Simple Tutorial

How to Start A New Document From Scratch

1. Select File: New from the menu.

Or: use the shortcut command Command + N by typing the key marked "Command" and the letter "n" at the same time.

2. Select the Print radio button and your preferred default template in the dialog box. (For this exercise, which template you pick is not vital.)

3. Click "OK".

Observe:

Shortcut Keys (in the pull-down menus)

Shortcut key commands are listed next to the corresponding menu command. For instance, whenever you would select File: New from the menu, you can instead key in the shortcut without even opening the menu. Shortcut key options are an easy, quick way to carry out commands which can take much longer if you use the menu.

How to Enter New Text

To create our first document, we are going to type a letter. Type the following, using Enter twice at every skipped line. Do NOT press Enter where lines end within the paragraph; just use the Space bar as you normally would between words, and let DBT "wrap" the lines automatically:

Dear Mother,

How are you? I am well. I am learning how to use the Duxbury Braille Translator. It is not very hard! All you have to do is to type in the text, tell the program to translate, and emboss!

Love,

Misty.

That is all - entering text is that simple! (Later on, we will see that proper formatting of most kinds of documents requires more than just pressing Enter twice for skipped lines - but in this case, that is all that is needed.)

How to Translate A Document

Select File: Translate from the menu or type Command + T.

That is all! You have translated your document!

How to Emboss A Document

Embossing a document is easy. It is setting up the embosser that can be difficult. That subject is covered in the section "Installation and Setup." Please be sure that embosser setup has been completed before proceeding with this step. If you do not have an embosser set up, you cannot successfully use the Emboss command.

If your embosser is set up, to emboss:

1. Select File: Emboss. from the menu or type Command + E

2. Click "OK" or press the Enter key.

How to Close A Document

There are three ways to close a document. Be sure to close the document, not the application.

Take the Long Route - Use the File Menu

1. Select File: Close from the menu.

2. If DBT asks whether you want to save the document, click "No."

Take the Mouse Shortcut

1. Click the document's "Close" button.

2. If DBT asks whether you want to save the document, click "No."

Take the Keyboard Shortcut

1. Type Command + P

2. If DBT asks whether you want to save the document, click "No."

How to Save A Document

1. Select File: Save from the menu, or type Command + V.

2. Type "letter.dxp"- the extension ".dxp" tells DBT that this is going to be a DBT print document.

3. Be sure to save your document in a directory in which you have write permission.

4. Click "Yes" or press the Enter key.

A Note about Closing and Saving Documents: When you exit DBT, it closes any open documents. If you have made changes to a document and have not saved those changes, DBT asks you if you want to save your changes. DBT also saves the position of your cursor in the document. If your document is long, you may find that the next time you open the document, you can not see the beginning of it. If you want your document to open at the beginning, type Ctrl + Home to place your cursor at the beginning of the document before saving. Otherwise, if you want to remember where you stopped working, then do not move the cursor to the beginning of the document before saving it.

How to Exit DBT

Take the Long Route - Use the File Menu

Select File: Quit from the menu.

OrTake the Keyboard Shortcut

Type Control + Q.