI Section 508 program manager, 00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:08.480 and you'll see here that we have a column that lists Directives. 00:09:09.140 --> 00:09:11.700 Under there, we have the DM, 00:09:11.700 --> 00:09:15.550 375 DM 8, Section 508 Program and Responsibilities. 00:09:16.150 --> 00:09:18.470 So to create a Hyperlink here, 00:09:18.990 --> 00:09:20.770 I am going to highlight the cell, 00:09:22.580 --> 00:09:24.320 and I am going to under Insert, 00:09:24.320 --> 00:09:25.980 I'm just going to select Hyperlink, 00:09:25.980 --> 00:09:28.320 and you'll see Text to Display -- it just says 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:32.440 "375 DM 8 Section 508 Program and Responsibilities." 00:09:32.440 --> 00:09:34.180 Down here in the Address section, 00:09:34.180 --> 00:09:38.910 this is where I'm just going to enter my web address. 00:09:38.910 --> 00:09:43.270 So a screen reader is going to read, "375 DM 8," 00:09:43.270 --> 00:09:45.720 it's not going to read the very long web address. 00:09:48.970 --> 00:09:50.570 Okay, moving on. 00:09:52.550 --> 00:09:56.120 Now we're going to talk about headers, footers and watermarks. 00:09:56.120 --> 00:09:57.910 Screen readers don't automatically 00:09:57.910 --> 00:09:59.240 read the information in the header, 00:09:59.240 --> 00:10:02.580 footer or watermark. They can get into it 00:10:02.580 --> 00:10:04.780 by navigating through different menus, 00:10:04.780 --> 00:10:07.190 but that's kind of a time-consuming process, 00:10:07.190 --> 00:10:09.990 and it can be very easy to miss that information. 00:10:10.500 --> 00:10:12.670 So as a best practice, we recommend 00:10:12.670 --> 00:10:14.980 that you duplicate your vital information 00:10:15.890 --> 00:10:18.340 in the text of the document itself. 00:10:18.340 --> 00:10:21.200 So if you have "Do Not Distribute" in your header, 00:10:21.200 --> 00:10:24.830 also include "Do Not Distribute" within the text of the document, 00:10:24.830 --> 00:10:26.360 to make it really obvious 00:10:26.360 --> 00:10:28.940 and abundantly clear what's included. 00:10:31.150 --> 00:10:32.870 Okay, now this is where we're going to 00:10:32.870 --> 00:10:34.130 get to the heart of the matter. 00:10:34.130 --> 00:10:36.640 We're going to talk about data tables, 00:10:36.640 --> 00:10:39.740 and how to use built-in features to create data tables. 00:10:41.040 --> 00:10:42.890 We're all familiar with data tables; 00:10:42.890 --> 00:10:46.510 they require information from a row or column header 00:10:46.510 --> 00:10:49.030 to adequately describe the cell's content. 00:10:49.750 --> 00:10:54.000 To create an accessible table, don't use images. 00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:56.350 That's just a picture. It's not accessible. 00:10:57.000 --> 00:11:00.040 Next, you have to keep your data tables simple; 00:11:00.040 --> 00:11:02.750 that means using one row of column headers, 00:11:02.750 --> 00:11:05.090 and no merged or split cells. 00:11:05.740 --> 00:11:09.970 Lastly, you want to identify your header rows and columns. 00:11:09.970 --> 00:11:12.320 Now whenever you merge or split a cell, 00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:14.410 you are creating a complex table, 00:11:14.410 --> 00:11:15.660 and that's not what we want to do. 00:11:15.660 --> 00:11:17.890 So try to avoid that whenever possible. 00:11:18.480 --> 00:11:20.829 So let's take a look at our automatic features. 00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:25.330 To create a table, there's a couple ways to do it. 00:11:25.330 --> 00:11:28.370 This first example, we are going to go to the Insert tab, 00:11:28.930 --> 00:11:31.730 go to Table, and we're going to select 00:11:31.730 --> 00:11:34.890 the range of cells that contain your data. 00:11:34.890 --> 00:11:39.040 You'll get the Create Table dialog box popping up, 00:11:39.040 --> 00:11:41.650 and you want to ensure that you check the box that says, 00:11:41.650 --> 00:11:43.530 "My Table Has Headers." 00:11:43.530 --> 00:11:45.400 So let's take a look at a real table here -- 00:11:45.400 --> 00:11:48.030 this is a basic one. So here is my table. 00:11:48.940 --> 00:11:54.400 It says we have three columns, Fiscal Years 2016, 2017, 2018, 00:11:55.440 --> 00:12:00.550 and we have our row headers, Training and Equipment. 00:12:00.550 --> 00:12:03.550 So to create a table with this information, 00:12:03.550 --> 00:12:05.090 I'm going to highlight my cells, 00:12:05.090 --> 00:12:09.330 I'm going to go to Insert and Table. 00:12:09.330 --> 00:12:11.740 The Create Table dialog box pops up, 00:12:12.270 --> 00:12:15.320 and I'm going to select My Table Has Headers. 00:12:15.320 --> 00:12:16.560 And there you have it. 00:12:16.560 --> 00:12:20.520 It even adopts a pretty nice formatting there 00:12:20.520 --> 00:12:22.790 that's aesthetically easier to look 00:12:22.790 --> 00:12:25.570 at than just a bunch of numbers. We have some highlighting 00:12:25.570 --> 00:12:28.840 that helps distinguish the rows and columns. 00:12:30.260 --> 00:12:33.270 So that's just one way to create a data table. 00:12:34.350 --> 00:12:38.280 The second route to creating a table is under the Home tab. 00:12:38.860 --> 00:12:40.720 You'd select the cells of your table, 00:12:41.470 --> 00:12:43.390 and under Home, go to Styles, 00:12:43.390 --> 00:12:45.820 and select the style that you prefer. 00:12:46.330 --> 00:12:47.930 So here's our table again. 00:12:48.680 --> 00:12:51.840 We're going to highlight the cells we'd like included. 00:12:51.840 --> 00:12:55.500 Under the Home tab, we're going to go to the right here under 00:12:55.500 --> 00:12:57.520 Format as a Table, and when I select 00:12:57.520 --> 00:13:00.420 Format as a Table, you see all the different color options 00:13:00.950 --> 00:13:03.130 and formats that I have to pick from. 00:13:05.780 --> 00:13:09.010 And there you go -- now I've created a table in another way. 00:13:13.110 --> 00:13:16.220 Now we're going to talk about accessible images and objects. 00:13:17.320 --> 00:13:20.600 Screen readers can't infer meaning from just an image 00:13:20.600 --> 00:13:23.880 or an object, like a chart or images of a text, 00:13:23.880 --> 00:13:25.480 or images of a table. 00:13:26.190 --> 00:13:29.190 To make them accessible, we have to add descriptive text 00:13:29.190 --> 00:13:32.440 to the images and other objects, by adding alternate text. 00:13:33.040 --> 00:13:36.270 You can also include that information in surrounding text, 00:13:36.270 --> 00:13:37.870 or in an appendix. 00:13:38.480 --> 00:13:41.760 Now if you're adding alternate text to images, 00:13:41.760 --> 00:13:44.520 you want to make sure that your alternate text 00:13:44.520 --> 00:13:47.000 describes the purpose and-or function 00:13:47.000 --> 00:13:49.630 for all of the meaningful objects. 00:13:49.630 --> 00:13:51.620 So if you have an image of text, 00:13:51.620 --> 00:13:55.420 your Alt-Text should match that text, verbatim. 00:13:56.120 --> 00:13:59.150 If you have something that's just very decorative; 00:13:59.150 --> 00:14:02.130 it's not conveying any information to the reader, 00:14:03.120 --> 00:14:08.650 you can just add double quotes in the Alt-Text field, 00:14:08.650 --> 00:14:10.670 and the screen reader or assistive technology 00:14:10.670 --> 00:14:12.230 will skip right over it. 00:14:12.230 --> 00:14:14.410 So we're going to open up a sample document 00:14:14.410 --> 00:14:16.459 so that we can walk through this process. 00:14:17.080 --> 00:14:20.470 So let's see how we create accessible images and objects. 00:14:21.190 --> 00:14:25.520 Select the area, and go to Format Chart Area, 00:14:26.090 --> 00:14:29.860 or Format your Image, and add your alternate text. 00:14:29.860 --> 00:14:33.390 So let's open an Excel document and see how we accomplish this. 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:37.090 So here I have a funding proposal bar graph. 00:14:37.090 --> 00:14:40.350 I want to make sure that this is accessible to everyone, 00:14:40.350 --> 00:14:45.020 so I'm going to click on my chart area, 00:14:46.390 --> 00:14:49.920 I'm going to go down to my Formatting Charts, 00:14:51.220 --> 00:14:53.160 under Alt-Text, 00:14:53.160 --> 00:14:55.640 I'm going to make sure I have a description field 00:14:55.640 --> 00:14:58.330 that explains what's going on in my bar graph. 00:14:58.970 --> 00:15:01.170 And here, my Alt-Text reads, 00:15:01.170 --> 00:15:04.120 "Bar graph illustrating funding proposal figures 00:15:04.120 --> 00:15:08.940 listed in Table 1" -- so there is my alternate text. 00:15:10.420 --> 00:15:13.460 Please do not enter alternate text in the Title field; 00:15:13.460 --> 00:15:16.470 you only need your alternate text in the Description field. 00:15:20.410 --> 00:15:22.970 Okay, and these next two slides include 00:15:22.970 --> 00:15:28.320 the step-by-step instructions with screen shots 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:29.920 to walk you through the process. 00:15:33.780 --> 00:15:35.860 Now we're going to move on to the use of color 00:15:35.860 --> 00:15:38.920 and color contrast. When it comes to using color, 00:15:38.920 --> 00:15:40.860 we want to be sure that we don't use color 00:15:40.860 --> 00:15:43.780 as the only means of conveying information, 00:15:43.780 --> 00:15:45.200 because individuals who are blind, 00:15:45.200 --> 00:15:46.610 low vision or color blind 00:15:46.610 --> 00:15:49.120 won't have access to that information. 00:15:49.120 --> 00:15:52.630 It's good to use as many tools as you have at your disposal 00:15:52.630 --> 00:15:55.360 to get the information across -- that's great. 00:15:55.360 --> 00:15:59.110 But just don’t make it the only way to get to that information. 00:16:00.540 --> 00:16:02.570 Now when we get to Color Contrast, 00:16:02.570 --> 00:16:05.120 we have to be sure we have a color contrast ratio 00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:08.780 of at least 4.5 to 1 for normal sized text. 00:16:08.780 --> 00:16:11.260 When we get to large text, there are exceptions. 00:16:11.850 --> 00:16:14.720 You only need a color contrast ratio of 3 to 1 00:16:15.630 --> 00:16:18.870 if your text is large -- that's 18.5. 00:16:18.870 --> 00:16:22.970 And if it's large and bold, you only need 14.5 00:16:23.480 --> 00:16:26.370 to get to the 3 to 1 required ratio. 00:16:27.290 --> 00:16:31.170 So let's take a look at some Color Contrast Checkers. 00:16:31.170 --> 00:16:33.740 One that I like is at ContrastChecker.com, 00:16:34.510 --> 00:16:37.390 and there are a number of these tools available online. 00:16:37.390 --> 00:16:40.390 So I'm opening the Color Contrast Checker website, 00:16:40.390 --> 00:16:42.050 and you'll see that I have the option 00:16:42.050 --> 00:16:45.380 to enter the foreground and background colors, 00:16:45.380 --> 00:16:48.180 or get the colors directly from my image, 00:16:48.180 --> 00:16:49.890 so you're not guessing 00:16:49.890 --> 00:16:52.230 if you selected the right shade of green. 00:16:52.230 --> 00:16:54.080 So I'm going to click Get from Image, 00:16:55.890 --> 00:16:58.780 and I am going to pick an infographic here. 00:16:59.580 --> 00:17:02.970 And now my infographic is displayed 00:17:02.970 --> 00:17:05.400 on the ContrastChecker.com website. 00:17:05.400 --> 00:17:06.790 As you'll see, I have a wild horse 00:17:06.790 --> 00:17:08.890 and burro infographic here, 00:17:08.890 --> 00:17:11.570 and it's showing us the challenge 00:17:11.570 --> 00:17:14.860 of keeping the herds at a reasonable size. 00:17:15.410 --> 00:17:20.210 And I have my colors that are used in the infographic here 00:17:21.050 --> 00:17:23.370 below the picture and infographic itself, 00:17:23.370 --> 00:17:25.570 so I can just select these colors 00:17:25.570 --> 00:17:27.310 as my foreground and background, 00:17:27.310 --> 00:17:30.090 to see what's accessible and what's not accessible. 00:17:30.770 --> 00:17:33.270 So we'll just put a little common sense in here. 00:17:33.270 --> 00:17:38.250 I can see I have some white text on a light green background, 00:17:38.250 --> 00:17:39.570 so we're going to see 00:17:39.570 --> 00:17:43.180 if I've got an accessible color contrast ratio. 00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:47.480 So my foreground color is white -- 00:17:49.620 --> 00:17:51.360 I selected white as my foreground. 00:17:52.030 --> 00:17:54.100 Now I'm going to get my background color, 00:17:54.100 --> 00:17:58.370 which is this light green. Now I have my results. 00:17:58.370 --> 00:18:01.840 I have a ratio of 2.02 to 1. 00:18:01.840 --> 00:18:05.690 So I know that to make this document truly accessible, 00:18:05.690 --> 00:18:08.830 I have to increase that color contrast ratio. 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:12.340 So using a real Color Contrast Checker 00:18:12.340 --> 00:18:14.140 takes some of the guesswork out, 00:18:14.140 --> 00:18:17.600 and ensures precision in your results. 00:18:20.890 --> 00:18:23.530 Now we're getting into the Practical Guidance. 00:18:23.530 --> 00:18:27.120 You know all the rules, you've gotten the basic steps down. 00:18:27.120 --> 00:18:29.700 But there's always a couple of things that we can do better, 00:18:29.700 --> 00:18:31.090 things that no one will tell you, 00:18:31.090 --> 00:18:35.590 they're hidden away, and footers and documents 00:18:35.590 --> 00:18:39.070 that most people don't use, or even get down to reading. 00:18:39.070 --> 00:18:41.010 But we've read through all those footers 00:18:41.010 --> 00:18:43.770 and searched the web relentlessly, 00:18:43.770 --> 00:18:46.560 and found these seven tips to help you 00:18:46.560 --> 00:18:49.300 get through your Excel spreadsheet, 00:18:49.300 --> 00:18:51.470 and to create an accessible document. 00:18:52.910 --> 00:18:55.300 Tip 1: Practical Guidance -- one table per sheet. 00:18:56.090 --> 00:18:58.470 Adobe can't always distinguish between them, 00:18:58.470 --> 00:19:00.119 and this complicates remediation. 00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:05.120 This is a screenshot of an Excel spreadsheet 00:19:05.120 --> 00:19:07.670 where one sheet has three separate tables, 00:19:07.670 --> 00:19:10.500 and an image. Now in this table, 00:19:10.500 --> 00:19:13.180 and then the sheet was converted to Adobe, 00:19:13.180 --> 00:19:15.390 all three tables have been lumped together, 00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:18.720 and even the image got lumped together, 00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:22.110 and Adobe is reading them as one giant table. 00:19:23.030 --> 00:19:26.180 Now if I go into the Table Editor in Adobe, 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:31.750 I can see that all of the data cells are listed as TD, 00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:34.850 and all of these tables have been mixed together. 00:19:35.890 --> 00:19:40.760 The columns are mixed in some places where two columns exist, 00:19:40.760 --> 00:19:42.340 or I only have one. 00:19:42.340 --> 00:19:44.110 I don't have any header rows at all, 00:19:44.110 --> 00:19:47.500 I have blank rows coming up as data cells -- 00:19:47.500 --> 00:19:49.600 and it's just a mess. 00:19:49.600 --> 00:19:53.330 It would take a very, very long time to take apart 00:19:53.330 --> 00:19:56.130 all this information to segregate these tables 00:19:56.130 --> 00:19:58.100 so that they're fully accessible. 00:19:58.100 --> 00:20:01.820 So the way to avoid this would be to just have three sheets, 00:20:01.820 --> 00:20:03.660 with one table per sheet. 00:20:05.730 --> 00:20:08.270 All right, our next Practical Guidance tip is, 00:20:08.270 --> 00:20:11.340 do not include lots of introductory text in Excel. 00:20:12.190 --> 00:20:14.740 Introductory text might look fine in 00:20:14.740 --> 00:20:17.340 Excel, and when you convert it to a PDF, 00:20:17.340 --> 00:20:21.110 it still might look okay on its face. 00:20:21.110 --> 00:20:24.590 But once you open up the Table Editor tool 00:20:24.590 --> 00:20:25.910 under your Accessibility 00:20:25.910 --> 00:20:30.350 Tools, you'll find that there is a different story there. 00:20:31.250 --> 00:20:35.400 Now I've just opened screenshot of our table 00:20:35.400 --> 00:20:37.230 with the introductory text, 00:20:37.230 --> 00:20:39.290 and you'll see that that big note 00:20:39.290 --> 00:20:41.880 that I have to introduce my table, 00:20:41.880 --> 00:20:44.540 that's been interpreted as a data cell. 00:20:44.540 --> 00:20:48.030 But it's not a data cell, it's not even part of a table; 00:20:48.030 --> 00:20:49.720 it's just hanging out there. 00:20:49.720 --> 00:20:54.860 So if we avoid including a large introductory text in our table, 00:20:55.750 --> 00:20:59.550 or to introduce our table, we make out much better, 00:20:59.550 --> 00:21:03.380 because Excel is not a word processing program, 00:21:03.380 --> 00:21:05.930 so it's best not to use it that way. 00:21:07.130 --> 00:21:11.380 A lot of times, we merge blank cells to create visual effects. 00:21:11.380 --> 00:21:14.800 But Adobe picks these up as separate data or header cells, 00:21:14.800 --> 00:21:16.840 which can create a lot of confusion. 00:21:16.840 --> 00:21:18.910 We want to avoid merged cells. 00:21:18.910 --> 00:21:22.009 Merged and split cells render the table inaccessible in Excel. 00:21:22.530 --> 00:21:26.140 Now you do have the chance to fix it in Adobe, 00:21:26.140 --> 00:21:29.860 and to clarify what header cells are associated 00:21:29.860 --> 00:21:31.310 with what data cells, 00:21:31.310 --> 00:21:34.210 but it's a very, very time-consuming process, 00:21:34.210 --> 00:21:35.830 and it's best avoided. 00:21:35.830 --> 00:21:37.510 So you'll see this is a screenshot 00:21:37.510 --> 00:21:39.960 of a very complex table. 00:21:39.960 --> 00:21:43.380 We have some merged cells with headings 00:21:43.380 --> 00:21:45.660 split across many sub-headings. 00:21:45.660 --> 00:21:47.510 Let's see how this is going to turn out 00:21:47.510 --> 00:21:51.230 when I open up the document in Adobe, 00:21:52.180 --> 00:21:57.220 and I open my Table Editor. It looks terrible. 00:21:57.220 --> 00:21:59.430 You can barely even read the text, 00:21:59.430 --> 00:22:03.330 there are so many lines drawn over it by Adobe. 00:22:03.330 --> 00:22:06.480 So we'll see here, these simple areas 00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:09.280 where I had one merged cell 00:22:09.280 --> 00:22:14.370 and I had sub-headings, they're not broken up well. 00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:18.380 Adobe can't even tell that those are header cells, 00:22:18.380 --> 00:22:21.580 because the table structure is so complex. 00:22:21.580 --> 00:22:23.930 Now to fix this, you would have to click 00:22:23.930 --> 00:22:29.040 on every single cell that's been mislabeled, 00:22:29.040 --> 00:22:32.030 and tell it it's a header cell, and then you'd have to go 00:22:32.030 --> 00:22:35.520 and tell it which data cells go with that header cell. 00:22:35.520 --> 00:22:37.420 It's very time-consuming. 00:22:37.420 --> 00:22:41.130 I mean, this year, a table like this could take someone, 00:22:41.780 --> 00:22:43.800 even a professional, 00:22:43.800 --> 00:22:47.750 up to and over an hour to fix, if they were lucky. 00:22:48.980 --> 00:22:51.240 This is a deeper look at the table 00:22:51.240 --> 00:22:55.820 we just saw on our last slide, and you'll see on the example, 00:22:55.820 --> 00:23:00.410 on the screenshot on the right, we have a blank cell here 00:23:01.030 --> 00:23:05.390 that's been created for formatting purposes, 00:23:05.390 --> 00:23:07.760 but Adobe sees that as a data cell. 00:23:08.290 --> 00:23:11.350 Now to correct this issue, you would have to undergo 00:23:11.350 --> 00:23:15.560 some complex, advanced Adobe training. 00:23:15.560 --> 00:23:18.130 You would have to go to your Accessibility Tools, 00:23:19.320 --> 00:23:22.260 open the reading order, select your table, 00:23:22.260 --> 00:23:25.930 open the Table Editor and adjust the column, rows and spans. 00:23:25.930 --> 00:23:29.270 And if it sounds complicated, it's because it is, 00:23:29.870 --> 00:23:32.060 and it's not a good use of your time. 00:23:32.060 --> 00:23:34.510 So we want to avoid it whenever possible. 00:23:35.390 --> 00:23:39.590 This is the end of our Practical Guidance tips, 00:23:39.590 --> 00:23:41.800 and the end of our Excel training. 00:23:41.800 --> 00:23:44.690 If you have any questions about whether or not 00:23:44.690 --> 00:23:48.850 your document is accessible, or you need extra help, 00:23:48.850 --> 00:23:52.420 reach out to your bureau 508 coordinator. 00:23:52.420 --> 00:23:55.060 Every bureau has one, and they are listed 00:23:55.060 --> 00:23:57.960 on the DOI Section 508 website.