Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)¶

Table of contents
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

General¶

What is BrailleBlaster™?¶

BrailleBlaster is a braille transcription program developed by the American Printing House for the Blind to help transcribers provide students who are blind with braille textbooks on the first day of class. It can be used by anyone, from NLS-certified transcribers to more casual users.

Is BrailleBlaster open source?¶

BrailleBlaster 3.0 and newer is open source under the GPL3. You can find source code at https://github.com/aphtech/brailleblaster

How much does it cost?¶

It’s free! As a service to the field of blindness, APH is offering this powerful, yet easy-to-use, software free-of-charge. Download now at https://brailleblaster.org!

What kind of computer do I need?¶

BrailleBlaster works on a Mac® or Windows® computer. It also works with Linux. Installers can be found at https://brailleblaster.org/download.php

I have installed BrailleBlaster but cannot find it on my desktop, how do I launch it?¶

Modern Windows packaging guidelines mean applications should not automatically create desktop icons. Instead you will find it in the start menu under applications. Windows allows you to pin apps to start or the task bar. However should you still want to manually create a desktop shortcut, set the target of your shortcut to "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WindowsApps\brailleblaster.exe".

File Types¶

What file types does BrailleBlaster support?¶

The most readily available files types that BrailleBlaster opens and can edit are NIMAS XML files, DOCX, HTML, EPUB3, and TXT files. It can also open and edit MD, XHTML, HTM, and ODT files types. It can open, but not edit, BRFs.

What braille codes does it support?¶

Currently BrailleBlaster supports Unified English Braille (UEB); UEB plus Nemeth Code for Mathematics; English Braille, American Edition (EBAE); U.S. Spanish; and Cherokee. It also offers uncontracted versions of any code that normally has contractions, such as UEB and EBAE.

Braille Facts¶

What kinds of braille documents can I make with BrailleBlaster?¶

You can make worksheets, reading lists, word lists, to-do lists, tables, study sheets, short stories, poetry, line-numbered prose, and just about anything else you, your child, or your student needs to learn!

What if I need to edit BRFs?¶

To edit BRFs, download Braille Zephyr at brailleblaster.org/braillezephyr.php. Braille Zephyr is a BRF editor and is approved for NLS-certification lessons.

How do I create braille after I translate a file?¶

BrailleBlaster can send documents to a braille embosser directly or it can also save your document as a BRF for sharing online or for use with a braille display.

What languages does BrailleBlaster support?¶

Since BrailleBlaster is open source, we encourage the community to localize BrailleBlaster into the language of their choice.

My document is in UEB, can BrailleBlaster translate it into EBAE?¶

If your document is saved as a BrailleBlaster document (.BBZ), BrailleBlaster can translate it into any other available code. Note that it cannot retranslate .BRF files.

Does BrailleBlaster support six-key entry?¶

Yes, but it is not recommended because you lose some of the dynamic abilities that make BrailleBlaster so great. However, if your translation requires six-key entry, it is available.

Does BrailleBlaster support math?¶

Yes! BrailleBlaster offers multiple methods for adding math to any document. You can use six-key entry, if you prefer. You can enter the math using the easy-to-learn APH ASCII Math Hub or the Spatial Math Editor. If your file has images, you can use the built-in Image Describer. If your file needs number lines, matrices, or tables with math in them, BrailleBlaster has the tools to make this process easier.

Does BrailleBlaster support graphics?¶

We have initial graphics support for .jpg, .pdf, .png, and .svg files via the insert image feature and are working on adding more support for graphics. Join the mailing lists to be updated on this issue and more! [[https://www.freelists.org/list/aphbrailleblaster]]

Does BrailleBlaster support my embosser?¶

BrailleBlaster supports embossers from Index, Enabling, and ViewPlus. If your embosser is not listed or you experience issues, select the Generic manufacturer with Text Only or Text with Margins, which works with all models. For continued issues, contact [email protected] and include your embosser model and a description of the problem.

Does it do interpoint embossing?¶

For more information, please refer to the Adjust Page Properties, Margins, and Interpoint section of the BrailleBlaster documentation.

Does it do double-spaced braille?¶

BrailleBlaster currently supports basic double-spaced braille. To apply it, highlight the text and select Styles > Misc > Double Line. This option applies double spacing without regard to braille rules or formatting. A more advanced double-spacing feature is planned for a future update. For more information, please refer to the Adding Double Lines section of the BrailleBlaster documentation.

Does it give options to suppress contractions for early braille readers?¶

Yes! To make the entire document uncontracted Braille, use an uncontracted translation profile in translation settings. If you would like more control, such as only including specific contractions, use the contraction relaxer tool.

What is BBZ?¶

Often other resource files such as images, book sections, cover pages, etc. need to be included along with the BBX file. A BBZ file is an archive (ZIP) that packages all of these resources. BrailleBlaster works with BBZ or BBX files directly. BBZ is the default standard file type for BrailleBlaster.

What is BBX?¶

BBX is the old BrailleBlaster XML document file type. When NIMAS or other types of files are opened in BrailleBlaster it used to convert them to its own BBX format. Now files are converted to the BBZ file type. BBX files can still be opened but if you save files with BrailleBlaster, they will now be saved as BBZ.

What is NIMAS?¶

NIMAS (National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard) is an XML-based file format used to create accessible instructional materials for K–12 students with qualifying print disabilities. Under IDEA 2004, publishers may submit NIMAS files to NIMAC, where they are used to produce formats such as braille, DAISY, large print, and audio. For more information, please refer to Operation Specific to NIMAS Files section of the BrailleBlaster documentation.

What is block and what is inline?¶

Some features, such as Nemeth Passages and the Image Describer, allow content to be inserted as Block or Inline. Block inserts the content as a separate item (for example, its own paragraph). Inline inserts the content within the current item at the cursor location, such as inside an existing paragraph.