[bksvol-discuss] Re: Question for Braille Readers

  • From: "EVAN REESE" <mentat3@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:28:19 -0400

I have a fairly extensive list of special characters and their ASCII values, but it's not complete. Sometimes, I just use my speech software to tell me what the ASCII value of a character is if I want to know. I tend to remember the ones I encounter frequently, such as the em dash, alt-0151 or the copyright symbol, alt-0169. JAWS has a special function, insert-4, for adding some of the most commonly used characters such as the bullet, copyright symbol and so forth. Window Eyes does not have such a feature that I am aware of. Also, MS Word has its own facility for adding many, if not all, special characters. But the ASCII value method works everywhere and you don't need to learn a new method for each program. However, as someone once proved to me on the K1000 list, it is not necessarily the fastest method for creating special characters if you use them a lot. If you have Windows set up properly, you can use your right alt key in combination with other keys to create accents and other diacritical marks and special characters such as the registered, alt-0174 ® and other stuff. So there are a lot of ways to get that job done. <smile>


Evan

----- Original Message ----- From: "Kathy Hester" <kathyruth@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2008 12:09 AM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Question for Braille Readers


Hi, Evan,

Are these numbers with the alt ASCII characters? Where can I find a list of
them?  It's very interesting to know.  Thanks.

Kathy
----- Original Message ----- From: "EVAN REESE" <mentat3@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, March 24, 2008 11:03 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Question for Braille Readers


If you're just talking about the ellipsis which consists of three periods,
then the braille translator only makes it look correct when the periods have
no spaces between them. However, there is a special character that word
processors can create that looks like an ellipsis, but which has its own
ASCII value, and which the braille translator cannot handle. There's a tip
on Jake's site about that character -- among others including smart
quotes -- which need to be replaced. I don't think it's likely to show up
much, so I wouldn't worry overly much about that.

As for the bullet, I don't know what the braille translator will do with it.
I seem to recall scanning a book with bullets in it, alt-0149
. But I can't recall which book it was at the moment.

Evan

----- Original Message ----- From: "Mayrie ReNae" <mrenae@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, March 24, 2008 11:24 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Question for Braille Readers


Hi Bob,

        I think that our braille readers can help on the bullet question.
I don't read enough braille these days to know.

        Evan, Sue?  Anyone else who uses braille enough to know?  What do
the bookshare tools do with bullets and elipsis?

        I agree completely with you Bob, that elipsis should not be
changed to apostrophes.  That is exactly as you said "Wrong! Wrong!
Wrong!"  I'd love it if we could hear that the bookshare braille
translator makes elipsis  correctly.  And I sadly doubt it.   My only
consolation is that when children are taught to read braille, (or at least
I was) they are told that the braille representation of the elipsis is
different from its representation in print.  I was taught to employ the
difference when typing.  Young braille readers are never taught that a
hyphen is interchangeable for an em dash because only in bookshare books
is this done in braille.

So, I agree with you.  And if I do not know how a change will affect
everyone, I make no change.  I'm not out to change the world, just to
maintain already defined standards.  It would be nice if the bookshare
conversion tools would do everything correctly.  But it would be nice if
everything was its ideal.  Ah, our imperfect world!

Peace,
Mayrie

At 07:57 PM 3/24/2008, you wrote:
I have a major problem with changing ellipsis for Braille readers.

I can go along with the two hyphens for the  - because they look similar.
However, to correctly change an ellipse (.) into Braille you have to
change it to three apostrophes which doesn't look like anything but three
apostrophes in print. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Braille is not the only medium
used for bookshare books, and Braille users shouldn't force speech and
print users to change their way of seeing things for our sakes.

As far as bullets go, I'm not sure what the software does to a bullet, but
I'll bet it isn't pretty *smile*. I think I would just leave bullets
alone. My new validating philosophy is, if I don't know what a change will
do, then I won't make it.

Bob
----- Original Message ----- From: "Devorah Greenstein"
<DGreenstein@xxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, March 24, 2008 8:50 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Question for Braille Readers


It took me a matter of seconds to replace all my em dashes with hyphen
hyphen with no spaces. So I will happily continue to do that as part of
validating. Now another question. What about ellipses in Braille? That's
the three periods in a row. And what happens with bullets? My next book
has bullets. Is Braille happy with them?

Thanks,
Devorah

-----Original Message-----
From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Mayrie ReNae
Sent: Monday, March 24, 2008 7:03 PM
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Question for Braille Readers

Hi Allison,

        I'll add here that the bookshare conversion tools will turn
the em dash, which should be represented in braille by two hyphens
side by side with no surrounding spaces to a single hyphen unless you
replace the em dashes in  your books with two hyphens.  This
discussion comes up again and again and I, personally, want,
especially, the books that I submit that are geared to non-adults to
come out in accurate braille.  I want  young readers never to think
that the appropriate representation of a pause in writing should be
by typing a hyphen which they might, if em dashes are not replaced
with double hyphens.

Just myopinion again and again.

Peace,
Mayrie

At 02:08 PM 3/24/2008, you wrote:
In braille the thing should read as two hyphens with no s[paces
between the two words so one--two is how it should read.

Cindy

Cindy Lou Ray. Each day is a new adventure.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Allison Hilliker" <bookshare_girl@xxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, March 24, 2008 3:39 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Question for Braille Readers


Hi everyone,

Quick question for Braille-readers.  I do read Braille myself, but
I've
never paid attention to this issue before.  I'm validating a book with
a lot
of em dashes.  They look like this. - They usually connect two words
like
this. word1-word2.  They do not usually have spaces around them.  In
the
past I have left them as is in the books I validate.

My question is, should I be doing anything special with the em dashes
in
order to make them easily read in Braille?  I've never known there to
be a
special Braille character for the em dash, but there may be one.  Does
it
just look
like a regular dash, or something else?  Do they appear with spaces
around
them or not?  Would most of you prefer me to add spaces, change the em
dashes to regular dashes, leave them alone, or something else?

Thanks for any feedback you can give.

Best,

Allison

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