The TranscriBEX Manual is copyright 1986 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.
The TranscriBEX Manual is available in braille--contact us for details. Braille edition transcribed using (what else?) TranscriBEX and output on our trust Thiel.
Body type is 15 on 18 Palatino; headlines in Bookman Demi and Bookman Demi Italic. Set with JustText and the truly delightful Apple LaserWriter Plus, and expeditiously duplicated at Insty-Prints under Greg's expert eye.
Material reprinted from The Wisconsin Garden Guide, Second Edition, Copyright 1982 by Jerry Minnich. Designed by Marian Lefebvre. Reprinted through the courtesy of Stanton and Lee Publishers, Inc.
TranscriBEX, the TranscriBEX logo, BEX, the BEX logo, BRAILLE-EDIT-XPRESS, BRAILLE-EDIT, and BETTE are all trademarks of Raised Dot Computing, Inc. Apple Computer, Apple //c, Apple //e, Apple II+, Apple ImageWriter, Apple LaserWriter, Apple Super Serial Card, AppleWorks, AppleWriter II, and ProDOS are trademarks and/or copyrights of Apple Computer Inc.; Cricket, Echo II, Echo Plus, and TEXTALKER are trademarks and/or copyrights of Street Electronics Corp.; LED-120, PED Plate Embosser, and Personal Brailler is a trademark of Triformation Systems, Inc.; MBOSS-1 is a trademark of VTEK Inc.; Ohtsuki Brailler is a trademark of Ohtsuki Communications Products, Inc.; Thiel is a trademark of Industri-Electronic GmBH and Co. KG.; VersaBraille, VersaBraille II, and VersaPoint are trademarks of Telesensory Systems, Inc.; ScreenWriter II is a trademark of Sierra On-Line Inc.; WordPerfect 1.1 is a trademark of WordPerfect Corp.; ProWORDS is a trademark of Microtalk; Mouse Write and the Write Choice are trademarks of Roger Wagner Publishing, Inc.; Magic Slate is a trademark of Sunburst Communications; JustText is a trademark of Knowledge Engineering.
TranscriBEX is dedicated to the thousands of volunteer braille transcribers whose own dedication has brought the joy of reading to blind people.
TranscriBEX program design, coding, and documentation by the TranscriBEX Team:
Andrea Botts -- David Holladay -- Jesse Kaysen -- Caryn Navy
with deep appreciation for the invaluable assistance of our beta testers:
and a heartfelt thank you to our co-workers at RDC, who took care of business while we were buried in the project.
Important: The enclosed TranscriBEX software is licensed to the customer for their use only on the terms set forth below. Please fill out the enclosed registration card 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 form to Raised Dot Computing, Inc., a nonexclusive license to use the enclosed TranscriBEX 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 TranscriBEX software or any part of it in any form except as expressly permitted in this license. You may make up to three back-up copies of your Master BEX disk, and archival copies of your TranscriBEX disk as required for your own use, provided that you reproduce all copyright notices and other proprietary legends on such copies.
Restrictions on Use and Transfer: The original and any back-up copies of the TranscriBEX 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 TranscriBEX software or documentation for distribution to others. You may transfer this license together with the original and all back-up copies and documentation, provided that you give Raised Dot Computing, Inc. written notice and the transferee completes and returns to Raised Dot Computing, Inc. a customer registration form and agrees to be bound by the terms of this license. A "Transcriber's Pack" is available for groups interested in multiple copies of TranscriBEX; please contact Raised Dot Computing, Inc. for details.
Limited Media Warranty: Raised Dot Computing, Inc. warrants the diskette on which the TranscriBEX 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 and Liability: Except as expressly provided above for media, Raised Dot Computing, Inc. makes no warranties, either express or implied, with respect to the TranscriBEX software, its merchantability or its fitness for any particular purpose. TranscriBEX software is licensed solely on an "as is" basis. The entire risk as to its quality and performance is with you. Should the TranscriBEX 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 TranscriBEX 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.
Computer Braille: Samples of print data entry are transcribed in computer braille. The letters in special entry codes are always lowercase. transcriber's notes will point out capital letters where significant. We distinguish a few punctuation marks, like tilde which is ordinarily the same as caret, with a prefix of dots 5-6; see list below. (A semicolon would not appear in such a context in this book.) Following, enclosed in computer braille parentheses, are the symbols used in sections shown in computer braille.
[The remaining braille representations are in transcriber order.]
Symbols used when not in computer braille:
Embedded commands, like the TranscriBEX \\ (backslash backslash) and BEX $$ (dollar dollar) commands, appear in computer braille, as you would enter them on a braille keyboard. The letters in them are lowercase print letters. When punctuation immediately follows such a command, it is preceded by dots 4-5-6. Material enclosed in computer braille parentheses of with is shown in computer braille; we show data entry codes this way--for example, ( $p ).
Computer dialog sessions are presented in computer braille, with each computer screen line outdented. The print manual uses courier font (typewriter-style printing). A semicolon ; means the rest of the line is what you enter.
Samples of print text entry are shown in computer braille. The print manual uses courier font. Except when next to a <CR>, a space or move to a new line in these samples means a space to be typed. (Just before or after <CR>, it is there only for better readability.)
Welcome to TranscriBEX. You are about to learn to use
a word processing program on your Apple computer which automates many
aspects of braille production. Whether you are an experienced braille
transcriber who has never used a word processor before, a computer jock
who has never seen braille before, a beginner at both braille transcribing
and word processing, or an old hand at BEX, TranscriBEX can make your
transcribing job easier. The more you already know about braille, the
faster you will be able to use TranscriBEX's advanced features to their
fullest extent. If you are a novice at braille transcribing, TranscriBEX
alone won't teach you braille, but it will make learning the transcription
process much easier.
How, you ask? Well, using traditional manual braille
transcription, the steps of data entry, formatting, braille translation,
and embossing must occur simultaneously and perfectly. This requires a
high level of concentration, skill, and snap decision-making on the part
of the transcriber. TranscriBEX breaks the task of braille transcription
into five discrete parts: data entry, formatting, braille translation,
previewing, and embossing. While a mistake made during manual braille
transcription usually means throwing the page away, TranscriBEX almost
allows you to throw away the wastebasket! Its preview modes allow you to
proofread the formatted braille translation on the computer screen before
committing anything to paper. This also means that printed material can be
transcribed into braille far from the physical brailling device. You can
confidently perform the first four steps in the transcription process,
then send the disks elsewhere for the actual embossing.
There are a number of agencies whose sole concern is
braille transcribing. The Braille Authority of North America (BANA), the
National We already have a word processor that "knows" a lot
about braille: BEX. To create TranscriBEX, we sat down with the code books
and analyzed what printing features we needed to add to create correct
format. Special format considerations are involved in brailling
literature, textbooks, poems, plays and other material. There is no one
standard that can be applied to all cases. Your local agency may have
standards you need to adhere to in addition to the rules set forth in the
books listed above. TranscriBEX is NOT an attempt to develop yet another
standard that encompasses all the others. It is also NOT intended as a way
to bypass the standards that others have so carefully developed. The idea
here is to explain how TranscriBEX can make it easier for you to conform
to a variety of different format requirements.
If you are using TranscriBEX only to transcribe
material for your own use, we highly recommend that you have on hand a
minimum of one of the books listed above. The Instruction Manual for
Braille Transcribing and English Braille--American
Edition are available FREE from the Library of Congress to
individuals enrolled in their braille transcribing course. Write to the
Braille Codes Section, National Library Service for the Blind and
Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress, If you are using TranscriBEX to transcribe works of
literature, textbooks, or other material intended for distribution, the
code books and the program are not enough. The success of any transcribing
group is also dependent on the presence of at least one Library of
Congress certified transcriber or proofreader. Any tricky formatting
decisions are best decided by them. Under their supervision, other
individuals can use TranscriBEX to greatly speed up the braille production
process.
We designed TranscriBEX to support most of the
translation rules and page formats described in the Code of Braille
Textbook Formats and Techniques, 1977, the Instruction Manual
for Braille Transcribing, 3rd Edition, 1984, and English
Braille--American Edition, 1959. These rules are complex and
comprehensive. Some people may find they'd like a page format not
described in these reference works. We'd like to accommodate these
additional formats, but there are some unavoidable limits to our ability
to do so. If you do have a need for a page format not supported in
TranscriBEX, we encourage you to contact us--we may be able to design a
custom format for you. More details on requesting custom formats appear in
Section 18, Part 1.
Guidance in brailling technical material may be found
in The Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics and Science
Notation. The Revised International Manual of Braille Music
Notation provides rules for the transcription of music. These
publications are also available from the American Printing House for the
Blind. TranscriBEX contains no features which encompass the production of
mathematics or music braille.
TranscriBEX is based on BEX, the multi-media word
processor with voice output and two-way braille translators. The
TranscriBEX module provides you with a transcribing-specific way to use
BEX. Data entry is BEX's braille formatter can generate many types of
output, including textbook format braille, as well as the simpler braille
page formats for fiction, catalogs, magazines, or many other braille
documents. The formatter also supports inkprint output to dot matrix and
daisy wheel printers. BEX has several provisions for using data files from
other programs, so that even individuals without the TranscriBEX software
can contribute to the braille production process.
TranscriBEX's formatter controls what appears on the
final print or braille page. As you enter text, you also include
TranscriBEX commands that provide information for the formatter to use at
the time of output. Each TranscriBEX command begins with two special
characters: \\ (two backslashes in print, dots 1-2-5-6, dots
1-2-5-6 in braille). Following the \\, there is an
English-like word or words. The command names are patterned on the intent
of the format.
Many aspects of braille formatting require positioning
material at a precise location on the braille page or line. For example, a
braille page number must go in the same place on each page; some table of
contents lines must end far before the usual righthand margin. You focus
on entering correct text, and give the formatting instructions to
TranscriBEX. This frees you from worrying about positioning while entering
text. TranscriBEX does allow complete freedom to force a new line or page
wherever desired.
TranscriBEX's formatter creates the proper braille
format as it sends text Since the TranscriBEX system breaks the transcribing
process into five discrete tasks, it allows individuals with a wide
variety of transcribing skills to contribute to the job of getting a
braille translation finished. Volunteers with little experience can
accomplish a lot of print data entry. Because TranscriBEX lets you use
files from other Apple software, data entry volunteers need not even own
the TranscriBEX software. The parents of a blind child with access to the
widely available AppleWorks software, for example, could type their
child's homework into AppleWorks files. As these parents become more
familiar with braille format, they could also enter some of the simpler
TranscriBEX commands.
Slightly more experienced TranscriBEX users can
translate the data from the AppleWorks file structure to BEX chapters.
They can "massage" the data, entering transcriber's notes and
establishing the appropriate braille formats with TranscriBEX commands.
They can quickly check for appropriate print page indicators and missing
or duplicated text while the data is still in print form. Operating
TranscriBEX's Grade 2 braille translator is quite straightforward: you
tell TranscriBEX which files you want translated, supply a disk to write
them on, and TranscriBEX takes it from there.
Skilled braillists can do data entry directly in
braille, using six keys on the Apple's keyboard as an electronic
braillewriter. It's also possible to print the braille text as
braille dot patterns on the computer screen, which allows skilled
braillists to read braille in a familiar way. Most braillists quickly
discover that it's even easier to proofread "screen braille", where
each braille cell is represented by a unique print character.
TranscriBEX supports the vast majority of formats
described in the Code of Braille Textbook Formats and
Techniques and English Braille--American Edition.
However, for the record, there are a few things TranscriBEX
doesn't do:
This is not to say that generating these formats
is completely impossible, just that it's not easy. TranscriBEX has
specific commands for all its supported formats. To generate the formats
listed above, you would have to take a back-door approach. This involves
being quite familiar with both TranscriBEX and the format you are trying
to create, and outsmarting the computer along the way.
Although we have made every attempt to conform
precisely to the Code, there are a couple of places where the
formats generated by TranscriBEX deviate slightly. We point these
instances out wherever they occur.
TranscriBEX is an additional module for the main
program, BEX. (You got both in the TranscriBEX package.) Before you start
transcribing using TranscriBEX, you need to get acquainted with its
foundation, BEX. The more familiar with BEX you become, the more you will
be able to do with TranscriBEX, but you don't need to learn it all before
you can do some really nifty stuff. If you are an experienced braille
transcriber, think back to when you were just getting started at that.
There was a lot to learn about braille, too. It is an ongoing process;
there are a lot of nuances that pop up even after you've been at it a
while. That doesn't mean you can't be quite productive even before you
know everything So here's what to do: Read Section 2: Varieties
of Braille, which follows. This is particularly important if you are just
starting to learn braille transcription. If you are an experienced
transcriber, you already know the material about paper braille backwards
and forwards, but there's some additional information about braille
and computers that you will find handy. If you have never used a computer
before, you will find the Apple manual for your computer very helpful.
Some very basic information about your system is all you need to start
using the BEX program; BEX assumes no prior knowledge of word processing.
Next, turn to the Learner Level of BEX and go all the
way through it. Follow the instructions. Do the examples. If you are
already familiar with how to use your Apple computer, you can skim through
the parts about getting the system up and running very quickly. When you
have completed the Learner Level (and that won't take very long), come
back to the TranscriBEX part of this manual. You can use the parts of BEX
introduced in the Learner Level to accomplish a lot of
braille transcribing. If you want to go farther into BEX than the Learner
Level, either now or after you have worked with TranscriBEX for a while,
by all means do so! The more comfortable you become with BEX as a
word-processor, the more powerful a tool you will find TranscriBEX.
Raised Dot Computing deals with braille in a wide
variety of ways, but we're not in business to teach you braille.
TranscriBEX was designed to make it easy for typists who are not
transcribers to contribute to the process of braille production. A good
typist needs a working knowledge of basic formats to do print data entry
efficiently. To this end, we've provided background information about
braille and braille formats throughout this manual. We've made every
effort to be accurate, but in no way should this be considered a
substitute for the code books. Any material transcribed for other than
personal use should be proofread by a Library of Congress certified
transcriber or proofreader.
The braille system of reading and writing for the
blind was invented by Louis Braille. It consists of raised dots embossed
on a page which a blind person can read through touch. The basic braille
unit is the braille cell, composed of two vertical columns of three dots
each, numbered as follows: Dot 1 is upper left, dot 2 is middle left, dot
3 is lower left, dot 4 is upper right, dot 5 is middle right, and dot 6 is
lower right. All text can be represented by specific combinations of dots.
There are sixty-four possible combinations of dots in
a single cell. Each lowercase letter of the alphabet has its own
representation, and most punctuation marks are also represented by a
single cell in braille. Sixty-four combinations are soon exhausted,
however, leaving an array of print symbols which must be represented by
combining two or more cells. For example, the uppercase alphabet does not
have its own set of symbols in braille. Instead, uppercase letters are
represented by adding a prefix to the lowercase symbol for that letter.
This prefix, called the "caps sign," is dot 6. Lowercase k is
dots 1-3, so uppercase K is dot 6, dots 1-3. When an entire
word is capitalized, it is preceded by two dot 6's; "DOG" becomes dot 6,
dot 6, dots 1-4-5, dots 1-3-5, dots 1-2-4-5.
(We're using a common convention for describing the
braille cell with dot numbers. "Dots 1-4" means "a cell consisting of dot
1 and dot The most basic form of braille doesn't use any
contractions. This is called "grade 1" braille. In grade 1 every inkprint
letter is represented by one braille cell. It's only used in some
rare situations where showing an exact letter-for-letter representation of
print is absolutely essential (a spelling list, for example). To
understand just how bulky braille can become, keep in mind that each
braille cell must be large enough for a fingertip to feel easily. Less
than 1000 characters fit on each braille page, compared with 4000 or so
characters per print page. Because the dots are raised on the page, each
page is also thicker than its print equivalent. In addition, many print
symbols require more than one braille cell for representation. So,
transcribing printed material to braille produces documents several times
the size of the print original.
"Grade 2" braille was originally developed as a way of
making things shorter and faster for both readers and transcribers. Also
referred to as "contracted" or "English" braille, grade 2 is the standard
braille form used in the United States today. In grade 2, there are a
sizable number of contractions for words and parts of words frequently
encountered in the English language. For example, the word "the" is
represented by the single cell dots 2-3-4-6. The two-letter combination
"st" is dots 3-4. Other contractions involve the use of more than one
cell, but still use fewer cells than there are letters in the word. The
word "mother" is brailled dot 5, dots 1-3-4.
This system of raised dots is employed to represent
many languages other than English, and most of those languages have their
own grade 2 braille equivalent. In any language, there are many complex
rules governing grammar, syntax, punctuation, etc. In addition to
following the rules of the print language it is representing, braille has
a complicated set of rules all its own. This manual does not explain the
grade 2 braille rules. That is the job of English Braille--American
Edition, which we urge you to obtain. The meaning of many dot
combinations in grade 2 is dependent on context. For the experienced
braille reader, this is no more a problem than the complexities of any
language are to a native Before we talk about how to use TranscriBEX to make
transcription an easier process, we need to establish some terms. You have
probably already wondered if there aren't easier ways to discuss braille
representations than stringing together series of dots and numbers, and
fortunately there are. One way is by showing the actual dot patterns in a
flat medium, such as the printed page, like this: braille example.
TranscriBEX also lets you see braille dot patterns on your computer
screen.
Another way of representing braille requires knowing a
little bit about how your Apple deals with print and braille. Actually,
the computer doesn't know (or care!) anything at all about the differences
between braille and print. When you type a character on your keyboard, the
Apple assigns its own representation, called an "ASCII number," to that
character. The Apple uses the ASCII numbers for any and all dealings it
has with your text. When it sends a particular number out to an external
device, that device matches the number to its own list of symbols to
decide how to show it. So, when your Apple sends out an ASCII 120 to a
print device, the printer prints an x. When it sends ASCII
120 to a braille device, the brailler embosses dots 1-3-4-6. It's all
the same to the Apple!
When we say "computer braille" in this manual, we are
talking about this correspondence between inkprint characters, their ASCII
numbers, and the braille cells. You can look up any inkprint character by
name and find its corresponding ASCII number and computer braille cell on
the TranscriBEX reference card. But unless you are going to be doing
something very computer-related, like programming, don't worry about the
ASCII part of it. Just remember that when your Apple sends a print chapter
to a print device, the result is nice print. When it Sometimes it's useful to be able to look at a
braille chapter through a print window. We made up the term "screen
braille" to describe how your Apple displays braille text using print
characters. When you first see screen braille it may look a little
strange. Don't worry; like braille itself, it just takes some getting used
to.
Screen braille shows each braille cell, stored as one
ASCII number, as an inkprint character. For example, a "wh" sign, which is
dots 1-5-6 in grade 2 braille, is stored as ASCII 58. In inkprint, ASCII
58 is a colon. So, when screen braille is used to look at braille text,
the word "what" looks like this:
what
Once you are at the User Level in BEX, you can use the
Heading test to see this for yourself. Just pick option H on the Main
menu, and type a few words on the keyboard. After you press return,
TranscriBEX translates your words into grade 2 braille and displays them
in screen braille.
Let's tie all these terms together. Suppose you
create and store some print text. When you send that print chapter to a
print device, nice print comes out. If you sent the same print chapter to
a braille device, what would come out is computer braille. Now, suppose
you take that print chapter and run it through the Grade 2 translator,
creating a braille chapter. When you send that braille chapter to a
braille device you get nice grade 2 braille. If you sent the braille
chapter to a print device, the result would be screen braille. Or, if you
want a nice tidy chart:
#[style=Basic table]# Chapter Type&tab;Print device&tab;Braille device
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# Print chapter&tab;nice print&tab;computer braille
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# Braille chapter&tab;screen braille&tab;nice
braille
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
At this point, an example of all the things we have
discussed so far should be helpful. Let's take a look at all the
possibilities for one She distinguished seeking from finding, but it is
still a job for the experts.
Here's the grade 1 braille equivalent:
She distinguished seeking from finding, but it is
still a job for the experts.
Notice that there are as many cells as there are
characters in the sentence, plus an extra cell to indicate that the
s is capitalized.
Now, we've run the sentence through the Grade 2
translator. Here's the screen braille version:
She distinguished seeking from finding, but it is
still a job for the experts.
Notice that it's a lot shorter! That's
because of all the contractions used in grade 2. Some letters stand alone
to represent words: f stands for the word "from",
b stands for "but", and the letter x by itself
means "it". The words "still", "for" and "the" are each represented by
single print characters which are not letters. In addition, the commonly
used letter combinations sh, dis, ing, ed, in, and
er are each contracted to single print characters. Notice
that the "sh" in "She" and "distinguished" are both represented the same
way, by a percent sign. Remembering back to our discussion of the caps
sign in Part 1, notice that the comma is the screen braille equivalent of
dot 6, used before the shall to show that "She" is
capitalized. Also notice that while the first in in "finding"
is represented by a single character, a different character represents the
combination ing, found in "seeking", "finding", and
"distinguished". When you are entering text, you do not need
to make all these distinctions. Just type it in as it appears in print,
and the Grade 2 translator does all the work!
Here's what it looks like in grade 2 dots:
She distinguished seeking from finding, but it is
still a job for the experts.
Notice that each print character shown in screen
braille is represented Here's what your Apple thought in ASCII code to
produce screen braille (the 32's are the spaces):
44 37 101 32 52 116 43 117 105 37 36 32 115 101 101
107 43 32 102 32 102 57 100 43 49 32 98 32 120 32 105 115 32 47 32 97 32
106 111 98 32 61 33 32 101 120 112 125 116 115 52
Since most people can't think in ASCII numbers, the
Apple (fortunately!) keeps them to itself. When you need to see braille,
TranscriBEX provides you with two ways to look at it: as "flat" dots, and
as screen braille.
Now that you know something about what braille is, and
how your program and your Apple work with it, it is time to dive into BEX.
Turn to the Learner Level of the main BEX document. Go all the way through
it, doing the examples as they are presented. Even if you don't know any
more about braille than what you just read, you can learn to use BEX as a
word processor. When you're finished, you'll have a good idea of what BEX
does. You'll be able to prepare a simple document using ordinary typing
skills, and use it to generate correct, properly formatted, print and
braille versions.
See you soon!
Congratulations! At this point, you have completed the
Learner Level of BEX, and hopefully peeked at what lies ahead in the BEX
manual. You are about to "graduate" to the User Level of BEX. After
reading about entering and changing text in the Editor and Printing,
perhaps you are thinking, "That's fine if I want to write something
and produce print and braille copies, but what if I only want to
transcribe something that's already been written?" Keep reading; the
answer is coming up next.
The point of going through the Learner Level of BEX
was to collect some tools to work with. Specifically, you should now know
how to boot up your system, establish a configuration, and get to the Main
menu. Once at the Main menu, you should be able to select a chapter, and
use the Editor, Grade 2 translator, Replace characters and Print. Whenever
you are unsure about any of these things, please don't hesitate to refer
back to the BEX Dox.
The $$ commands in BEX are quite powerful. If you are
an experienced transcriber, you may be thinking that entering a string of
$$ commands every time you want to generate a commonly used page format
would be a lot of work. TranscriBEX makes this much easier; it is a
transcribing-specific way of using BEX.
Let's pretend, for a moment, that BEX is a city,
with neighborhoods made up of things like print formatting, braille
formatting, and sophisticated word processing. One neighborhood is
composed of correctly formatted grade 2 braille transcriptions.
TranscriBEX is a route to this particular neighborhood. Rather than
letting you just walk around, hoping you'll eventually find your
destination, TranscriBEX gives you tools, like a car and a map, to get
there faster and by the most direct route. Using TranscriBEX allows you to
bypass whole sections of the city, such as those neighborhoods composed
only of print formatting. We've also provided some guideposts on what
correct braille format is, We introduced the idea of transformation chapters in
Learner Level Section 12. Transformation chapters allow you to replace
particular strings of characters with different strings. That's the
major path through BEX that TranscriBEX uses. There's a chapter on
your TranscriBEX disk called MAKE$. Rather than having to
enter all the $$ commands yourself, you type in the simpler
\\ commands appropriate to the format you want to produce.
Then use Replace characters with MAKE$ as the transformation
chapter, and TranscriBEX generates the correct combinations of $$ commands
for you.
So how do you know which \\ commands to
use? The more you already know about braille transcribing, the more sense
all the commands make from the start. The command names are patterned
after the formats they create. For those of you who are learning
transcribing as you use this program, we have provided an overview of what
proper braille format involves. Sections 4 and 5 discuss the basics of
braille format and introduce four \\ commands. Section 6
begins describing many \\ commands in detail.
Some conventions were established in the BEX manual
which, for the most part, we've kept for the TranscriBEX manual. We'll let
you know about the few things we've changed. As in the BEX manual, when we
say to enter a <CR>, we mean "press the return key"
(and NOT "type less-than, capital C, capital R, greater-than"). For ease
of reading, we show spaces around the <CR> symbol.
Don't enter these spaces in your text except where we specifically say to
do so. The computer is a precise beast. One space more or less may seem
inconsequential to you, but it matters a lot to your Apple! When you need
to enter spaces in your text, we tell you exactly where and how many.
Don't enter extras; it may look nice in print, but it confuses the
computer.
Like the BEX $$ commands, TranscriBEX's
\\ commands require a We used this convention in the BEX manual, but didn't
spell out just what we were doing: When TranscriBEX commands need "data"
to work, we enclose that data in square brackets like this: [data]. For
example, we say \\pp[number] to mean "Use \\pp
to put a number here." The "number" might be "4" or "four" or "iv."
TranscriBEX reproduces exactly what you enter. The data is not part of the
command, so leave a space between the command and the data.
On the other hand, some \\ commands need
integers to work. When we say to use \\nobreak#,
you must use an integer where the number sign is. We use the number sign
to indicate that it's up to you to choose the integer. It's part
of the command, so don't leave a space before it.
"\\nobreakdd" is a valid command; TranscriBEX doesn't
recognize "nobreak4," "\\nobreakfour" or
"\\nobreakiv."
An important difference between this manual and the
BEX manual is a matter of terms. We used the term "print-thinker" in the
BEX manual to refer to how BEX uses the $$ commands to format output. In
this manual, we've dropped that term; "formatter" is used instead. There
are a couple of reasons for this. TranscriBEX is concerned exclusively
with the production of braille; we feel that using "braille formatter" and
"print formatter" makes this distinction clear. We also decided that
taking away the program's implied ability to "think" makes it less
mysterious. In our "BEX city", TranscriBEX gives you the car, but you are
the driver. Only YOU can think; the TranscriBEX "car" would just sit in
the garage without you.
No matter what it's called, the important thing
to remember is that We show a lot of examples in this manual. Many of them
have to do with fitting a segment of text on a braille line or page. All
of our examples assume a brailler carriage width of 41 cells and form
length of 25 lines. If your brailler is different, you must take that into
account when applying the examples to your own transcribing. Part 3 of
this Section steps through how to configure as a BEX User. Write down or
make a mental note of the length and width you use to configure your
brailler. If it differs from our example, keep that in mind when we tell
you how to make things fit.
Let's return to our city analogy for a moment. As
you become more experienced at using TranscriBEX, we hope you'll want to
explore other sections of the BEX city. The timetable for doing so is up
to you; as we get deeper into TranscriBEX we occasionally send you on side
streets to the BEX manual User and Master Levels. Of course, the more you
use the program, the more friendly it becomes. When you first move to a
new city, it might be difficult to find the nearest grocery store, but
after a month, you can easily get to the grocery on the other side of town
that has the freshest produce. And after a couple of months, you may find
that there's more than one way to get to any given location; one way
might be shorter, but another quicker to use during rush hour. The same is
true of using TranscriBEX; as you become more familiar with it, you'll
find shortcuts. It's up to you whether you want to stick to tried and
trusted routes, or forge boldly into unexplored territory.
Before too long, we suggest you read at least the
following: User Level Section 3, if you haven't read it already, contains
some very useful User Level Section 6 tells you more about printing,
but you can skip Part 4 on Review Mode and Preview Braillers. We've
expanded on that information in Section 7, Parts 2 and 6 of
this manual, and there, we hope, cleared up some cloudy
issues. You may also skip User Level Section 7 entirely; it's all
about BEX's $$ commands, which you don't need for TranscriBEX.
User Level Sections 8, 10, and 12 are also recommended
reading at some later date. Section 8 examines the Replace characters
operation in more detail. Sections 10 and 12 talk about how to use
textfiles and files from other programs with BEX. We also discuss these
issues in Section 18 of this manual.
User Level Section 3 of the BEX manual discusses
configuring at the User Level in detail. If you haven't read it yet, now
is the time to do so. Rather than present that information again here, we
present an example of how to answer the configuration questions. In this
example we define a generic inkprint printer, a brailler, and a braille
previewer. We want to do data entry on our Apple keyboard. Keep in mind
that this is only one of an almost infinite number of ways to configure.
When your printer or brailler has different specifications, you must use
them (and not the ones presented here) for good results.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record,
this is only one way to configure. The only absolute here is
the reply to the ENTER CONFIGURATION prompt: you must always use an
asterisk to establish a configuration at the User Level. On-screen help is
available at almost every prompt. To use it, simply enter a
<CR>. Some samples of on-screen help are included in
the above example. In the example, we answered "not" to the first prompt.
BEX responded by specifying when a "Yes" answer is appropriate, and
reminded us to push down the "caps lock" key. Similar advice is available
at the press of a <CR> for all the other system
configuration questions.
We defined a generic inkprint printer as PRINTER ONE.
The form length and carriage width provided are samples; study your
printer manual to find out what you should answer here. We gave an
automatic set-up sequence for printer one; it establishes a left margin of
ten. When you are familiar with your printer you may want to do something
similar (or something completely different!); again study your printer
A brailler was established as PRINTER TWO. When you
need to see a list of the brailler codes, enter a <CR>
at the "Enter brailler code" prompt. We chose brailler code 5, a Thiel
brailler. We accidentally entered a carriage width of 441. BEX does some
error checking here; it suggests that 40 is a typical value. We then
entered 41, and the configuration process continued.
For PRINTER THREE, we first chose brailler code 3, for
Cranmer. But that wasn't really what we wanted. By entering N at the "Is
that what you want?" prompt, we got a chance to re-enter a brailler code.
The second time we chose 1, for Video mode (more about this in Section 7,
Parts 2 and 6).
That's all we wanted to put in this
configuration, so we answered 0 for the PRINTER FOUR prompt, and BEX
bypassed the rest of the questions for that printer. After telling BEX how
many disk drives we have and naming the configuration, we arrive at the
Starting menu.
Now that you're a BEX User, you have access to an
important option on the Main menu that doesn't appear at the Learner
Level. The Heading test allows you to see whether or not a particular
segment of text fits in the space you want it to. To use the Heading test,
press "Have" at the Main menu. After a brief whir, this appears on your
screen: "Type some text and press return for instant translation. Press
return to get back to Main menu." (The Heading test defaults to 40-column
screen width from whatever you were using.) Type in a brief segment of
text, then press return. The Heading test performs an instant grade 2
translation and displays it in screen braille just below what you typed. A
character count appears below the screen braille. This is very handy for
determining things such as whether your runninghead contracts enough to
fit in its allocated 33 spaces, or whether it must be abbreviated. You can
test as many segments of text as you like in this manner. When you are
finished, press return by itself. This returns you to the Main menu and
whatever screen display you were using prior to the Heading test.
Whenever you send text to a printer or brailler, you
must establish a certain format that correctly places the text on the
page. You establish how many lines there can be on a page and how many
characters can fit on a line when you define a printer or brailler in a
configuration. For inkprint printers using 8-1/2 x 11 inch paper, typical
values are 58 lines per page, and 72 characters per line. The braille page
is usually about 41 cells by 25 lines on 11-1/2 x 11 inch paper. Clearly,
transcribing print to braille line for line just won't work.
Because braille is bulky by nature, every effort is
made to use the available space as efficiently as possible. The
contractions of grade 2 braille reduce the length of a document by about
20%. Braille format also conserves space wherever possible.
For example, while inkprint paragraphs are usually indented five spaces,
braille paragraphs are indented only two cells. In print, a line is
sometimes skipped between paragraphs; in braille, blank lines are reserved
for major divisions in the text. Two spaces are left after
periods and colons in print; only one space is used in braille.
Because of the physical (rather than visual) nature of
braille, format standards are especially important. Small differences in
where text is placed on the page can tell the braille reader a lot about
what they are reading. In any braille format, with or without TranscriBEX,
certain elements are especially crucial components of page layout. These
include treatment of indent and runover, braille page numbers, print page
indicators, and runningheads. These elements need to be briefly defined
before talking about how they are used. The main differences between the
TranscriBEX \\ format types are how these elements are
treated. The format types are defined next. Then which formats are
appropriate for which kinds of text are discussed.
If you were a typesetter, you could squeeze or stretch
text to place it at an exact physical distance from the edge of the page.
You could make an The concept of changing the amount of space left at
the edge of the page and establishing indenting and outdenting relative to
that space was introduced in the Learner Level of BEX. That's great
if you're writing something using BEX; you can be as creative as you like.
The point of TranscriBEX, however, is to conform to precise existing
standards for transcribing. To facilitate binding, the Library of Congress
specifies that all material prepared under its auspices must be brailled
on 11-1/2 x 11 inch paper, with at least a one inch space at the left
edge. TranscriBEX assumes your brailling device conforms to this
specification by embossing the leftmost cell at least one inch from the
left edge of the page. The cell embossed as far as possible to the left by
your brailler is always considered by TranscriBEX to be cell 1.
Instructions for braille transcribing often say "...to
cell #." In counting cells, always count them all whether they are
occupied or blank. Their assigned numbers don't change. It is as if you
were told to put mail in a numbered P.O. box; each piece of mail goes into
its assigned box whether there's any mail for the other boxes or not.
The placement of the first cell in a segment of text
(paragraph, heading, etc.) is called the "indent." When transcribing
instructions say, "Indent to cell 3," put the first cell of that segment
in cell 3, regardless of where the preceding line began. The position at
which all subsequent lines of the same segment begin is the "runover."
When instructions say, "Runover to cell 1," begin all subsequent lines of
that segment in cell 1. If instructions say, "Indent to cell 7, runover to
cell 5," begin the first line of that segment of text in cell 7, and all
subsequent lines in cell 5.
Sometimes, the indent is a smaller number than the
runover, as in, "Indent to cell 1, runover to cell 5." In print, this is
called outdenting. In Another common braille instruction is "block," as in,
"Block to cell 5." This simply means that the indent and the runover are
equal to each other. It is the same as saying, "Indent to cell 5, runover
to cell 5."
As in print, each physical page in a braille volume is
given a sequential page number. This braille page number merely orders the
pages in the volume. It does not provide the reader with any information
about the pagination of the inkprint original. The braille page numbers
appear in different spots in different formats. TranscriBEX automatically
generates the right braille page number in the proper place on each page.
TranscriBEX does not create braille pages until the
text is sent to the brailling device. This means that you can go back and
insert or delete words, paragraphs, or any amount of text without messing
up the page numbering. You can instruct TranscriBEX to start numbering
pages with a particular number--this is covered in Section 6, Part 4.
Otherwise, it starts with one, and continues until you instruct it to
stop.
Many braille formats consider the braille
reader's need to know where each inkprint page begins. When required,
print page indicators appear in addition to the sequential braille page
numbers. Textbooks are one instance where this information is essential.
With it, the braille reader can follow class discussion, locate homework
assignments, and generally keep up with the users of the inkprint
original.
A single print page usually occupies several braille
pages. For example, print page 87 is found on three braille pages. They
are marked with print page indicators 87, a87, and b87. When you inform
TranscriBEX that you are beginning a new inkprint page, it generates these
print page indicators appropriately. When a new inkprint page begins in
the middle of a braille page, TranscriBEX generates the required line of
dashes that signals the change. Again, as long as you tell TranscriBEX
You should also note that print page indicators are
extremely useful when transcribing anything that has a table of contents
or an index. When print page indicators are not included on the braille
page, indexes and such must be completely rewritten to refer to the
braille page numbers. When they are included, the page numbers listed may
be transcribed exactly as they appear in print.
Many braille formats require that the title of the
work being transcribed appear on the first line of every page, with an
appropriate page number. When the title is too long to fit on one line, it
is abbreviated. The runninghead never uses more than one line. TranscriBEX
has a command which allows you to enter the runninghead only once;
TranscriBEX then repeats it on the first line of every page throughout the
volume. Again, you can go back and enter or delete text without worrying
about changing the position of the runninghead.
The runninghead is extremely useful in many cases even
when it is not demanded by the format. Individual sheets of paper are used
in thermoforming and in braillers such as the Cranmer. It is important to
be able to tell which book a page belongs to in any situation where there
might be more than one book in the process of being transcribed. It is
also useful if the transcribing task has been divided among
transcribers--something TranscriBEX makes possible.
Whenever you begin a new transcribing project, with or
without TranscriBEX, there is some planning to do before you start data
entry. Developing this planning habit is important; without it, you may
find yourself stuck in the middle of a book with no way to handle a tricky
segment of text. There are a number of things to look for in this first
scan through the book: Check to see whether there are a large number of
foreign words, a table of contents or index, and graphs or pictures in the
book.
One of the first things you must decide is whether to
use textbook or literary format. Sometimes, the agency that assigns you
the transcribing job makes this decision for you. Here are some guidelines
for when you have to decide yourself. Textbook format uses print page
indicators; literary format does not. When there is any possibility that
the braille reader needs print page indicators, use textbook format. Both
formats may be used with or without runningheads. Textbook and literary
formats are also different from each other in the way they handle
preliminary pages, indexes, and certain special cases such as tables and
graphs. Details of these differences are discussed in subsequent Sections.
In general, literary format allows the transcriber a
certain amount of latitude to avoid making transcribing unnecessarily
complex. When a complicated format is presented, the rules of literary
format often refer the transcriber directly to the rules of textbook
format. The overriding concern of textbook format is to represent things
in braille EXACTLY as they appear in print. Anything added or omitted in
the transcribing process must be explained in a transcriber's note.
The main body of text is usually the most straightforward to transcribe,
so it is often done first. The following discussion details how the main
body of text is handled in the two formats. The commands
\\bookformat, \\textbookformat,
\\runninghead, and \\pp [number] are introduced
in this Section.
In literary format without a runninghead, text appears
on every line of the braille page. The braille page number appears in the
rightmost cells of the first line, with at least three blank cells before
the number. Text on the first line must break to allow room for this.
Enter \\bookformat before entering any text. TranscriBEX does
the rest. There is no need to count cells to see if there is room for a
final word before the braille page number, or to make adjustments if the
braille page number has one, two, or three digits. The
\\bookformat command takes care of that.
Literary format with a runninghead has text on lines 2
through 25. Line 1 begins with at least three blank cells, followed by the
runninghead, at least three more blank cells, and the braille page number.
To set this up using TranscriBEX, type
You only have to type the title as you want it to
appear in the runninghead once. TranscriBEX then repeats it at the proper
place on every page until you tell it to stop.
Use your Heading test to see if the grade 2 version of
the title fits in the space allocated to it on line 1. When you type the
title in the Heading test, TranscriBEX instantly contracts it to grade 2,
displays the title in screen braille, and also tells you how many
characters there are in the grade 2 version. When this number is larger
than the space you have, you must abbreviate your title. As a rule of
thumb, keep your runningheads to 27 characters or less.
To find out how much space you have, add together the
following: three for the blank cells preceding the title, three for the
blank spaces following the title, and the maximum number of cells the
braille page number could occupy. Remember to include an extra cell for
the number sign in the braille page number. Then, subtract that number
from the carriage width of your brailler, declared in your configuration.
The remaining number is the maximum length your runninghead can be.
The major difference between textbook and literary
formats in the main body of text is print page indicators. Textbook format
has them; literary format doesn't. For textbook format with no
runninghead, text appears on every line. On line 1, the print page
indicator appears in the rightmost cells with at least three blank cells
before it. Text breaks to allow room for this. The braille page number
appears in the rightmost cells of the last line on the page. Again, at
least three blank cells are required before the braille page number, and
text breaks to allow room for this. Enter \\textbookformat
\\pp1 for this format.
Please note: TranscriBEX generates braille page
numbers completely automatically. The placement of print page
indicators on the braille page is also automatic, but it is up to you to
tell TranscriBEX where each new print page begins. Do this by using
\\pp[number] at the start of every print page. For example,
you begin entering the sentence, "The quick red fox jumped over the lazy
brown dog." on page 12. The last word on page 12 is "fox"; "jumped" is the
first word on page 13. Enter the text exactly like this:
The quick red fox \\pp13 jumped over the
lazy brown dog.
You must enter the space between the \\pp
command and the print page indicator.
Textbook format with a runninghead has text on lines 2
through 25. Line 1 begins with at least three blank cells, followed by the
runninghead, at least three more blank cells, and the print page
indicator. Line 25 breaks the text to allow room for three blank cells and
the braille page number at the end of the line. Enter
\\textbookformat \\pp1
\\runninghead [title] <CR> for this
format. The commands must be entered in the order shown.
When you use the procedure described above to
calculate the length of your runninghead, be sure to take into account the
maximum number of cells the print page indicator could occupy. For
example, you enter \\pp10. When it appears for the first
time, it occupies three cells, because it's preceded by the number
sign: 10. When it appears on subsequent braille pages, it occupies four
cells, because it's preceded by both a number sign and a continuation
prefix: a10. The preceding discussion outlined what appears on the
first and last lines of braille pages in literary and textbook formats,
with and without runningheads. These are the most basic cases; e.g. this
is what applies when you are in the midst of brailling some continuous
text. There are many cases where the braille rules governing a particular
segment of text supersede the most general rules. TranscriBEX copes
internally with some of the exceptions; others require some fiddling on
your part. We make every effort to distinguish between what is automatic
and what requires your intervention, and to provide explicit directions
for handling as many cases as is practical in this manual. Again, we
recommend that you consult the appropriate manual and/or a certified
transcriber about braille standards for any unusual situations.
When you are deciding whether to use literary or
textbook format, here are some things to keep in mind. Both formats may be
used with or without runningheads. The major difference is the presence or
absence of print page indicators; there are several other distinctions as
well. These are discussed in subsequent Sections.
When there is any possibility that the braille reader
needs print page indicators, use textbook format. Consider your own needs
too. When you transcribe a book with an index or table of contents using
literary format, you must also change the page numbers in the index or
table of contents to refer to the braille page numbers. This may not be a
problem for a straightforward table of contents. Re-paginating a
complicated index in this fashion, however, could be a major headache.
By planning before transcribing, you should be able to
avoid this situation. If you find yourself in such a predicament, however,
there's no need to panic. If you decide that you need the print page
indicators after all the data entry is already done, all is not lost.
Simply go back and change \\bookformat to
\\textbookformat. Then, go through the text and insert print
page indicators as they occur. TranscriBEX takes it from there. The
braille page numbers are moved to the bottom line, print page indicators
are placed on the top line with appropriate continuation prefixes, and the
lines of dashes signalling new print pages are generated, all without
having to re-enter any text.
Part 1: Welcome!
Part 2: Our Sources
How we wrote this program
Outside the code books
Part 3: Overview: What TranscriBEX Does
Let TranscriBEX do the work
The advantages of the TranscriBEX approach
What TranscriBEX doesn't do
Part 4: How To Get Started Using TranscriBEX
Section 2: Varieties of Braille
Part 1: Traditional Braille
Part 2: Computer-assisted Braille Production
Screen braille
Examples
Part 3: Go to the Learner Level
Section 3: Assembling More Tools
Part 1: Now You Know...
Part 2: More About the TranscriBEX Manual
Manual conventions from the BEX Dox
New conventions in the TranscriBEX manual
Thinker vs. formatter
41 x 25 examples
Soon you'll learn...
Part 3: Configuring at the User Level
Configuration dialogue
Heading test
Section 4: Formatting the Braille Page
Part 1: The Braille Line
Part 2: Indent and Runover
Part 3: Braille Page Numbers
Part 4: Print Page Indicators
Part 5: Runningheads
Section 5: Literary vs. Textbook Format
Part 1: Looking Ahead
How to figure out how long your runninghead can
be
Part 3: Textbook Format
Part 4: Summary