Best Practices for Word: Charts
Using Charts and Data Tables:
Charts and Data Tables are visual ways of representing a group of data. Best Practices for charts and data tables in Microsoft Word is to create the items within the document. The Accessibility Wizard recognizes charts in Word as images and prompts for information that describes the chart in case a user has graphics turned off.
Creating Charts and Data Tables in MS Word:
To create a new chart, go to INSERT on the main top menu
and select PICTURE. (If you do not see the PICTURE
choice, the menu may be compressed. Select the arrow located at the bottom
of the menu. This will cause the menu to expand and show all choices available.)
Select CHART from the submenu under PICTURE.
When you select CHART, the Datasheet View appears for entry of your table data. Add values by selecting a cell and typing in the value. Remember to add labels for the rows and columns. You can also paste information from another source into a cell. Information in the Datasheet can be formatted for font, size, color, etc. from the Formatting Toolbar or by selecting specific attributes from FORMAT on the main menu along the top. Close the Datasheet window by selecting ESC from your keyboard.
Importing data from Excel to PowerPoint
You can import your chart data that has been created in Excel into a Word document by using copy and paste. Open your Excel document to the workbook page that has the data information on it for your chart. Highlight the cells that are for the chart you are wanting to create. Go to EDIT on the main top menu and select COPY. This will copy the data onto the clipboard.
On the Datasheet in Word, select the first cell (first row, first column) and then go to EDIT on the main top menu and select PASTE. This will paste your data from Excel into the Datasheet. You should see the chart in the background change to represent the data values. Information in the Datasheet can be formatted for font, size, color, etc. from the Formatting Toolbar or by selecting specific attributes from FORMAT on the main menu along the top. Close the Datasheet window by selecting ESC from your keyboard.
Chart Attributes
Chart attributes can be changed by selecting the chart (a line with sizing handles will box the chart). Go to EDIT on the main top menu and select CHART OBJECT. (If you do not see the CHART OBJECT choice, the menu may be compressed. Select the arrow located at the bottom of the menu. This will cause the menu to expand and show all choices available.) Select EDIT from the submenu under CHART EDIT. A dotted box will now surround the chart.
Select specific parts of the chart such as the Data Series (the bars or sections that represent the data), the Axis (the labels), or the Walls and Gridlines (the chart itself). After selecting the object to change, select FORMAT from the menu at the top and then select SELECTED DATA SERIES. A window will open with the attribute features for that item that can be changed. Each tab in this window changes different parts of the chart. Make adjustments as needed.
To change the Chart Type or Chart Options, select the chart (Go to EDIT on the main top menu and select CHART OBJECT and then EDIT from the submenu under CHART EDIT). Select CHART from the menu at the top and select the option from the dropdown menu. You may want to experiment with these options to see what will best represent your data.
Labeling Charts in the Wizard:
The Accessibility Wizard will recognize charts as images and prompt for the image type. Select CHART from this option.
The Wizard will prompt for a short and a long description. The SHORT DESCRIPTION would be the title or a brief description of what the chart is representing. The LONG DESCRIPTION would be a more detailed description of the chart. For the chart in the example, the Short Description might be "1997 Sales Increases by Quarter" and the Long Description might be "A chart showing sales increases in 1997 for the East, West, and North stores. The chart is a bar-chart showing increases in sales for each store by quarter. Sales in the first quarter were 18 for the East store, 28 for the West store and 43 for the North store...." When creating these descriptions be sure that the text represents the image so if the user has images turned off, they will understand what is being represented.
