Copyright 1988 by Raised Dot Computing, Inc. 408 South Baldwin Street Madison, Wisconsin 53703
Business: 608-257-9595 Technical: 608-257-8833
pixCELLS manual copyright 1988 by Raised Dot Computing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means--electronic, mechanical, audio recording, photocopying, or otherwise--without the prior written permission of the publisher.
ProDOS, BASIC.SYSTEM, and the ProDOS Formatter are copyrighted programs of Apple Computer, Inc., licensed to Raised Dot Computing, Inc. to distribute only in combination with pixCELLS. Apple Software shall not be copied onto another diskette (except for archive purposes) or into memory unless as part of the execution of pixCELLS. When pixCELLS has completed execution Apple Software shall not be used for any other program.
pixCELLS, the pixCELLS logo and BEX are trademarks of Raised Dot Computing, Inc. Apple Computer, Apple IIc, Apple IIe, Apple IIgs, Apple II+, Apple Super Serial Card, Macintosh and ProDOS are registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc. This manual discusses scores of trademarked names. We have made every effort to mention the trademark holder's name at the time we mention the product.
Jesse Kaysen & David Holladay
The following folks helped us enormously by answering questions and testing software:
While these individuals kindly assisted us, they are in no way responsible for the accuracy of the information presented here.
Raised Dot Computing, Inc. warrants the diskette on which the pxc software is recorded to be free from defects in materials and faulty workmanship under normal use for a period of 90 days after the date of original purchase. If during this 90-day period a defect in the diskette should occur, the diskette may be returned to Raised Dot Computing, Inc. and Raised Dot Computing, Inc. will replace the diskette without charge, provided that you have completed and returned the enclosed registration card. Your sole remedy in the event of a defect in a diskette is limited to replacement of the diskette as provided above.
Apple Computer, Inc., Raised Dot Computing, Inc., and Applied Engineering make no warranties, either express or implied, regarding the enclosed computer software package, its merchantability or its fitness for any particular purpose. The exclusion of implied warranties is not permitted by some states. The above exclusion may not apply to you. This warranty provides you with specific legal rights. There may be other rights that you may have which vary from state to state.
Written and edited with (what else?) BEX. For the large print edition, we used Replace characters to change the BEX chapters to RTF data, then transferred this data over a cable to a Macintosh, where we interpreted the RTF files in Microsoft Word on the Macintosh, checked the spelling with Working Software's SpellSwell, and finally placed the Word files on Aldus's PageMaker pages. Body type is Palatino, headlines are Bookman. The braille edition was transcribed with TranscriBEX and ClasX, and is available on disk as BEX chapters, DOS 3.3 textfiles, or ProDOS textfiles. Audio edition produced in-house at RDC.
Important: The enclosed pixCELLS software is licensed to the customer for their use only on the terms set forth below. Please fill out the enclosed registration card (or a braille equivalent) and return it to Raised Dot Computing, Inc. You will then be entitled to use the software and receive the benefits of the limited warranty and technical support.
License: Raised Dot Computing, Inc. hereby agrees to grant you, upon your return of a completed registration card to Raised Dot Computing, Inc., a nonexclusive license to use the enclosed pixCELLS software subject to the terms and restrictions set forth in this License Agreement.
Copyright: Raised Dot Computing, Inc. software, including documentation, is copyrighted by Raised Dot Computing, Inc. You may not copy or otherwise reproduce the pixCELLS software or any part of it in any form except as expressly permitted in this license. We encourage you to make a working copy of the enclosed pixCELLS program disk as required for your own use, provided that you reproduce all copyright notices and other proprietary legends on such copies.
Restrictions on Use & Transfer: The original and any back-up copies of the pixCELLS software are to be treated like a book--only one person can use it at any one time. You may use the software on any computer owned by you, but extra copies may not be made for this purpose. This license specifically prohibits your copying the pixCELLS software or documentation for distribution to others. You may transfer this license together with the original and all backup copies and documentation, provided that you give Raised Dot Computing, Inc. written notice and the transferee completes and returns a customer registration form to Raised Dot Computing, Inc., and agrees to be bound by the terms of this license. We have special pricing for multiple copies of pixCELLS; please contact Raised Dot Computing, Inc. for details.
Limited Media Warranty: Raised Dot Computing, Inc. warrants the diskette on which the pixCELLS software is recorded to be free from defects in materials and faulty workmanship under normal use for a period of 90 days after the date of original purchase. If during this 90-day period a defect in the diskette should occur, the diskette may be returned to Raised Dot Computing, Inc. and Raised Dot Computing, Inc. will replace the diskette without charge, provided that you have completed and returned the enclosed registration card. Your sole remedy in the event of a defect in a diskette is limited to replacement of the diskette as provided above.
Limitations on Warranty & Liability: Except as expressly provided above for media, Raised Dot Computing, Inc. makes no warranties, either express or implied, with respect to the pixCELLS software, its merchantability or its fitness for any particular purpose. pixCELLS software is licensed solely on an "as is" basis. The entire risk as to its quality and performance is with you. Should the pixCELLS software prove defective, you (and not Raised Dot Computing, Inc.) assume the entire cost of all necessary servicing, repair or correction and any incidental or consequential damages. In no event will Raised Dot Computing, Inc. be liable for direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages resulting from any defect in the pixCELLS software, even if they have been advised of the possibility of such damage. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of implied warranties or liability for incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitations may not apply to you.
pixCELLS helps you use an Apple II computer and a computer-driven braille embosser to make brailler graphics. You can load graphic images saved to disk by other Apple drawing programs. You can also use pixCELLS to create simple graphics from scratch. Once your graphic image is in the Apple's memory, you can emboss any portion of it on a wide range of braille embossers. Since you can teach pixCELLS how to work with a new embosser, pixCELLS will keep pace with new hardware developments.
This chapter tells you what equipment you need to run the program, provides some basic definitions of terms used in the manual, and gives an overview of pixCELLS's functions.
pixCELLS runs on an Apple IIe, Apple IIc, or Apple IIgs with at least 128K memory. When your Apple has just 128K, two disk drives are strongly recommended. With more than 256K, you can load the pixCELLS software in memory, so one disk drive suffices.
All graphic functions are controlled through the keyboard: pixCELLS does not use a mouse, touch tablet, or other graphic input device. pixCELLS's principal drawing tool is the Pen Cross, a square arrangement of nine keys (diagrams appear in Modify Reference, Chapter 4.). The most comfortable Pen Cross is the Numeric Keypad, which is built in to the Apple IIgs and newer Apple IIe keyboards. (A numeric keypad is available as a plug-in device for older Apple IIe's.) If your Apple doesn't have a numeric keypad, you can use one of pixCELLS's alternative Pen Crosses located on the main keyboard.
If you have an Echo or Cricket voice synthesizer from
Street Electronics pixCELLS works with a range of
embossers. To give you freedom of choice, pixCELLS works with most
of the embossers on the market today. pixCELLS tailors its output to the
capabilities of each brand and model of embosser. You use pixCELLS's
Preferences Menu to define which unit you're using--check Chapter 8,
Section 2 for an alphabetical list of the embossers available. We've also
made pixCELLS flexible for the future: you can teach pixCELLS how to
output to a new embosser with the "Define your own embosser" option.
All embossers are not created equal when it comes to
making brailler graphics. Some embossers provide a true graphics
mode, where every dot is equally spaced on the page. Other
embossers can only create gapped graphic output. While the
dots are equally spaced vertically, there's a one-dot wide gap every third
dot horizontally. This one-dot wide gap is the normal horizontal space
between cells in braille text. Figure 1-1 shows the difference between
true and gapped graphic output--see Chapter 5, Brailler Graphics Reference
for a complete discussion.
#[style=Trans note]# Inkprint page 1:3 contains Figure 1-1 and is omitted
from this transcription. Braille versions of the figures, (created with
pixCELLS, of course) are bound into the inkprint manual.
#[Xstyle=Trans note]#
pixCELLS's graphics are saved on disk as HI-RES
images. This is a standard way to save graphics on disk, and you
can use a variety of Apple drawing programs to create images for output as
brailler graphics. (See Chapter 6, Working with Other Software, for the
exact description of the HI-RES files, as well as the names of DOS 3.3 and
ProDOS drawing packages that create pixCELLS-compatible files.) pixCELLS
is a ProDOS program, but it automatically converts graphic files stored on
DOS 3.3 disks.
pixCELLS's Modify Environment provides
the drawing tools you need to make better brailler graphics, as well as
create simple graphics from scratch. You can easily add horizontal or
vertical Most inkprint drawing programs put black ink on a
white page. It's much easier for a braille reader to sense the presence of
a dot than its absence. pixCELLS lets you reverse all or part of an image,
switching all the white pixels to black and vice-versa. You can erase
portions of an image as well as shift the image around to make maximum use
of the braille page. Chapter 2, the Tutorial, demonstrates many of these
features; Chapter 4, Modify Reference, explains them all.
A picture on the Apple screen is made up of points of
light, formally called picture elements, or pixels for short.
(We refer to a lit pixel as white and an unlit pixel as
black, but its color depends on your monitor. On a green
monitor, a "white" pixel is actually green.) When pixCELLS sends an image
to your embosser, each lit pixel becomes one braille dot.
Apple pixels are tiny and close together. For example,
the Apple cursor (the light square that shows where you are in the
program) is composed of 56 pixels. Braille dots are larger and further
apart than Apple pixels: when you use pixCELLS to send a cursor-size
square to an embosser, the same arrangement of 56 dots is three-quarters
of an inch on a side.
We use the term brailler graphics to
describe pixCELLS's output. Computer-driven braille embossers can't draw
lines: brailler graphics are always a collection of unconnected dots. When
a sighted person sees a collection of lit dots on the screen, the mind can
readily blur that image into a relatively continuous picture. But reading
a graphic by touch is a different process: brailler graphics are
inherently coarse.
A postage-paid Customer Registration card is included
in the pixCELLS package. RDC only provides technical support to registered
customers. Please take the time to fill out and return this card. Chapter
2, the Tutorial, takes you on a guided tour of most of pixCELLS's
functions. You can take this tour even if you don't have a braille
embosser connected to your Apple. If you want to get honest-to-goodness
hard copy at the end of the Tutorial, you must first connect your embosser
to your Apple. Read Chapter 8, Interfacing Notes for the details on how.
(Please read this chapter even if you have already connected your embosser
to your Apple with BEX or other word processing software. While we've
tried to make them as similar as possible, BEX and pixCELLS handle some
interfacing details differently.)
Chapters 3 and 4 provide complete details on
pixCELLS's Menus and Modify Environment; read them as you need to
understand the program better. If you're connecting a gapped graphics
embosser to your Apple, please read Chapter 5 to understand why the
pixCELLS screen display can't exactly represent your output. Chapter 6
discusses working with graphic files from other Apple software, including
a list of programs we know pixCELLS works with, what to do about color
images, and other useful stuff.
And in the hopefully rare situation where things don't
work correctly, check Chapter 7 on Troubleshooting. If you can't find the
answer to your problem there, we're ready to help: after you have returned
the Customer Registration card, you can contact our Technical Helpline at
608-257-8833 from 9 to 5, Central Time. In addition to touching up existing graphics files,
you can use pixCELLS to create simple graphics from scratch. When you
finish the two trips in this Tutorial, you'll understand how use pixCELLS
both ways. (This Tutorial is designed for sighted pixCELLS users. Blind
pixCELLS users should refer to Appendix B.) You don't need to connect an
embosser to your Apple to follow along with this tutorial. If you do want
real hard copy, then you need to read Chapter 8 for the interfacing
details. To step through these two trips, you need:
While the pixCELLS disk is not copy-protected, it is
copyrighted. Please follow this simple rule: treat pixCELLS like a book.
You can carry a book anywhere and read it, but U.S. Copyright Law says you
can't make copies of the book. When you want to have copies of the book at
three different places simultaneously, you buy two more books. You can use
one copy of pixCELLS on any computer you own, but you can't make several
copies of pixCELLS to use on several computers simultaneously. You can
encourage careful software development (and general respect for the rule
of law) by honoring RDC's copyright and not pirating our software. Thank
you for your attention--the lecture is now over.
To create this working copy, use any utility that can
copy ProDOS disks. When you purchased your Apple, the package included
either the ProDOS User's Disk or Apple System Utilities programs: both
work well for this purpose. If you own BEX, you can use the Diversi-COPY
utility from DSR, Inc. that we slip into the BEX Binder. Follow the
instructions for that utility to make a working copy of your pixCELLS
program disk on to one of the high-quality blank disks.
If you are working with 3.5-inch disks or a hard disk,
you can use the Install option on pixCELLS Disk Menu to copy the pixCELLS
program files to any subdirectory you specify. For the purpose of the
tutorial, use the back-up copy of the program you have just created. Read
"Install Program" in Chapter 3, Section 2 for details on copying pixCELLS
to your 3.5-inch or hard disk.
The first trip through pixCELLS details how you save
files on disk, as well as showing you how pixCELLS divides the Apple's
screen into six frames. You create two template files to help you use
other Apple graphics software to make brailler graphics that fit nicely on
a braille page.
Insert the working copy of the pixCELLS program disk
in drive 1, and turn on the Apple's power. After the copyright screen,
pixCELLS asks you several questions. If you have an Echo synthesizer in
your Apple, pixCELLS asks if you want speech output of the program: answer
by pressing After you select your embosser type by number,
pixCELLS asks you to enter the number of the interface slot. If you don't
have an embosser connected right now, you can enter Once you've answered the Embosser type and Interface
card questions, pixCELLS saves your answers on the program disk. (If
pixCELLS can't save this information because you've write-protected your
program disk, pixCELLS tells you to remove the write-protection and try
again.) Once your preferences are saved to disk, you arrive at pixCELLS's
Disk Menu. You can change your Embosser type and Interface card
information at any time by using pixCELLS's Preferences Menu. See Chapter
3, Section 4 for a complete discussion.
Starting Up After the First Time. Insert
your working copy of the pixCELLS disk in drive 1, and turn on the Apple's
power. Since pixCELLS stores your embosser and interface answers on disk,
you don't need to answer the questions again. After the copyright screen,
pixCELLS displays the Disk Menu.
pixCELLS uses the bottom line on the Apple's screen as
its status line. What pixCELLS wants you to do next always
appears here. At the Disk Menu, it reads Using Format to Prepare a Data Disk.
Before you can save an image on disk, the disk must be formatted for
ProDOS. In addition to establishing magnetic pigeonholes for your files,
formatting is how you give a ProDOS storage device a volume
name. ProDOS refers to disks by their volume names. (Appendix A
explains the ProDOS concepts you need to use pixCELLS effectively; please
read this material if "volume names" or "pathnames" are unfamiliar terms.)
Formatting disks is one option on the Disk Menu.
Following the status line prompt, press Since formatting a disk completely and permanently
erases any data that was there, pixCELLS asks for your confirmation
several times. Answer Naming a New Image with Save Image. The
current file name is Press Your cursor is on top of the letter The Main Menu is the central program branch. In
addition to moving between pixCELLS's other menus, the Main Menu is where
you use the Modify Environment to create and modify brailler graphics.
Press Many of the Modify Environment commands are control
characters: we abbreviate this by preceding the character with the caret.
For example, After you draw the grid, the status line reminds you
that you can undraw the grid by pressing Save current image as a template. When
you named the file, pixCELLS saved a blank screen on disk. To retain the
grid pattern for future use, you must save the work you've done since
then. Because you have already used Save image on the Disk Menu to
establish the correct name for your file, you can use pixCELLS's
immediate save inside the Modify Environment. Press
Now you have your template safe on disk, and you can
experiment with some of pixCELLS's drawing tools.
The blinking cross in the center of the screen is your
cursor. When you move your cursor with the arrow keys, you don't change
the pixels on the screen. Tap the left arrow key and the cursor moves one
pixel to the left. Depress the open-Apple key and then tap the up arrow
key: your cursor moves up four pixels. Try combining the solid-Apple key
with an arrow key: your cursor moves in 16-pixel jumps. You can change the
multiplier effects of the open-Apple and solid-Apple keys by using the
Cursor movement option on the Preferences Menu.
The center key in the Pen Cross toggles the pixel at
the cursor. The Righty Pen Cross centers on the letter
The corner Pen Cross keys move and paint at a
45-degree angle. Hold down the open-Apple key and press
Creating a Black Grid. The
Now you have an image that's all white except for
black grid lines. You don't want to use Saving the image with a new name. To make
your black grid template, use Save image on the Disk Menu to rename the
file. Press When you want to create one-page brailler graphics
using other drawing software, you can load the You've reached the end of Trip 1, and you've learned
some important things about how to work with graphic files in pixCELLS.
Now you're ready for Trip 2, where you use the
Modify Environment to improve the legibility of a brailler graphic.
In this Trip, you load an image from the pixCELLS
Samples Disk, use the Modify Environment to improve the readability of the
graphic and add braille labels, and (if you've got the equipment) emboss
it.
Getting Ready. Trip 2 begins at the Disk
Menu. If you've just finished Trip 1, then you're already there. If you
took a break, then insert your working copy of the pixCELLS program disk
in drive 1 and turn on the Apple's power.
At the Disk Menu, press Insert the DOS 3.3 side of the pixCELLS Samples Disk
in drive 2. Press You choose a graphic file by number: enter Save a ProDOS Version After Loading DOS 3.3
Image. Once you press You're ready to touch up the image for better brailler
graphics. Press Reverse. Like many graphics created with
inkprint drawing programs, this image is mainly lit dots. The details are
shown in black, by the absence of dots, which is difficult to interpret by
touch. Press The inkprint labels won't be legible in braille; you
will replace them with braille labels. First, let's erase the inkprint.
pixCELLS provides two box drawing tools: outline and filled. An outline
box is a one-pixel wide rectangle. A filled box can be filled with white
dots or black dots. A box filled with black is pixCELLS's large-scale
erasing tool.
At this point, you can press the The box boundary now encloses the inkprint letters.
The status line reminds you of the final step in box drawing: telling
pixCELLS what color the box should be. Press Magnify for details. You can use the same
technique to erase the word Bath in the upper left hand
corner of the cottage. It's tricky to see these small dots--let's use
pixCELLS's Magnify to zoom in on the area of interest.
You get a magnified view of your image by pressing
If you're in the normal view, press Entering Braille Labels. pixCELLS
provides three ways to type in your braille labels. For Apple IIe and IIc
keyboards you can enter braille using six keys and the spacebar, just like
a Perkins. If you have a Numeric Keypad, you can enter braille cells a dot
at a time. On any Apple model, you can use the full Apple keyboard to
enter braille, typing the screen braille equivalents for each braille
cell. So that everyone can follow along, we'll use the full keyboard for
this tutorial. (Chapter 3, Section 4 explains how you change to another
keyboard method.)
The inkprint label you just erased read LAYOUT
OF WINDOVER COTTAGE. The grade 2 braille equivalent of this is:
#[style=Trans note]# Inkprint shows picture of braille dots.
#[Xstyle=Trans note]#
_- ,,lay\t ,,( ,,w9dov] ,,cottage $p Figure 4-3 shows
the correspondence between inkprint characters and braille dot patterns.
If you have BEX, you can use option H - Heading test to translate the text
of your labels, providing the screen braille characters you need to enter
on the full keyboard.
The first step in braille labelling is positioning
your cursor at the upper left hand corner of the braille text you will
create. Use the arrow keys to place the cursor a few pixels below the
front wall of the cottage, in line with the left wall. With your cursor in
place, press When you're finished typing in the braille, press
Use the same techniques to braille in the word
bath where the inkprint label was. Position your cursor with
the arrow keys, press You now have a legible brailler graphic, complete with
labels. Before you emboss a graphic, you should check to see how well it
fits in pixCELLS's frames. Press You use pixCELLS's "shifting" tools to move the image
relative to the Apple screen. Before you shift, you should press
Shifting Left. Use the arrow keys to put
your cursor one pixel to the left of the left wall of the cottage. Now
press Shifting Up. Press So far, we've been able to tell you exactly what to
do. When it comes to embossing, there are lots of variables.
Before you can get hard copy output, you must connect your embosser to
your Apple by consulting Chapter 8, Interfacing Notes. To find out how to
get your embosser ready for brailling graphics, you may need to also
consult the embosser manual.
Emboss Menu. At pixCELLS's Main Menu,
press Choosing Frames with "Let's Make a
Deal." When you press Number of copies. Next pixCELLS asks you
how many copies you'd like, proposing just a single copy of each frame.
This is acceptable, so press Paste the Image. Once your embosser is
finished, it's time for the low-tech portion of the brailler graphics
process. Trim off the flat margin on the left side of page 2 so you can
butt it up to the right edge of page 1. You can use various techniques to
attach the sheets together: double-stick tape or a glue stick on the flap,
or cellophane tape on the back.
While this image spans two braille pages, you can also
use pixCELLS to create images that fit within one braille page.
Several-page images can be clumsy to carry and store. Take a look at the
sample files on the ProDOS side of the pixCELLS Samples Disk for some
ideas. The Congratulations! You're finished with Trip 2, and
you're ready to use pixCELLS to create and modify brailler graphics. In
addition to the skills you learned in Trip 1, you now know:
One way to find out how pixCELLS menus work is to just
explore them. You select a menu option by pressing its first letter--you
don't need to press Return to make a choice. You can always press Esc to
back out of what you're doing. pixCELLS has extensive on-line help--press
the question mark key for a short explanation of what to do at any point.
For those who prefer to learn by reading, this chapter details all of
pixCELLS's menu functions.
You can start pixCELLS three ways:
The very first time you start pixCELLS, you are asked
to define your embosser type--see the "Preferences Menu" section below for
your choices. pixCELLS has four menus. The Main Menu is the central
program branch--all the other menus are choices from the Main Menu. When
you're at the Main Menu, the upper right corner of the screen shows your
current frame. The status line, on the bottom of the screen,
shows what pixCELLS is waiting for. Immediately above this is the current
file name. If you press How Your Data Flows. All pixCELLS
activities center on your current image. When you first start pixCELLS,
the current image is a blank screen; the current file name is
At the Main Menu, you can press M to use pixCELLS's
Modify Environment, where you can add braille labels, shift the image
around, and a host of other things. When the image looks right, you press
You use this menu to work with existing graphic
images, and to save your modifications for future use. Each time you start
pixCELLS, you arrive at the Disk Menu. To leave the Disk Menu and return
to the Main Menu, press The pixCELLS image you modify and emboss is
temporarily stored in the Apple's memory. If you want to use this image
another day without redrawing it, you must copy it from memory to disk, or
save it. Before you can save any sort of data on disk, you
must format it, which creates magnetic pigeonholes on the
disk's storage medium. When that other day comes, you copy it from disk to
memory, or load it.
pixCELLS uses the ProDOS operating system, which has
many features that simplify organizing lots of data, especially on
3.5-inch and hard disks. When you're only working with 5.25-inch disks,
however, ProDOS can be a little overwhelming at first. Appendix A defines
the ProDOS concepts you need to know to use pixCELLS successfully. If
you're unsure what a "ProDOS pathname" or "prefix" is, please read
Appendix A at your earliest convenience.
Load image. Use this option to copy a
graphic image from ProDOS or DOS 3.3 disk into the Apple's memory. Only
HI-RES images are compatible with pixCELLS: this option reads the disk and
presents a list of only those files that pixCELLS can use. When pixCELLS
prompts Once you specify where to look, pixCELLS presents
a numbered list of graphic files. Select one file by typing its number
then pressing Return. If the file you want is not on the list, press
Return alone to go back to the Disk Menu, and choose Load image again.
After you've selected the file by number, pixCELLS
loads it into memory and shows it on the screen. Press As you preview the image, think if you plan to modify
it. When chances are good that you will be making changes, then save the
image with a new name right away. (This ensures that later, when you use
the immediate save in the Modify Environment, you won't clobber your
original file.) When you've loaded an image from a DOS 3.3 disk, it's a
good idea to make sure you have a ProDOS disk in the drive! Remove the DOS
3.3 disk and replace it with your Save Image. Use this option to copy an
image from the Apple's memory to a ProDOS disk. After you press
ProDOS file names follow some simple rules: The first
character Catalog. Press The pixCELLS catalog of a DOS 3.3 disk shows the
words "DOS 3.3" at the start. When there are more than 25 files on the
disk, the display pauses; press the space bar for more. A ProDOS catalog
lists the volume name on the first line. If there are more than 25 files,
use Pathname. Each time you start pixCELLS,
it assumes you will save all your images on a ProDOS volume named
When you use Pathname, you are providing pixCELLS with
the ProDOS prefix for the data it saves. pixCELLS lets you
set the Specifying by slot and drive places images at the root
level of the ProDOS volume; if you want to save images in a subdirectory,
you must type the prefix directly. When pixCELLS prompts you to type in
the prefix, you can enter Format disk. Formatting totally erases a
disk and prepares it to store ProDOS files. After you press
Since formatting a disk is irreversible, pixCELLS
provides you with two opportunities to chicken out. First, pixCELLS tries
to read the disk that's in the format drive. If this is already ProDOS,
pixCELLS displays the existing volume name. If it's DOS 3.3, pixCELLS
tells you so. In either case, you are asked if it's ProDOS requires a volume name for every storage
device, large or small. pixCELLS proposes the volume name
Once you finish specifying the volume name and press
Return, pixCELLS asks: Install program. This option copies the
pixCELLS program files from the program disk to another ProDOS volume.
When your Apple has enough memory, you can use Install to copy pixCELLS to
a RAM drive. You can also use this option once to copy pixCELLS from the
5.25-inch disk to a 3.5-inch disk or hard drive. Install
doesn't copy the two files that make a ProDOS startup disk:
To use Install, you must supply pixCELLS with the
exact target pathname for where the files will go. This pathname begins
with the volume name followed by subdirectory names, if you wish. If you
specify a subdirectory that doesn't exist on the target volume, pixCELLS
creates it. Once you supply the target pathname, pixCELLS starts copying.
The pixCELLS program files require 140 blocks; if there isn't enough room
on the target volume, pixCELLS gives an error message. When the Install
process is complete, pixCELLS transfers over to the just-copied
software--you can remove the 5.25-inch pixCELLS program disk from your
drive at this point.
To Install and run pixCELLS from a RAM drive, you must
know the RAM drive's volume name, which depends on your Apple model and
memory. Type Loading pixCELLS on a RAM drive speeds up everything
considerably. Do remember, however, that any information stored on RAM
drive is gone forever when you turn off the power. Every time you use the
Preferences Menu (details below), pixCELLS saves your answers on the
program disk. When you copy the program to a RAM drive and use the
Preferences Menu, your answers are only saved on the RAM drive. The next
time you run pixCELLS from the floppy disk, you won't see changes you made
when running pixCELLS Quit temporarily. This option is a
convenience for people who are familiar with ProDOS. When you press
Use this menu to get the graphic from the Apple memory
to your embosser. (To get that image in Apple memory, you either load it
with the Disk Menu, or create it from scratch in the Modify Environment.)
pixCELLS gives you a quick choice and a more extended one.
One copy of your current frame. Many
times your brailler graphics are simple sketches that don't require six
sheets of paper. The One copy option lets you quickly do a single braille
page. Your current frame is what appears on the right side of
the screen at this menu; as shipped to you, pixCELLS current frame is
number 1, the upper lefthand corner of the Apple screen. Press
Once you press You tell pixCELLS which frames to emboss by pressing
the frame number; pixCELLS responds by showing the graphics contained
within that frame. To deselect a frame, press its number again. Press
Now pixCELLS prompts for the number of copies you want
embossed, and proposes a single copy. If you want more copies, then enter
that number and press Getting Your Embosser Ready to Braille.
pixCELLS's last prompt for both embossing options is For any model of embosser, you must check that:
Most embossers have a buffer for incoming data: when
you press After pixCELLS sends the image, it sends the command
to put your embosser back into text mode. If you turn off your embosser in
the middle of an image, it won't receive this "return to text" command. On
some embossers, this means that the next time you turn the unit on, it
will still be in graphics mode. The moral is: Don't turn your
embosser off as it's in the middle of outputting an image.
Use this menu to tell pixCELLS about your equipment
and how you'd like to set certain pixCELLS options. You can change any of
these items independently, at any point as you use the program. (But do
see the caution regarding changing embossers, below.) To leave the
Preferences Menu and return to the Main Menu, press Embosser type. Every brailler does
graphics slightly differently. In order for pixCELLS to make the best
possible brailler graphics, you must use this choice to describe your
equipment. (That's why you get this question the very first time you start
up pixCELLS.) After you press As detailed in Chapter 5, embossers may either provide
a true graphics mode or gapped graphics. When
you define your embosser as one type, and then tell pixCELLS to choose the
other type, it warns you about the problems you may encounter with braille
labels.
The last number on the list is Interface card. In addition to telling
pixCELLS about your embosser brand, it needs to know about the connection
between your Apple and your embosser--the interface.
Depending on your Apple model, you may be using a built-in interface port
or a plug-in interface card. Whichever, pixCELLS must know the slot number
in order to send data to your embosser--this number is between 1 and 7.
pixCELLS warns you when it can't detect a major brand interface card in
the slot number you specify. If you don't have an embosser connected to
your Apple, and are preparing brailler graphics to be embossed elsewhere,
then enter There are two interfaces where pixCELLS needs more
information. When you've specified port 2 on the Apple IIc, pixCELLS
Once pixCELLS knows the interface slot, it asks you
about a command sequence for the card. A command sequence
controls the interface's behavior. Chapter 8 describes the RDC "standard
interfaces;" if you're using a different set of serial parameters or
another interface card, you must consult its manual to see if you need to
use a command sequence and what to type.
Once you know the command sequence characters to use,
telling pixCELLS about it is easy. It displays the current command
sequence and asks you if you'd like to change it. Type For example, to turn on the software handshaking
feature in the Apple Super Serial Card you send it five characters:
control-I, X, space, E, and Return. To enter this in pixCELLS, hold down
the control key and tap the I key; release the control key; tap the X key,
the spacebar, the E key, then the Return key. To alert pixCELLS to the end
of the sequence, press the caret Grid definition. When you use the
Embosser type option to tell pixCELLS which embosser you're using, it
creates a grid dividing the Apple screen into six frames.
Each embosser can fit a different number of dots on a line horizontally
and dots on a page vertically. We designed If you want to control the position of the grid, use
the Grid definition option to change how many dots per line and per page
pixCELLS places in each frame. For example, if you feel that the built-in
values for your embosser place too many dots on a page vertically, you can
use Grid definition to enter a smaller value for dots per page. The values
you supply here take precedence over the built-in values, and are saved on
the program disk when you exit the Preferences Menu. You can change the
Grid definition as many times as you wish. Every time you choose an
Embosser type, the Grid definition is restored to the built-in values.
Lorin Software's Illustrations program uses the same
grid pattern for all embossers, and this grid does not match pixCELLS's
built-in values. If you want to output the same-sized frames as
Illustrations, then define your grid with 98 dots per line and 96 dots per
page. More on this topic in Chapter 6, Section 3.
Braille keyboard. As detailed in Chapter
4, pixCELLS's Modify Environment lets you enter braille labels
horizontally and vertically. Because of hardware variations between Apple
models, pixCELLS provides three data entry methods--diagrams appear in
Chapter 4, pages 4:12 through 4:14. As shipped to you, pixCELLS is set for
the Full ASCII keyboard; to take advantage of another method, you must use
this Braille keyboard option to tell pixCELLS.
After you press Frame select. Use this option to
define your current frame. When you first start up pixCELLS,
the current frame is set to 1, the upper lefthand corner. It's easy to
emboss one copy of your current frame by pressing The exact frame dimensions depend on the dot spacing
of your embosser (and any new values you could enter with Grid
definition). Press Cursor movement. In the Modify
Environment, the open-Apple and solid-Apple keys speed up cursor movement
(the arrow keys) and drawing (the Pen Cross). When shipped to you, the
open-Apple multiples movement by four, and the solid-Apple multiples
movement by sixteen. Press Voice on or off. This option only appears
on the Preferences Menu when pixCELLS recognizes an Echo or Cricket
synthesizer installed in your Apple at startup. Press You use the Modify Environment to touch up graphics
created with other Apple drawing software, and to create simple graphics
from scratch. To get into the Modify Environment, press Before you can touch up a graphic created with another
program, you must first use Load Image on the Disk Menu to copy it to the
Apple's memory. When you want to create an image from scratch, the first
step is using Save Image on the Disk Menu to give your image-to-be a name
on disk. Once you've loaded an existing image or named a new image, you
Many of the Modify Environment commands are control
commands. You depress the Control key, then press some other key, then
release both keys. We show control commands by prefixing the "other key"
with a caret: The bottom screen line in the Modify Environment is
the status line. When you choose a multi-key command, the
status line changes to list your choices. You can draw at the
very bottom of the screen if you wish--when your cursor nears You move pixCELLS's cursor with the arrow keys. For
example, pressing the left arrow alone moves the cursor one pixel to the
left. Moving the cursor does not affect the image in any way. You can
speed up the cursor with the open-Apple and solid-Apple keys. As shipped
to you, the open-Apple key multiplies the cursor movement by four, and the
solid-Apple multiplies by 16. You can change the multiplier effect of
these keys with the Cursor Movement option on the Preferences Menu.
Every time you enter the Modify Environment, you see
the entire Apple screen. For a closer look at fine details, use pixCELLS's
Magnify option. Press All of pixCELLS's Modify Environment tools and
commands are available in the Magnify window. When you move your cursor to
its edges, the window jumps to follow.
Five Modify Environment commands trigger pixCELLS to
take a "snapshot" of your current image. If you don't like what you've
done, you can press enter braille labels
add an outline box
add, erase, or reverse a filled box
More details on these commands appear below.
pixCELLS does not automatically take a snapshot before you draw dots or
lines with the Pen Cross. This means that not every action you perform in
the Modify Environment is undoable with The image in the Modify Environment is stored in the
Apple's memory. To retain the image for future use, you save it to disk.
pixCELLS provides two ways to save the current image: the immediate save
in the Modify Environment and the Save Image option on the Disk Menu.
When you press Save Image on the Disk Menu offers more flexibility.
You can change the file's name and the disk it's saved to; if the file
already exists on disk, pixCELLS gives you an opportunity to rename it on
the spot. The safest way to proceed is to use Load Image, then immediately
use Save Image to store it on the correct data disk with the name you
prefer. You can then Esc back to the Main Menu and modify the image. As
you work, use Apple pixels are much smaller than brailler dots, so
an entire Apple screen can't fit on a single braille page. pixCELLS
divides the image into a grid of six frames, where each frame
corresponds to one braille page. The exact dimensions of the frames depend
on the Embosser type (and optionally, Grid definition) you choose in the
Preferences Menu.
You can press You use a rectangular arrangement of nine keys to draw
individual pixels and lines: we refer to this tool as the Pen
Cross. pixCELLS has three identical pen crosses to suit different
hardware and left and right-handed people: the Numeric, the Lefty, and the
Righty, as shown in Figure 4-2.
#[style=Trans note]# Refer to braille version of Figure 4-2 in binder.
#[Xstyle=Trans note]#
#[style=Trans note]# Each Pen Cross is three keys high and three keys
down. The Numeric Pen Cross is centered on the digit 5 in the numeric
keypad, which is available on the Apple IIgs and the post-1987 Apple IIe.
(You can also purchase a separate numeric keypad to plug in to the Apple
IIe game port.) On the main keyboard, the Righty Pen Cross centers on the
letter "K," while the Lefty Pen Cross centers on the letter "D."
#[Xstyle=Trans note]#
The center key on each Pen Cross has a raised
dot--press this key to toggle the color of the current pixel. When you
press the center key and hear a boop, the pixel is white; a silent press
means the pixel has just become black.
The other eight keys in the Pen Cross move and paint
the pixel they arrive on. The corner keys in the Pen Cross move and paint
at a 45 degree angle, while the remaining keys paint perpendicular to the
edges of the Apple screen. You can move one pixel at a time, and you can
multiply your movement with the open-Apple and solid-Apple keys. To set the paint to white again, press the
You can easily draw rectangular and square shapes with
pixCELLS's filled and outline boxes. Drawing either box involves four
steps.
Filled Boxes with When you press pixCELLS does not include a braille translator: you
must enter the correct characters based on your own knowledge of the
braille codes. pixCELLS provides three different keyboards for braille
data entry: the full ASCII keyboard, the six-key Perkins-style keyboard,
and the numeric keypad single-strike mode. When you first start pixCELLS,
it's set for full ASCII keyboard. When you wish to use one of the other
methods, go to the Preferences Menu and choose it with the Braille
Keyboard option.
pixCELLS provides four ways to orient the labels on
the image: free horizontal labels, aligned horizontal labels, vertical
labels reading up, and vertical labels reading down. With
aligned horizontal labels pixCELLS constrains your braille
within one frame (braille page), and the cells and lines used in braille
text. For the other three orientations, pixCELLS lets you place horizontal
or vertical labels anywhere. Braille labels are always white on black
(even if your current paint is black). It's your responsibility to place
the label in a black area, where it will be legible.
Each brailling session involves five
steps.
Once you complete step 3, pixCELLS zooms in on
the image surrounding your current cursor, using the "thin" Magnify
display. At this point, pixCELLS takes a snapshot, so you can undo all
brailling from one session with Cursor movement during braille entry. You
move back and forth on the braille line with the left and right arrow
keys. The up and down arrow keys take you up and down lines of braille on
the screen, always returning to the margin starting point. To create a new
braille line, press Return.
If you make an error, use the arrow keys to position
the cursor on the cell and overwrite it. You can erase braille by
positioning the cursor and pressing the spacebar. Since pixCELLS takes a
snapshot when you choose the braille entry mode, you can undo all
brailling in the current session with When your braille labels appears in several places on
the image, it's most convenient to create the labels in several sessions.
Arrowing will always return you to the margin established when you press
After you press A -- Aligned Horizontal Entry. When
you press When you intend to use aligned entry to create a
complete braille page, position your cursor at the upper left hand corner
of the frame before you press U & D -- Vertical Braille. Vertical
braille comes in two flavors. When you press Only full graphics embossers can output vertical
braille. When you define a gapped graphics embosser in the Preferences
Menu, the Gapped Graphics Embossers and Braille
Labels. No matter which direction you enter braille, pixCELLS
ensures that the spacing between the braille cells is correct. When you're
working with a full graphics embosser, pixCELLS skips one pixel between
each cell. When you're working with a gapped graphics embosser, pixCELLS
doesn't skip, recognizing that the embosser creates the gap
on output. The braille you enter for a gapped graphics embosser looks
"squeezed" on the screen, but outputs correctly. See Chapter 5 for full
details.
pixCELLS won't let you choose vertical braille when
you have a gapped graphics embosser. When you enter horizontal braille,
pixCELLS makes sure that the braille cells are not interrupted by the gap.
When you leave braille entry by pressing Esc, pixCELLS
no longer "knows" that the lit pixels are braille. The image you save to
disk is just a collection of lit and dark pixels. Braille labels created
with a full graphics embosser definition are spaced differently than those
created with a gapped graphics embosser definition. When you're brailling
labels with pixCELLS, make sure that your embosser definition is correct.
If someone created a pixCELLS file configured as a VersaPoint, complete
with labels, then sent it to you to output on your Thiel, the labels would
be incorrectly spaced. You would have to erase the existing labels and
recreate them.
Full ASCII Braille Entry. This method
works on all Apple equipment.
Every braille cell has an equivalent on the print
keyboard. The chart in Figure 4-3 shows these correspondences, formally
known as the "M.I.T. Braille Terminal Code." To type in your braille
labels, press the appropriate print keys singly. For example, to enter the
grade 2 words that's good! you type Six-Key Braille Entry. This method works
on the Apple IIe and IIc keyboards, as well as the Apple IIe keyboard of a
"board-lifted" IIgs.
As shown in Figure 4-4,
#[style=Trans note]# Braille version appears in binder.
#[Xstyle=Trans note]#
#[style=Trans note]# the braille keyboard uses the "home" row on the Apple
keyboard: As shown in Figure 4-5,
#[style=Trans note]# Braille version appears in binder.
#[Xstyle=Trans note]#
#[style=Trans note]# you use the rectangular arrangement of keys on the
numeric keypad to enter braille cells a dot at a time. These keys are
arranged somewhat like a braille cell: The For example, to enter the grade 2 words that's
good! you'd press the following keys:
When you press C -- Compress image by 50%. This option
reduces the image by half in both directions, drawing the smaller version
in the upper left corner of the screen. pixCELLS does a series of
calculations on the original image to decide whether there are enough lit
pixels in the original to warrant one lit pixel in the compressed version.
One-pixel wide lines in the original version may disappear in the
compressed version. These calculations take a little time; after you press
R -- Reverse every pixel. This option
inverts the entire image. All white pixels become black, and all black
pixels become white. Most inkprint drawing programs put black ink on a
white page. As you draw, you turn off pixels to make black lines and
shapes. It's much easier for a braille reader to sense the presence of a
dot than its absence. Use Reverse to make more legible braille graphics.
When you only want to reverse a portion of the image, use a reversed
filled box: press S -- Shift current cursor to edge of
screen. Shifting allows you to move a graphic in four directions on
the Apple screen, making best use of each braille page. You can shift an
image as many times as you wish, following these four steps: \\items
2. Press 3. Press one arrow key to tell pixCELLS which
direction you're shifting. pixCELLS draws a blinking line at the cursor.
The status line tells you which edge this will be.
When the Shift is complete, you can restore to
the pre-Shift snapshot by pressing W -- Wipe out image. This option turns
off all the pixels on the Apple screen, leaving you a blank slate for new
work. You don't need to Wipe out the image before you load a new one;
pixCELLS does this automatically. If you want to erase only a portion of
the screen, use a box filled with black.
Esc -- Take a Snapshot and Cancel Menu.
The moment you press pixCELLS provides you with a variety of techniques for
erasing your image; this section summarizes information that appears
previously.
Take a look at the images on the ProDOS side of the
pixCELLS Samples Disk--they were all created entirely with pixCELLS. You
can do a lot with pixCELLS built-in drawing tools. The secret is mentally
dividing your image into many, many boxes. (Since pixCELLS always takes a
snapshot when you draw a box, it's particularly easy to experiment with
this approach. Just press Maps: When you're making a map like
To make the best use of pixCELLS, you need to
understand how embossers represent the collection of dots that pixCELLS
sends them. You also need to be aware of some inherent limitations of the
medium: not all illustrations can be legibly represented by a
discontinuous pattern of dots.
All embossers are not created equal when it comes to
making brailler graphics. Some embossers have a true graphics
mode, where every dot is equally spaced on the page. Other
embossers only provide gapped graphic output. While the dots
are equally spaced vertically, there's a one-dot wide gap after every even
dot horizontally. This one-dot wide gap is the normal horizontal space
between cells in braille text.
When you specify your embosser type in pixCELLS
Preferences Menu, it tells you if the unit gapped graphics. (You can also
check your embosser's capability in Chapter 8, Section 2.) pixCELLS's
screen display accurately reflects full graphics output. When you use a
gapped graphics embosser with pixCELLS, what you see on the pixCELLS
screen is not exactly what you get on paper. Three elements of pixCELLS
screen display are affected:
Figure 5-1 compares the screen display and output of a
rectangle. On pixCELLS's screen, you see continuous horizontal lines. In
the output, all the sixteen dots are there: The gapped graphics embossers
create a dot for every lit pixel. But the output of gapped graphics
embossers is always spaced like braille text horizontally: the embosser
inserts a dot-wide gap after every even dot.
When you enter braille labels in the Modify
Environment, pixCELLS controls their spacing. For both true and gapped
embossers, pixCELLS skips one row of pixels vertically for each braille
In addition to squeezing the cells together, pixCELLS
controls where you begin brailling so that the cells you create are not
interrupted by the gaps. Since gapped graphics embossers can never output
three dots in a row horizontally, pixCELLS won't let you pixCELLS always embosses six frames, where each frame
is equivalent to one braille page. For full graphics, the entire Apple
screen fits on six braille pages. Figure 5-1 proves that every pixel on
the Apple screen corresponds to one dot, even in gapped graphics. When you
define a gapped embosser, pixCELLS still limits you to six braille pages.
Since the embosser inserts a gap after every even dot, fewer dots fit in
each braille line. Therefore, pixCELLS can't send every Apple pixel to
your gapped graphics embosser. When you press An Apple HI-RES picture is a collection of points of
light, formally called picture elements, or pixels for short.
When pixCELLS sends an image to your embosser, each lit pixel becomes one
braille dot. Apple pixels are pretty tiny, and very close
together. For example, the Apple cursor (the light square that shows where
you are in the program) is composed of 56 pixels; on a nine-inch monitor,
it's just 1/8 of an inch square. For ready reference, confine your images to one or two
braille pages. Two Modify Environment tools simplify this: the Grid
provides a preview of how your image divides between braille pages, while
Shift on the Whole screen tricks sub-menu lets you move your image around.
Even when your image requires several braille pages, you may be able to
avoid pasting the sheets together. Take a look at the When the graphic you're creating is simply too large
to show on one sheet, you can create a reference sheet that pulls together
the general information for subsequent detail sheets. First, prepare all
the individual frames as you wish them to appear, and save the image.
Depending on the distribution of light and dark in your image, adding the
Grid with The difference in scale between pixels and dots has
another important effect on brailler graphics. The eye and brain together
do an amazing job of smearing a series of dots into a continuous line.
Unless you consciously study them, the characters on the Apple screen
don't look like a bunch of pixels: you just recognize them as letters and
go on. Reading graphics with the fingertip is an entirely ... tactile perception is a process that requires very
active, searching, and constructive behavior on the part of the finger
pads and joints in the hand and wrists of the blind reader ... [and is]
very different from the visual process. ... the magician eye can fool the
hand of the transcriber. Dots casting good shadows for eyes may not
displace skin or guide fingers in a manner that makes the dots or their
form easily perceived. A label that is well oriented to an intersection of
lines visually may be confusing to the active, searching hand. Textures
that contrast visually may not play separate tunes to the orchestrating
hand. ... the sighted transcriber should proofread with both index fingers
...
These comments appear in the context of a discussion
of true tactile graphics, which include smooth, continuous
lines and surface textures of varying heights. These concerns are even
more pressing when creating brailler graphics, where the sole means of
expression is the invariable brailler dot. pixCELLS lets you turn an Apple
screen into braille hard copy, but not every Apple screen is an
appropriate brailler graphic. Work with your brailler reader(s) to develop
your skills as a tactile transcriber. The National Braille Association
develops, provides, and coordinates services in the production and
distribution of reading materials in all media (braille, recording, and
large type). You can purchase the Guidelines for Mathematical
Diagrams from NBA, as well as finding out about skilled tactile
transcribers and continuing education workshops.
pixCELLS's Modify Environment provides enough tools
for producing simple graphics, but it's certainly not the world's most
sophisticated painting program. pixCELLS reads and writes a standard
graphic file. Section 1 discusses the many other Apple painting programs
that create files pixCELLS can use. When you're working with DOS 3.3
software, certain habits will minimize disk confusion--these are addressed
in Section 2. Lorin Software publishes brailler graphics for the Apple,
and Section 3 discusses how to use these images with pixCELLS. Some
graphics software creates color images: Section 4 explains how these files
appear in pixCELLS. pixCELLS cannot create files that you can integrate
with a word processor like BEX. See Section 5 for a discussion of mixing
text and graphics in a braille document.
There are literally hundreds of painting programs for
the Apple II family, and many of them create images that pixCELLS can use.
Known compatible software. Some programs
offer a variety of ways to save images on disk; unless noted below, the
standard save works fine for pixCELLS.
Libraries of graphic images in standard binary
files are also available--Beagle Bros. sells the Minipix series, and
Penguin Software produces the Map Pack series (use unpacked images).
Known incompatible software. Through
personal experience and reports from users, we know that the following
drawing programs don't use HI-RES graphics or can't write unpacked HI-RES
files:
Researching Compatibility. Even if
your program doesn't appear on the previous lists, it may still work with
pixCELLS. Two closely related variables determine whether a graphics
program creates pixCELLS-compatible files: which graphic mode it uses to
display graphics on screen, and how it saves those graphics on disk. If
you prefer to experiment, try creating an image in your program, and
saving it to disk in every way offered by the software. Then try loading
the image into pixCELLS--if it works, great!
If you're the analytical type, here are the buzzwords
to look for when researching your software in its manual. pixCELLS only
works with high resolution (HI-RES) images. If your software creates low
resolution (LO-RES) or double HI-RES images, then Graphic files generally require a lot of space on
disk. Most paint programs provide two ways to save data: in a
compressed or packed format that only the
creating software can read, and in a standard or
unpacked format that other graphics software can use.
pixCELLS can only read standard binary HI-RES graphic files. You can
identify a binary file in a DOS 3.3 catalog by the letter Although pixCELLS uses the ProDOS operating system, it
can read DOS 3.3 files directly from disk. You don't need to use a
separate conversion utility when bringing DOS 3.3 graphic files into
pixCELLS. However, pixCELLS can only save images as ProDOS files on ProDOS
disks. If you attempt to save a pixCELLS image on a DOS 3.3 disk, you get
an error message. When loading a DOS 3.3 image from disk with pixCELLS,
follow these steps for smooth sailing:
If you want to use the DOS 3.3 drawing program to
modify the ProDOS version of the file, you must use a conversion utility
program (like Apple's System Utilities or Filer, or Central Point
Software's Copy II Plus) to copy the ProDOS file back to a DOS 3.3 file.
Lorin Software publishes an Apple brailler graphics
utility called Illustrations, as well as disks of brailler graphics
images. These are standard DOS 3.3 HI-RES binary files, so you can use
Load Image to copy them into pixCELLS. Like pixCELLS, Illustrations
divides the Apple screen into six portions, termed panels.
However, Illustrations's panels use different dimensions than pixCELLS's
frames.
The exact difference depends on which embosser you've
defined in pixCELLS's Preferences Menu--the easiest way to see the
difference is to load an Illustrations image then press Brailler graphics are binary: you either have a dot or
you don't. Therefore, pixCELLS is a black-and-white program: either a
pixel is on (white) or it's off (black). Most other Apple graphics
software uses color: on a color monitor, you see colors, and on a
black-and-white monitor, you see patterns. When you create a color image
and load it into pixCELLS, you may be surprised by the results.
Exactly how the Apple displays these HI-RES colors is
remarkably complicated. Certain colors can only appear at certain places
on the Apple screen: purple and blue pixels, for example, can only appear
in even-numbered screen columns, while green and orange only show in
odd-numbered columns. Those four colors, plus black and white, are the
only colors the Apple can actually create in HI-RES graphics. Your
perception of other colors depends on the eye blurring together adjacent
pixels of these six basic colors.
When you load a color image in pixCELLS, you only see
black and white. A solid patch of orange appears as a series of parallel
vertical lines, with a one-pixel wide gap between them. A solid patch of
purple is similarly a series of parallel lines; they're shifted one pixel
over from the orange patch. A drawing program can create the illusion of
red by alternating horizontal lines of purple and orange: when you load a
red patch in pixCELLS, you see a checkerboard of black and white pixels.
Some color combinations are shown with interesting patterns of smaller
rectangles, which may be discernible in brailler
graphics--test it out with your braille readers before assuming they are.
Because each drawing program uses its own palette, we
can't You can't open a pixCELLS graphic file in a word
processor to include a small brailler graphic in a page of text. However,
you can use pixCELLS to create a one-page image that combines more-or-less
standard braille text and brailler graphics. When you want to enter the
braille for such a page, choose Aligned horizontal braille by pressing
The reason we say "more-or-less standard braille text"
is that, up to now, we haven't told you the full truth about
dot spacing. The Library of Congress standard for the horizontal space
between cells in braille text is slightly less than one braille dot.
Whether your embosser creates braille text that exactly meets the standard
depends on its original design and whether all mechanical parts are in
tight alignment.
When you're working with a full graphics embosser,
pixCELLS outputs the braille text in graphics mode. pixCELLS makes the
horizontal space between braille cells exactly one dot wide. This means
that pixCELLS limits you to fewer cells per line; a VersaPoint that can
braille 44 cells across in text mode is limited to 37 cells across when
creating Aligned braille with pixCELLS. A gapped graphics embosser by
definition always uses standard text spacing horizontally, so you can
enter the full number of cells using Aligned
braille. When you encounter problems using pixCELLS, check here
to see if there's an easy solution. We are happy to provide technical
support to registered owners of pixCELLS. After you've returned the
postage-paid Customer Registration card, you can call our Technical
Helpline at 608-257-8833 from 9 AM to 5 PM Central Time.
Problem: After I tell pixCELLS which
frames to emboss and "press any key," nothing happens. The embossing
progress indicator is frozen and pressing Possible Cause: pixCELLS is trying to
send characters to your embosser, but the embosser isn't receiving them.
Since pixCELLS is concentrating on sending characters, it doesn't notice
you've pressed the Solution: Hold down the control key and
tap the Reset key. When you see the BASIC Possible Cause: The brailler is set
for "auto linefeed;" it's adding an extra, blank line for every line
pixCELLS sends it.
Solution: Two different players in the
embossing process can contribute to this problem. Check the embosser's
manual to see if you can easily make it stop adding a linefeed after each
Return. If that's not possible, see your interface card manual for the
command sequence that turns auto linefeed off. Follow the instructions in
Chapter 3, Section 4 for including a command sequence with Interface card
on the Preferences Menu.
Problem: My output seems "squished";
while each pixCELLS frame is on a separate braille page, the image itself
uses only part of the page. Horizontal lines that fill the frame are OK,
but shorter lines are embossed on top of each other.
Possible Cause: Neither the brailler nor
the interface card are doing auto linefeed.
Solution: See your interface card manual
for the command sequence that "adds a linefeed after a Return." Follow the
instructions in Chapter 3, Section 4 for including this command sequence
with Interface card on the Preferences Menu.
Problem: After I tell pixCELLS which
frames to emboss and "press any key," I get a beep and a strange error
message followed by the BASIC Possible Cause: The slot number you chose
for your interface card is the number for a memory card in your Apple.
Solution: Turn off your Apple and start
pixCELLS again. Go to the Disk Menu and press Possible Cause: When you press
Solution: When you want to use the Grid
for reference in drawing, but don't wish it embossed, make sure you undraw
the Grid by pressing Problem: I get blank sheets of braille
paper when embossing.
Possible Cause: The frames you selected
for embossing didn't contain any lit pixels.
Solution: When you use the "Let's Make a
Deal" frame selection screen in the Emboss Menu, only select frames that
contain graphics. When you press a number from 1 to 6 and see just a blank
frame, press the number again to deselect that frame.
Problem: One pixCELLS frame requires more
than one brailler page to output.
Possible Cause: The value for dots per
page is too high. You may have defined your own embosser or used Grid
definition on the Preferences Menu to change these values.
Solution: Redefine your embosser with
Embosser type on the Preferences Menu and try embossing again. If that
doesn't help, call us.
Problem: Not all the pixels from a frame
appear as dots on the page.
Possible Cause: The value for dots per
line is too high. You may have defined your own embosser or used Grid
definition on the Preferences Menu to change these values.
Solution: Redefine your embosser with
Embosser type on the Preferences Menu and try embossing again. If that
doesn't help, call us. Possible Cause: Labels were entered when
pixCELLS was configured for gapped graphics embosser.
Solution: Four steps to recover:
Problem: Braille labels have gaps
inside the cell horizontally.
Possible Cause: Labels were entered when
pixCELLS was configured for full graphics.
Solution: Four steps to recover:
1. Use Preferences Menu to make sure the embosser type
matches your embosser.
2. In Modify Environment erase braille labels using
filled boxes ( 3. Enter new braille labels.
4. Emboss again.
Problem: After I use pixCELLS, my text
output is wrong; there's no space vertically between braille lines. (Thiel
and MBOSS-40 are most common offenders.)
Possible Cause: When pixCELLS starts
embossing a graphic it changes the parameters stored in battery-backed
memory. You turned off the unit before pixCELLS was finished embossing a
graphic, so the embosser remains in graphics mode.
Solution: Use pixCELLS to emboss a
complete frame; at the end of the image, the embosser is reset to text
mode. Never turn off an embosser when it's in the middle of producing a
brailler graphic. Press Possible Cause: The Romeo is in text
mode, not graphics mode.
Solution: Romeo turns on graphics mode by
sensing the position of the embossing bar. When you remove the bar, you
can see a tiny oval slot to the left of the left post--that's the sensor.
The text side of the bar has a magnet that triggers the sensor. Make sure
that no stray material is obscuring the sensor, and install the bar
grooved side down.
Problem: After I use pixCELLS, my Ohtsuki
text output looks strange. The inkprint is underneath the braille, instead
of spaced away from it.
Possible Cause: When pixCELLS finishes
embossing a graphic on the Ohtsuki, it sets it for 25 braille lines per
page.
Solution: When you're done embossing with
pixCELLS, turn your Ohtsuki off and then on again before embossing text;
this restores the Ohtsuki output mode to your switch settings.
Problem: Undo undid more than I wanted.
Possible Cause: Undo always restores your
image to the most recent "snapshot." Only certain Modify Environment
activities cause pixCELLS to take a snapshot. For example, if you draw a
box, then draw some lines with the Pen Cross, undo restores you to the
pre-box image.
Solution: Review the discussion of Undo
in Chapter 4, Section 1. Before you start something iffy, you can force
pixCELLS to take a snapshot by pressing Possible Cause: pixCELLS draws the Grid
by reversing the color of the pixels. When the area of the image under the
grid lines is white, the Grid appears as black lines.
Solution: If you want the grid lines
white, press Problem: I'm trying to stretch the
boundaries for a filled or outline box, but I can't see them.
Possible Cause: pixCELLS shows the box
boundaries by reversing pixel color. You're probably trying to draw a
filled box immediately on top of an outline box: when you stretch the
boundary to the right position, it disappears!
Solution: Arrow one pixel up or down and
one pixel left or right--you can see the boundary now.
Problem: When I load an Illustrations
image, the borders don't match the pixCELLS grid.
Possible Cause: Illustrations's panels
are a different size than pixCELLS's frames.
Solution: Review Chapter 5, Section 4 on
the difference in dimensions; use Grid definition on the Preferences Menu
to force Illustrations's grid if you want to.
Problem: When I enter Aligned horizontal
braille, pixCELLS won't let me braille beyond 37 or 38 cells.
Possible Cause: Braille cells output in
graphics mode have more space between the cells than those output in true
text mode.
Solution: You have to suffer with it--see
Chapter 6, Section 5 for why. Possible Cause: pixCELLS thinks you want
to use the Full keyboard.
Solution: Press Tab for help--your
current keyboard mode appears on the top line. If you have an Apple IIgs
with a detached keyboard, you simply can't use six-key braille entry. For
an Apple IIe or IIc, you can go to the Preferences Menu and use Braille
keyboard to set pixCELLS straight.
Problem: I'm trying to enter braille with
the Full ASCII keyboard, but most of the keys just beep.
Possible Cause: pixCELLS thinks you want
to use the Six-key keyboard.
Solution: Press Tab for help--your
current keyboard mode appears on the top line. If it reads Problem: When I press Possible Cause: pixCELLS only allows
vertical braille entry when you're using a full graphics embosser. Your
Embosser type is set to a gapped graphics unit.
Solution: Make sure your Embosser type
matches your unit. If you have a gapped graphics embosser, you'll just
have to live with it. Problem: pixCELLS beeps, displays the
message Cause: pixCELLS looks for a ProDOS disk
by its volume name. When you press just Solution: Insert the
Problem: When saving a file on top of an
existing file, pixCELLS beeps and says Cause: The file name matches the name of
a directory or textfile that already exists on that volume.
Solution: Name your file differently. Use
Catalog disk to see the file names and types already on that disk.
Problem: I have an 80-column card with
lots of memory installed in my Apple IIe, but pixCELLS doesn't recognize
the memory as a RAM drive.
Possible Cause: The PRODRIVE utility that
creates a RAM drive from 80-column card extended memory doesn't recognize
the hardware in your card.
Solution: Contact your card manufacturer
for an alternative utility to create RAM drives and instructions on how to
use it.
Problem: When I tried to install pixCELLS
on another volume, it beeped and responded: Possible Causes: Before the beep,
pixCELLS displays another message that can help you locate the source of
the problem. Solution: If you're trying to Install
pixCELLS on the Apple IIgs RAM drive, follow the instructions on page 8:5.
When you bump up against the 51-file limit, Quit temporarily, delete one
file, then use Install again to copy the software to a subdirectory. If
you get the duplicate file message, catalog the target volume and check to
see if the pixCELLS program files are already there.
Problem: When I Quit pixCELLS and try to
run another program, Applesoft complains Possible Cause: You Quit temporarily from
the Disk Menu; the pixCELLS software is still in memory.
This chapter provides the information you need to
connect your embosser and your Apple and make hard copy brailler graphics
with pixCELLS. For a full explanation of how your Apple works, consult the
Owner's Guide that comes with it. For a full explanation of how your
embosser works, consult its manual.
If you use BEX to emboss braille text, then you have
already connected your embosser to your Apple. The interface suggestions
here are generally identical with those in the Interface
Guide; you won't need to change any switch settings. However, BEX
takes care of some interfacing details which pixCELLS does not. If you
have an Apple IIc or are using a SlotBuster interface card, pixCELLS
requires you to do more than BEX does--please read on.
Section 1 discusses the minor differences between
Apple models and how these affect your use of pixCELLS. Look up your
embosser in the alphabetical listing in Section 2 to find out if it's
gapped or full graphics, how to set switches, what cable to use, and any
special considerations when using pixCELLS. Section 3 explains the Apple
interface cards and ports, and how you can control them with command
sequences. If your embosser is not in the Section 2 list, then see Section
4, where we explain how to define your own embosser with pixCELLS. When we
discuss cables, we refer to them by the RDC designation--a number and a
letter. You can purchase cables from us, or you can read the wiring
diagrams in Section 5 and make them yourself.
Successfully connecting an embosser and your Apple
requires three matched elements: the embosser, the cable, and the Apple
interface. The information here is based on RDC's years of
experience--it's provided in cookbook form so you don't need to understand
the frequently perplexing mysteries of RS-232 serial interfacing. Wherever
possible, RDC uses a standard interface for pixCELLS runs on the Apple IIe, Apple IIc, and Apple
IIgs computers with at least 128K memory. It won't work on the Apple II
Plus. For each model, we discuss the general issue of interface cards,
what you can and can't do with the keyboard, and how you get a RAM drive.
The Apple IIe has eight slots. Seven slots are in a
row in the back, numbered 1 through 7. An additional slot, located near
the brick-shaped power supply, is called the auxiliary slot.
Older Apple IIe's came with only 64K memory; you must have an extended
80-column card in the auxiliary slot to add 64K more memory and provide
the 128K required by pixCELLS.
Interface cards: To output to an
embosser, you must install an interface card in one of the numbered slots.
Never install any card in the Apple with the power on--you will fry
both the computer and the card! An interface card, which can be
serial or parallel, is generally installed in slot 1 or 2. Never place an
interface card in slot 3 (which is reserved to refer to the 80-column
screen). The 5.25-inch disk controller card is usually placed in slot 6,
and a 3.25-inch disk controller usually goes in slot 5.
Keyboard: The keyboard on the Apple IIe
changed in mid-1987. The newer models have both a main keyboard and a
numeric keypad. Numeric keypads are available that plug in to the game
port of older IIe's. When you have a numeric keypad, you can use
pixCELLS's Numeric Pen Cross to draw lines in the Modify Environment, as
well as entering braille in Numeric single-strike mode. On all Apple IIe
keyboards, you can enter braille using the S-D-F J-K-L keys as you would
on a Perkins, as well as typing in braille RAM Drives: As pixCELLS starts up, it
runs the Interface Cards: The connections made
with circuit cards in an Apple IIe are built in to the Apple IIc. The
Apple IIc has seven jacks on the back. Two are built-in serial ports,
labelled "1" (with a picture of a printer) and "2" (with a picture of a
telephone.) These ports are treated as if there were two serial cards in
"slots" 1 and 2. The Apple IIc ports present unique 5-pin, circular
jacks--the cable that connects to your embosser must have the correct end
to plug in to the IIc. Cables purchased from RDC work fine.
The only way to get a parallel connection on an Apple
IIc is to purchase a special serial-to-parallel converter box designed for
the Apple IIc. Our experience with these boxes has been disappointing:
they are tricky to set and burn out quickly. When possible, avoid
attempting a parallel interface with an Apple IIc.
Keyboard: The Apple IIc keyboard does not
have a numeric keypad. Use pixCELLS's Lefty or Righty Pen Cross on the
main keyboard to draw lines in the Modify Environment. You can use either
the Six-key or Full ASCII keyboard to enter braille.
RAM Drives: As pixCELLS starts up, it
runs the The Apple IIc Plus. While the keyboard
and port concepts are the same as the plain Apple IIc, there are some
significant differences. The Apple IIc Interface Cards: The Apple IIgs combines
the flexibility of Apple IIe-style slots with the functionality of Apple
IIc-style built-in ports. A utility program called the Control
Panel is built in to the Apple IIgs. You determine whether the IIgs
uses a built-in port function or a plug-in card by how you set the Control
Panel. For example, slot 1 can be switched between an actual card inserted
in slot 1 or the built-in serial printer port. If you install an interface
card in slot 1 without setting the Control Panel to The Apple IIgs's two built-in serial ports (associated
with slots 1 and 2) require a special 8-pin cable connector. RDC's cables
can't plug directly into them, but you can purchase an Apple IIgs
Peripheral Adaptor Cable, Part No. A9M0333, from your Apple dealer.
One end of this short adapter fits the IIgs port, and the other end
presents the standard 25-pin female jack that fits RDC cables.
If your Apple IIgs has expansion memory and you wish
to use this for a ProDOS RAM drive, don't install an interface card in
slot 5. If you want a parallel interface, you must install a circuit card
in one of the IIgs slots and use the Control Panel to switch that number
from the built-in port to Keyboard: The Apple IIgs keyboard is a
separate unit, connected to the main computer by a nice long cord. The
IIgs's open-Apple and solid-Apple keys are positioned and labelled
differently than those on the IIe and IIc. The double-width key to the
left of the The numeric keypad on the keyboard allows you to use
the Numeric Pen Cross and Numeric single-strike braille entry in
pixCELLS's Modify Environment. You can also enter braille through the Full
ASCII keyboard, but the IIgs keyboard hardware won't allow you to do
Six-key Perkins-style braille entry.
RAM Drives: The Apple IIgs comes with a
lot of memory, and one often installs even more memory in its memory
expansion slot. The Control Panel settings determine if ProDOS will
use any of this memory as a RAM drive. You must complete four steps before
you can use Install on the Disk Menu to run pixCELLS from the Apple IIgs
RAM drive:
The next time you turn on the Apple IIgs, these
settings allow you to install pixCELLS on When your Apple IIgs has a memory card installed in
slot 1 through 7, ProDOS creates a RAM drive called Apple IIgs Performance Upgrade from Apple
IIe. You can take an Apple IIe to an Apple dealer and get a
"board-lift" that changes it to an Apple IIgs. The reborn computer acts
exactly like a manufactured IIgs with one exception: you retain the
original Apple IIe keyboard. If your Apple IIgs began life as an Apple
IIe, then your pixCELLS keyboard options are those presented earlier for
the Apple IIe; follow the interface slot, Control Panel, and RAM drive
instructions for the Apple IIgs. This Section presents the embossers pixCELLS supports
in alphabetical order. If your embosser is not here, read Section 4 on
defining your own graphics embosser. (If your embosser is listed here as
"not supported," then pixCELLS just can't work with it--Section 4 won't
help you.)
The Cranmer Brailler (manufactured initially by
Maryland Computer Services, and then by Enabling Technologies, Inc.) is a
full graphics embosser.
Interface: Serial with RDC Standard.
Cable: 6M cable to connect to a Super Serial Card or
an Apple IIgs Peripheral Adaptor Cable.
2M cable to connect to an Apple IIc port.
Internal Cranmer Switches: off on off off off off on
off
Comments: To get into graphics mode on the Cranmer
Brailler, you need to enter commands on its keyboard while in command
mode. When you use pixCELLS to emboss to a Cranmer, it displays the
commands as a reminder.
Randy Dipner of Colorado pioneered the idea of making
simple modifications to a daisy wheel printer to produce braille. The dots
are not as strong as the Library of Congress standard, but Dipner output
is certainly legible full graphics. Dipner Dots requires a daisy wheel
printer--dot matrix printers do not work. The daisy wheel printer must be
"Diablo 630 compatible" in order to interpret the commands pixCELLS uses.
The Dipner Dot method uses the period to emboss dots into lightweight
paper that is backed by a soft roller.
Interface: parallel or serial, depending on your
printer
Cable: As appropriate
Switches: consult printer manual
Printer Modifications: The standard
printer roller is too hard to create good dots--Dipner Dots requires
covering your roller with You can make a "softer roller" with "flannel rubber
sheeting" available from medical supply houses. Or you can get in touch
with the nearest Ames Supply House, which sells printer and other computer
supplies. Ask to have your roller re-covered with "low resilience
30-Durometer rubber," at a cost of $10 to $15. There are about 12 Ames
Supply Houses around the country: one of them is located at 2537 Curtis
St., Downers Grove, IL 60515. Visual Solutions, Inc. sells an already
modified Brother printer with high-quality roller for around
$2000--contact them at 1918 Washington Street, Davenport IA 52804;
319-322-5778.
When it's time to emboss, remove the ribbon. Reserve
one daisy-wheel (metal, if you can get it) for braille production: The
period character that you are using to punch dots may get too worn down
for regular inkprint use.
Controlling Dipner Output with pixCELLS:
When you choose Dipner Dots as your Embosser Type in the Preferences Menu,
pixCELLS asks you Your answers to the first two questions determine the
size and position of the six graphic frames in the Grid. When you want to
emboss on standard 11-1/2 by 11 braille paper, answer 124 for dots per
line and 99 for dots per page--this changes the grid dimensions without
affecting the dot spacing. (Alternatively, you can use Grid definition for
the same task.)
The graphic command sequence controls the horizontal
and vertical spacing of the dots. One of the advantages of Dipner Dots
over real embossers is you can position braille dots much closer
together--they can actually touch. You can experiment with Dipner
Designing New Dipner Commands Sequences:
The command sequence has two parts. The horizontal dot spacing is
controlled by the "Horizontal Motion Index" (HMI) command; the vertical
dot spacing is controlled by the "Vertical Motion Index" (VMI) command. As
with many printer control sequences, understanding the command syntax can
be confusing at first.
The HMI and VMI tell the printer how many fractions of
an inch to move between characters on a line and lines on a page. Both
commands are three characters long: Since the final character in the command becomes a
numerator in a fraction, you'd think you'd type it as a number.
Gotcha--it's a control character. When the printer gets this control
character, it looks up the decimal ASCII number equivalent, subtracts 1,
and uses this result as the numerator for the HMI and VMI. Check your
printer manual for an ASCII chart, which should show the decimal numbers
for each character. Here's an example of the HMI and VMI commands, using
the RDC Standard values. The HMI command is The LED-120, manufactured by Triformations/Enabling
Technologies, Inc., is not supported by pixCELLS.
The MBOSS-1, from VTEK, Inc., is a "double" gapped
graphics embosser. In addition to the horizontal gaps explained in Chapter
5, Section 1, MBOSS-1 output has a narrow gap after every third dot
vertically. If this "double" gapped graphics output would be sufficient
for your graphic images, (and you have registered your program!), write to
Raised Dot Computing and request the separate instructions on using the
MBOSS-1 with pixCELLS.
VTEK Inc.'s MBOSS-40 is a full graphics embosser.
For interfacing details, consult its manual or call
VTEK.
Comments: Always wait for the MBOSS-40 to finish
embossing a complete graphic before turning off the unit. If you turned
off the MBOSS-40 while it was still outputting graphics, subsequent text
output would be incorrectly spaced.
The Ohtsuki (from Ohtsuki Communications Corp.) does
full graphics, and is available with both parallel and serial interfaces.
We have found the serial interface to be difficult.
Interface: Parallel
Interface Card and Cable: Obtain from computer dealer
or embosser supplier.
The Personal Brailler from Triformations/Enabling
Technologies, Inc. is not supported by pixCELLS.
The RESUS is a gapped graphics embosser: please read
Chapter 5, Section 1 before you create braille graphics.
Switches and Cabling: Consult RESUS Manual for
information.
Enabling Technologies, Inc.'s Romeo provides full
graphics, with either a serial or a parallel connection.
Interface: Serial at RDC Standard
Cable: 6M cable to connect to a Super Serial Card or
an Apple IIgs Peripheral Adaptor Cable.
2M cable to connect to an Apple IIc port.
Switches: You control the Romeo's interface functions
through a dialog on its numeric keypad. Because different units may vary,
consult your manual for appropriate sequences. Most units present "Apple
serial" as a built-in configuration--choose it. Otherwise, ask for 9600
baud; 8 data bits; 2 stop bits; no parity; no auto linefeed; hardware
handshakes.
Comments: The embossing bar on the Romeo is
reversible: the text side looks like the back of a braille slate, with a
series of dimples. The graphics side has three parallel grooves. You turn
on the Romeo's graphics mode by placing the grooved side of the bar down.
Immediately to the left of the left embossing bar post, there's a small
oval depression. This is a sensor that registers which side of the bar is
face down. In order to get full graphics output, you must undo the two
screws and lift off the embossing bar. Make sure that the sensor oval is
clean, then place the grooved side of the bar down in contact with the
paper, and screw the bar firmly in place. The TED-600 from Enabling Technologies, Inc. is not
support by pixCELLS.
The Thiel from VTEK, Inc. is a gapped graphics
embosser: please read Chapter 5, Section 1 before you create braille
graphics.
Interface: Serial with RDC Standard
Cable: 6F cable to connect to a Super Serial Card or
an Apple IIgs Peripheral Adaptor Cable.
2F cable to connect to an Apple IIc port.
Switches: You establish Thiel interface and functions
through a configuration dialog using the Yes and No keys on its keypad.
The answers you give here are stored in a battery-backed memory chip--they
persist until you consciously change them. Set up the Thiel as you do for
regular braille output--if you run into trouble, call RDC for help.
Comments: Always wait for the Thiel to finish
embossing a graphic before turning it off. If you turned off the unit in
mid-page, subsequent text output would be incorrectly spaced.
Telesensory Systems Inc.'s VersaPoint provides full
graphics, with either a serial or a parallel connection. A parallel
connection should be straightforward; RDC only has experience with the
serial.
Interface: Serial with RDC Standard
Cables: 6M or 9M cable to connect to a Super Serial
Card or an Apple IIgs Peripheral Adaptor Cable.
2M or 10M cable to connect to an Apple IIc port.
Switches: The VersaPoint's interface and functions are
controlled through a dialogue, using the LF and FF buttons. Select "Set-Up
0" to match the RDC standard.
Comments: When you ask pixCELLS to make multiple
copies of your image on a VersaPoint, pixCELLS uses the VersaPoint's
multiple-copy feature. pixCELLS tells the VersaPoint how many copies to
make, then sends one complete image. If you decide you To control communications between the embosser and the
Apple, you can use an interface card that you plug in to an Apple IIe or
IIgs slot, or a an interface port built in to the Apple IIc or Apple IIgs.
Always turn off your Apple IIe or IIgs before installing an interface
card.
Apple IIc Ports. When you turn on the
Apple IIc, port 1 (slot 1) is all set for an RDC Standard Interface.
However, port 2 (slot 2) is set for 300 baud and no auto linefeed: you
must change some of its settings to create the right parameters for an RDC
Standard Interface. When you specify Port 2 as your Interface Card in
pixCELLS's Preferences Menu, it asks you if you'd like the port set for
the RDC Standard Interface. Answer Yes if you want pixCELLS to take care
of setting the port.
When you have an Apple IIc Plus, you need cables that
mate with its special 8-pin jack. The Apple IIgs Peripheral Adaptor cable
works swell.
Apple IIgs Ports. The Control Panel
program controls the parameters for the built-in Apple IIgs ports. The
default for port 1 matches an RDC Standard Interface. The default for port
2 is 1200 baud and no auto linefeed. If you are using port 2, use the
Control Panel to change the baud rate to 9600 and "Add LF after CR" to
Yes.
The built-in ports require 8-pin jacks, which don't
mate with RDC cables. You can obtain an Apple IIgs Peripheral
Adaptor Cable (A9M0333) from your Apple dealer: it plugs into the
IIgs serial port and presents a female RS-232 25 pin jack. Once the cable
adapter is in place, the RDC cables can connect to the 25-pin end. How the SSC controls the interface is determined by
the position of a special switch called the jumper block plus
the settings of two banks of switches. (Command sequences can override
these settings.) The jumper block is to the left of the SSC's "tail;" a
white triangle is printed on its removable cover. Printed on the surface
of the circuit card, (above and below the jumper block), are the words
printer (terminal) and modem. For the RDC
Standard, the jumper block's triangle should point to the word
printer (terminal). If the jumper block is pointing to
modem, gently pull the jumper block from its socket, rotate
it 180 degrees, then re-insert it. To establish the RDC standard, set the
two banks of switches as follows:
Switch Bank: Settings
Switch Bank 1: off off off on off on off
Switch Bank 2: off off on on on off off
SlotBuster Card. RC System's SlotBuster
II has multiple personalities. You can use the SlotBuster's serial port to
establish a serial interface with an embosser, or its parallel port for a
parallel embosser interface. You can't use the SlotBuster for
speech output with pixCELLS. You control the serial interface parameters
through the utility disk supplied with the SlotBuster.
When pixCELLS recognizes that the interface card
you've chosen is a SlotBuster, it prompts you to define whether your
interface is serial or parallel. Your answer tells pixCELLS what command
sequence to send the SlotBuster so its uses the correct port.
Grappler Parallel Card. The Grappler has
four switches; set them:
Throughout Section 2, we refer to an "RDC Standard
Interface." Its parameters are:
Consult the interface card manual to determine
the switch settings or command sequences that establish these parameters.
RDC cable recommendations are based on data output from the computer on
line 3, data from the embosser on line 2, ground on line 7, and
handshaking from the embosser on line 20.
When you use the Preferences Menu to tell pixCELLS
about your interface, it allows you to define a command
sequence for that card. A command sequence can change how the card
controls the interface; it generally overrides the information provided by
the switch settings. Chapter 3, Section 4 describes how you type in your
command sequence. When you're following our interface recommendations
presented earlier, you won't need to define a command sequence. When
you're using a different set of serial parameters, then you can establish
them by defining a command sequence.
pixCELLS automatically builds in a command sequence
for two interfaces. When you're using port 2 on an Apple IIc, it sends
The command sequences that control the Apple Super
Serial Card are very similar to those for the Apple IIc port and IIgs
ports. If you have BEX, see Interface Guide Section 6. Otherwise, see the
manual accompanying your interface card for the full details. You tell pixCELLS how to tailor output with the
Embosser type option on pixCELLS's Preference Menu. If your embosser isn't
on the list, and it's not shown as "not supported" in Section 2, you can
choose Define your own embosser to supply the information pixCELLS needs
to create hard copy brailler graphics. Honesty demands we warn you that
it's conceivable that a new embosser would requires so much special
handling that we would have to rewrite pixCELLS to work with it correctly.
But don't worry: standards for brailler graphics are emerging, and chances
are excellent that you can get pixCELLS and your new embosser to
communicate well.
Before you begin the process of defining a new
embosser, give us a call at 608-257-8833. Other bold pioneers may have
discovered the correct values to enter. And if you are a pioneer, please
tell us what worked so we can share your success with others. The
following information may help you decipher your embosser manual.
As we've stressed, pixCELLS tailors output for each
embosser. To define a new embosser, you need to tell pixCELLS five things:
pixCELLS uses your answer to question 1 to
control the spacing of braille labels. The values for questions 1, 2, and
3 determine pixCELLS's Grid size; pixCELLS's frames must include the
correct number of pixels to make maximum use of the dots on each braille
page. Braille embossers are principally designed for producing
When it comes to defining a new embosser, there's no
way to avoid reading your embosser's manual. As we designed pixCELLS, we
spent many hours poring over embosser manuals, so we know the manual's
authors may not phrase the answers the way we ask the questions.
Full vs. Gapped Graphics. When no
statement appears regarding full and gapped graphics, examine the
hardware. If the embossing head moves parallel to the braille line to
create a line of dots in several passes, chances are good you can do full
graphics. If an entire line of dots is embossed simultaneously, then the
spacing between each dot is invariable, and you'll only get gapped
graphics. Similarly, if the embossing mechanism pushes the paper against a
fixed platen that looks much like the back side of a braille slate, then
you can't adjust the horizontal spacing and will get gapped graphics.
Dot Spacing. Even if the manual doesn't
flatly state the maximum dots per braille line, it always tells you the
maximum cells per braille line. Triple this number and
subtract one to approximate the dots per line information pixCELLS needs.
Vertical spacing varies more among embossers. The gap
between cells vertically is roughly one dot high. Many embossers allow you
to change the number of braille lines per page to take advantage of
different paper sizes--this feature may be called "form length" or "page
length." To get an approximate vertical dot Turning Graphics Mode On and Off.
Brailler graphics is more than getting the dot spacing right; the embosser
must also correctly interpret the incoming characters. The characters
pixCELLS sends in graphics are the same characters used to emboss braille
text. Some embossers employ a four dot graphics mode, which
requires software to send completely different characters, and is
incompatible with pixCELLS.
How you invoke the graphics mode varies widely. In
order for pixCELLS to turn on graphics automatically, the unit must accept
a "command sequence" or "escape sequence" or "escape code" from a host
device. (At this party, the Apple is the host.) Your device may require
that you turn on graphics by pushing buttons on the embosser (or, as in
the case of the Romeo, switching a bar around). If the embosser can't
interpret a remote sequence from a host, then pixCELLS can't
automatically select graphics--but you can still push the
right buttons on the embosser to turn on graphics mode and then use
pixCELLS.
Some embossers don't provide an explicit graphics
mode, but do allow you to specify the horizontal and vertical spacing of
the dots. You may have to build up a graphics command sequence that first
sets the horizontal spacing to some value, then sets the vertical spacing
to some value, and then (perhaps) changes the number of lines per page.
The final question concerns the command sequence which
restores the embosser to text mode. You may discover a single command that
establishes text mode, or a "remote reset" command, which undoes the
effect of any command sequence you've sent it. (A remote reset is like
turning the unit off and on.) Absent these commands, you could
individually set dots per page, dots per line, and (perhaps) lines per
page to the Library of Congress standards. It's probably easier, however,
to simply turn the unit off when you're done embossing graphics. When it's
time to emboss text, turn it on again. In the Modify Environment, create an image that's a
filled box for just frame 1. Use a box filled with black to erase the
center of this frame, leaving a eight-pixel wide white border around the
frame. Now braille a few lines of text in the center of the image. Use
Count the number of dots horizontally and vertically,
and see if they match the values you entered. If not, then redefine the
embosser with the new values. Changing these numbers changes the Grid, so
you must redraw the frame 1 image in the Modify Environment before you can
test it by embossing. If your embosser produces no dots, then
chances are you don't have the graphic command sequence right.
All these cables are available from Raised Dot
Computing. Write or call for a price list. To connect any of these cables
to an Apple IIc Plus or Apple IIgs built-in port, obtain an Apple IIgs
Peripheral Adaptor from your Apple dealer.
Cable 2F. 6 foot cable, 5 pin DIN on
Apple IIc end, female RS-232 on other end. Using Apple's pin numbering
system: Apple pin 1 wired to RS-232 pins 5 and 6; Apple pin 2 wired to
RS-232 pin 3; Apple pin 3 wired to RS-232 pin 7; Apple pin 4 wired to
RS-232 pin 2; Apple pin 5 wired to RS-232 pin 20.
Used For: Thiel - IIc Used For: Cranmer - IIc; MBOSS-1 - IIc; VersaPoint -
IIc
Cable 6F. 10 foot straight male to female
cable, RS-232 each end. Connecting wires 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 20.
Used For: Thiel - SSC
Cable 6M. 10 foot straight male to male
cable, RS-232 each end. Connecting wires 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 20.
Used For: Cranmer - SSC; MBOSS-1 - SSC; Ohtsuki - SSC;
VersaPoint - SSC
Cable 9M. 10 foot male to male cable,
RS-232 each end. Connecting wires 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 20. Short
wires 4 and 20 on both ends.
Used For: VersaPoint - SSC
Cable 10F. 8 foot cable, 5 pin DIN on
Apple IIc end, female RS-232 on other end. Using Apple's pin numbering
system: Apple pin 1 wired to RS-232 pins 5 and 6; Apple pin 2 wired to
RS-232 pin 3; Apple pin 3 wired to RS-232 pin 7; Apple pin 4 wired to
RS-232 pin 2; Apple pin 5 wired to RS-232 pins 4 and 20.
Used for: Thiel - IIc
Cable 10M. Same as 10F, except male on
RS-232 end.
We've collected some interesting miscellaneous facts
here in the back of the manual. Appendix A is must reading when pixCELLS
is your first ProDOS program. Appendix B is the tutorial aimed at people
accessing pixCELLS through an Echo or Cricket speech synthesizer. Appendix
C contains "cheat sheets" for two common pixCELLS tasks.
As you run pixCELLS on your Apple, by and large
pixCELLS is in control. You use the menus and commands explained in the
body of this Manual to go about the business of creating and embossing
brailler graphics. When pixCELLS has to get an image from disk or save an
image to disk, however, pixCELLS is depending on the ProDOS operating
system to actually do those tasks. This Appendix is aimed at helping you
understand some basic facts about ProDOS so you can use pixCELLS
effectively. For a thorough and amusing explanation of ProDOS and how your
Apple uses it, we recommend ProDOS Inside and Out by Doms and
Weishaar, TAB Books ISBN 0-8306-2745-6 in paperback.
Experienced DOS 3.3 users often feel confused when
they first work with ProDOS software. When cataloging, loading files, or
saving files on DOS 3.3 disks, you only need to tell DOS 3.3 the slot and
drive numbers. In sharp contrast, ProDOS normally refers to a disk by
name, not by slot and drive number. This enables ProDOS to handle a much
wider variety of "disks" than DOS 3.3 can; it also requires the user to
think a little more when working with disks. The following analogy takes a
non-computer look at how pixCELLS and ProDOS work together to manage your
data. The registrar in your school loves paperwork. She
prepared a master form with lines for each student name and the title
"Class Record" right at the top, to ensure every class attendance record
sheet meets EFRSD requirements. When you need one of these forms, you go
to her office and she makes a copy from her master.
There's a drawback to this system: all your forms are
identical. To help distinguish between the Social Studies class and the
Math class, you scrawl a little note at the bottom of the sheet. But the
registrar hasn't left much room, and it seems there must be a better way.
You come up with the bright idea of including the specific class in the
title.
Instead of the generic "Class Record," you want forms
titled "Social Studies Class Record," "Math Class Record," and so forth.
The problem is the registrar insists that making forms is her
responsibility--only she has access to the copy machine. If you want a
form titled "Math Class Record," you must send her a little memo asking
her to create one for you.
So you send the registrar a memo, she makes you a
"Math Class Record" form, you fill it in, and submit it to her at the end
of the week. Imagine your surprise when the registrar rejects your form.
It seems she's painfully literal-minded: she only accepts forms with the
exact title "Class Record" printed at the top. She informs you that
submitting non-standard forms is only possible if you tell her in writing
that, even though the form doesn't say exactly "Class Record," it's really
a class record form. In fact, she's made up another form just for this
purpose--it looks like this: Check one:
\_\ I've attached my class attendance record for
this week. Look at its title--it may be
different than "Class Record."
\_\ Instead of the title "Class Record," my
class attendance record this week is titled
ProDOS is like the Empty Forest Regional School
District. EFRSD accepts many sizes of paper as legitimate "class
attendance records;" ProDOS accepts any storage device as a
volume when it has a volume name.
Like that registrar, pixCELLS has a system it wants to
use. You can accept its way of naming things, or you can "write memos" to
tell pixCELLS you're doing things differently. When you use Format disks
on the Disk Menu, and accept the proposed volume name, pixCELLS creates a
When it comes time to use the volume you
create for saving images, pixCELLS is as fussy as the registrar. Every
time you start the program, pixCELLS assumes you're going to be saving
data on a Volume Names. ProDOS refers to any
storage device--a 5.25-inch disk, a 3.5-inch disk, a RAM drive, a hard
disk--as a volume. To prepare a volume to store data, you
format it for ProDOS. Formatting accomplishes two things: you
completely and irrevocably erase any data that was on it, and you give the
storage device its label, or volume name. Files and Pathnames. The basic unit of
data storage is the file. Just like a volume name, ProDOS
limits a file name to 15 characters; the first character must be a letter,
and the remaining characters can only be letters, numbers, or
A ProDOS pathname describes exactly where that file is
located--it shows the path that ProDOS must take to locate the file on
disk. A pathname always has at least two parts: it starts with the volume
name, then a slash, then the actual file name. The pathname
Subdirectories. Large ProDOS volumes can
store a lot of data. For example, a ProDOS 3.5-inch disk has
enough room for 188 pixCELLS graphic files. To help you organize your data
more efficiently, ProDOS lets you divide any volume into smaller sections,
called subdirectories. A subdirectory is a special type of
file--instead of containing data, it contains a list of the files within
it. A subdirectory can in turn contain more subdirectories.
The naming rules for subdirectories are identical to
file names: a letter, then up to 14 letters, numbers, or periods. When you
catalog a ProDOS volume, you identify subdirectories by the three letters
When you store a file in a subdirectory, the
subdirectory name slides in to the middle of the pathname. The pathname
Working with 3.5-inch Disks. Knowing the
volume name of ProDOS disks is very important when you're working with
3.5-inch disk drives. The first 3.5-inch disk drive is generally connected
through slot 5, drive 1, while the second is found in slot 5, drive 2.
Pressing Make life easy for yourself and always label ProDOS
volumes right on the disk! If you don't have a label, pixCELLS provides
several ways to discover its name. Insert the 3.5-inch disk in the drive,
and then press The Pathname Option Sets a Prefix. Having
to type a name like When you use Save Image on the Disk Menu, pixCELLS
displays the current prefix on the first line and then proposes a file
name on the second line. When you want to change the current prefix, use
Pathname. Just like the "Non-standard form title form" in our class
records analogy, Pathname lets you define your prefix two ways. When you
press When you start working with subdirectories a lot, you
should get a file handling utility like Apple's "System Utilities" or
Central Point Software's "Copy II Plus." This type of utility makes it
easier to move data between subdirectories. pixCELLS doesn't let you
move a file from one subdirectory to another, but you can
copy a file by loading it from one subdirectory and saving it to a
different one.
Cataloging and Loading pixCELLS Data from
Subdirectories. Suppose you have a 5.25-inch ProDOS volume in your
second disk drive--slot 6, drive 2. When pixCELLS prompts Which drive or volume: _e2 Return_f
/PIXDATA
NAME TYPE BLOCKS MODIFIED
GREENHOUSE BIN 33 17-APR-87
WHITEHOUSE BIN 17 <NO DATE>
*MATH.DIAGRAMS DIR 1 17-SEP-88
At this point, if you use Load Image and specify drive
2, pixCELLS presents the single When you catalog a subdirectory, its name appears
alone on the top line. The absence of the initial slash tells you it's a
subdirectory, not a volume. When you type There's another subdirectory, Using Pathname to Set the Prefix. After
all this cataloging, you decide that you want to save your data in the
Now when you return to the Disk Menu, the first part
of the current file reads This Tutorial steps you through the process of
starting up pixCELLS for the first time, loading an image from disk, and
embossing it. When you have an Echo or Cricket synthesizer installed in
your Apple, you can load an image and send it to an embosser without
looking at the screen. The Chapter 2 Tutorial explores more of pixCELLS's
functions, explaining the use of the Modify Environment to change images
and the various Disk Menu options Unless you can see pixCELLS's cursor, you can't know
where it is relative to the Apple screen. That's why we don't advertise
pixCELLS as a drawing program for blind people. (If you have some vision,
you may be able to use the Modify Environment with the Magnify window.)
For sighted users, pixCELLS is a tool to create and touch-up graphics as
well as emboss them. For blind folks, it's really just an embossing
utility. If you are directing the work of sighted pixCELLS users, you may
want to review the Chapter 2 Tutorial after you've gone through this one.
Getting Ready. Before you can get hard
copy output, you must connect your embosser to your Apple. Check Chapter 8
for the interfacing details. Once your embosser is connected, you need:
While the pixCELLS disk is not copy-protected, it is
copyrighted. Please follow this simple rule: treat pixCELLS like a book.
You can carry a book anywhere and read it, but U.S. Copyright Law says you
can't make copies of the book. When you want to have copies of the book at
three different places simultaneously, you buy two more books. You can use
one copy of pixCELLS on any computer you own, but you can't make several
copies of pixCELLS to use on several computers simultaneously. You can
encourage careful software development (and general respect for the rule
of law) by honoring RDC's copyright and not pirating our software. Thank
you for your attention--the lecture is now over.
Floppy disks are very vulnerable to careless handling.
To ensure that you can use pixCELLS for many happy years to come,
To create this working copy, use any utility that can
copy ProDOS disks. Follow that utility's instructions to make a working
copy of your pixCELLS program disk on to the high-quality blank disk. If
you are working with 3.5-inch disks or a hard disk, you can use the
Install option on pixCELLS Disk Menu to copy the pixCELLS program files to
any subdirectory you specify. For the purpose of the tutorial, use the
back-up copy of the program you have just created. Read "Install Program"
in Chapter 3, Section 2 for details on copying pixCELLS to your 3.5-inch
or hard disk.
Insert the working copy of the pixCELLS program disk
in drive 1, and turn on the Apple's power. pixCELLS silently displays two
screens. The first screen reminds you that pixCELLS is copyright 1988 by
Raised Dot Computing, Inc.; that ProDOS is copyright 1983 through 1988 by
Apple Computer Inc., and that the ProDRIVE utility is copyright 1984 by
Applied Engineering Inc. The second screen shows that TEXTALKER is
copyright 1984, 1987 by Street Electronics Corp. and the American Printing
House for the Blind. Once pixCELLS and TEXTALKER are loaded into memory,
pixCELLS asks you three questions about voice, your embosser, and your
interface card.
When you have an Echo or Cricket synthesizer in your
Apple, pixCELLS asks if you want speech output of the program: answer by
pressing After you select your embosser type by number,
pixCELLS asks you to enter the number of the interface slot. If you don't
have an embosser connected right now, you can enter Once you've responded to these three questions,
pixCELLS saves your answers on the program disk. (If pixCELLS can't save
this information because you've write-protected your program disk,
pixCELLS tells you to remove the write-protection and try again.) After
your preferences are saved to disk, you arrive at pixCELLS's Disk Menu.
You can change your Voice on or off, Embosser type, and Interface card
information at any time by using pixCELLS's Preferences Menu. See Chapter
3, Section 4 for a complete discussion.
Starting Up After the First Time. Insert
your working copy of the pixCELLS disk in drive 1, and turn on the Apple's
power. Since pixCELLS stores your voice, embosser, and interface answers
on disk, you don't need to answer the questions again. After the two
silent copyright screens, pixCELLS displays the Disk Menu.
As you arrive at any pixCELLS menu, the software
prints the menu to the screen and the Echo speaks it. To make a choice,
press just its first letter--pixCELLS menu choices are "hot." If you don't
want to here the whole menu, press All pixCELLS activities center on your current image.
The name of this image appears immediately above the status line. Every
time you start up pixCELLS, you have a blank screen. Before you can emboss
an image, you use Load image to copy it from disk into the Apple's memory.
This is why pixCELLS always starts up at the Disk Menu.
Press Load image from disk. Insert the ProDOS
side of the pixCELLS Samples Disk in drive 2. At the Disk Menu, press
pixCELLS displays a numbered list of graphics files,
and asks you to select one by typing its number. You can use Line Review
to hear them again. Press You're back at the Disk Menu. Press The Apple graphics screen is composed of 53,760
pixels, tiny points of light and dark. pixCELLS makes one brailler dot for
every lit pixel. Since brailler dots are much larger than Apple pixels, an
image that uses the entire Apple screen requires six braille pages.
pixCELLS divides the Apple graphics screen into a
grid of six frames: the upper left hand corner is frame 1,
upper middle is 2, upper right is 3, lower left is 4, lower middle is 5,
and lower right is 6. (As explained in detail on page 3:12, frames 1 and 2
contain the most dots.) Each of these frames correspond to one output page
from your embosser; the dimensions of the grid reflect the capabilities of
the Embosser type you chose when starting up pixCELLS.
At pixCELLS's Main Menu, press Choosing Frames with "Let's Make a
Deal". To choose your frames, press Number of copies. Next pixCELLS asks you
how many copies you'd like, proposing just a single copy of each frame.
This is acceptable, so press Once all four mazes are embossed, you can play with
them! No maze exactly fills a braille sheet, because we wanted to ensure
that they'd output correctly on all embossers. You can try out some of the
other graphic files on the samples disk. When you're finished using
pixCELLS, you can press Congratulations! You now know how to use pixCELLS with
speech output to load and emboss images. To summarize what you've learned:
This Appendix provides step-by-step instructions on
using pixCELLS to accomplish two common tasks. If you only read these
lists and not the manual, you will miss out on many pixCELLS features.
pixCELLS is a complement to other Apple graphics
software
Apple Graphics, Brailler Graphics, and Tactile
Graphics
Where to Go From Here
Chapter 2: Tutorial
Make a Working Copy of pixCELLS program
disk
1: Trip 1--Creating Grid Template Files
Starting Up for the First Time
N Return or Y Return. (If you're a blind user,
the Appendix B Tutorial will make more sense than this one.)
0 Return
at this point. Finally, pixCELLS asks you about a command sequence to send
to the interface. The majority of users can answer N Return.
(If you have problems embossing at the end of Trip 2, then you should
refer to Chapter 8 for details on interface cards and ports.)
Exploring the Disk Menu
Press a single
letter:. To choose any option from any pixCELLS menu, you press
just the first letter of its name. Don't press return.
NONE.LOADED. When you want
to work with an existing image, you use Load image to copy it from disk
into the Apple's memory--Trip 2 in the tutorial goes through this process.
When you want to create an image from scratch, you use the Save image
option here to name your image.
F now to begin
formatting a data disk. Insert one blank disk in drive 2. pixCELLS asks
for the location of the disk: enter 6 Return for the slot,
and 2 Return for the drive. pixCELLS checks the disk to see
what's on it.
Y Return to the first question.
pixCELLS proposes to name the volume /PIXDATA. For now,
please accept this name by pressing Return. pixCELLS asks one
more question, giving you a final chance to chicken out--respond with
Y Return here. You then hear the clicking noise that always
accompanies disk formatting. Once the disk is formatted, pixCELLS returns
to the Disk Menu.
/PIXDATA/NONE.LOADED. You are going to
create an image containing pixCELLS's grid, which you can use as a
template when creating brailler graphics with other NONE.LOADED.
S to save the image. pixCELLS shows
you which volume it will save any picture files on--the
/PIXDATA volume you have just created. Make sure that this
disk is in a drive. The second line is where you edit the actual file
name. ProDOS has some simple rules for naming files. ProDOS limits file
names to 15 characters. The first character must be a letter and the
remaining characters must be letters, numbers, or the period character. If
you typed spaces or any other punctuation in the file name, you'd get an
error message.
N, so
type the name WHITE.GRID and press Return.
pixCELLS saves the current image (which is actually a blank screen) with
the name WHITE.GRID and returns you to the Disk Menu. Notice
that the current filename has changed to reflect your actions. Now that
you have established a name for the image, it's time to create it! At the
Disk Menu, press Esc to move to the Main Menu.
Exploring the Modify Environment
M now: you see a blank screen. The blinking cross in
the center is your cursor--more details on this in a few paragraphs. The
Modify Environment status line keeps you up-to-date on various modes and
commands. Right now, it's reminding you that help is available by pressing
question mark. Press the ? key now (you don't have to shift
it) and you see the summary of Modify Environment commands.
^G Grid display toggle means you can draw the
Grid on your image by holding down the control key, tapping the letter G,
then releasing the control key. To finish viewing help and return to the
Modify Environment, press any key.
^G for grid: pixCELLS draws a grid on the screen, dividing
the image into six frames. One Apple screen contains 53,760 tiny pixels.
pixCELLS makes one brailler dot for every lit pixel. Since brailler dots
are much larger than Apple pixels, a graphic that uses the entire screen
requires six braille pages. Each frame corresponds to one brailler page:
the frame dimensions reflect the capabilities of the Embosser type you
chose.
^G again. Since you
want to save a template grid for use with other drawing software, don't
press ^G a second time.
^S to save. pixCELLS clears the screen and asks your
permission to save the image with the current file name. Since this file
already exists, pixCELLS asks you to confirm that you really want to
overwrite the old image with the new. In this case you do, so press
Return.
Drawing in the Modify Environment
K--press it now: you hear a boop and a lit pixel appears at
your cursor. Press K again and the pixel silently turns
black. (The boop helps you know that you've turned a pixel on.)
U--your cursor moves 4 pixels at a 45 degree angle towards
the upper left corner of the screen, turning on the pixels as it goes. The
remaining Pen Cross keys move and paint perpendicular to the Apple screen.
Press J and you move over one pixel to the left and light it
up. You can use the Pen Cross to draw border patterns as well. Hold down
the solid-Apple key then alternately tap the O key and the
period key--you create a zig-zag line 16 pixels high.
WHITE.GRID image you have saved is a black screen with white
grid lines superimposed on it. Many Apple drawing programs work the
opposite direction: the "blank" screen is white, and the graphic you draw
is black. Follow these three steps to create another template file to use
with software like MousePaint:
^W to get
the Whole screen tricks sub-menu, then press W to Wipe out
the entire screen (including the sub-menu).
^G.
^W for Whole
screen tricks, then R to reverse every pixel.
^S to save this
image, because the immediate save always uses the current file name. If
you did use ^S, then WHITE.GRID.
Esc to exit the Modify Environment and return to
the Main Menu. Press D to move to the Disk Menu, then press
S to Save the image. Your cursor is on the W:
type BLACK.GRID, then press Return.
WHITE.GRID or
BLACK.GRID files as a starting point. (Once you have drawn
something on these templates, be sure to save them with a different name!)
Both these files are ProDOS, and some graphics software can only read DOS
3.3 files. The DOS 3.3 side of the pixCELLS Samples Disk contains
black DOS 3.3 grid templates for all the embossers pixCELLS
supports.
Summary
/PIXDATA disks with Format
disks on the Disk Menu
/PIXDATA
^S in the Modify Environment
WHITE.GRID and BLACK.GRID files as a
template to see where the braille pages will break
2: Trip 2--Modifying an Existing Image
Loading Existing Image from Disk
L for Load image
and pixCELLS responds Which drive or volume:. While ProDOS
always refers to disks by their volume names, DOS 3.3 refers to disks by
drive number. Whenever pixCELLS prompts Which drive or
volume:, it's ready to read either ProDOS or DOS 3.3 disks.
2 Return to tell pixCELLS to read the disk
in drive 2. pixCELLS checks the disk for the type of files it can read
(details in Chapter 6), and then displays a numbered list of those files.
1
Return to choose the TUTORIAL image. pixCELLS loads
the image and gives you a preview: you can decide if this is indeed the
image you Y.
Every time you load an image, the previous image is gone forever: make
sure you save your work to disk before loading an image. If you've
forgotten what an image looks like, you can load it then reject it by
pressing Esc; pixCELLS will give you another opportunity to
load an image.
Y to accept the
TUTORIAL image, you're back at the Disk Menu. Note that the
current file name is now /PIXDATA/TUTORIAL. The upper right
corner of the screen shows one frame of the image you've just loaded. If
you chose Save image right now, you would run into trouble, because the
/PIXDATA disk isn't available for pixCELLS to save the file.
When loading DOS 3.3 files from disk, develop the habit of saving a ProDOS
version right away to avoid error messages. Replace the pixCELLS Samples
Disk in drive 2 with your /PIXDATA disk. Press S
to save the image, and change the file name to COTTAGE.PLAN.
Once you're back at the Disk Menu, press Esc to move to the
Main Menu.
Touching Up Graphics in the Modify Environment
M to enter the Modify Environment.
^W to get the Whole screen tricks sub-menu, then
press R to reverse the image.
^F for filled box.
? key
for help on drawing boxes. To tell pixCELLS how large to make the box, you
use the arrow keys to stretch its boundaries on the screen. Depress
open-Apple and tap the up arrow key once. Depress solid-Apple and tap the
right arrow key once--pixCELLS shows the box boundary by reversing pixels.
Depress open-Apple then tap up arrow five more times, then solid-Apple
right arrow eight more taps.
^E to erase,
filling the box with black.
^M. (You can type ^M two ways: hold down the
control key and tap the M, or press Return). The
status line reminds you that ^M cycles through three views of
your image. When you first press ^M, you see the "fat"
display--each final pixel is shown by four lit pixels. Press
^M again to choose the "thin" display--each final pixel is
shown with just one lit pixel. Press ^M a third time to
return to the normal view. Your image hasn't changed at all--Magnify just
provides you another way to view it.
^M
again to get the Magnify window. Position your cursor near the word
Bath, press ^F for a filled box, use the arrow
keys to stretch the boundaries of the box around the word, then press
^E to erase the word.
COTTAGE.PLAN image. You could
go back to the Disk Menu and choose Save Image, but the ^S
immediate save is faster. When you press ^S pixCELLS clears
the screen and asks your permission to save the image with the current
file name. Your cursor is flashing on the letter Y, so press
Return to save the image. (If you realize you want to change
the name, you can press N Return and then use the Disk Menu
to save the image.)
^B. pixCELLS offers you a choice of orientations
for braille labels: press H for horizontal braille anywhere.
Once you choose the orientation, pixCELLS changes to the "thin" Magnify
display so you can read your braille labels. The cursor for braille entry
is a flashing pixel at dot 1 of your current cell. To see a summary of the
tools available when brailling, press the Tab key.
,,lay\t ,,( ,,w9dov] ,,cottage--type it in. If you
enter the wrong cell as you're typing, you can use the arrow keys to
position the cursor on the error and braille right over it.
Esc to exit brailling and return to the normal screen: you've
completed one brailling session. During the session, you can
move around the braille and correct errors with the arrow keys. Once the
session is over, pixCELLS no longer "knows" those dots are braille.
^B H for horizontal braille, type
ba? for the grade 2 word, then Esc to see the
normal image.
Repositioning the Image
^G to draw the grid on the
Apple screen. The image currently straddles all six braille pages--not at
all what you want!
^G to undraw the grid. (If you didn't toggle off the grid,
you'd have the old grid lines in your shifted image.) Just like box
drawing and braille labelling, the first step in shifting is positioning
the cursor. You place your cursor where you want the new edge of the
screen to be, tell pixCELLS which direction to shift, and then pixCELLS
redraws the image relative to the Apple screen.
^W for the Whole screen tricks sub-menu and then
S for shift. As the status line reminds you, you press one
arrow key to tell pixCELLS which direction you want to shift the image.
You put the cursor where you want the new left edge of the screen, so
press left arrow. pixCELLS draws a blinking line where the
new screen edge will be when the shift is complete. Y. pixCELLS scoots the image over to the left, erasing all
the material that had been to the left of the blinking line.
^G to
check your progress: the image now fits in two frames horizontally, but
still straddles four frames vertically. Toggle the grid off by pressing
^G. Use the arrow keys to position the cursor immediately
above the back wall of the cottage, then press ^W S. When
pixCELLS prompts for a direction, press up arrow. When the
blinking line looks right, press Y. You can confirm that
you've shifted as you wish by choosing ^G: the grid proves
that the image fits in the upper two frames--numbered 1 and 2 by pixCELLS.
Press ^G again to get rid of grid, and then press
^S to save your work. Now press Esc to exit the
Modify Environment to the Main Menu.
Embossing the Image
E for Emboss. Every time you emboss an image, you tell
pixCELLS which frames you want output. To get one copy of your
current frame, shown in the upper right-hand corner of the
screen, you can press the letter O. Because your image is two
frames, you need to use the other Emboss Menu option, Specify multiple
frames and/or copies.
S, pixCELLS changes to the
"Let's Make a Deal" display. (You can press ? here for help
on choosing frames.) You 1 and you see the left half
of COTTAGE.PLAN. Press 2 and you add the rest of
the COTTAGE.PLAN to the list of frames to emboss. Press
4 and you see a blank frame. pixCELLS doesn't "know" that a
screen is blank--if you left frame 4 selected, then you'd get a blank
sheet of brailler paper. Press 4 again to deselect this
frame. Press Return to signal pixCELLS that you're done
choosing frames.
Return. At this point, you
should get your embosser ready to start brailling. For a Cranmer, enter
the commands that pixCELLS prints on the screen. For a Romeo, make sure
that the grooved (graphics) side of the embossing bar faces down. For all
embossers, make sure you have enough paper, that top-of-form is set
correctly, and the unit is "on-line." When your embosser's ready, press
any key on the Apple to start brailling. As you're embossing an image, you
can press the Esc key to cancel.
EXHIBIT file is a floor plan for the convention
where RDC introduced pixCELLS. Since the convention hall was so large, the
map required two braille pages. To make it more convenient for the braille
readers to use the map as they toured the hall, we made each page stand on
its own. Repeating a small slice of the hall on both pages enabled the map
readers to find their way around.
? anytime for
on-line help. Chapter 3 explains all pixCELLS menus in detail. For more
information on the Modify Environment, read Chapter 4. If you run into
problems, check Chapter 7 for Troubleshooting hints. Once you fill in and
return the postage-paid Customer Registration card, we'll be delighted to
help you out over the phone. We hope you find pixCELLS a useful tool.
Chapter 3: pixCELLS Menu Reference
1: Starting Up pixCELLS
PREFIX /PIXCELLS Return
-STARTUP Return
^S in the Modify environment, this is
where the image will be saved. Your choices are:
/PIXDATA/NONE.LOADED. When you start pixCELLS, you arrive at
the Disk Menu. When you want to work with an existing image, you copy it
from disk into the Apple's memory. If you're copying a DOS 3.3 image, then
you should immediately save it to a ProDOS disk. When you want to create
an image from scratch, you use the Save Image function to give it a name.
Once the E at the Main Menu to move to the Emboss Menu, where you
select which portions of the image you want pixCELLS to output on your
braille embosser.
3: Disk Menu
Esc. To return to the Disk Menu,
press D at the Main Menu.
Which drive or volume: you have four possible
choices: \\items 2 Return catalogs the disk in slot 6,
drive 2
Return alone catalogs the default data
volume (the /PIXDATA volume unless you've used Pathname to
change it)
/VOLUME.NAME Return catalogs the volume
name you specify
Y here
when the image is what you want; press Esc if you want to
load a different image. When you accept the image, pixCELLS returns to the
Disk Menu.
/PIXDATA disk, and save the
file with Save Image (explained below). Now that the image is loaded, you
can Esc to the Main Menu. There you can alter the image in the Modify
Environment, or move to the Emboss Menu to send it to a brailler.
S, pixCELLS displays the current prefix and then proposes a
filename. Every time you start pixCELLS, the current prefix is set to the
/PIXDATA volume. (If you want to save your images on another
volume, use the Pathname option below to change the prefix.)
Y Return,
the old image is gone forever. If you want to preserve the old image,
press N Return to get a chance to change the filename.
C to see all
the files on a disk. pixCELLS can display the contents of either ProDOS or
DOS 3.3 disks. When pixCELLS prompts Which drive or volume:
you have four possible responses:
1 Return catalogs the disk in slot 6,
drive 1
2 Return catalogs the disk in slot 6, drive 2
Return alone catalogs the default data volume
(the /PIXDATA volume unless you've used Pathname to change
it)
/VOLUME.NAME Return catalogs the volume name
you specify
^S to pause and resume the display.
/PIXDATA. You use the Format option (see below) to create a
floppy disk (or other storage device) with the volume name
/PIXDATA. If you're familiar with ProDOS, you can use this
Pathname option to tell pixCELLS exactly where to save data files.
S makes pixCELLS
read the prefix from the disk in the slot and drive you specify. Pressing
T gives you an opportunity to type the complete prefix. Once
you type in the prefix, pixCELLS checks to make sure that it's
available--so be sure that the disk you're specifying is in a drive!
? Return for a list of ProDOS
volumes currently available. When you type the name of a subdirectory
that's not on the volume, pixCELLS creates it.
F, pixCELLS needs to know the location of the disk to be
formatted. It first prompts for the slot number of the disk controller
card, and then the drive number. 5.25-inch floppy disk drives are
generally slot 6, drive 1 and slot 6, drive 2. 3.5-inch disk drives are
generally slot 5, drives 1 or 2.
O K to
erase?. Press Y Return to continue, and pixCELLS
prompts you to assign a volume name to the disk you are about to format.
/PIXDATA. If you're a newcomer to ProDOS, accept this name;
if you want to use a different volume name, make sure you use the Pathname
option (above) to tell pixCELLS where to save data files. The volume name
must begin with a slash and is limited to 15 characters in length. Only
letters, numbers, and the period are allowed in the name; the first
character after the slash must be a letter.
O K to format disk as /PIXDATA?. You
must press Y Return to actually format the disk. As a safety
measure, PRODOS and BASIC.SYSTEM. When you're using Install to run
pixCELLS from a RAM drive, you've already started up your Apple, so you
don't need those files. It's your responsibility to place the PRODOS
and BASIC.SYSTEM files on a 3.5-inch disk or hard disk.
? Return at the Target pathname:
prompt for a list of volumes available. If you have a RAM drive, you see
/RAM or /RAM on that list.
Q, pixCELLS puts you at the BASIC ] prompt
without flushing the software from memory. If you have modified an image
without saving the changes, pixCELLS prompts you to save them before it
quits. Once you quit temporarily, you're at the ProDOS BASIC prompt, where
you can rename or delete files. To return to pixCELLS, type RUN
Return. (If you have changed the prefix at the BASIC prompt, reset
it to the pixCELLS program files before you type RUN.)
4: Emboss Menu
F at the Preferences Menu to change your current frame
number.
O, pixCELLS is ready to
emboss. Follow the instructions below for getting your embosser ready,
then start embossing by pressing any key on the Apple. pixCELLS's screen
display changes to what's being embossed; as pixCELLS sends each pixel to
the embosser, it reverses its color. You can cancel embossing by pressing
the Esc key. S, pixCELLS
displays the frame selection window, which is the closest most of us will
get to choosing prizes from behind numbered curtains on the TV show "Let's
Make a Deal." There are two steps to this process: specifying which frames
are embossed, and how many copies are embossed.
Return to signal pixCELLS that you're done choosing frames.
Return, otherwise press
Return to finish choosing copies. Once your embosser is
ready, start embossing by pressing any key on the Apple. pixCELLS's screen
display changes to what's being embossed; as pixCELLS sends each pixel to
the embosser, it reverses its color. You can cancel embossing by pressing
the Esc key.
When brailler's
ready, press any key. Different units require different actions on
your part to get ready. On the Cranmer, you must enter a series of
commands on its keyboard--pixCELLS prints a reminder of these commands on
the screen. On the Romeo, you must place the embossing bar so the graphic
side is down. On all other embossers, pixCELLS sends a command sequence to
the unit that turns on its graphics mode.
Cancelling an Image
Esc on the Apple keyboard, the embosser won't stop
immediately. Consult your embosser manual for ways to clear its buffer.
5: Preferences Menu
Esc. As
you exit, pixCELLS stores your preferences in a file on the program disk,
so changes you make persist until you actively change them again.
#[style=Note]# RAM Drive Caution: When you use Install on the
Disk Menu to copy the pixCELLS program to a RAM drive, the RAM drive
becomes your program disk. When you exit the E, pixCELLS displays the name
of the current embosser (if any) and then presents a numbered list of the
embossers we know about. Identify yours by typing its number and pressing
Return. The embosser you choose determines the grid size and spacing when
you press ^G in the Modify Environment, as well as the
spacing of braille labels.
Define your own
embosser. When you choose this number, pixCELLS reminds you of the
information you need to have on hand to answer the questions. Read Chapter
8 for what these questions mean.
0 as your slot number.
Y Return to
this question, then pixCELLS sets port 2 the same as port 1. When the
interface you specify is a SlotBuster multi-function card, then pixCELLS
needs to know whether you're sending data through a serial or parallel
connection. (More details in Interfacing Notes, Chapter 8.)
N
Return to leave it alone, or Y Return to edit. Every
key you press as you enter a sequence is shown on the screen. The
< and > characters enclose a single
character with a long name--control characters and the space character.
You can't use the left and right arrow keys to edit the sequence--if you
make a mistake, just choose Interface card again and enter the correct
information.
^ key. The screen shows:
<control-I>X<space>E<Return>.
B at the Preferences
Menu, you tell pixCELLS which mode you prefer by typing the first letter
of its name and pressing Return. Here's what these choices mean:
S is dot 1, D is dot 2,
F is dot 3, J is dot 4, K is dot 5,
and L is dot 6. Just as with a Perkins brailler, depress the
keys simultaneously to form a braille cell. Enter a space with the Apple
spacebar.
7 is dot
1, 4 is dot 2, 1 is dot 3, 8 is dot
4, 5 is dot 5, and 2 is dot 6. These dot keys
toggle--if you enter a dot in error, merely press the key again to turn it
off. You can enter the dots in any order. Press the 0 key
when you've entered all the dots for a cell. To enter a space, press the
zero key alone.
O at the
Emboss Menu. The current frame appears on the righthand side of your
screen at the Main, Disk, and Emboss Menus.
^G in the Modify Environment to see the
grid of frames: Each of the six frames correspond to one braille page. If
you have a gapped graphics embosser, please read Chapter 5 for more
details on why pixCELLS can't output the entire Apple screen.
C at the Preferences Menu
to edit the multiplier effect of the open-Apple and solid-Apple keys. If
you prefer, the solid-Apple can move a smaller distance than the
open-Apple. The largest number you can enter here is 99.
V and
answer Y Return if you want pixCELLS to speak its prompts.
pixCELLS is not fully accessible to a blind user. The spoken prompts allow
a blind person to independently load and emboss images. The Modify
Environment does not provide enough voice feedback to allow drawing,
however.
M at
pixCELLS's Main Menu. The Modify Environment has extensive on-line
help--press the slash/question mark key at any time for a summary of the
commands and tools available to you.
Esc back to the Main Menu, then press M for
Modify. You see a collection of points of light, or pixels.
When pixCELLS sends an image to your embosser, each lit pixel becomes one
braille dot.
1: General Tools
^G means depress the control key, press the
letter G, then release both G and control keys.
Status Line
Cursor movement with Arrow Keys
Magnify with
^M^M (or its equivalent, the
Return key), to display the Magnify window, which is four
times as large. The first time you press ^M, each lit pixel
in the full image is shown with four lit pixels--this is the "fat" Magnify
window. Press ^M again and you see the "thin" Magnify window,
where each final pixel is shown by just one pixel. Your image has not
changed in any way; pixCELLS just provides three ways to view it. To exit
the Magnify window, press ^M one more time.
Undo with
^Z^Z to undo: pixCELLS restores the image
to the snapshot it took. pixCELLS takes a snapshot of your image
immediately before you:
^S
^Z. However, you can
force pixCELLS to take a snapshot by invoking then cancelling the Whole
screen tricks with ^E Esc.
^Z is not itself undoable. Suppose you
enter a braille label, then decide you don't like it. You can press
^Z to get rid of the braille you entered. But if you press
^Z again, the braille won't reappear.
Save current image with
^S^S in the Modify
Environment, pixCELLS asks your permission to save whatever's on the
screen with the current pathname. When you press Y Return,
any existing file with that name is overwritten by the current image. If
you press N Return, the image is not saved.
^S often to safeguard against power failures
and lightning strikes. ^G
^G to superimpose the grid
of frames on top of your image. ^G actually draws the grid
lines on your image, by reversing every pixel that falls on the frame
lines. Unless you want the Grid lines to appear in your final image,
undraw the grid by pressing ^G again. This is especially
important to remember before you use Compress or Shift on the Whole screen
tricks sub-menu. If you drew the grid with ^G, then
immediately compressed the image with ^W C, your compressed
image would have a miniature grid in it.
^G with a gapped graphics embosser, you appear to see
eight, not six, frames. pixCELLS can only output six frames. As you can
see in Figure 4-1, the two rightmost areas are the Twilight Zone: you can
see them on the Apple screen, but you can't emboss them. If something you
want to include in the brailler graphic appears to the right of frames 3
and 6, use Shift on the Whole screen tricks sub-menu to reposition the
image to the left.
#[style=Trans note]# The braille version of Figure 4-1 can be found in
inkprint binder.
#[Xstyle=Trans note]#
2: Drawing Lines and Boxes
Drawing with the Pen Cross
- (minus) key to change the paint to
black, where your Pen Cross drawing removes dots from your final brailler
graphic. (You can use either the minus key to the right of the digit nine
on the Numeric keypad, or to the right of the digit zero on the main
keyboard.)
+ (plus) key. (Again, use the plus key below the minus on the
Numeric keypad, or the plus/equals key on the main keypboard. You don't
have to shift the latter key.) The current paint only affects Pen Cross
drawing. Even when your paint is black, the braille labels you create are
correctly white; you can draw outlined boxes in white with ^O
^A; and you can draw filled white boxes with ^F ^A.
^F for filled or ^O for outline. You can press
? now for help on drawing boxes.
^F.
To begin a filled box, position your cursor at one of its corners and
press ^F. Now move your cursor with the arrow keys,
multiplying movement with the open-Apple and solid-Apple keys if you wish.
As the cursor moves, pixCELLS shows its boundaries by reversing pixels.
When the box is where you want it, the final step is telling pixCELLS how
to paint it:
^A adds the box with white: the outline
and all the pixels within it will become brailler dots.
^E erases the box with black: the outline and
its contents will not be embossed. (You can use erased filled boxes to
delete portions of your image.)
^R reverses all the pixels in the box: white
pixels become black and vice-versa. (Reversing an outline box is just like
reversing the image with the Whole screen tricks sub-menu, except that you
can select a portion of the screen to reverse.)
Esc cancels box drawing.
^A, ^E, or ^R to
paint the outline box, pixCELLS first takes a snapshot of your image. If
you don't like the box you've created, press ^Z to undo the
box and restore the snapshot. ^O. The difference between outline
and filled boxes is that you only have one choice for paint color, step 4.
To begin an outline box, position your cursor at one of its corners and
press ^O. Now move your cursor with the arrow keys,
multiplying movement with the open-Apple and solid-Apple keys if you wish.
The boundary of the box follows your cursor. When the box is where you
want it, you tell pixCELLS to add the box by pressing ^A.
pixCELLS takes a snapshot and then paints the stretched boundary white.
You can undo to the pre-box snapshot by pressing ^Z.
3: Braille Labelling
Creating Braille Labels
^B. Esc.
^Z. Press the Tab key to get
on-line help. Enter the braille with the keyboard method you've selected
(it's listed at the top of the help screen). Once you press
Esc, you've completed the session. pixCELLS no longer "knows"
that the dots you've just created are braille.
^Z. You can also use a
box filled with black to delete braille labels later. When you're finished
brailling, press Esc to return to the Modify Environment.
^B. It's faster to position your cursor for one label, press
^B and choose your entry mode, complete the label, then exit
braille entry with Esc. Now move your cursor to the next label, and
repeat.
Braille Placement and Spacing
^B pixCELLS prompts you
to choose the orientation for this session by pressing one letter. ^B
H pixCELLS lets you put the braille labels anywhere on the image.
Use this free entry mode to put labels next to graphic images. When your
braille extends past the edge of the magnify window, it scrolls to follow
the braille.
^B A pixCELLS ensures that the braille you create
follows the standard pattern of lines as braille text. Aligned horizontal
entry simplifies creation of a braille page containing both text and
graphics. However, you won't be able to braille as many cells on the line
as you can when using a word processor with your embosser. Chapter 5
explains this in detail. pixCELLS's status line shows the current cell and
line number of your cursor as you enter braille. pixCELLS restricts your
entry to a single frame. To enter braille in a different frame, finish the
current session by pressing Esc, reposition your cursor, and
press ^B A again.
^B A. pixCELLS automatically
jumps the cursor to cell 1, line 1. It's easy to establish an indent for
several lines. First, place your cursor on the left edge of the frame and
press ^B A. Now right arrow your cursor until the cell
display on the status line equals your indent. Press Esc to exit
brailling, then immediately press ^B A--you've established
pixCELLS "left margin" at the indented cell. Chapter 6, Section 5 has some
more hints on mixing text and graphics.
^B U, you enter
labels reading upwards. Your initial cursor position determines the
margin--the bottom of the braille you type in. Pressing ^B D
is the opposite: you create labels reading down, with your cursor defining
the margin at the top of the braille.
U and D choices won't appear on the
^B sub-menu. Braille Keyboard Entry Methods
#[style=Trans note]# When you press ^B in the Modify
Environment, the top line of the screen lists the entry method you have
chosen in the Preference Menu with the Braille Keyboard option.
t's <space>
gd6.
S is dot 1, D is dot 2, F
is dot 3, J is dot 4, K is dot 5, and
L is dot 6. (Note that the keys for dots 2 and 4 have raised
dots on Apple keyboards.) Enter a space with the Apple spacebar. Just as
with a Perkins brailler, depress the keys simultaneously to form a braille
cell. For example, to enter the grade 2 words that's good!
you'd press
#[Xstyle=Trans note]#
S-D-J-K
S
S-D-J
<space>
D-F-J-K
F-J-K
S-D-K
7 is dot 1,
4 is dot 2, 1 is dot 3, 8 is dot 4,
5 is dot 5, and 2 is dot 6. These dot keys
toggle--if you enter a dot in error, merely press the key again to turn it
off. You can press the dot keys in any order to create a cell. When all
the dots are lit in a cell, press the 0 key. To enter a
space, press the zero key alone.
#[Xstyle=Trans note]#
1 4 5 8 0
1 0
0
7 4 8 5 0
7 8 5 0
4 1 5 0
^W^W in the Modify
Environment, pixCELLS presents a sub-menu with four choices that affect
the entire image. To select a choice, press its first letter. To cancel
this menu, press Esc. pixCELLS takes a snapshot of the image
the moment you press ^W; when the trick is finished, you can
undo its effects by immediately pressing ^Z.
C pixCELLS slowly redraws the screen from the top down. Wait
until the status line reappears at the bottom of the screen to resume
modifying (or to press ^Z to undo the compression). Keep in
mind the inherent coarseness of brailler graphics when you compress an
image, or you could create something that's difficult to interpret by
touch.
^F; stretch the boundaries to enclose the
rectangle you want reversed; then press ^R.
^W S to call up Whole screen
tricks and choose Shift. The Whole screen tricks menu is replaced by your
image; your cursor now blinks very fast.
Y.
pixCELLS redraws the image in its new position. To cancel the shift, press
Esc instead of Y.
^Z.
^W, pixCELLS takes a snapshot of the
image. As mentioned above under Drawing Boxes and Lines, pixCELLS
doesn't take a snapshot before you alter the image with the
Pen Cross. When you want to experiment with Pen Cross drawing, use
^W Esc to force pixCELLS to take a snapshot. If you're not
pleased with the results, you can press ^Z to remove the
lines you've drawn with the Pen Cross. ^W W.
^F to draw a
filled box; use the arrow keys to stretch the boundaries over the image
you don't want; then press ^E to erase, filling the
boundaries with black.
- minus key, then use the Pen Cross to draw a black line
where you wish dots erased.
5 for Numeric;
K for Righty; or D for Lefty. If you hear a
boop, you've just turned the pixel on; press the center key again.
^F ^E box filled with black.
6: Drawing Techniques and Tips
^Z to undo when you're not
satisfied!) The following ideas can serve as a starting point:
^F for a
filled box, tap the up arrow key four times, then stretch the boundary
horizontally with solid-Apple/arrow key combinations. Finish this boxy
line by pressing ^A.
^O outline box is one pixel wide. When you want a box with
thicker borders, center a smaller black box inside a white box.
I L comma L I L comma L
and so on. For a dashed line, hold down open-Apple and tap L right
arrow L right arrow and so on. For a three-dot zig zag, alternate
double taps on the corner keys: O O period period O O period
period or M M period period M M period period.
EXHIBITS, prior planning can save a lot of time. We deleted a
lot of irrelevant detail from the original inkprint, and counted up how
many booths would have to fit on one line horizontally. Dividing the map
into two sheets actually made it more legible than pasting the sheets
together. A pasted map requires a large surface so the braille reader can
spread out. The convention-goers were able to read these maps standing up,
just like any braille page. Since there were so many booths, we had to
save space in the braille: we choose to label the booths with dropped
letters (Nemeth digits) instead of using the number sign. Setting the
open-Apple multiplier to 9 simplified drawing the booth edges. The
MOBILITY file shows a simple map with street labels. We set
open-Apple to 8 units as an aid in drawing parallel lines: this ensured
we'd have enough room to add the braille labels on the streets themselves.
MAZE.FUN file demonstrates another image
that's simple to create with pixCELLS. For most of the images, we first
filled the screen with a regular grid of lines, then created "doorways"
later with a black Pen Cross line. The Samples Disk has some "graph paper"
templates you can use for your own mazes, or for drawing bar charts.
Chapter 5: Brailler Graphics Reference
1: pixCELLS and Gapped Graphics Embossers
#[style=Trans note]# Consult the braille versions of these figures in
the inkprint binder.
#[Xstyle=Trans note]#
^G to see the
Grid in the Modify Environment, pixCELLS divides the screen into eight
areas. As shown in Figure 5-3, the apparent righthand "frames" are the
Twilight Zone--you can't get brailler graphics output of these pixels.
When something you want appears in the Twilight Zone, use Shift in the
Whole screen tricks sub-menu to move your image to the left.
2: Pixels and Dots: A Difference in Scale
EXHIBIT
file on the ProDOS side of the pixCELLS Samples Disk for one approach.
^G now may provide useful guidelines. Then, use
Compress on the Whole screen tricks sub-menu as many times as necessary to
shrink the six frames into one--this will be your reference sheet. Save
this with a different name. You will need to touch-up some details that
get distorted as they're compressed, and then add braille labels that "key
out" each portion of the reference sheet to the full details shown on the
six pages.
3: Coarseness of Brailler Graphics
Chapter 6: Working with Other Software
1: Locating pixCELLS-Compatible Software
B
in the second column, and a size of 033 or 034
sectors in the third column. In a ProDOS catalog, you see the abbreviation
BIN in the second column, and a size of 16 or
17 blocks in the third column. When you use Load Image on the
Disk Menu, pixCELLS presents you with a numbered list restricted to these
unpacked HI-RES graphic images.
2: Loading DOS 3.3 Graphics Files
1 or
2 at the Which drive or volume: prompt.
/PIXDATA ProDOS disk.
3: Working with Illustrations by Lorin Software
^G in
pixCELLS's Modify Environment. When you want to make pixCELLS's frames
correspond exactly to Illustrations's panels, you must use the Grid
definition option on pixCELLS's Preferences Menu.
To force pixCELLS to use Illustrations's Grid for all
subsequent images, answer the Grid definition questions like this:
Enter an even number of dots per line:
98
Return
Enter a number divisible by three for dots per page:
96 Return
Your grid definition now uses
98 dots per line and
96 dots per page
press any key to continues
Every time you select your embosser with the Embosser
type option in the Preferences Menu, pixCELLS sets the Grid to
4: Color in Apple Drawing Programs
5: Mixing Brailler Graphics and Text
^B A in the Modify Environment. The text on this combination
page could be as little as a running head and braille page number, or as
much as you like.
Chapter 7: Troubleshooting
1: Embossing Problems
Esc does nothing.
Esc key to cancel.
] prompt, type
RUN Return. Now, make sure that:
] prompt. The message is
Not a startup disk!, or Check disk device, or
Unable to startup from memory card.
I for Interface
card. Enter a number where you're positive there's an interface card
connected. ^G in the Modify Environment, pixCELLS actually
draws the grid on your image.
^G again.
^F stretch ^E).
^F stretch ^E).
Esc on the Apple, then wait for the
embosser to stop. 2: Drawing Problems in the Modify Environment
^W Esc. ^G to remove grid but I
don't see any white grid lines.
^G again.
3: Braille Entry Problems in the Modify
Environment
Six-key
braille entry, go to the Preferences Menu and use Braille keyboard
to set pixCELLS straight.
^B for
braille entry, pixCELLS doesn't list the the U and
D choices for vertical braille.
ProDOS pathname not found, then prints a list of disk
drives on the screen.
Return at pixCELLS's
Which drive or volume: prompt, it's searching for the
/PIXDATA volume, and that disk isn't in a drive.
/PIXDATA disk in a drive, or use the Pathname option on the
disk menu to change the default data volume name. If you're unfamiliar
with ProDOS volume names, review Appendix A.
Original file is not a binary
file.
Installation
failed.
No space on disk means that your target volume
doesn't have 177 blocks free, the amount of room required to copy the
pixCELLS program files. Volume directory full means that
you've encountered ProDOS's limit of 51 file names at the root level.
Duplicate file means that one of the pixCELLS program files
is already on the target volume--you may have copied the software to this
volume already.
5: Miscellaneous
NO BUFFERS
AVAILABLE.
Chapter 8: Interfacing Notes
1: Apple Model Differences
Apple IIe
PRODRIVE utility from Applied Engineering. When your
Apple IIe has more than 128K memory thanks to an auxiliary slot card,
PRODRIVE creates a RAM drive named /RAM. When
your Apple IIe has a memory card installed in slots 1 through 7, ProDOS
creates a RAM drive named /RAM, where is the slot number of
the memory card.
The Apple IIc
PRODRIVE utility from Applied Engineering. When your
Apple IIc has more than 128K memory thanks to an auxiliary slot card,
PRODRIVE creates a RAM drive named /RAM. When
your Apple IIc has a memory card installed in slot 4, ProDOS automatically
creates a RAM drive named /RAM4.
The Apple IIgs
Your
Card, the IIgs tries to send data out its port--and your embosser
won't do anything.
Your Card. Never install any
card in the Apple with the power on--you will fry both the computer and
the card!
control-open-Apple-Esc.
RAM Disk, set Maximum RAM Disk
Size to 128K or more, then press Return.
Slots, set Slot 5: to
Smart Port, then press Return.
/RAM5.
/RAM,
where is the slot number of the memory card.
Cranmer Brailler
Dipner Dots
Use RDC standard spacing?. When you answer
Y Return, then pixCELLS sets the Dipner output so one
pixCELLS frame fills a standard 8-1/2 by 11 inch piece of paper. When you
answer N Return, then pixCELLS asks four questions: dots per
line, dots per page, and graphics command sequence, and text command
sequence.
<Esc>, then a
control character, then a value which becomes the numerator of the
fraction. For HMI, the control character is <ASCII
31>--you type this as control-shift-hyphen. For VMI, the control
character is \cb <ASCII 30>, typed as control-shift-6.
<Control-M> is decimal 13. If you
supply <control-M> as the value character, the printer
responds by saying: "Oh, control-M is 13, now I'll subtract 1 and set the
value to 12." One last twist is that HMI and VMI don't use the same unit
of measure: The HMI is calculated in 120ths of an inch, while the VMI is
figured in 48ths of an inch.
<Esc> <ASCII
31> <control-K>. <control-K> is decimal 11;
subtracting 1 gives a horizontal motion index of 10/120ths of an inch. The
RDC Standard VMI is <Esc> <ASCII 30>
<control-F>. <control-F> is decimal 6; subtracting 1
gives a vertical motion index of 5/48ths of an inch. (Since the dots are
theoretically equally spaced horizontally and vertically, you may be
wondering why the HMI and VMI don't match. The honest answer is: printer
voodoo! Trial and error showed us that this would give the best spacing.)
LED-120
MBOSS-1
MBOSS-40
Ohtsuki BT-5000 Brailler/Printer
Switches: To establish parallel connection with
the Ohtsuki, set bank one: on on off on off off
RESUS Brailler
Romeo Brailler
Thiel
VersaPoint
3: Interface Cards and Ports
Your Card instead
of the built-in port.
off off on on
Command sequences for Interface Cards
<control-A>14B<control-A>L. When you're using a
SlotBuster, it sends the command that turns on the serial or parallel port
depending on your answer.
Likely Answers
O on the Emboss Menu to see how well your initial definition
works.
5: Cable List
Appendix
A: Notes on ProDOS
__________________.
/PIXDATA volume. If you want your volume name to be more
specific, you must explicitly "send a memo" telling pixCELLS the name you
want.
/PIXDATA volume. pixCELLS's equivalent of the
"Non-standard form title form" is the Pathname option on the Disk Menu.
With this overview in mind, let's get down to the detailed definitions of
these concepts.
Basic ProDOS Concepts
/ character, followed by a
letter, followed by up to 14 more letters, numbers, or periods. Other
punctuation and spaces are not allowed in volume names. When you catalog a
ProDOS volume, its name appears on the first line. When you want ProDOS to
find or store a file, you use this volume name to tell ProDOS where to
look. We urge you to affix print or braille labels to all your ProDOS
disks immediately after you format them.
. periods. When you use Save Image on the Disk Menu, pixCELLS
displays two lines; you can only edit the second line, which is the
individual file name. The combination of the first and second lines is the
file's full name, or pathname.
/PIXDATA/ROOM.PLAN means you're saving a ProDOS file named
ROOM.PLAN on the ProDOS volume named /PIXDATA.
ProDOS pathnames are similar to personal names in China: the family name
comes first, and then the given name.
DIR in the second, TYPE column--we show a
sample in a few paragraphs.
/PIXDATA/ROOMS/ROOM.PLAN describes a file named
ROOM.PLAN stored inside the ROOMS subdirectory
which is on the /PIXDATA disk. The ROOMS
subdirectory could contain another subdirectory named
FLOOR.1; if you saved the ROOM.PLAN file there,
its pathname would be /PIXDATA/ROOMS/FLOOR.1/ROOM.PLAN.
ProDOS uses the slash / character as a boundary between each
part of the pathname. The total length of the pathname is limited to 64
characters--if you want to store a file five subdirectories deep, you must
keep your subdirectory names short!
pixCELLS and ProDOS
1 Return or 2 Return at pixCELLS's Which drive
or volume: prompt won't let you see the files on a 3.5-inch disk:
you must type in the disk's volume name.
C for Catalog on the Disk Menu. When pixCELLS
prompts Which drive or volume:, press Return. If
the 3.5-inch disk is named /PIXDATA, you get a catalog. If
it's not named /PIXDATA, pixCELLS lists the names of all
disks in all drives. The volume name associated with slot 5, drive 1 or
slot 5, drive 2 is your 3.5-inch disk. You can use the Pathname option
(described next) to tell pixCELLS to save files on your 3.5-inch disk.
/PIXDATA/ROOMS/FLOOR.1/ROOM.PLAN
S to set the pathname by slot and drive, pixCELLS reads
the volume name on the disk you specify. Images then are saved at the top
level of the disk. When you want to save data in a subdirectory, you must
press T to type the prefix directly. If you type in the name
of a subdirectory that doesn't exist, pixCELLS creates it.
Which
drive or volume: you can press 2 Return for slot 6,
drive 2. The result is a catalog of the outermost level of a ProDOS
volume, often called the root level of the directory. Using
Catalog on pixCELLS's Disk Menu, you get: BLOCKS FREE: 194 BLOCKS USED: 86
WHITEHOUSE file--it's the
only 17 sector binary file that's currently available. The third file down
is actually a subdirectory, shown by the DIR characters in
the second column. To see what's in the subdirectory, you must tell
pixCELLS exactly where to look. Even though slashes don't appear before
file and subdirectory names in the catalog, a slash must separate each
portion of the ProDOS pathname. You must include that slash when typing
pathnames. Type in the volume name followed by the subdirectory name:
Catalog Disk
Which drive or volume: _e/PIXDATA/MATH.DIAGRAMS
Return_f
MATH.DIAGRAMS
NAME TYPE BLOCKS MODIFIED
TRIANGLE BIN 33 17-APR-87
HEXAGON BIN 17 17-APR-87
D12.GON BIN 17 17-APR-87
D16.GON BIN 17 17-APR-87
*CALC DIR 1 17-SEP-87
BLOCKS FREE: 194 BLOCKS USED: 86
/PIXDATA/MATH.DIAGRAMS
Return for Load Image, pixCELLS presents a numbered list containing
three files--HEXAGON, D12.GON, and D16.GON. (The
TRIANGLE file won't appear because it's too large for
pixCELLS to load.) CALC,
nested inside /MATH.DIAGRAMS. To see what's there, you'd type
/PIXDATA/MATH.DIAGRAMS/CALC at pixCELLS's Which drive
or volume: prompt.
MATH.DIAGRAMS subdirectory. Once you're at the Disk Menu,
here's how you do this:
Press a single letter: _e P _f
Set pathname for pixCELLS data files
Specify by:
$l Slot and drive
Typing prefix directly
Press a single letter: _e T Return _f
Type the prefix for pixCELLS data files:
/_ePIXDATA/MATH.DIAGRAMS Return_f
<Pause while pixCELLS checks to make sure that this
disk is available>
Save pixCELLS data to /PIXDATA/MATH.DIAGRAMS/? _e Y
Return _f
/PIXDATA/MATH.DIAGRAMS/. If you
want to catalog or load this subdirectory, you can just press
Return at the Which drive or pathname: prompt;
pixCELLS "remembers" your prefix and looks there for files.
B: pixCELLS Tutorial for Blind Users
Make a Working Copy of pixCELLS program
disk
Starting Up for the First Time
Y Return. (If pixCELLS doesn't ask this question,
then you must check to see that your Echo or Cricket is properly
installed. If you're working with an Apple IIc, make sure that the Cricket
is plugged in to port 2, and that it's turned on before you
turn on the Apple. If you're working with an Apple IIgs, make sure that
the Control Panel setting for the Echo slot is Your Card,
not the built-in port function.) Next pixCELLS quickly asks
if you'd prefer fast Echo speech--respond with Y Return or N
Return. ^L. Press Esc to exit Line Review and
answer the question.) Select an embosser by pressing its number and then
pressing Return. If your embosser is not on the list, choose number 1,
VersaPoint for the purposes of the tutorial. At a later time, you can read
Chapter 8 for details on how you define your own embosser.
0 Return
at this point. Finally, pixCELLS displays the current command sequence for
the interface, and asks if you'd like to change it. The majority of users
can answer N Return. (If you have problems embossing at the
end of this tutorial, then you should refer to Chapter 8 for details on
interface cards and ports.)
control-X to silence the
Echo, then use the Echo's line review feature. ^L A reads the
menu title on the top line of the screen. You can arrow down to read the
choices. Exit Line Review by pressing Esc. The bottom line of
the screen is the status line--what pixCELLS is waiting for appears here.
The Line Review commands ^L Z R output the line where your
cursor is currently waiting.
^L W to hear the current filename:
the current file name is /PIXDATA/NONE.LOADED, reminding you
that the screen's blank. /PIXDATA is the name of the ProDOS
volume where pixCELLS expects to save files. Since blind users can't use
the Modify Environment to change the image, you probably won't be saving
images to disk. But if you're curious, and "pathnames" and "volume names"
are unfamiliar terms, you can review basic ProDOS concepts in Appendix A.
L for Load image. When pixCELLS prompts Which drive or
volume:, you have four choices--you can press the ?
key to hear them. To read the graphics files from the disk in drive 2, you
press 2 Return.
2 Return to choose the
MAZE.FUN file by number. At this point, pixCELLS loads the
image into memory, clears the prompts, and shows the graphic on the
screen. Press Y to ^L W
for the current file name: it's now /PIXDATA/MAZE.FUN. (The
Chapter 2 Tutorial and Chapter 3, Section 3 explain file naming in more
detail.) Press Esc once to exit Line Review, then
Esc again to leave the Disk Menu and move to the Main Menu.
Grids and Frames
Emboss Menu
E to move
to the Emboss Menu. Every time you emboss an image, you tell pixCELLS
which frames you want output. To get one copy of your current
frame, shown in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, you can
press the letter O. (As shipped to you, the current frame is
frame 1.) Because the MAZE.FUN image is four frames, you need
to use the other Emboss Menu option, Specify multiple frames and/or
copies.
S. pixCELLS clears
the screen and presents six numbered, empty frames. You tell pixCELLS
which frames to emboss by pressing the frame number--you can press the
? key for on-line help. When you press a digit from 1 to 6,
you select that frame for embossing. Press 1; pixCELLS
responds Frame 1 selected. The MAZE.FUN image is
four independent frames, each containing a tactile maze. 6 and wait until pixCELLS asks you Do you really want
blank frame?. Unless you'd like a blank sheet of brailler paper,
press N, and pixCELLS announces Frame 6 removed.
Select frame 2, then frame 4, then frame 5 by pressing the digit and
waiting for confirmation. For a summary of which frames are selected,
press ^L. When you're done choosing frames, press
Return.
Return. At this point, you
should get your embosser ready to start brailling. For a Cranmer, enter
the commands that pixCELLS prints on the screen. For a Romeo, make sure
that the grooved (graphics) side of the embossing bar faces down. For all
embossers, make sure you have enough paper, that top-of-form is set
correctly, and the unit is "on-line." When your embosser's ready, press
any key on the Apple to start brailling. As you're embossing an image, you
can press the Esc key to cancel.
Q for Quit at the Main Menu. pixCELLS
prompts you to boot or run another ProDOS program. ^L.
C: pixCELLS Task Summaries
L to Load the
image.
2 Return to get a list of graphic
files from disk in drive 2.
Return.
Y. If not, press Esc and go back to Step 3.
Esc to move to Main
Menu.
E for Emboss Menu
S for Specify
multiple frames and/or copies.
? for on-line help. Press frame numbers to select portions of
image.
^L for a voice summary), press
Return.
Return.
15. When pixCELLS displays the Main Menu,
you can turn off the Apple's power.
/PIXDATA disk in slot 6, drive 2.
S to Save image and
give it a name. Type meaningful name: first character is letter, then no
more than 14 letters, numbers, or periods.
Esc to move to Main
Menu.
M to enter Modify
Environment.
?.
^S to save image
on disk.
Esc to exit
Modify Environment.
E for Emboss Menu
S for Specify
multiple frames and/or copies.
? for on-line help. Press frame numbers to select portions of
image.
Return.
Return.
Q to quit. If you haven't saved your last changes to image,
press Y. You can now reboot, run another ProDOS program, or
turn off the Apple's power.
The End.