Chapter 3: Creating MS Word Documents for Braille Translation

If the document you’re transcribing is not available to you in MS Word format, then just about the only reason to bring it into Word is if it is in a format DBT can’t read. If, however, the document starts as an MS Word document, and you receive it to turn into braille, you shouldn’t have to do any editing in Word. The following are guidelines for creating Word documents for import into DBT. Be sure to give these guidelines to anyone else who is creating Word documents that you have to transcribe!

You may wish to try importing documents both following and not following these guidelines. Since each computer system is a little bit different, some of these guidelines may apply to you and others may not. Playing around with these guidelines will help you to become familiar with both Word and DBT, and it will give you a good opportunity to learn what works and what doesn’t work with your particular system.

 

General Guidelines

A.)USE STYLES! This is the biggest and most important guideline to follow. If the author uses styles (particularly the styles that come with Word), most styles can be imported to DBT relatively easily. Any changes they want to make to the style can be done from the “Format: Styles” dialog box. If Word doesn't provide a style they would like to be able to use, encourage them to create their own style (select “Add” from the “Format: Styles” dialog box). Even if DBT doesn’t import a particular style now, it’s a good habit to get into, because as enhancements are added to DBT, style import will improve.

B.)DON'T USE TABS AND SPACES TO POSITION TEXT ON THE PAGE! If you must use tabs, only use the tab key once by setting the tab stop — don't press the tab key repeatedly, because this will only place the PRINTED text where you want it — it won’t be possible to accurately predict what will happen when it is translated to braille.

C.)DON'T PRESS THE ENTER KEY TWICE AT THE END OF EACH PARAGRAPH! For each style you are using, select “Format: Style” and click the “Modify” button. In the “Modify Style” dialog box, select “Format: Paragraph.” Next, in the “Spacing” section, change the “After” box to 12 (or whatever spacing you want). This will eliminate the need to press the ENTER key more than once between paragraphs, and will make the work of the braille producer much easier.

D.)(For Versions of DBT older than 10;2e) REMOVE MOST AUTOCORRECT OPTIONS! Select “Tools: AutoCorrect.”

·        By default, the “AutoCorrect” tab is selected. Under the “Replace as you type” section, be sure that Word is not replacing groups of characters (especially the ellipsis — ...) with one character that LOOKS like a group of characters. Again, if Word is replacing an ellipsis (...) with an ellipsis character (&ldots;), be sure to remove that option from the “AutoCorrect” setting, because the person producing braille won't see an ellipsis when (s)he brings the Word document into DBT.

·        Select the “AutoFormat as you type” tab. Under “Replace as you type,” remove check marks from the following boxes:

v     “Straight quotes” with “Smart Quotes”

v     Ordinals (1st) with superscript

v     Fractions (1/2) with fraction characters (½)

v     Symbol Characters (—) with symbols (-)

·        Select the “AutoFormat” tab. Under “Replace,” remove check marks from the following boxes:

v     “Straight quotes” with “Smart Quotes”

v     Ordinals (1st) with superscript

v     Fractions (1/2) with fraction characters (½)

v     Symbol Characters (—) with symbols (-)

E.)  TRY NOT TO USE TEXT BOXES! Text boxes do not import into DBT, so avoid them where possible

F.)  WHEN CREATING A TABLE OF CONTENTS, USE THE “INSERT: INDEX AND TABLES” OPTION. Tables of contents import into DBT for braille very well, so use the automatic TOC generator where possible.

 

How DBT Maps MS Word Styles to DBT Styles

The following table shows how MS Word styles convert to DBT styles. Please note that the imported Word file may not look as though it’s formatted correctly in the print; translate to braille to be sure of the final formatting.

 

 

 

 

BANA  Equivalent

MS Word Style

Turns into DBT Style

Level

 

Body Text

 para.

 

 

Footer

Ignored — footers won’t import to DBT.

 

 

Header

Ignored — headers won’t import to DBT.

 

Centered/Major Head

Heading 1

 h1.

 

Minor Head (Cell 5)

Heading 2

 h2.

 

Minor Head (Cell 5)

Heading 3 — Heading 9

 h3.

 

List/Stepped List

Index 1

 index.

1

Note that there is no such style as “index.” built into DBT; you should create one called “index.” based on the “outline.” style, and save the new style to a template. Once you have created that template, you will be able to import any MS Word document with the TOC styles applied; DBT will apply the appropriate levels to the “index.” style you create.

Stepped List

Index 2

 index.

2

Index 3

 index.

3

Index 4

 index.

4

Index 5

 index.

5

Index 6

 index.

6

Index 7

 index.

7

Index 8

 index.

8

Index 9

 index.

9

Centered/Major Head

Index Heading

 h1.

 

List/Stepped List

List

 list.

 

Note that for outlines (stepped lists), DBT will apply the “list.” style. You should replace the “list.” style with the “outline.” style. DBT will apply the levels properly

Stepped List

List 2

list.

2

Stepped List

List 3

list.

3

Stepped List

List 4

list.

4

Stepped List

List 5

list.

5

Bulleted List/Stepped List

List Bullet

list.

 

Note that for bulleted stepped lists, DBT will apply the “list.” style. You should replace the “list.” style with the “outline.” style. DBT will apply the bullets and levels properly.

Bulleted Stepped List

List Bullet 2

list.

2

Bulleted Stepped List

List Bullet 3

list.

3

Bulleted Stepped List

List Bullet 4

list.

4

Bulleted Stepped List

List Bullet 5

list.

5

Numbered List/Stepped List

List Number

list.

 

Note that for numbered outlines, DBT will apply the “list.” style. You should replace the “list.” style with the “outline.” style. DBT will apply the numbers and levels properly.

Numbered Stepped List

List Number 2

list.

2

Numbered Stepped List

List Number 3

list.

3

Numbered Stepped List

List Number 4

list.

4

Numbered Stepped List

List Number 5

list.

5

 

Normal

para.

 

Indented Paragraph

Normal Indent

para.

 

Table of Contents

TOC 1

index.

 

Note that there is no such style as “index.” built into DBT; you should create one called “index.” based on the “outline.” style, and save the new style to a template. Once you have created that template, you will be able to import any MS Word document with the TOC styles applied; DBT will apply the appropriate levels to the “index.” style you create.

Table of Contents (Cell 3)

TOC 2

index.

2

Table of Contents (Cell 5)

TOC 3

index.

3

Table of Contents (Cell 7)

TOC 4

index.

4

Table of Contents (Cell 9)

TOC 5

index.

5

Table of Contents (Cell 11)

TOC 6

index.

6

Table of Contents (Cell 13)

TOC 7

index.

7

Table of Contents (Cell 15)

TOC 8

index.

8

Table of Contents (Cell 17)

TOC 9

index.

9

Major/Centered Head

Title

h1.

 

Summing Up

It is important that the person creating the Word document understands the many features of MS Word, and how to use those features properly so that they will import to DBT with the least amount of re-formatting. Knowing how to type is not enough.