Accessibility in Business Intelligence Development Studio

Microsoft is committed to making its products and services easier for everyone to use. The following topics provide information about the features, products, and services that make Business Intelligence Development Studio more accessible for people with disabilities.

• Accessibility Features of Business Intelligence Development Studio

• Accessibility Features in Analysis Services

• Accessibility Features in Integration Services

• Accessibility Features of Reporting Services

• Using Keyboard Shortcuts in Business Intelligence Development Studio

Accessibility Features of Business Intelligence Development Studio

Business Intelligence Development Studio includes the following features to make it easier for people with disabilities to develop business intelligence solutions:

• Keyboard shortcuts inBusiness Intelligence Development Studio for navigation and for working with solutions and projects.

• Ability to customize keyboard layouts, set font color and size, and turn on high contrast mode by using options in the Visual Studio environment.

• Support for the Active Accessibility interface. For more information about Active Accessibility, see the Microsoft Accessibility Web site, in the MSDN library.

For more information about accessibility features and utilities in Microsoft Visual Studio 2008, see the following topics in online Help for Visual Studio 2008:

• "Accessibility Features of Visual Studio"

• "Fonts and Colors, Environment, Options Dialog Box"

Note

To view these topics, you must install the online Help collection for Visual Studio 2008. For instructions on how to install additional help collections, see Getting SQL Server Assistance.

Note

The information in this section applies only to users who license Microsoft products in the United States. If you obtained this product outside the United States, you can use the subsidiary information card that came with your software package or visit the Microsoft Accessibility Web site for a list of telephone numbers and addresses for Microsoft support services. You can contact your subsidiary to find out whether the type of products and services described in this section are available in your area. Information about accessibility is available in other languages, including Japanese and French. For more information, see Microsoft Accessibility.

To use large icons in Business Intelligence Development Studio toolbars

1. On the Tools menu, select Customize.

2. On the Toolbars tab, select Use large icons. This setting does not affect icons in the Toolbox.

To customize colors, font styles, and font sizes used in Business Intelligence Development Studio

1. On the Tools menu, select Options.

2. Expand Environment.

3. Select Fonts and Colors.

4. In the Show settings for list, view current options for the Business Intelligence Designers and Business Intelligence Data Viewers. Other windows that you may want to customize for use in developing projects include the Output window, Schema Designer, and the Query and View Designers.

5. Modify the font color, font size, or font style.

6. Change the foreground and background color for more contrast, or make the selected font bold.

7. To reset the selected window, click Use Defaults.

To customize keyboard layouts and shortcut keys used in Help

1. To open the Help window, click Start, and then point to Programs, Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Documentation and Tutorials, SQL Server Books Online. Or, press F1 from any window in Business Intelligence Development Studio.

2. In the Tools menu, select Options.

3. Select Keyboard, and then select a default keyboard mapping, or customize shortcuts used for specific commands.

To customize the way Help topics are displayed in Microsoft Document Explorer

1. To open Microsoft Document Explorer, click Start, and then point to Programs, Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Documentation and Tutorials, SQL Server Books Online. Or, press F1 from any window in Business Intelligence Development Studio.

2. In the Tools menu, select Options.

3. Select Web Browser, and then click Internet Explorer Options to customize how help topics are displayed in the help browser. Click Accessibility, and select Ignore colors specified on Web pages, Ignore font styles specified on Web pages, and Ignore font sizes specified on Web pages. You can also use the settings specified in your own style sheet.

Accessibility Features of Analysis Services

Analysis Services provides features that make it more accessible to users who have limited dexterity, low vision, or other disabilities.

Customizing the Mining Model Viewer

You can adjust the colors that are used to display mining models in the mining model viewers. For example, you can change the default color for a selected node from Dark Green to a color that is easier to see. You can make the following types of color changes:

• Cluster Viewer. Defines the colors used to display features in the cluster viewer. For more information about the Cluster Viewer, see Viewing a Mining Model with the Microsoft Cluster Viewer.

• Decision Tree Viewer. Defines the colors used to display features in the decision tree viewer. For more information about the Decision Tree Viewer, see Viewing a Mining Model with the Microsoft Tree Viewer.

• Dependency Network Viewer. Defines the colors used to display features in the Dependency Network, which is used by several viewer types. For more information, see Viewing a Mining Model with the Microsoft Tree Viewer, and Viewing a Mining Model with the Microsoft Naive Bayes Viewer.

• Mining Viewer. Defines the colors for items common to multiple viewers. For example, in a decision tree mining model the viewer will use Cyan to display continuous attributes.

• Mining Viewer Series Colors. Defines the order of colors each viewer will use to describe a mining model.

To customize the colors used in the mining model viewers

1. On the Tools menu, select Options to open the Options dialog box.

2. Expand Business Intelligence Designers, and then expand Analysis Services Designers.

3. Select Data Mining Viewers.

   The right pane of the Options dialog displays the categories of colors that you can change.

4. Click the box that contains the color that you want to change.

   A drop-down list opens, allowing you to select a Custom, Web, or System color.

5. Select a color and then click OK in the Options dialog box.

Keyboard Navigation in Analysis Services

Navigation using the keyboard is enabled by using the standard keyboard shortcuts available in Microsoft Windows and in Visual Studio 2008. Within Analysis Services, some keyboard shortcuts may have slightly different functionality than you are accustomed to in other applications. For more information about how shortcut keys function in Analysis Services, see Using Keyboard Shortcuts in Business Intelligence Development Studio.

Accessibility Features of Integration Services

Integration Services provides features that make it more accessible to users who have limited dexterity, low vision, or other disabilities.

Adding Text Labels to Precedence Constraints

In SSIS Designer, precedence constraints are displayed in green, red, or yellow, depending on whether the constraint condition is Success, Failure, or Complete. However, you can also configure Integration Services to display text labels on precedence constraints.

To add text labels to precedence constraints

1. In the Tools menu of Business Intelligence Development Studio, select Options.

2. Expand Business Intelligence Designers, and then expand Integration Services Designers.

3. Expand General.

4. In the Accessibility group, select Show precedence constraint labels.

5. Click OK.

Supplementing Color-Coding with Text Messages

Some features in Integration Services use color-coding in the user interface to indicate status: for example, when a package runs, SSIS Designer shows the progress of the package by changing the color of the component icon from yellow to green or red. For more information about color-coding of status during package execution, see Debugging Data Flow.

In addition to color-coding the progress of the package, Integration Services outputs a summary of the status of a running package on the Progress tab. Detailed information and error messages that are generated by the runtime during package validation and package execution are also displayed in the Visual Studio Output window. Information about package status that is displayed in the Output window remains available after a package has run, until the window is cleared. For more information about the information displayed in the windows provided by Visual Studio 2008, see Debugging Control Flow.

Adding Annotations to Packages

In Integration Services, you can add annotations, or text labels, to a package on the design surface to make it self-documenting. The font, color, and size of the annotation text can be customized for more visibility. For more information about using annotations, see Using Annotations in Packages.

Keyboard Navigation in Integration Services

You can move between tool and design windows, select and customize data flow and control flow objects, or execute packages by using the standard keyboard shortcuts available in Microsoft Windows and in Visual Studio 2008.

The following procedures demonstrate the use of the keyboard to do basic design tasks in the SSIS Designer.

To create a project by using the keyboard

1. Press CTRL+ESC to open the Start menu.

2. Use the arrow keys to select Programs, Microsoft SQL Server 2008, then Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 or SQL ServerBusiness Intelligence Development Studio.

3. Press CTRL+SHIFT+N to open the New Project dialog box.

4. Press CTL+TAB to move through the panes in the dialog box. In each pane, use the arrow key to change the selection. Do not press ENTER until you have completed selections in all panes.

5. In the New Project dialog box, for Project type, select Business Intelligence Projects. For Templates, select Integration Services. Optionally, type a name for the project in the Name box.

6. Press ENTER. A new project is opened with the focus set to a new, blank package in Solution Explorer. The package name is Package.dtsx. The SSIS Designer opens the newly created package on the Control Flow design surface.

To create a data flow in a package by using the keyboard

1. Open a package in Business Intelligence Development Studio. The designer opens to the Control Flow tab.

2. Press CTRL+ALT+X to open the Toolbox.

3. Use the DOWN arrow key to move through the items in the Tool box, and select the Data Flow component. Press ENTER. The item is added to the Control Flow tab of the designer.

4. Press CTRL+TAB to view a list of all active files and active tool windows. Use the arrow keys to select the Properties window.

5. Press TAB to move through the menu items in the Properties window. Select the Show Editor Link and press ENTER.. The SSIS Designer changes to the Data Flow tab.

To add a data flow source and connection manager to a package by using the keyboard

1. Open a package in Business Intelligence Development Studio.

2. Press ALT+V+D to open the designer.

3. Press CTRL+TAB to open the list of active tool windows, and select the Properties window.

4. In the Properties windows, press TAB to move through the menu items. Select the Show Editor Link and press ENTER.

5. Press CTRL+ALT+X to open the Toolbox again, and use the DOWN arrow key to move through the Data Flow Sources, Data Flow Transformations, and Data Flow Destinations. Select the Flat File Source and press ENTER.

6. Press ALT+S to open the SSIS menu. Select New Connection and press ENTER.

7. In the Add SSIS Connection Manager dialog box, use the arrow keys to move through the list. Select FLATFILE and press ENTER.

8. In the Flat File Connection Manager dialog box, use the TAB key to move through the dialog box. Select a text file and press ENTER to accept the defaults for column settings and so forth.

9. Press CTRL+TAB to change the focus to the Data Flow tab of the SSIS Designer. Select the Flat File Source that you created in the preceding procedure.

10. Press SHIFT+F10 to display the shortcut menu for the flat file source. Select Edit and press ENTER.

11. In the Flat File Source Editor dialog box, use TAB to move through the options. Press ENTER to accept the defaults and close the Editor.

12. Press CTRL+ALT+X to open the Toolbox, and add a Flat File Destination using the procedure described earlier.

For more information about how shortcut keys function in Integration Services, see Using Keyboard Shortcuts in Business Intelligence Development Studio.

Accessibility Features of Reporting Services

Reporting Services provides features that make it more accessible to users who have limited dexterity, low vision, or other disabilities.

Customizing Report Design

You can customize the way that reports appear in Design view to make them easier to read. Options include page size and margins, font, text size and color. For more information about how to change the layout of a report, see Report Designer F1 Help.

You can also specify a custom data transform to output the report to a format that may be easier to view by some users. For more information about how to customize report appearance, see Rendering Data and Exporting to XML.

For more information about how to customize the delivery of a report to HTML format, see HTML Viewer (Reporting Services).

Keyboard Navigation in Reporting Services

In Reporting Services, navigation using the keyboard is enabled by using the standard keyboard shortcuts available in Microsoft Windows and in Visual Studio 2008. Within Reporting Services, some keyboard shortcuts may have slightly different functionality than you are accustomed to in other applications. For more information about how shortcut keys function in Reporting Services, see Using Keyboard Shortcuts in Business Intelligence Development Studio.

See Also

Concepts

Accessibility for People with Disabilities