Another tool that will automatically create text equivalents of Excel
charts imbedded in Power Point presentations is the Power Point
Accessibility tool.  You can down load it from:

http://www.rehab.uiuc.edu/ppt/

Jon


At 10:07 AM 7/19/2001 -0400, Martin, Terry wrote:
>This is fantastic!  Let's stay on top of this one.  Pop Chart sounds like a
>winner.  I'd like to see a stand-alone version that end users could
>purchase.
>_____________________________________________________
>Terry Martin -- President
>VOILA Technology, Inc.
>54 Castle Road
>Rochester, NY 14623
>Phone:  (716) 321-1451
>FAX:  (716) 334-3971
>Email:  [log in to unmask]
>URL:  http://www.mainaccess.com
>____________________________________________________
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Catherine Alfieri" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2001 7:49 PM
>Subject: TECHFW: For NIH site, software can turn graphics into text
>
>
> >                            earthlink.net> ==+
> > For NIH site, software can turn graphics into text
> >
> > National Cancer Institute found a program to help it convert millions of
> > complex graphics on its Web site into accessible text
> >
> > BY DIPKA BHAMBHANI | GCN STAFF
> >
> > Though most agencies a year ago were awaiting the Access Board's standards
> > for accessibility under Section 508, Dan Grauman had begun making the
> > National Cancer Institute's Web site accessible.
> >
> > The computer specialist for the Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics Division
> > was creating a site where millions of graphics could be converted into
> > accessible text in seconds.
> >
> > The National Institutes of Health site was not completely accessible by
>the
> > board's June 21 implementation deadline, but Grauman is glad to have found
>a
> > way to convert the institute's 5 million graphics and easily add more.
> >
> > Automated conversion
> >
> > He's using PopChart [D] software from Corda Technologies Inc. of Lindon,
> > Utah, that automates the conversion process.
> >
> > "We have graphs created dynamically on the fly," Grauman said. There was
>no
> > application that could do the automatic conversion, he added. "This is the
> > amazing part of that technology."
> >
> > Under a $50,000 contract, Corda does the Web programming, maintains the
> > PopChart server and hosts the cancer institute's site.
> >
> > Using a chart template, Grauman creates a graph. Then the chart is sent to
> > the Web via Corda's proprietary Web application server.
> >
> > Users who click on a graphic almost immediately will see a text conversion
> > of it on the institute's site.
> >
> > By September, the institute will run the program from its own server, a
> > 700-MHz dual-processor unit with 2G of RAM and Microsoft Windows NT Server
> > 4.0.
> >
> > "We are soon releasing an additional product that will allow a novice,
> > someone nontechnical, to cut and paste data from Microsoft Excel that will
> > generate descriptive data," said Ron Saffell, director of government and
> > education sales for Corda. The application will come out next month.
> >
> > Grauman said many agencies have to convert charts themselves, describing
>in
> > text each picture or table, which can cause errors. "You have to worry
>about
> > mistakes," he said.
> >
> > "The alternative is that for every chart you have to program and set up a
> > code so there's a link which has the chart, then that link takes you to
> > another Web page," Saffell said. "That would be an undue burden; then the
> > agencies could say, 'No way.' "
> >
> > Fast text conversion
> >
> > Saffell said many agencies could convert their graphics in less than a day
> > using PopChart. The cancer institute's nearly yearlong project is a rarity
> > because of the number of graphics.
> >
> > The institute's 5 million graphics cover all states, more than 3,000
> > economic areas, five race options and 40 types of cancer.
> >
> > Meanwhile, Grauman already has plans to narrate a 20-minute video tour of
> > the site and convert the video into formats that site visitors can view
>with
> > Apple QuickTime and RealAudio from RealNetworks Inc. of Seattle.
> >
> > "That would be beneficial to the sighted users," Grauman said.
> >

Jon Gunderson, Ph.D., ATP
Coordinator of Assistive Communication and Information Technology
Division of Rehabilitation - Education Services
MC-574
College of Applied Life Studies
University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign
1207 S. Oak Street, Champaign, IL  61820

Voice: (217) 244-5870
Fax: (217) 333-0248

E-mail: [log in to unmask]

WWW: http://www.staff.uiuc.edu/~jongund
WWW: http://www.w3.org/wai/ua