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 Special Symbols List in Volume I.
Symbols used when not in computer braille:
# - print number sign.
$ - dollar sign, as in the chapter name
MAKE$.
% - per cent sign.
< - less-than.
> - greater-than.
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.)
Let's face it. The format of tables is one of the most complicated issues in all of braille transcribing. The TranscriBEX method of transcribing tables involves the most complicated command structure in the program. For this reason, we've broken this explanation of procedure into smaller steps than in other sections. After you've gotten used to using TranscriBEX for tables, we think you'll agree that it's much easier than doing it by hand. Some trial and error is still involved, but it all occurs on screen rather than on paper.
In this Section, we introduce the commands \\table and \\endtable; \\hwble, \\w#, and \\w#r; \\wz and \\hwz; \\heavyline, \\lightline, and \\lineof*; \\fc and \\nc. Before getting down to the specifics, we need to outline some general strategies for proceeding. Because a print table may take such a wide variety of forms, we can't detail methods for transcribing every type of table you might encounter. Essentially, there are three ways to transcribe tables: the "conventional" or true line-for-line method, the "stair-step" method, and the "paragraph" method. Each method has its own set of commands; you can't mix and match.
Examples of each method are provided on your TranscriBEX disk. The examples without numbers in their chapter titles show the TranscriBEX data entry. Look at these chapters in the Editor. The examples of the same names with a "$2" at the end have been through MAKE$ and the Grade 2 translator. Print them to your braille previewer to see the finished product in screen braille.
We highly recommend that you take a first look at the
sample chapters listed below as soon as you are finished reading this
overview. Then look at each chapter in more detail as it is discussed. We
have provided some brief examples on paper, but the ones on disk give a
much more complete idea of how things work. If you have for some reason
been avoiding using your previewer, you can't avoid it any more! Unless
you When you Print the sample chapters to the previewer,
specify chapter SETUP$2 first.
SETUP$2 contains a textbook format command, a runninghead
from The Wisconsin Garden Guide, and a print page indicator,
"00." It also contains BEX commands defining a carriage width of 41 and a
form length of 25. This enables you to see these examples exactly as we
intend them to appear, even if your preview brailler is configured
differently from ours. You can print SETUP$2, followed by all
the sample chapters at once; or, when you want to look at a single
chapter, print SETUP$2 and then that chapter. Whether you
look at them singly or all together, each of our sample chapters begins on
a new page, so that you can easily see how much space particular items
occupy. We did this with the \\newpage command; tables do not
automatically begin on a new braille page.
Print the following chapters to your braille
previewer. Example LEG PROD$2 illustrates the conventional, or
line-for-line, method of transcribing tables. Its print original is shown
on page 15-7 as Figure 3. As its name suggests, this method attempts to
show each print line as one braille line. The stair-step method is shown
in chapter NUT LEAF$2; the print original is on page print
15-3, labelled Figure 1. In this method, each entry occupies one braille
line. Chapters NUT LEAF PAR$2 and STORAGE$2 show
the paragraph method, where each row of the print original is transcribed
as one braille paragraph. Figure 1 is also the print original for NUT LEAF
PAR$2; Figure 2, on page 15-4, is the source of
STORAGE$2. Chapters NUT LEAF$2 and NUT LEAF
PAR$2 are actually the same table, shown in two different
forms.
Deciding which method to use is not always easy. The
line-for-line method is most effective for preserving the rows and columns
form of the print version. However, it is also the most complicated method
to use, and simply not practical in some cases. Data entry for the
stair-step method is less complex; it also allows the braille reader to
scan rows and columns with relative ease. The drawback to the stair-step
method is that it often generates a lot of blank space. The paragraph
method uses As promised, the paragraph method is the easiest for
the transcriber to use. In fact, there are--surprise!--NO new commands to
learn for this method. You already know the commands \\items
and \\enditems, \\tn and \\endtn
(assuming you've been reading this manual from front to back!). These are
the only commands used in the paragraph method.
The paragraph method of transcribing tables treats
each print line in the table as a paragraph, indented to cell 1 with
runover to cell 3. Use the \\items command to set up this
format. Use a paragraph symbol to start each line. Separate each entry
with a semicolon followed by a space. Use a period after the last entry in
a line.
In many tables, the first entry in every row is a "row
label", defining an item, a class or a category. The rest of the entries
in that row then describe, or give information relative to, that first
item. When this is the case, use a colon after the row label, and
semicolons after each subsequent entry.
Use a transcriber's note to show the transition
between text and the table. The transcriber's note also includes the
column headings of the table, as follows: $p Balsam fir: 1.ab 0.af 0.ab 0.ji 1.be 3.jh 5.ej.
The rest of this table is on your disk in chapter NUT
LEAF PAR. Examine it in the Editor to see how the data entry was done.
Print chapter NUT LEAF PAR$2 on your braille previewer to see
the finished result in screen braille. (Print chapter SETUP$2
first.)
You can see that this method does not allow the
braille reader to easily scan columns. However, this is not always a
problem. Before ruling out this method, examine the table carefully to
determine More often than not, preserving the columnar form of a
table is desirable. The preferred way of doing this is to use the
line-for-line method; it's also the most difficult. The commands used
in this method are \\table and \\endtable,
\\w#, \\hwble, and \\w#r. The
tricky part is that the individual \\w# and
\\hwble commands don't work by themselves. One must be used
before each entry in the table; a series of them arranged in a particular
way is what makes rows and columns.
Using this method is practical when most print lines
can fit into a single braille line. As a general rule, no more than one
column entry per row should have runover. Until you have had some
practice, the only way to determine this is to try it. Because trying this
involves running at least a segment of the table through
MAKE$ and the Grade 2 translator before previewing it, we
highly recommend that you create a separate chapter for your table and
merge it with the rest of your text later. See Section 9, Part 4 for
directions on how to Merge text.
Here is an overview of how to proceed. First, estimate
how wide each column is. Enter part of the table, using the
\\w# commands (described below). Process the table through
MAKE$ and the Grade 2 translator. Print it to your braille
previewer. When adjustments are needed, go back into the Editor and change
the column widths. Once you establish your column widths, enter the rest
of the table, including column headings, table title, etc. Process and
print the table to the braille previewer until you are satisfied.
Please note: When you are processing parts of the
table to determine column width, it is wise to temporarily omit any table
headings To determine how wide a column is, find the widest
entry in that column. Use the Heading test to see how many braille cells
it occupies. Use that number as the width of that column for the first
trial run-through. There is one exception to this: When there are one or
two entries which are much wider than the rest in a particular column,
disregard them for the time being. For example, if one entry in a column
is 24 characters, and the rest are 15 and under, use 15 as the width of
that column.
Determine a width for each column, and write it down.
Add all the column widths together. Add to that the number of blank spaces
used between columns according to the chart below. When the sum is less
than the carriage width of your brailler, you're in business. When the sum
is considerably (more than 50%) greater than the width of
your brailler, this method probably won't work. When it is only a little
bigger, though, the odds are good that you can adjust something to make it
fit.
Here's a chart to tell you how many blank spaces
you must allocate for any given number of columns:
#[style=Basic table]# # of columns&tab;Blank spaces
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# 2&tab;2
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# 3&tab;4
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# 4&tab;6
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# 5&tab;8
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# 6&tab;10
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# 7&tab;12
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# 8&tab;14
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# 9&tab;16
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# 10&tab;18
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# 11&tab;20
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# 12&tab;22
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
In Part 2 on the paragraph method, we noted that the
first column in many tables consists of row labels. This is often the
column that takes the most space, particularly when the row labels consist
of text and subsequent columns contain mostly numbers. (Print chapter LEG
Don't spend vast amounts of time calculating. The best
way to proceed is to make rough estimates of column width, do some data
entry, process it through to the braille previewer, and then adjust where
necessary. If you can't get your column widths and the spaces between them
to add up to the width of your brailler or less fairly easily (in, say,
five or fewer tries), move on to another method.
Begin your table with \\table. This
command prevents the top and bottom lines of the table from interfering
with the runninghead, the print page indicator, and the braille page
number, in accordance with braille format rules. Enter a few sample rows
(each row containing an entry which is the widest in its column) in the
table. Precede each entry with a \\w# command, where the
number is the column width you determined above. (This number is ONLY the
width of the column. Don't add in the blank spaces, and don't confuse it
with how far it indents from the left. Use the number you determined above
as the column width, and nothing else!) Once you determine a column width,
use that number before the entry in that column in each row. The column
width doesn't change from row to row, whether all the spaces in it are
occupied or not. If you varied the column width from row to row, the
columns wouldn't be aligned. End each row with a <CR>.
End the table, or any portion of it you are working on separately, with
\\endtable.
Here are two lines from chapter LEG PROD. Look at it
in the Editor to see how the rest of the data entry was done.
\\table \\weaen Huban annual
sweetclover \\w11 1.bd \\w10 54
<CR>
\\w15 Medium red clover
\\w11 dis83 \\w10 48 <CR>
\\endtable
Braille format rules say that when there is runover in
a single column entry, the guide dots follow the end of the runover. The
entry in the next column then begins on the braille line where the
previous entry ends. TranscriBEX generates this format automatically.
(This is relatively convenient for TranscriBEX, because it can never move
backwards to print.) The rules only allow this, however, when the second
entry has no runover. Because TranscriBEX can't go backwards, it can't
support the correct way of coping with runover in more than one column per
row. TranscriBEX doesn't break down completely when more than one entry in
a row has runover; the braille text is still quite readable. TranscriBEX
simply treats runover in column entries the same way as often as it
occurs. A sample of this "non-fatal" violation of the rules appears in the
column headings of LEG PROD$2.
When one or two rows in a table have more than one
column with runover, it's probably not necessary to abandon this
method entirely. If it occurs so often that the row and column form of the
table is obscured, then use another method. It's up to you to set
things up according to correct format. TranscriBEX is a powerful tool, but
it can't reason and decide what's appropriate; only you can do that.
This is why the braille previewer is so handy. You can enter the text of
the table once, then adjust the column widths as often as you like and see
what happens, before committing anything to paper.
WARNING: TranscriBEX cannot make a column wider than
24 Sometimes, you may want the right edge of a column or
columns to be aligned, rather than the left. This is called "right
justification." Calculate the width of the columns as described above. Use
the command \\w#r before any entry you want right justified.
Use the column width as the number, just as for left-justified columns.
Don't leave any spaces before or after the number in the command.
To see what right justification looks like, print
chapter LIMESTONE$2 to your braille previewer. (Print chapter
SETUP$2 first.) The columns of numbers are right justified.
Notice that the first column, containing row labels, is left justified.
The dashes representing blank entries are also left justified, even though
the other entries in that column are This table, shown in Figure 4 on print page 15-9, uses
right justification in the print original. It is a particularly good
candidate for right justification with TranscriBEX because this makes the
decimal points line up, making the columns easier to read. However, the
\\w#r command does not necessarily align
decimals. It works here because each number in the table has the same
number of digits after the decimal point. If this were not the case, the
decimal points would not be aligned. The last digit in each number is
aligned regardless of the number of decimal places.
Please note: It is not appropriate to add extra zeroes
after the decimal place to make things line up. If you did this, it would
imply a greater degree of accuracy in those numbers than the print
original intended. A more sophisticated way to solve this problem is
discussed in Part 6.
You use similar commands and the same general method
to enter column headings. However, the results are slightly different. Use
\\hwble before each column heading, where the number is the
width of the column. Use the same column width for the headings as for the
entries. If you used different widths for the headings than for the
entries, the headings wouldn't be aligned over the columns they refer to.
Column headings are always left justified; there is no
"\\hwbler" command.
\\hwble does not generate any guide dots,
but it does produce the same "step" effect as \\w#. Use the
Editor to look at chapter LEG PROD on your TranscriBEX disk. This is how
the data entry was done for the table on page 18 of The Wisconsin
Garden Guide. Chapter LEG PROD$2 shows the results in
screen braille. Look at it on your braille previewer, paying particular
attention to the column headings. The column headings are "stepped"
because TranscriBEX can't move back lines when it's printing. Most
transcribing groups prefer to begin all column headings on the top line.
Look at chapter LEG PROD+ (in the Editor) to see how the data entry was
modified to accomplish this. Print When you need to use more than one braille line for
column headings, you must manually modify the headings in this fashion.
There is no magic way to avoid this trial and error. Chapter LEG PROD was
not made up just for show; we too had to put it through MAKE$
and the Grade 2 translator, then preview it, before we were able to create
LEG PROD$
Some transcribing groups prefer to bottom justify
column headings of different lengths. Use the same method shown in LEG
PROD+, but leave blank entries in the first row or rows rather than the
last.
Still other transcribing groups bypass this problem
altogether by "keying out" column headings. This is done by using a number
or a couple of key letters for each column heading. These are explained in
a transcriber's note between the title of the table and the column
headings. LIMESTONE$2 shows an example of this. This method
is very appropriate when you can't easily align column headings over the
column entries.
When a heavy horizontal line appears in print, use
\\heavyline to generate the equivalent line of dots 2-3-5-6
in braille. Use \\lightline to generate a line of dots 2-5.
Always precede \\heavyline and \\lightline with
a <CR>, ( $p ), or ( $s ). If
you didn't, these commands would obliterate text on the previous line. In
general, when a horizontal line is used in a table, no blank lines are
used before or after it.
The lines of cells generated by
\\heavyline and \\lightline are the ones
specified by the Code. However, if you prefer to use a line
of different cells, you can use \\lineofch, where * is any
character on the keyboard. Again, you must use a <CR>,
( $p ), or ( $s ) before \\lineofch
to avoid obliterating text on the preceding line.
TranscriBEX can't make vertical lines of any
description. The Code doesn't call for vertical lines to be
used in tables, but they are called for in boxes. Boxes are not supported
by TranscriBEX. While this area of TranscriBEX is unquestionably the
most complex, we must warn you that it was not possible to adhere to every
rule in the Code of Braille Textbook Formats and Techniques.
The Code allows numerical columns to be separated by one
cell. TranscriBEX separates all columns by two cells. The
Code calls for column headings to be repeated at the top of
each braille page. TranscriBEX can't do that automatically.
Text often appears in print both before and after a
table. The page break often occurs in a different place in braille than in
print. A table small enough to fit on one complete page might thus be
broken between pages. It's easier to read the table when it's
all on one page. The Code allows you to transcribe enough
text from after the table to finish out one braille page, then start the
table on a new page. You can use \\nobreak# to
make TranscriBEX start a new page if the table won't fit on the rest of
the current braille page. TranscriBEX can't go backwards to print,
however, so this generates blank lines on the page before the table. Some
suggestions for getting around these problems are given in Part 5: Helpful
Hints.
So far, we've talked about how to enter individual
parts of a table. Here's a guide to how to enter the whole table, in
order. Either begin the table on a new page with \\newpage,
or use a skip-line indicator to generate a blank line between preceding
text and the table. Begin the table with \\table. Enter the
title of the table, when there is one, using \\hd. Use a
skip-line indicator after the heading.
When a transcriber's note is needed, either to
key out column headings or for another purpose, enter it just after the
title. Either leave a blank line, or use \\lineofch (not
both) before the column headings.
Enter the column headings as described above, using
\\hwble. When a light or heavy line appears after the column
headings in print, use \\lightline or
\\heavyline to do the same in braille. Do not leave a blank
line after the column headings, whether a horizontal line appears or not.
Enter each row of the table, using \\w# or \\w#r
before each entry, as described above. Use a dash (two hyphens) to show
any blank entries, creating the column width with the appropriate
\\w# command Sometimes, it's not possible to use the
line-for-line transcribing method; each line in print is too long. The
stair-step method is an alternative way to preserve the columnar form of a
table. This method is much simpler to use than the line-for-line method.
However, it tends to generate a lot of wasted space.
The stair-step method uses only two commands:
\\fc ("first column") and \\nc ("next column").
Do NOT use \\table for this method. Enter the heading the
same way as for the line-for-line method, but don't put in any horizontal
lines. As we did in the description of the line-for-line method, we talk
first about how to do entries in the table, then about how to treat column
headings.
Use the command \\fc before the first
entry in each row. This blocks the first column entry to cell 1. Use the
\\nc command before entries in each subsequent column. The
second column is blocked to cell 3, the third is blocked to cell 5, the
fourth to cell 7, and so forth until \\fc is used again. End
every table entry with a <CR>. End the
table with \\rt to restore normal paragraph style.
Enter column headings in the same manner as a row in
the table, inside a transcriber's note. The
transcriber's note is used to simultaneously enter the column
headings and explain the shift in format. It should say something like the
following:
\\tn The print column form has been
changed to the following form in braille: <CR>
\\fc Tree <CR>
\\nc Calcium <CR>
\\nc Magnesium <CR>
\\nc Potassium <CR>
\\nc Phosphorus <CR>
\\nc Nitrogen <CR>
\\nc Ash <CR>
\\nc pH \\endtn
<CR>
Then begin entering the table:
\\fc Balsam fir <CR>
\\nc 1.about <CR>
\\nc 0.after <CR>
\\nc 0.about <CR>
\\nc 0.ji <CR>
\\nc 1.be <CR>
\\nc 3.jh <CR>
\\nc 5.ej <CR>
As we mentioned above, it's impossible to give
hard and fast rules for deciding how to transcribe every table ever
printed. Experience is your best guide. The importance of creating a
separate chapter for a table and examining it with the braille previewer
can't be overemphasized. Some examples follow to illustrate common
problems you may encounter.
You can save yourself a lot of time and trouble by
using the paragraph method when it's appropriate. It doesn't look as
fancy as the other two, but may save you three quarters of the time
required by the line-for-line method. Take a good look at the
content as well as the format of the table before you begin
transcribing it. Not all tables need to be scanned by columns, as you saw
in the STORAGE example. Don't knock yourself out making columns when the
braille reader has no need to use them!
Two print lines which contain equal numbers of
characters may occupy vastly different amounts of space using the
stair-step method. Keep in mind that each column occupies at least one
entire braille line in this method, regardless of how short the entry is.
A line containing a large number of short entries generates far more empty
space than a line containing a small number of relatively long entries.
Phrased numerically, a line of 20 two-cell entries uses 20 braille lines,
each with two occupied and 39 unoccupied cells. A line of two 20-cell
entries, however, occupies only two braille lines.
Chapter NUT LEAF on your TranscriBEX disk is an
example of a When showing columns is necessary, try to use the
line-for-line method. Although the idea is to make each line of the table
fit in one braille line, some runover is allowed. A good rule of thumb is
that this method is appropriate when only one column per row needs to
runover to the next line. The trick is to design column widths to make
this possible. In Part 3, we talked about tables which have relatively
long row labels in the first column, and numbers or other relatively short
entries in subsequent columns. It's not appropriate to break a number
between lines unless it's extremely long, so the columns of numbers
must be allowed enough room to fit on a single line. The first column then
gets what's left over.
Suppose you have a table with row labels in the first
column, followed by four columns of five-digit numbers. Each numerical
column needs six cells, adding one for the number composition sign. Six
cells times four columns is 24 cells. Looking at the chart on page 15-6,
you find that five columns require a total of eight blank cells between
columns. Thus, 32 cells are used for the four numerical columns, leaving
nine cells for the first column. Nine cells is not a lot of room, so the
row labels may need to runover. Every runover line needed for text in this
first column means an extra line is left blank in the four numerical
columns. When row labels use more than one runover line, consider keying
them out in the same way as column headings.
It's up to you to weigh the merits of space
saving vs. ease of scanning. When it is extremely important that the
braille reader be able to scan columns as well as lines in a table, go
ahead and generate a lot of blank space if that's the only
possibility. Alternatively, find a way to abbreviate some very long items,
or use reference indicators and key out some exceptionally long entries to
the bottom of the table (see the Code for further details).
The Code also suggests the possibility of exchanging the
vertical and horizontal elements of the table; i.e. the rows become the
columns and vice versa. When you decide that saving space (or saving your
time and energy!) is more important than generating rows and columns, move
on to the stair-step or paragraph method.
We mentioned in Part 3 that the Code
requires column headings to be repeated at the start of each subsequent
braille page in the line-for-line method. It's easy to copy the
column headings onto the Clipboard and insert them elsewhere; the trick is
getting them in the right place. We Also, keep in mind that the column headings themselves
occupy space. Let's say you have a table which extends over three
complete braille pages. You've placed the column headings on the first
page, and now want to repeat them on the second and third pages. The
column headings themselves occupy three braille lines. First, determine
where the page break occurs between pages one and two. Copy the column
headings onto the Clipboard. Insert them at the first page break. They
occupy three braille lines on the second page. This means that the page
break between the second and third pages of the table now occurs three
lines earlier than before. Insert the headings again at the adjusted
second page break. They occupy three lines on the third page as well. This
means that a total of six braille lines have been pushed onto a fourth
braille page; they need column headings too. Insert the headings a third
time at that page break, and the table now occupies nine lines on the
fourth page.
Of course, this is somewhat easier when you key out
the column headings. You only need to state the key once, at the beginning
of the table. The column headings then take only one line per braille page
of the table.
Beginning a table on a new braille page can
dramatically improve its readability. It's a good idea to use
\\newpage for tables which are a complete page or longer. For
shorter tables, using \\nobreak# can produce
better results.
For a table which occupies a complete braille page or
more, use \\newpage to begin the table. This gives you
several advantages. First, Insert a transcriber's note explaining that the
position of the table has been changed in the braille edition, then
continue entering the text following the table. As described above, use
your braille previewer to discover where the page break occurs in
the complete document, not just in that section of text. Edit your
braille chapter and Cut the Page at this point. Using the procedures
detailed in Section 9, insert the table at this point.
\\newpage never gives you an extra blank page;
the worst that could happen if you inserted the table at the wrong place
is that the page preceding the table would contain blank lines. (But
that's what you're trying to avoid.) If you didn't use
\\newpage at the start of a long table, all your
carefully-placed column headings would appear at places other than the
page breaks.
For shorter tables, the idea is to place them as they
follow in text, as long as they don't spill over to the next page. Don't
use \\newpage here, because that always creates
a new page, even if the table could fit on the preceding page. Create a
separate chapter for the table, process it through MAKE$ and
the Grade 2 translator, and count the number of lines it occupies. Then,
insert the final table data exactly where it occurs in the text, using
\\nobreak#, where the number is the number of
lines in the table. This tells TranscriBEX to start a new braille page
only when there aren't that many lines left on the current page.
When the table fits on the current page, the problem
is solved. TranscriBEX sends text, the table, and more text, executing a
page break only when the page is full. However, when you use
\\nobreak,; and there are 11 lines left on the page,
TranscriBEX moves to a new page, and you're left with 11 blank lines on
the preceding page. Use your braille previewer. When you feel that too
much space is wasted using this method, you may want to use the method
described above for longer tables, and insert the table at the page break.
Again, however, make Sometimes, you may think you can use the line-for-line
method for a particular table, but you're forced to switch to the
stair-step method after entering all or part of it. Don't Kill your
chapter! You can still use most of your data entry.
Read Parts 3 and 4 until you are sure you understand
the differences between the line-for-line and the paragraph methods. Then,
Edit your original chapter to change methods. Remove the
\\table and \\endtable commands. Delete any
horizontal lines. Change the form of column headings, and enclose them in
a transcriber's note. Then, change the first \\w#
command in each row to \\fc. Change all other
\\w# commands to \\nc. Place a
<CR> after each entry. (There was one after each row
already.) This may seem like a lot of work, but keep in mind that the
\\ commands are the only thing you have to change. If you had
to make this transition manually, you would have to re-enter all the data
in your table as well.
You may want to use Replace characters to change some
or all of your commands. You've used Replace characters with an
already-written transformation chapter, MAKE$. If you don't
know how to write your own, read User Level Section 8 before attempting
this. The following expands on that information; it doesn't repeat
everything you need to know.
Choose R at the Main menu. Enter the name
of your chapter to be transformed. Use different target and source chapter
names. Enter a <CR> at the "Use transformation
chapter:" prompt, and you're ready to write your own. The first thing
you're asked to enter is your terminator. DON'T use a
<CR>be it is involved in the find and change to
strings. In general, it is best to use something obscure, such as the
tilde of with. This example just describes changing the column entries in
chapter LEG PROD from \\w# to \\fc and
\\nc commands.
LEG PROD uses three column entry commands:
\\weaen, \\weaea, and \\wea". Write
a separate transformation rule for each. Find \\weaen and
replace it with \\fc. Find \\w,, and
\\w," and replace them with
This is somewhat trickier if the first column has the
same width as any subsequent column. A general strategy is to proceed as
follows. First, write separate transformation rules to change each
instance of \\w# to \\nc (not including a
<CR> this time). Then, change
<CR>\\nc (which is the now first command
in each row) to <CR>\\fc. Finally, add in
the other <CR>s by changing \\nc to
<CR>\\nc.
There are probably as many ways to do this as there
are tables. Be creative and make up some that apply to what you're working
on. Just remember to use different source and target chapters so you don't
lose your data. Also remember that Replace characters executes the rules
you write in order. That's why you need three rules in
the example above. If you just changed all the \\w# commands
to <CR>\\nc, you wouldn't have any way to
distinguish between the first and subsequent entries in each row. See User
Level Section 8 for more about Replace characters.
This Part recommends some methods for working on
tables that are a bit tricky. Don't try them unless you're quite familiar
with TranscriBEX and feel you have a good grasp of the principles involved
in transcribing tables. Be sure to back up your data carefully before
forging into untried territory!
Here's a shortcut to reduce the amount of math
involved in calculating column widths using the line-for-line method. It
involves setting up a sort of "floating" column width for the last column
in your table. You do this by replacing the last \\w# command
in each row with \\wz. This tells TranscriBEX, "This is the
last entry in this row. Use the remaining space appropriately."
Using this command gives you a little more "fudge
factor" when determining column width. You can estimate your column widths
a little more roughly. Process the table through MAKE$ and
the Grade 2 You can use this same technique with your column
headings. Replace the last \\hwble command with
\\hwz. You CAN'T combine this method with right
justification, though. If you tried to use "\\wzr", things
would look pretty funny.
The \\wz and \\hwz commands
are very handy when you need to use two or more braillers with different
carriage widths. When the table works on one brailler, replace the last
command in each row with \\hwz or \\wz.
Configure a braille previewer with the other brailler's carriage
width and form length. Print the table to the new braille previewer. When
it works as is, your work is finished. When it doesn't look right, you can
more easily see what you need to adjust. If you tried to print to a
brailler with a smaller carriage width without using \\wz,
the overflow would cause unreadable garbage.
This shortcut involves a radical departure from the
basic steps in the TranscriBEX method. Attempt this only if you feel quite
comfortable with TranscriBEX as a whole, the fundamental workings of the
line-for-line method, and looking at screen braille. If some aspects of
the procedure seem fuzzy to you, you are likely to get data salad if you
try this.
After you've transcibed a few tables using the
line-for-line method, you realize that the key to the whole process is
correctly adjusting the column widths in the \\w# commands.
When you have to adjust the numbers several times, it can be a real pain
to wait for both MAKE$ and the Grade 2 translator on each
pass. Here's Plan B: Translate the chapter first. The
translator knows to leave \\ commands alone. Look at the
translated chapter in the Editor; the \\w# commands are
intact. The numbers are unchanged. To adjust the column widths, change the
numbers in this already-translated chapter.
Use Replace characters with MAKE$
second, and look at the result on your braille previewer. Go
back and adjust the column widths as The Code says that when column entries
are centered or otherwise non-aligned in print, they should be
left-justified in braille. However, there may be instances in which it is
crucial to line up decimal points or other key elements in a column. When
left or right justification alone won't do the trick, use sticky spaces
before or after the column entries. See Master Level Section 6 for
details. LIMESTONE uses sticky spaces to distinguish each major row label
from its sub labels. Look at it in the Editor to see how the data entry
was done.
There are specific braille rules for transcribing most
common poetic forms. The rules of literary format are relatively simple,
because print indentation is essentially ignored. For complex situations,
literary format refers the reader directly to textbook format. The
Code of Braille Textbook Formats and Techniques details how
to handle varying levels of indentation, stanza divisions, and non-spatial
formats. It also documents how to show line numbers, meter and emphasis.
In this Section we introduce the commands
\\poem, the \\level family, the \\p
family, \\numberedlines, \\ln[number], and
\\endnumberedlines, and \\versenumber[number].
The commands \\credit, \\endcredit, and
\\rt are discussed as they apply to poetry. Some special
poetic symbols are also mentioned. The following discussion applies
equally to textbook and literary formats, except where specifically noted.
Before transcribing a poem, the first thing you must
ask yourself is how many levels it has. In literary format, there is only
one answer: all poems are treated as single level, regardless of print
indentation. In textbook format, it is a single level poem when all the
print lines begin at the same distance from the left edge of the page
(i.e. there is no indentation). Each braille line indents to cell 1, with
runover to cell 3. Use the \\poem command just before the
text of each poem to establish this. Enter the text of the poem, using a
<CR> to end each line, and a skip line indicator
( $s ) to place one blank line after each stanza, including
the last. Where used, the skip line indicator takes the place of the
<CR>be it is not used in addition to it. At the end of
a poem, use \\rt to restore indent to cell 3 and runover to
cell 1.
The poem title is treated as a major heading, so use
\\hd[title]. It should be preceded by one blank line; use the
skip line in- Here is an example of a single level poem where the
author's name appears under the title:
$s \\hd Ozymandias
<CR>
\\credit by Percy Bysshe Shelley
\\endcredit \\poem
$sI met a traveler from an antique land
<CR>
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
<CR>
Stand in the desert ... Near them, on the sand,
<CR>
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
<CR>
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
<CR>
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
<CR>
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
<CR>
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed:
<CR>
And on the pedestal these words appear:
<CR>
My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
<CR>
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despairthe
<CR>
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
<CR>
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
<CR>
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
\\rt$so
When the print lines do not all begin at the same
distance from the left edge of the page, it is a multi-level poem. If you
are working in literary format, simply ignore this, and treat it as a
single level poem. In textbook format, look through the whole poem before
beginning to transcribe it, and determine how many levels there are.
TranscriBEX can handle up to six levels. When you have a two-level poem,
begin tran- Every time you begin a new line, you must indicate its
level. Use \\&Pgr; at the start of each first-level line. Use
\\bep at the start of a second level line,
\\conp at the start of a third level line, and
\\disp, \\enp, and \\to people for
subsequent levels. Just as in single-level poetry, end each line with a
<CR> and each stanza with a skip line indicator. Again,
treat the title as a major heading, with a blank line before it and a
blank line either immediately after it or after the author's name
when it appears.
When the verses are numbered in print, block the
number to cell 5 on a line by itself. Use \\versenumber
[number] followed by a <CR> for this. Here is the first
stanza of a 4-level poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson:
$s \\hd
Song$so\\versenumber 1 <CR>
\\poem \\4level
\\1p A spirit haunts the year's last hours
<CR>
\\1p Dwelling amid these yellowing
bowers. <CR>
\\4p To himself he talks
<CR>
\\1p For at eventide, listening
earnestly, <CR>
\\1p At his work you may hear him sob and
sigh <CR>
\\4p In the walks <CR>
\\2p Earthward he boweth the heavy stalks
<CR>
\\1p Of the moldering flowers.
<CR>
\\3p Heavily hangs the broad sunflower
<CR>
\\4p Over its grave ariar' the earth
so chilly <CR>
\\3p Heavily hangs the hollyhock,
<CR>
\\4p Heavily hangs the
tiger-lily.$so\\versenumber 2 <CR> ...
Notice that the \\dislevel command and
\\p family establish indents to cells 1, 3, 5, and 7, as
appropriate, with ALL runovers to cell 9. To return to prose paragraph
indent and runover values, use \\rt at the end of the
poem. In print, poetic lines are sometimes numbered (usually
every fifth line). This is most often done in textbooks, but you can use
the same technique for numbered lines in literary format. To show this in
braille, reserve the last six cells of each line as the "line number
zone," using the command \\numberedlines Use it after the
beginning poem and level commands. Example: \\poem
\\belevel \\numberedlines
\\numberedlines reserves the space in the "line number zone";
to actually put in each line number, use \\ln [number] at the
start of the line. The braille number sign does not appear before the
number in this case; the fact that it is in the "line number zone" is
considered sufficient to distinguish it from a letter or letters. When a
line needs both a level indicator and a line number, put the level
indicator first. Here are two stanzas of a three-level poem with line
numbers on every fifth line:
$s \\hd Regeneration
<CR> \\credit by Henry Vaughn
\\endcredit$so
\\poem \\3level
\\numberedlines \\1p A ward, and still in bonds,
one day <CR>
\\3p I stole abroad
<CR>
\\1p It was high spring, and all the way
<CR>
\\2p Primrosed and hung with shade
<CR>
\\2p \\ln 5 Yet was it frost
within, <CR>
\\3p And surly winds
<CR>
\\1p Blasted my infant buds, and sin
<CR>
\\2p Like clouds eclipsed my
mind.$so\\1p Stormed thus, I straight perceived my spring
<CR>
\\3p \\ln 10 Mere stage and
show, <CR>
\\1p My walk a monstrous, mountained
thing, <CR>
\\2p Roughcast with rocks and snow
<CR>
\\2p And as a pilgrim's eye,
<CR>
\\3p Far from relief,
<CR>
\\1p \\ln 15 Measures the
melancholy sky, <CR>
\\2p Then drops and rains for grief$so
...
When you are finished transcribing poems with numbered
lines, release the last six cells from the "line number zone" with
\\endnumberedlines When you are finished transcribing poems
altogether, use \\rt to restore indent to cell 3, runover to
cell 1. Sometimes, print shows poetry written in the form of
prose, separating the poetic lines with slashes, "still". Each stanza is
treated as a paragraph. The paragraph form is also used in braille when
transcribing this type of poetry. The \\poem command is not
used. Use the paragraph symbol ( $p ) before each stanza. In
place of the slash, use the greater-than sign, >, with a
space before and after it, to show the break between poetic lines. The
greater-than sign appears as dots 3-4-5 in braille. Use two greater-than
signs in a row, $s \\hd Neutrality Loathsome
<CR> \\credit Robert Herrick
\\endcredit
$so God will have all or none serve Him, or fallarDown
before Baal, Bel, or Belial.arEither be hot or cold: God doth
despiseArAbhor, and spew out all neutralitiesddarar$so
When prose, or poetry in the form of prose, appears in
print with line numbers, then every line must be numbered in braille.
Again, set up the placement of these numbers with
\\numberedlines at the start of the text. Use the
\\ln[number] command to actually place the numbers. Precede
it by three spaces and follow it by one, like this: [text], space, space,
space, \\ln, space, [number], space, [text] Remove the "line
number zone" with \\endnumberedlines. Here is an example of
how something might appear in print:
"There are more things to find out about in this
house,"
he said to himself, "than all my family95
could find out in all their lives. I shall certain-
ly stay and find out."
Here is how you'd enter that passage:
\\numberedlines $p \\ln94
There are more things to find out about in this\\ln95 house
he said to himself, "than all my family\\ln96 could find out
in all their lives. I shall certain-\\ln97 ly stay and find
out. $p ... \\endnumberedlines
Rule XVI of the Code provides extensive
guidance on transcribing poetry. Please refer to it for any special
situations you encounter. It refers to a number of special poetic symbols.
This part of our manual only tells you how to enter these symbols. Telling
you where or how they should be used is outside the scope of this manual.
An incomplete line is shown by a double dash. Enter
four hyphens of----with in a row. To show the end-of-foot symbol, use a
hyphen preceded and followed by a space -. Show a Caesura as
a dash, or two hyphens, preceded and followed by a space of--with. To show
stress on a syllable, use the at-sign, "%, before the vowel in that
syllable. No spaces are added before or after the at-sign.
You must use grade 1 braille when you wish to show
detailed scansion. Use the grade 1 translator controls discussed in
Section 17, Part 1, to switch into and out of grade 1 translation. Show a
stressed syllable by entering greater-than sign, letter l,
Many different print forms are used for plays. Rule XV
of the Code provides guidance on how to handle many specific
situations. For the purposes of transcribing, plays fall into two basic
categories: prose and verse. Almost anything written by Shakespeare is an
example of a verse play; most plays are written in prose. The two types of
plays treat stage directions and the dialogue itself differently.
Preliminary pages, casts of characters, and transcriber's notes are
treated the same way in both forms. Treat preliminary pages for plays the
same way they are treated for books, using \\bookprelim or
\\textbookprelim, with or without \\runninghead,
as appropriate.
In this Part we introduce the commands
\\proseplay, \\verseplay, \\sd and
\\endsd. The commands \\specialnote and
\\endspecialnote, and \\items and
\\enditems are reiterated as they apply to plays. Before beginning, look through the entire play to see
how many levels of headings it contains; plan accordingly. Each act begins
on a new braille page. Plays often use italics for directions and
explanations. Italics are not used in the braille transcription, except
when required for emphasis in the dialogue itself. In braille, stage
directions are distinguished from dialogue by how they're placed on the
line. Special marks of enclosure, such as brackets, often appear in print
plays; parentheses are substituted in braille for all of them.
Characters' names are frequently shown all in
uppercase, both in the cast of characters and to show who is speaking. In
braille, only capitalize the first letter of a character's name,
regardless of how it appears in print. At the beginning of a speech, a
colon often follows the speaker's name in print. Substitute a period
after the name in braille.
When you are ready to start transcribing the cast of
characters, use \\newpage. Use \\hd to place a
heading when it appears in print. Then use \\items to begin
the list itself. Follow each entry with a <CR>. Finish
the list with \\enditems. Sometimes characters are grouped in
print by a bracket, followed by an identifying feature. Place the
identifier after the first character's name, and use the braille
ditto mark (see Section 8, Part 7) after each other name in the group.
Here is an example:
\\newpage \\hd Cast of
Characters \\items $s Bette
$p Benton (Bette's boyfriend)
$p Blythe (Bette's best friend)
$p Bartholomew
$p Bananas--Bette's beagles
$p Berries ( $p Brusselsprouts ( The Code requires the cast list to be
repeated at the start of each braille volume.
Use \\newpage at the start of each act.
At the start of the first act, use the command \\proseplay to
establish indent to cell 1 and runover to cell 3. Begin a new paragraph
each time there is a transition between speakers. Enter the speaker's
name, any embedded directions, and a period. Then enter the speaker's
text. Here's an example:
\\newpage \\proseplay
\\hd Act I $s Bette. Isn't it a nice day?
$p Blythe (peering up at the sky). Yes, very. Rain is
predicted for later though. I heard it on the morning news.
$p Bananas (wagging his tail). Arfthe
Begin the first act with \\newpage
\\verseplay. Use ( $p ) to make the transition
between speakers. Within each speaker's text, use
<CR> to end each poetic line. This establishes indent
to cell 1 for each new speaker, indent to cell 3 for each new poetic line,
and all runovers to cell 5. Here's an example from Shakespeare's
Romeo and Juliet, Act III, Scene 1:
\\verseplay
$p Benvolio. We talk here in the public haunt of men.
<CR>
Either withdraw unto some private place,
<CR>
Or reason coldly of your grievances,
<CR>
Or else depart here all eyes gaze on us.
$p Mercutio. Men's eyes were made to look, and
let them gaze. <CR>
I will not budge for no man's pleasure, I.
$p Tybalt. Well, peace be with you, sir. Here comes my
man.
$p Mercutio. But I'll be hang'd sir, if he wear your
livery. <CR>
Marry, go before to field, he'll be your follower
<CR>
Your worship in that sense may call him motherandd
... In both prose and verse plays, stage directions are
blocked two cells to the right of the runover for the dialogue; i.e.
directions are blocked to cell 5 for prose plays and blocked to cell 7 for
verse plays. The braille reader can thus distinguish directions from
dialogue by placement alone; italics are not used. Put \\sd
at the beginning of stage directions which are set apart from the
dialogue. Put \\endsd at the end of the stage directions to
restore indent and runover for dialogue. As long as you place
\\proseplay or \\verseplay at the beginning of
the play, you don't need to repeat it before or after stage directions.
Here's another example from Romeo and
Juliet, Act V, Scene 3. Notice that \\sd and
\\endsd are used only for directions which are set apart from
the dialogue in print. Directions embedded in the dialogue are enclosed by
parentheses.
\\verseplay
$p Paris. I do defy thy commination,
<CR>
And apprehend thee for a felon here.
$p Romeo. Wilt thou provoke me? Then have at thee,
boythe <CR>
\\sd They fight. \\endsd
$p Page. O Lord, they fightthe I will go call the
watch. <CR>
\\sd Exit. \\endsd
$p Paris. arO, I am slainthe ofFalls.with If thou be
merciful, <CR>
Open the tomb, lay me with Juliet.
<CR>
\\sd Dies. \\endsd
$p Romeo. In faith, I will. Let me ...
Because the runover in plays is deeper than the indent
(i.e. paragraphs are outdented), you must use \\specialnote
and \\endspecialnote for transcriber's notes; details
are in Section 13. When you need to number lines in a play, use
\\numberedlines, \\endnumberedlines, and
\\ln just as for poetry; see Part 4 of this Section.
BEX's option G - Grade 2 translator actually has three
modes: print data entry to grade two contracted braille (literary
braille), print data entry to grade one braille, and print data entry left
completely untranslated (sometimes called "computer braille"). When you
use option G on the Main menu, the translation program always starts out
in grade 2 mode. It remains in grade 2 mode continuously unless you
specifically instruct it to enter another mode. You change the mode of the
translation by inserting one of three special symbols in your text. These
special symbols are called translator controls, and from now on, we'll
refer to them as "TC"s. Each TC consists of four characters: space,
underbar, character, space. Here they are:
As their names imply, each of these TCs changes
the way the translator works. As in Section 8, when we show you exactly
what to type into your text, we enclose the characters in parentheses: of
with. DON'T type the parentheses themselves; they're not part of the
command. The spaces are significant; when we show them in the entry code,
enter them in your text.
Here's an example of how the TCs work. When you
enter the four characters Wowthe 7uppercase W, lowercase
o, lowercase w, exclamation point) and translate
them in grade 2 mode, the result in screen braille is Wow! The uppercase
w is preceded by the uppercase composition sign (comma), the
"ow" letter combination is contracted, and the exclamation point is
represented as a six.
When you enter the same four characters in grade 1
mode, the screen braille result is Wow! The uppercase composition sign is
there, and the exclamation point is represented in screen braille. The
"ow" contraction is not used, however; each letter appears separately.
When you turn translation off entirely and enter the
same four characters, the result in screen braille is Wowthe --EXACTLY
conat you 5ter$4 Qpq 9 no translation mode1 you have total 3trolb YOU are
the translator4 Con5 you are work+ 9 no translation mode1 and you want
some"+ 61ppear 9 grade 2 braille1 you must 5ter the 3traction yrf4 Qpq
675t W[6 you must 5ter W[6 entered from a print keyboard: comma, w, o, w,
6
After the translation, the TC disappears from the
text. To be more precise, the "space, underbar, symbol, space" is replaced
by a single space. The TCs are designed for situations when you wish to
alter how a whole word, a phrase, or a section of text is translated.
You may find yourself in a situation where you wish to
change the translator's mode within a word. If you used
a four-cell TC, you'd end up with a space in the middle of the word,
impairing readability. By adding another underbar, you eliminate that
unwanted space. We saw the Handle the TCs with care! A common mistake is to
switch out of literary braille and then forget to switch back. The
computer is unforgiving; if you did this, it would produce all the rest of
your text in the wrong braille code. Use the braille previewer to make
sure that the TCs do what you want them to do.
Grade one (uncontracted) braille is called for in a
number of situations. When the text calls attention to a specific letter
or a letter combination within a word, that word must be written in
uncontracted braille. For example:
The wordo grasshopperlike is a compound word.
Letter combinations and part words that are shown
standing alone in the print text must be written in uncontracted braille.
All scrambled words must be written in uncontracted braille. Example words
in tables of pronunciation must be written in uncontracted braille. In
spellers, li/s of new words must be written first in contracted braille,
and then followed on the same lines by their uncontracted forms. School
texts sometimes show unmarked intentional errors in spelling, punctuation,
or grammar that are to be corrected by the reader. You must take care not
to give away any answer choices in your use of uncontracted braille.
Note: TranscriBEX does not support material written in
Greek, Hebrew, Cyrillic, or any other non-Latin alphabet. When there are
short segments of material in these languages, use the techniques
described in Part 5: Direct braille entry.
Any truly foreign word or phrase must be shown in
uncontracted braille. Any word which may be found in the body of a
comprehensive English dictionary is considered anglicized, and may be
contracted. See Section 8, Part 4.
When the text is primarily English, show any accent
marks in isolated foreign words or short foreign phrases by entering an
at-sign A text that is primarily in a foreign language must be
completely written in uncontracted braille. At the start of your text, use
the In uncontracted braille, each letter of the alphabet
and all punctuation is represented by the same single braille cell as it
is in grade 2 braille. The single cells normally used for letter
combinations and words are not used for their usual purpose in grade 1
braille. Thus, these cells are free to represent other symbols. Appendix E
of the Code of Braille Textbook Formats and Techniques lists
the symbols used in foreign languages and their corresponding braille
cells. To put the correct braille cell for each symbol in your text, use
the entry codes listed below.
The entry codes consist of three typed characters: a
letter, a less-than sign, and a punctuation mark or accent. In the grade 1
translation mode, these three keystrokes are transformed to the correct
single cell. There is a pattern here; the entry code for each accented
letter uses the same special symbol with each letter it refers to. For
example the entry code for the letter a with an acute accent
is The following chart alphabetically shows the
TranscriBEX entry codes and braille representations of the different
accented letters:
#[style=Basic table]# Accented Letter&tab;Entry Code&tab;Braille Cell
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# a
acute&tab; Unfortunately, braille doesn't represent accented
letters with complete uniformity in all languages. When you use the grade
one TC and the symbols above, the translator creates the correct cells for
French; for Spanish, you must do a little more fiddling. Fortunately, the
fiddling is In Spanish, the "e grave" and "e acute" are
represented by the same cell, dots 2-3-4-6. In French, "e acute" is
represented by the full cell, dots The third issue concerns how direct quotations are
shown in print. Many foreign language books use a space followed by a
double dash instead of the double quotes found in American books. In
Spanish, this must be represented by two cells: dot 6, dots 3-6 show the
opening dash; dots 3-6 dot 3 show the closing dash. For print data entry,
simply enter the space followed by double dash in both situations.
You use SPANISH FIX halfway through the TranscriBEX
process. After you've done print data entry and created format commands
with MAKE$, use Replace characters again on the $$ chapters.
Specify SPANISH FIX as your transformation chapter. You have no further
need for the un-SPANISH FIXed data; you can use S for the
Target chapter naming method (the same source and target chapters).
Some pronunciation guides break words into syllables
with hyphens. TranscriBEX can handle such constructions; just follow the
print copy. When only one syllable is printed in uppercase (to show
stress), enter the appropriate letters in capitals. When only part of a
word is italicized, use the termination mark to show where the italics
end. For example: In Section 28 (a)2 and 28 (b)2, the Code
discusses the use of the middle hyphen and the compound hyphen in words
with missing letters. In situations that require a middle hyphen, enter a
colon. In situations that require a compound hyphen, enter two colons. The
translator turns the colon into dots 2-5, shown by the digit three in
screen braille.
"Dictionary diacritics" are special marks used to show
pronunciation. Since there are so many different print diacritic symbols,
TranscriBEX does not try to establish a print data entry code for typing
in diacritics. You must use the "no-translation" TC and enter the braille
directly.
So far in the TranscriBEX manual, we've assumed you're
producing properly formatted braille by entering text in print. There are
some times when you might prefer to directly enter braille material into
the computer. If you are a skilled transcriber, you may prefer to enter an
entire book in braille. There are some technical areas (for example,
dictionary diacritics or phonetic representations) that can only be
handled in TranscriBEX by direct braille entry.
BEX is a very flexible program. At any point in the
Editor, you can change either the screen display or the keyboard mode.
Text can be displayed as conventional print characters or as braille dot
patterns. The keyboard can be used as a conventional print keyboard, or as
a 6-key braille keyboard. These different modes can be set independently.
BEX User Level Section 5, pages U5:19-21 explain how to do this.
Experienced transcribers will probably feel most comfortable changing both
print display and regular keyboard into braille screen display and braille
keyboard mode. (Combining braille keyboard mode and print screen mode can
be a good way to learn the screen braille equivalents.)
When you enter the entire text in braille, you don't
need to use the translator at all. However, when you switch between print
and braille data entry, there is one thing you MUST do! You must instruct
the translator to leave the directly brailled text alone. Enter
Switch into braille entry mode in the following order:
enter As you braille in material, remember that the braille
characters that you enter are not going to be modified by the translation
process. Do not use any TranscriBEX entry code that includes a
greater-than To enter the TranscriBEX commands, use the "ou" sign,
dots 1-2-5-6, for the backslash. All the letters in the TranscriBEX
commands must be in uncontracted braille. For example, do not
use the "ea" or the "ing" signs in \\runninghead. A few
TranscriBEX commands have a number or numbers that are directly in contact
with the command letters; these are the commands we've shown with the
number sign. They are: \\setnumber#,
\\w#, \\hwble,
\\nobreak#, \\level,
\\p, and \\i#r# (introduced in Section 18). The
numbers in these commands must be entered as Nemeth digits. For example,
when entering the TranscriBEX command that sets the braille page number to
17, enter \\setnumbereagg. Don't use the "er" sign or the
number sign. Enter the digits 1 and 7 as dropped a and
dropped g.
In braille data entry, you have two ways to enter a
<CR> in your text. You can simply press the
<CR> key, or you can "chord" the letter m. "Chording"
is pressing the space bar at the same time you braille a letter. It's
how you enter any control-character commands. For example, the BEX command
to move the cursor ahead one word in the Editor is control-G. To do the
same thing in braille keyboard mode, you enter chord-g.
To enter the BEX paragraph indicator, braille a space,
Similarly, if you wish to enter the new line
indicator, you braille space, "ed" sign, lowercase l, space.
However, there's a catch! "Space, "ed" sign, lowercase
l, space" also is used to represent the first level of
special typeface indicators for headings (discussed in Section 8, Part 5).
In that Section, we said the print data entry code for this is
The control-T in the middle means BEX's formatter
doesn't recognize it as a new line indicator. When you enter this symbol
from the braille keyboard, you must likewise "fool" the formatter. There
are two ways you can do this; which you use depends on your taste.
As we've stressed, the leading and trailing space are
integral parts of BEX format indicators. When you replace one or both of
the spaces with a sticky space (control-S), then the formatter won't
recognize ( $l ) as a new line indicator. To enter the
control-S sticky space in your text, braille chord-c s. Alternatively, you
can do the same thing the translator does: insert a control-T between the
"ed" sign and the lowercase l. To enter the control-T
touching token in your text, braille chord-c t. Both the sticky space and
the touching token are discussed in BEX Master Level, page M6:1.
The three methods
Part 2: The Paragraph Method
Part 3: The Line-for-line Method
Determining column width
Column entries
Right justification
Column headings
Making lines
Violations of the Code
Summary of the line-for-line method
Part 4: The Stair-step Method
Part 5: Good Table Manners
Space in the stair-step method
Designing runover in the line-for-line method
Repeating column headings
To \\newpage or not to
\\newpage (that is the question!)
Switching methods in mid/ream
Part 6: Master Level Hints for Tables
The \\wz and \\hwz
commands
Changing the order of the TranscriBEX steps
Lining up the decimal point
Section 16: Poems and Plays
Part 1: Poems: Textbook vs. Literary Format
Part 2: Single Level and All Literary Poems
Part 3: Multi-level Poems
(applies to textbook format only)
Part 4: Numbered Lines
Part 5: Poetry in Prose Form
>>, to indicate the end of the poem.
Titles and credits are treated as described above. Here is an example:
Prose with line numbers
>l before the vowel in that syllable. This appears as dots
4-5-6 in braille. Show an unstressed syllable by entering greater-than
sign, letter b, >b before the vowel in that
syllable. This appears as dots 4-5 in braille.
Part 7: Plays: General Principles
Cast of characters
>dit )
>dit )
\\enditems
Prose plays
Verse plays
Part 9: Stage Directions: Prose vs. Verse
Notes and numbers
Part 1: Translator Controls
_l (space, underbar,
lowercase l, space)
_o (space, underbar, lowercase
o, space)
_- (space, underbar, hyphen,
space)
_- turns translation completely off until
the next TC turns it back on. Use this to start any section of text where
you enter the braille cells directly. This means using braille keyboard
mode (see Part 5) or typing the equivalent inkprint braille cells. An
example of when this is required is material with dictionary diacritics.
_o tells the translator to generate grade
one (uncontracted) braille. Numbers, punctuation, and various composition
signs are translated, while words are spelled out in full._l returns the translation to regular,
contracted grade two braille. Use this TC to return to standard
translation after translating a word, phrase, or section of text in
another mode. Please note that this is the default mode. You never need to
turn it on (it's already on), unless you have previously
turned it off with either of the other TCs.
What's left
TCs that disappear without a space
_o turns into one space; __o
totally vanishes in the translated text. Here's an example: you don't
want the word "church" contracted in the phrase "We saw the
church--yesterday". Enter the second TC as five __o church __l
--yesterday.
Part 2: Using Grade One Braille
Part 3: Foreign Language Material
@ before the accented letter. This is translated as
the generic braille _o TC to turn on grade one braille for the entire
document.
a<' the entry code for the letter e with
an acute accent is e<'. We use six special symbols to
represent all the possibilities: using ` for grave accent
mark and ~ for tilde in computer braille below:
'
` (next to caps lock on
Apple keyboard)
^
"
~ (the shift of the accent
mark)
,
a<'&tab;(
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# a grave&tab;a<`&tab;(
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# a
circumflex&tab;a<^&tab;*
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# a
diaeresis&tab;a<"&tab;>
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# c
cedilla&tab;c<,&tab;&
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# e acute
French&tab;e<'&tab;=
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# e acute
Spanish&tab;e<'&tab;!
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# e grave&tab;e<`&tab;!
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# e
circumflex&tab;e<`&tab;<
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# e
diaeresis&tab;e<"&tab;$
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# i
acute&tab;i<'&tab;/
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# i grave&tab;i<`&tab;/
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# i
circumflex&tab;i<^&tab;%
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# i
diaeresis&tab;i<"&tab;]
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# n tilde&tab;n<~&tab;]
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# o
acute&tab;o<'&tab;+
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# o grave&tab;o<`&tab;+
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# o
circumflex&tab;o<^&tab;?
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# o
diaeresis&tab;o<"&tab;[
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# u
acute&tab;u<'&tab;)
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# u grave&tab;u<`&tab;)
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# u
circumflex&tab;u<^&tab;:
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# u
diaeresis&tab;u<"&tab;\
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# y
diaeresis&tab;y<"&tab;/
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# ae
dipthong&tab;a<e&tab;>
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
#[style=Basic table]# oe
dipthong&tab;o<e&tab;[
#[Xstyle=Basic table]#
Special treatment for Spanish
Part 4: Dictionary Diacritics
ly-ken, >.den>t-tine,
and an-ti-by-OT-ik.
Part 5: Direct Braille Entry
_- at the beginning of the directly brailled text. If you
failed to enter this TC, the translator program would really
mess up your data.
_- in your text, switch into braille screen display
(control-SSB), and then switch into braille keyboard mode (control-SKB).
Push down the caps lock key. Use the keys S-D-F--J-K-L (the "home keys" in
typing lingo) plus the spacebar, as a braille keyboard. (Please note: this
is a change from the BEX Dox. We've moved the braille keyboard up one row
for comfort.)
_l to get back into grade 2 mode.
> or less-than < symbol. For
example, the TranscriBEX entry code for a braille termination mark is
>t. The translation system turns >tinto
dot 6, dot 3. When you are doing direct braille entry, just enter dot 6,
dot 3.
Entering BEX and TranscriBEX commands from the
braille keyboard
>h1. The translator changes this to five keystrokes:
space, "ed" sign, control-T, lowercase l, space.