James Williams
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Thank you for the question, Alex. You asked if it is acceptable to use the numeric passage indicator with the phrases "step 1," "step 2," etc. written next to the spatial addition problem.
Yes, it is acceptable for words to appear within a numeric passage, but they must appear uncontracted as grade 1 mode is set by the numeric passage indicator. The numbers following each step label do not need a numeric indicator before them because they cannot be misread as the letters a-j. To be read as those letters, they would need a grade 1 symbol indicator before them.
Thanks for the great question, Susan!
The GTM is currently being revised piecemeal and the updated sections are released as they are approved by ICEB. To my knowledge, Section 1.8 has not been released yet and I am unsure of a date for its release. Sorry I can't be of much help in this matter, but I can explain the use of the visible space and how it relates to numeric mode in particular through a little investigation of GTM 2014 and RUEB 2024. (Please forgive the length of the response, but the payoff is there, I promise!)
The visible space symbol (dots 346) is not a new symbol to GTM 2014 as it can be found in sections 3.6 (Omission Marks) and 17 (Computer Notation). As an omission mark, the visible space is used to indicate any space in print that is intentionally left blank for teaching purposes, such as a blank space indicating a missing sign of operation, a space for the student to write the answer to a math problem, an interior digit that has been omitted, a missing numerator or denominator in a fraction, or a missing radicand in a root.
In computer notation, the visible space is used to indicate precise spacing in computer coding, particularly when the number of spaces affects the output of the code string. Furthermore, in computer notation, the visible space can be shown using one of several ad-hoc characters instead of a blank space; these include, but are not limited to, Latin small b with stroke, bottom square bracket, Greek capital delta, increment, or white up-pointing triangle.
Page 9 of RUEB 2024 provides a precise definition for the visible space: "braille symbol used for a space where a blank cell does not clearly convey the intended meaning. Examples include spaces to be counted or omitted digits within a numeral." This definition was added to RUEB 2024 in the update as it did not appear in the 2013 edition of RUEB. Therefore, the visible space is slightly new to RUEB (its only reference in RUEB 2013 was in Appendix 3, which sent you to GTM 3.6 and 17). ICEB also updated the visible space itself so that it would no longer terminate numeric mode, thus eliminating the need to repeat a numeric indicator following a visible space when the visible space is used for an omitted interior digit.
Turning to RUEB 2024 Section 6.2.1, we have an example of print using two bottom square brackets to represent the omitted interior digits in the following equation regarding pi:
pi = 3.⎵⎵159
⠏⠊ ⠐⠶ ⠼⠉⠲⠬⠬⠁⠑⠊
In the example, two visible spaces are used for the two bottom square brackets and no numeric indicator is necessary following the last one because numeric mode continues from the initial numeric indicator preceding the digit 3.
Since the visible space is now listed in Section 6.2.1, Section 6.3.1 "Termination of numeric mode" has been indirectly changed.
Finally, the difference between a visible space and a space between numbers is in the representation of the number itself. If print is parsing the number into sections (i.e., one million represented as 1 000 000), then a numeric space-digit symbol (dot 5 before the braille digit) is used. If the space were being used to represent a missing digit, such as a missing zero in the number 1,000,0 0, then the visible space would be used before the last zero.
If you've made it this far, congratulations! I hope this trip down the visible space rabbit hole has been helpful in clearing up the confusion surrounding this symbol.
Thank you for your question. The solution to your situation lies in the definition of an item that you mentioned, specifically the statement "An entire number, i.e., the initiating numeric symbol and all succeeding symbols within the numeric mode thus established".
Using this definition as a guideline, you do not need to use a numeric terminator or a grade one terminator; you would only use a numeric indicator to start the 490 at the baseline immediately following the superscript 10. The thought process here is similar to a mixed number where the whole number is followed immediately by the fractional part starting with its numeric indicator. I have attached a file including both the Simbraille and ASCII for the proposed solution.
Thanks for your question, Adrian. And also a special thanks to Kyle for helping with the response while I was out of the office today; please see her response below.
–James, newly appointed Chair of the UEB Technical Committee
Yes! I think you have “grouped” perfectly.
For a letter r that has the subscript “BD with a bidirectional arrow over both letters,” we need two sets of braille grouping indicators—one set encloses the full subscript (i.e., the letters and their modifier), and the other set of braille grouping indicators encloses the letters BD so that the bidirectional arrow is over both of them (not just the D).
ASCII of the braille under discussion:
;;r5<<,,bd>.9\wro>Unicode Braille Patterns of the braille under discussion:
⠰⠰⠗⠢⠣⠣⠠⠠⠃⠙⠜⠨⠔⠳⠺⠗⠕⠜Full braille from questioner:
;;;r5<<,,bd>.9\wro>"<,b"> "7 ,b;'
⠰⠰⠰⠗⠢⠣⠣⠠⠠⠃⠙⠜⠨⠔⠳⠺⠗⠕⠜⠐⠣⠠⠃⠐⠜⠀⠐⠶⠀⠠⠃⠰⠄After conferring with someone working on the eBraille initiative, Duxbury cannot currently save as a single eBraille file. With that being said, the feature is being worked on and will hopefully be available before the end of the year. Stay tuned to NBA's webinars and the Bulletin for more information about the eBraille initiative as it develops.
Hello Julie,
While I do not use Adobe, I had a similar issue in CorelDRAW, which I believe was solved by uninstalling and reinstalling the braille font used as it had somehow been corrupted. There are no guarantees this will work, but it's worth a shot at least.
James
When working with combined page numbers, such as 1-2, place the 1-2 within the style <RefPageNumber>. Insert the code lec following the 1-2. After the lec code, place the 2. This will ensure that the correct page number has the continuation letter as the lec code tells Duxbury which number to use as the continuation reference page number.
The same result can be achieved entirely with codes: use the code lea to set your reference page and lec to set the correct page number to have the continuation letter.
You can use the Replace command to find and replace both codes and styles, but two conditions must be met, as detailed below:
- For codes: with the cursor placed in the "Text to find:" field, use keyboard shortcut F9 to insert a blank code "bubble" (essentially the opening and closing square bracket within the gray box Duxbury uses to differentiate codes and styles from the text). Start typing the code you would like to search for (if the bold font code was used, then this would be "fts~b" without the quotes). Leave the "Replace with:" field empty and click "OK" or hit enter. You can then choose "Yes," "No," "All," or "Stop" when the "Confirm Replacement" dialog box pops up. Choosing "All" will remove all instances and you will be presented with another dialog box showing how many replacements were made.
- For styles: with the cursor placed in the "Text to find:" field, type the style name you would like to search for (in this case, "bold" without the quotes). Leave the "Replace with:" field empty. and click "OK" or hit enter. In the "Advanced options" section, select the radio button for "Replace stylename"; if this is not selected, then Duxbury will search for the word "bold" in your text and not amongst the style names. You can then choose "Yes," "No," "All," or "Stop" when the "Confirm Replacement" dialog box pops up. Choosing "All" will remove all instances and you will be presented with another dialog box showing how many replacements were made.
On a side note, if you select "Yes" when the "Confirm Replacement" dialog box appears, Duxbury will only replace the highlighted instance and then move on to the next one. If you select "No," then the highlighted instance will be skipped and Duxbury will move on to the next one.
My apologies for just now responding. After conferring with the committee, you might want to investigate Viewplus' Tiger Software Suite (TSS), which uses liblouis and Visual Basic add-ins for Word and Excel. Later this month, on March 31st, the CAT Committee is presenting a webinar on TSS, but with an emphasis on math transcriptions. This webinar will at least give you some perspective on the program and, if attending live, then you can ask specifically about these features. I hope this helps.
Thank you for your post. I am reaching out to the committee member's for their input on this topic. Stay tuned!
After polling both the CAT and TG committees, we have come to the conclusion that all three programs mentioned have the tools to make a tactile graphic, with each working basically the same with the only differences being in the user interface. The primary thing to remember is keeping in mind the output method and creating the tactiles from that point of view rather than which software is used.
One committee member also mentioned that, at least in the past, the Index Basic D came with TactileView and the Juliet 60 came with Firebird, so consider researching that software when either creating or proofing tactiles.
As for specifics, unfortunately, there is not much more we can offer. As with all things in life, sometimes trial and error is the best method for proceeding.
Hopefully you will find something helpful in our response.
Sorry for the delay in responding, but I wanted to ask your question of both the CAT and TG Committees to provide a balanced response.
In regards to possible software to use when producing graphics, there are several options available, including but not limited to: Inkscape (.svg files), CorelDRAW, Adobe Illustrator, Microsoft Word, and Viewplus' Tactile Software Suite (TSS). Each has their own merits in regards to which type of graphics you will primarily be producing (technical, literary, etc.). The major thing both committees wish to stress is to base the creation of your graphic (software used) on the output method (embosser).
As for preferences for TGs produced using different methods, these will vary based on the experiences of each individual braille reader. Some prefer graphics produced on a braille embosser and enhanced with collage elements, while others prefer SwellBraille or simply the unmodified dots produced on an embosser such as those produced by ViewPlus.
Both committees encourage you to discuss with your student(s), if possible, the methods preferred for graphics production and go from there.
I hope this helps!
My apologies for not responding sooner, but I was out of town at the NBA Conference.
This question would be better posed to the Tactile Graphics Committee as they have better insights into the processes for these three tactile-specific programs. I have forwarded your question to that committee.
James
I have passed your question along to the members of our committee. As soon as we have an answer, I will post it.
To my knowledge, one of the few ways to insert graphics into a Duxbury files consists of using Duxbury's free QuickTac program. The latest version is 4.1 and information about it can be found under the Products section on Duxbury's website. I have not used this program for any graphics I have produced and honestly haven't even explored its features that much.
I typically use CorelDRAW for all of my graphics, paste the braille into the graphics file and send two separate files to the customer.
In the future, with the eBraille initiative, the idea is to combine the graphics file and braille file into one eBraille file to avoid sending so many separate elements to the customer/reader. More information can be found about the status of that project in this NBA webinar from June: https://www.nationalbraille.org/resources/webinars/2024-ebraille-update/.
