Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Compliance. As a State Authority, NYSERDA is obligated to ensure that all documents published on NYSERDA’s website are accessible, pursuant to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d), as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220 August 7, 1998). To meet the needs of persons with visual or mobility disabilities, reports must be in a format that allows for conversion of written words of an electronic document into speech, thus allowing the person with a disability to hear the text. The formatting of these documents is critical to the success of the conversion from text to speech. Screen reading software will read the document as one long series of paragraphs with no differentiation for new topics unless properly formatted with Heading Styles. (Imagine reading a textbook with no difference in text from one paragraph to the next.) Reports submitted to NYSERDA must meet the following requirements: • Use numbered headings in the document up to Level 4 (i.e., 1.1.1.1). • Pick one of the formatting options outlined in Section 3 of this document. • Provide short titles for all tables, images, and figures. • Provide Alternative Text (also known as alt-text) that describes the visual elements of each image and figure—and does not just repeat the title or caption. Include alt text for any tables that are inserted as images. o Write out links in documents that will be printed. Write the sentence so that the URL is not at the end and followed by a period. See the last bulleted item for an example (“Visit….”). o Avoid linking to “click here” or including extremely long URLs. For web-only documents, use contextual links, such as linking NYSERDA’s website to “NYSERDA” instead of putting a long URL in text. o Visit xxxxxxx.xx.xxx/Xxxxx-Xxxxxxxx-xxxx-XXXXXXX for more information about how to make a document accessible. 3 Formatting Contractors have two options for the format of a submitted document:
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Compliance. As a State Authority, NYSERDA is obligated to ensure that all documents published on NYSERDA’s website are accessible, pursuant to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d), as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220 August 7, 1998). To meet the needs of persons with visual or mobility disabilities, reports must be in a format that allows for conversion of written words of an electronic document into speech, thus allowing the person with a disability to hear the text. The formatting of these documents is critical to the success of the conversion from text to speech. Screen reading software will read the document as one long series of paragraphs with no differentiation for new topics unless properly formatted with Heading Styles. (Imagine reading a textbook with no difference in text from one paragraph to the next.) 2016 NYSERDA Report Content Guide Reports submitted to NYSERDA must meet the following requirements: • Use numbered headings in the document up to Level 4 (i.e., 1.1.1.1). • Pick one of the formatting options outlined in Section 3 of this document. • Provide short titles for all tables, images, and figures. • Provide Alternative Text (also known as alt-text) that describes the visual elements of each image and figure—and does not just repeat the title or caption. Include alt text for any tables that are inserted as images. o Write out links in documents that will be printed. Write the sentence so that the URL is not at the end and followed by a period. See the last bulleted item for an example (“Visit….”). o Avoid linking to “click here” or including extremely long URLs. For web-only documents, use contextual links, such as linking NYSERDA’s website to “NYSERDA” instead of putting a long URL in text. o Visit xxxxxxx.xx.xxx/Xxxxx-Xxxxxxxx-xxxx-XXXXXXX for more information about how to make a document accessible. 3 Formatting Contractors have two options for the format of a submitted document:
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Compliance. As a State Authority, NYSERDA is obligated, under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d), as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220), August 7, 1998, to ensure that all documents published on NYSERDA's website are accessible. To meet the needs of persons with visual disabilities, reports must be in a format that allows for conversion of written words of an electronic document into speech, thus allowing the person with a visual disability to hear the text. The formatting of these documents is critical to the success of the conversion from text to speech. Reports submitted to NYSERDA must meet the following requirements: Format documents using Microsoft Word Styles Use headings in the document Use Alternate Text (Alt Text) for images and objects Provide captions for all tables, images, and figures Use contextual links, do not use long URLs or "click here" For more information about how to make a document accessible, please refer to xxxx://xxx.xxxxxxx.xxx/resources/ Proper page setup is essential to ensure that your report is published accurately and efficiently. Textual material should be created in Microsoft Word. While other word-processing programs may be able to be converted, file corruption may occur during the process. Reports that are to be published on the web must be submitted as either a Microsoft Word document, or a fully accessible PDF in NYSERDA's approved format, which contains all of NYSERDA's Marketing Department editorial changes. Left and Right margins should be set at 1.25 inches; Top and Bottom margins should be set at 1-inch Use left-hand justification only Spacing should be 1.5 lines Block-style paragraphs should be used, with no indentation (except for fifth-level headings, which should be blocked on the left; see Heading Styles on page 6 of this guide) There should be 10pt of space between a paragraph and the heading that follows. (Note: the spacing above and below a paragraph or heading should be controlled by the use of Styles, and not through the use of hard or soft returns)
