HP Intelligent Management Center Standard Software Platform - Manual (Page 778)

Include whatever information is necessary to establish the meaning and
context of the value displayed. When appropriate, include information that
describes column headings or neighboring fields. For example, if a report
displays employee names and salaries, you can add a text object before the
Salary database field that reads "{Last Name}'s salary is ". The user can
determine the context and meaning of the value by reading the accompanying
text object.
Ensure that your text objects use punctuation that will make the content
easier to understand when read aloud by a screen reader. Without
accessibility-orientated punctuation, data tables may be read as one long
sentence, making navigation and interpretation very difficult. For example,
you can add periods after values so a screen reader will pause between
columns and rows. For details, see
Using punctuation .
As with all objects in reports, the order in which you place text objects on
the report can affect accessibility. Screen readers read the objects in the
order they were originally added. (For details, see
Placing objects in order .)
The correct placement order is critical when you add a text object that
identifies the contents of a particular column in a data table. If you add the
text objects at the end of the design process, they may be read after the
columns that they refer to. When you add text objects that describe values
in a report, ensure that you place them on the report in the order that you
want them to be read.
Before you can create an accessible data table, you must plan your report
in advance, determining which objects and database fields you want to
include. Because objects must be placed in the order you want them to be
read, planning your content for accessibility is essential. As part of this
planning, it is good practice to choose how you will use text objects to identify
data table values. You can simply add text objects before each database
field. Or you can conditionally suppress text objects or use formulas to
combine text objects and values. elephant
Labelling data tables with text objects
Before each field, add a text object that describes the field's position in the
table. In the following example, the text box provides information about the
Employee ID number. When the report is read with a screen reader, each
number is preceded by the brief explanation in the text box.
778 Crystal Reports 2008 SP3 User's Guide
Creating Accessible Reports C
Improving data table accessibility