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Thread: cleaning braille files
Number of posts in this thread: 7 (In chronological order)
From: Michael Bullis
Date: Mon, Mar 28 2016 4:25PM
Subject: cleaning braille files
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This is an accessibility question but perhaps not quite on point for this
list.
From time to time I need to read very lengthy documents in braille on my
electronic braille notetaker.
In order to make the process much more enjoyable I clean the file by
removing paragraph symbols, end of line feeds, rows of dashes, spaces,
slashes or stars.
When finished, I have a file that requires far fewer line advances as I read
along and one that uses the full width of the braille display.
My process for cleaning is rather cumbersome, requiring the creation of
several search and replace strings that I run manually. I'm wondering if
anyone on the list knows of a piece of software that might have been created
that does what I'm doing by hand?
Thanks in advance for your continued good works. I'm mostly a lurker but do
learn much.
Michael Bullis
Executive Director,
The IMAGE Center of Maryland
300 E. Joppa Road,
Suite 312
Towson MD
21286
Email: <mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
Office: 443-275-9394
Cell: 443-286-9001
Website: www.imagemd.org
From: Kelly Lupo
Date: Mon, Mar 28 2016 4:53PM
Subject: Re: cleaning braille files
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What kind of file is it? I am assuming it is a text-based format of some kind (such as notepad or Word)? What program are you using to do this manually?
I'm not quite familiar with many electronic braille notetakers, so I'm not sure how you're currently doing what you're doing. :) But I wonder if Word has macros which you could set up to run the find/replace, (if you're using word already). (I know Excel does, never tried with Word.)
Kelly
Sent from my iPad
> On Mar 28, 2016, at 6:25 PM, Michael Bullis < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>
> This is an accessibility question but perhaps not quite on point for this
> list.
>
> From time to time I need to read very lengthy documents in braille on my
> electronic braille notetaker.
>
> In order to make the process much more enjoyable I clean the file by
> removing paragraph symbols, end of line feeds, rows of dashes, spaces,
> slashes or stars.
>
> When finished, I have a file that requires far fewer line advances as I read
> along and one that uses the full width of the braille display.
>
> My process for cleaning is rather cumbersome, requiring the creation of
> several search and replace strings that I run manually. I'm wondering if
> anyone on the list knows of a piece of software that might have been created
> that does what I'm doing by hand?
>
> Thanks in advance for your continued good works. I'm mostly a lurker but do
> learn much.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Michael Bullis
>
> Executive Director,
>
> The IMAGE Center of Maryland
>
> 300 E. Joppa Road,
>
> Suite 312
>
> Towson MD
>
> 21286
>
> Email: <mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
>
> Office: 443-275-9394
>
> Cell: 443-286-9001
>
> Website: www.imagemd.org
>
>
>
> > > >
From: Michael Bullis
Date: Mon, Mar 28 2016 5:20PM
Subject: Re: cleaning braille files
← Previous message | Next message →
I've used Word and a couple of different notepad apps. I'm just lazy because it takes a while to do the macros one at a time.
The files are either brf or txt usually.
Michael Bullis
Executive Director,
The IMAGE Center of Maryland
300 E. Joppa Road,
Suite 312
Towson MD
21286
Email: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
Office: 443-275-9394
Cell: 443-286-9001
Website: www.imagemd.org
-----Original Message-----
From: WebAIM-Forum [mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = ] On Behalf Of Kelly Lupo
Sent: Monday, March 28, 2016 6:54 PM
To: WebAIM Discussion List < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] cleaning braille files
What kind of file is it? I am assuming it is a text-based format of some kind (such as notepad or Word)? What program are you using to do this manually?
I'm not quite familiar with many electronic braille notetakers, so I'm not sure how you're currently doing what you're doing. :) But I wonder if Word has macros which you could set up to run the find/replace, (if you're using word already). (I know Excel does, never tried with Word.)
Kelly
Sent from my iPad
> On Mar 28, 2016, at 6:25 PM, Michael Bullis < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>
> This is an accessibility question but perhaps not quite on point for
> this list.
>
> From time to time I need to read very lengthy documents in braille on
> my electronic braille notetaker.
>
> In order to make the process much more enjoyable I clean the file by
> removing paragraph symbols, end of line feeds, rows of dashes, spaces,
> slashes or stars.
>
> When finished, I have a file that requires far fewer line advances as
> I read along and one that uses the full width of the braille display.
>
> My process for cleaning is rather cumbersome, requiring the creation
> of several search and replace strings that I run manually. I'm
> wondering if anyone on the list knows of a piece of software that
> might have been created that does what I'm doing by hand?
>
> Thanks in advance for your continued good works. I'm mostly a lurker
> but do learn much.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Michael Bullis
>
> Executive Director,
>
> The IMAGE Center of Maryland
>
> 300 E. Joppa Road,
>
> Suite 312
>
> Towson MD
>
> 21286
>
> Email: <mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
>
> Office: 443-275-9394
>
> Cell: 443-286-9001
>
> Website: www.imagemd.org
>
>
>
> > > archives at http://webaim.org/discussion/archives
>
From: Chagnon | PubCom.com
Date: Mon, Mar 28 2016 6:00PM
Subject: Re: cleaning braille files
← Previous message | Next message →
In traditional publishing, we often do this type of clean up of all Word documents before they are imported into desktop publishing layouts. All that extraneous crapa-hola in Word is just as much a royal pain for us as it is for people using AT.
It is possible to create one macro in Word that performs all of the search and replace strings, one after the other. For more info, check some online resources on how to create Macros in Word. It is a very handy skill to have.
âBevi Chagnon
-----Original Message-----
From: WebAIM-Forum [mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = ] On Behalf Of Michael Bullis
Sent: Monday, March 28, 2016 6:26 PM
To: 'WebAIM Discussion List' < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Subject: [WebAIM] cleaning braille files
This is an accessibility question but perhaps not quite on point for this list.
From time to time I need to read very lengthy documents in braille on my electronic braille notetaker.
In order to make the process much more enjoyable I clean the file by removing paragraph symbols, end of line feeds, rows of dashes, spaces, slashes or stars.
When finished, I have a file that requires far fewer line advances as I read along and one that uses the full width of the braille display.
My process for cleaning is rather cumbersome, requiring the creation of several search and replace strings that I run manually. I'm wondering if anyone on the list knows of a piece of software that might have been created that does what I'm doing by hand?
Thanks in advance for your continued good works. I'm mostly a lurker but do learn much.
Michael Bullis
Executive Director,
The IMAGE Center of Maryland
300 E. Joppa Road,
Suite 312
Towson MD
21286
Email: <mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
Office: 443-275-9394
Cell: 443-286-9001
Website: www.imagemd.org
From: Thad C
Date: Thu, Apr 07 2016 7:44PM
Subject: Re: cleaning braille files
← Previous message | Next message →
Greetings group.
I am looking at developing some open source projects and repos. Would the
creation of a macro that executed this functionality be useful for people?
On Mar 28, 2016 3:25 PM, "Michael Bullis" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> This is an accessibility question but perhaps not quite on point for this
> list.
>
> From time to time I need to read very lengthy documents in braille on my
> electronic braille notetaker.
>
> In order to make the process much more enjoyable I clean the file by
> removing paragraph symbols, end of line feeds, rows of dashes, spaces,
> slashes or stars.
>
> When finished, I have a file that requires far fewer line advances as I
> read
> along and one that uses the full width of the braille display.
>
> My process for cleaning is rather cumbersome, requiring the creation of
> several search and replace strings that I run manually. I'm wondering if
> anyone on the list knows of a piece of software that might have been
> created
> that does what I'm doing by hand?
>
> Thanks in advance for your continued good works. I'm mostly a lurker but
> do
> learn much.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Michael Bullis
>
> Executive Director,
>
> The IMAGE Center of Maryland
>
> 300 E. Joppa Road,
>
> Suite 312
>
> Towson MD
>
> 21286
>
> Email: <mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
>
> Office: 443-275-9394
>
> Cell: 443-286-9001
>
> Website: www.imagemd.org
>
>
>
> > > > >
From: Jim Allan
Date: Mon, Apr 11 2016 8:06AM
Subject: Re: cleaning braille files
← Previous message | Next message →
might be useful.
if you decide to do it perhaps using the Linear Braille code
http://www.brailleauthority.org/linear/linear1987.TXT
as replacements for formatting.
Jim
On Thu, Apr 7, 2016 at 8:44 PM, Thad C < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> Greetings group.
>
> I am looking at developing some open source projects and repos. Would the
> creation of a macro that executed this functionality be useful for people?
> On Mar 28, 2016 3:25 PM, "Michael Bullis" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>
> > This is an accessibility question but perhaps not quite on point for this
> > list.
> >
> > From time to time I need to read very lengthy documents in braille on my
> > electronic braille notetaker.
> >
> > In order to make the process much more enjoyable I clean the file by
> > removing paragraph symbols, end of line feeds, rows of dashes, spaces,
> > slashes or stars.
> >
> > When finished, I have a file that requires far fewer line advances as I
> > read
> > along and one that uses the full width of the braille display.
> >
> > My process for cleaning is rather cumbersome, requiring the creation of
> > several search and replace strings that I run manually. I'm wondering if
> > anyone on the list knows of a piece of software that might have been
> > created
> > that does what I'm doing by hand?
> >
> > Thanks in advance for your continued good works. I'm mostly a lurker but
> > do
> > learn much.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Michael Bullis
> >
> > Executive Director,
> >
> > The IMAGE Center of Maryland
> >
> > 300 E. Joppa Road,
> >
> > Suite 312
> >
> > Towson MD
> >
> > 21286
> >
> > Email: <mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
> >
> > Office: 443-275-9394
> >
> > Cell: 443-286-9001
> >
> > Website: www.imagemd.org
> >
> >
> >
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > >
--
Jim Allan, Accessibility Coordinator
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
1100 W. 45th St., Austin, Texas 78756
voice 512.206.9315 fax: 512.206.9264 http://www.tsbvi.edu/
"We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us." McLuhan, 1964
From: Michael Bullis
Date: Mon, Apr 11 2016 10:23AM
Subject: Re: cleaning braille files
← Previous message | No next message
I should have clarified in my original request that what I do to braille files is for casual use only. I wouldn't use it for books with tables or poetry where line formatting is important.
All I use this for is novels or nonfiction that isn't technical. I wouldn't use it for math.
In other words, I call it junk braille reformatting so I can use the full braille line on my braille display. It's handy if I'm turning a document I have created on a word processor into something I might need to use with an audience where I need to read specific lengthy passages.
The things that I do are---more than three occurrences of dashes, * (stars), all tabs, paragraph symbols, linefeed symbols, carriage returns.
Removing heading indicators would also be useful.
An example would be that I sometimes get a rather lengthy document off the internet that I can quickly convert to Braille on my notetaker. When it converts all of the above things are there. When the braille display sees a linefeed or paragraph symbol, (often used at the ends of lines for formatting purposes although unnecessary), my braille display is left blank for the rest of the line, no matter where it is, causing me to have to advance the braille display to see the next block of text.
Again, all of this is just to make a document more easily readable on a braille display and would not be useful for documents in which formatting is important.
Thanks for any effort you make in this regard. I'm sure many of my colleagues would use it if it was simple.
Michael Bullis
Executive Director,
The IMAGE Center of Maryland
300 E. Joppa Road,
Suite 312
Towson MD
21286
Email: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
Office: 443-275-9394
Cell: 443-286-9001
Website: www.imagemd.org
-----Original Message-----
From: WebAIM-Forum [mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = ] On Behalf Of Jim Allan
Sent: Monday, April 11, 2016 10:07 AM
To: WebAIM Discussion List < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] cleaning braille files
might be useful.
if you decide to do it perhaps using the Linear Braille code
http://www.brailleauthority.org/linear/linear1987.TXT
as replacements for formatting.
Jim
On Thu, Apr 7, 2016 at 8:44 PM, Thad C < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> Greetings group.
>
> I am looking at developing some open source projects and repos. Would the
> creation of a macro that executed this functionality be useful for people?
> On Mar 28, 2016 3:25 PM, "Michael Bullis" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>
> > This is an accessibility question but perhaps not quite on point for this
> > list.
> >
> > From time to time I need to read very lengthy documents in braille on my
> > electronic braille notetaker.
> >
> > In order to make the process much more enjoyable I clean the file by
> > removing paragraph symbols, end of line feeds, rows of dashes, spaces,
> > slashes or stars.
> >
> > When finished, I have a file that requires far fewer line advances as I
> > read
> > along and one that uses the full width of the braille display.
> >
> > My process for cleaning is rather cumbersome, requiring the creation of
> > several search and replace strings that I run manually. I'm wondering if
> > anyone on the list knows of a piece of software that might have been
> > created
> > that does what I'm doing by hand?
> >
> > Thanks in advance for your continued good works. I'm mostly a lurker but
> > do
> > learn much.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Michael Bullis
> >
> > Executive Director,
> >
> > The IMAGE Center of Maryland
> >
> > 300 E. Joppa Road,
> >
> > Suite 312
> >
> > Towson MD
> >
> > 21286
> >
> > Email: <mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
> >
> > Office: 443-275-9394
> >
> > Cell: 443-286-9001
> >
> > Website: www.imagemd.org
> >
> >
> >
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > >
--
Jim Allan, Accessibility Coordinator
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
1100 W. 45th St., Austin, Texas 78756
voice 512.206.9315 fax: 512.206.9264 http://www.tsbvi.edu/
"We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us." McLuhan, 1964