MegaDots Transition Blog

Dated 7/13/2015

Yes, it is true, Duxbury Systems is no longer selling MegaDots, and (in a year) we will discontinue technical support. Click here for the formal announcement.   Click here for some background material about Duxbury Systems support for MegaDots.

This blog page short, but it has many links. We will be keeping this updated as we learn more about what happens when the rubber hits the road.

Duxbury Systems would like to help users make the transition to using Duxbury DBT. Here are the key points:

  1. Continue to use MegaDots for the time being. Your MegaDots has not died. Continue to use it.
  2. If you have MegaDots 2.4, please upgrade to MegaDots 2.5. This is now free. Contact megadots@duxsys.com for the details.
  3. MegaDots 2.5 has a good way to convert files from MegaDots to DBT. Learn how to do this. (Also see next item).
  4. Caryn and I have prepared a patch to MegaDots 2.5 to enhance this export. Please install this patch into your copy of MegaDots 2.5.
  5. You can use MegaDots to prepare braille formatted files that can be embossed by DBT.
  6. Please e-mail us (caryn@duxsys.com and david@duxsys.com; megadots@duxsys.com goes to Caryn) about where you are having problems. Use MegaDots Transition in the subject line to make sure your e-mail does not get misplaced. We will do what we can to assist.
  7. Once you are using DBT (hopefully DBT 11.3; which has just been released), and Word, then you can use the Susan Christensen Word Templates to produce quality braille without MegaDots.
  8. Please recognize that converting MegaDots math files is especially tricky. Please bear with us as we work on the problems of converting MegaDots math files into DBT.
  9. We are planning on adding many of the data entry shortcuts of MegaDots into a special MegaDots Data Entry Mode in a future DBT.
  10. Please recognize that Susan Christensen, who offered so much insight and help to the development of MegaDots is also assisting in the development of DBT. When you do data entry in Word using Susan's Word Template, you should notice that almost all the style names are familiar to MegaDots users.
  11. We are trying to look at users' needs in the short term and the long term. Duxbury Systems recognizes that MegaDots users are a group that needs efficiency and productivity. We heartily welcome this group to DBT, as both DBT and the DBT community will benefit from the people who have used MegaDots so productively.
  12. Did I mention that DBT works on 64-bit systems?

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