Operation Manual

Creating Accessible Reports
Improving report accessibility
C
542 Crystal Reports User’s Guide
Providing text-only alternatives
If there are too many non-text objects on a report, or if you do not have the
resources to integrate accessible design into all of your reports, then you can
provide complete text-only alternatives. For reports that represent data using
only charts and graphics, for example, you can provide a link to a text-only
alternative that provides the same data in data tables and text objects.
Whenever possible, a text-only alternative should provide the same
information as the original report. The information conveyed through images
in the main report should also be described using text objects on the
alternative report.
Note: If you cannot produce a complete text-only version of the report, you
can still improve accessibility by providing a descriptive summary of key
information or conclusions illustrated by the report.
It is good practice to provide the text-only alternative on a subreport, linked
from the top left corner of the main report, so the user has the opportunity to
switch to the text-only version as soon as possible. Add the subreport to the
report before any other object to ensure that a screen reader will read it first. If
you want the subreport link to appear only for people using screen readers or
similar software, you can create a subreport link that is the same color as the
background color. The link will appear as a small blank space, but a screen
reader will read the text for the link.
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To add a text-only alternative to a subreport
1. Create a text-only version of the report and save it.
2. Open a new report.
3. On the Insert menu, click Subreport.
4. In the Insert Subreport dialog box, select Choose an existing report and
click Browse to locate the report you created in step 1.
5. Click the subreport, then choose Format Subreport from the Format
menu.
6. In the Format Editor, on the Subreport tab, select On-demand
Subreport.
7. To hide the subreport link, on the Font tab, choose the color that matches
the background color of the report.
Note: Instead of hiding the subreport link, you can conditionally
suppress the section that contains the subreport. For details, see
“Accessibility and subreports” on page 550.