Re: Graphs and Alt Text

On Fri, Nov 16, 2012 at 3:57 PM, Patrick H. Lauke
<redux@splintered.co.uk> wrote:
> On 16/11/2012 20:47, Daman Wandke wrote:
>>
>> I am trying to figure out the best way to write alt text for line
>> graphs.  I am wondering what techniques others have used.  Graphs are
>> used to represent data quickly, but they also contain a lot of data.
>> How do I balance the amount of information?  I also have to find a
>> technique that content editors can implement easily.  The only technique
>> I can think of is to include an accessible data table with the data.
>> Looking forward to any input or suggestions.
>
>
> The traditional answer would indeed be to at least include the raw data in a
> correctly (with the right headers etc) marked up table. It would also be
> useful (for all users, including those that can see the graph itself) if
> there was a summary of what the graph was trying to illustrate, I'd say. A
> la "With the exception of Q1 2012, sales in the past year have been on a
> steady rise, closing at a total of $5bn, more than double the previous
> year's closing figure of $2.3bn" ... or something.

A solution that can be taken in consideration is to use javascript to
enhance the data table in a visual graphic. There is a few javascript
project that are able to do that like

* http://www.filamentgroup.com/lab/update_to_jquery_visualize_accessible_charts_with_html5_from_designing_with/
* https://github.com/wet-boew/wet-boew/wiki/Charts-and-graphs

Cheers

:-)

Pierre Dubois

Received on Friday, 16 November 2012 21:11:53 UTC