Welcome!
Welcome to “Understanding DBT: A Duxbury Systems User’s Guide.” “Understanding DBT” will cover some major concerns that apply specifically to transcribers of print documents to braille. If you are not familiar with DBT styles and codes, or if you do not know how to use MS Word styles for import to DBT, please read “DBT for Beginners,” the DBT for Windows beginner’s tutorial, before continuing with this guide. Additionally, you will find that some experience with using DBT will be very helpful in using this guide.
This guide refers frequently to BANA formats. BANA is the Braille Authority of North America, and this guide uses the guidelines stated in the “Braille Formats Principles of Print to Braille Transcription, 1997” as a basis. If you are interested in obtaining the “Braille Formats” book, please visit the BANA website at www.brailleauthority.org or write BANA at P.O. Box 6085, Louisville, Kentucky 40206. The entire “Braille Formats” book is available at the website. If you are interested in becoming a certified braille transcriber, please contact the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped at www.loc.gov/nls/nls.html and proceed to “Other NLS Services: Braille Transcribing and Development.” You may also reach the NLS by phone at 800-424-8567 or by mail at Braille Development Section, National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20542
The author of this guide would like to extend a sincere thank you to Barbara DiFrancesco and Susan Christiansen, who both offered their considerable knowledge and time in explaining the BANA guidelines and helping to ensure that the instructions in this guide are accurate.
What We Will Cover in This Guide
Chapter 1 will
cover formatting, particularly
in relation to the use of styles so that they will work for your individual
needs. We will explore the flexibility of styles. We will also investigate
how to modify them so they will work with an individual document or type
of document, and how to work with individual commands using menus and
codes.
Chapter 2 will cover the use of templates
to store document settings and groups of styles used with specific types
of documents. Also discussed will be the difference between a DBT template
and a MS Word template.
Chapter 3 will concentrate on using MS
Word as an aid to transcription, discussing MS Word styles and
what settings in AutoCorrect to beware of.
Chapter 4 will cover the process of scanning
text documents for translation to braille. We will discuss the various
elements of the scanning process, including the use of scanning software
and word processors such as MS Word.
Chapter 5 will cover page numbering,
including menu-driven page numbering and code-driven page numbering. Specifically,
we will discuss preliminary page numbering and creating a table of contents.
Chapter 6 will cover special transcriber
issues with documents. While earlier chapters discuss how to use
and change existing settings, this chapter will discuss the generally
accepted BANA rules for various parts of a document and how to follow
those rules when using DBT. Please note that this chapter assumes you
are familiar with the styles and codes discussed throughout the guide.
Appendices and Index
Appendix A will
define in detail the DBT styles
that come with the program, including their most common uses and the codes
contained in each.
Appendix B will define built-in MS
Word styles as to how MS Word styles should be used and how they
convert to DBT styles.
Appendix C will define the DBT
codes mentioned in this guide in non-technical language, as well
as codes that may be particularly useful to transcribers.
Appendix D contains a table of Mathematical
and Nonalphabetical Signs, Print Shapes, Numbers, and Numeration Systems
as well as the ASCII braille which may be used to enter the special characters.
Appendix E contains a table of diacritics,
including regular letters, and the ASCII braille used to enter
the braille characters.
Appendix F will list the keyboard
shortcuts available in DBT for Windows.
Appendix G will list methods of using the DBT menus to insert codes,
and how each menu item should be used.
Icon Key
The following icons are used in this manual. They are used to guide you toward general underlying principles, instructions for performing specific tasks, and information key to performing tasks:
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General Underlying Principle |
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Instructions for a Specific Task |
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Key Information |
