Transcribing NIMAS Files

1. Transcribing NIMAS Files Using DBT Using MegaDots And Introducing NimPro 1

2. Transcribing NIMAS Files Peter J. Sullivan VP, Development Duxbury Systems, Inc. 270 Littleton Road, Unit 6 Westford, MA 01886-3523 peter@duxsys.com 2

3. Acknowledgements We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the following individuals and organizations to today’s presentation: • Pearson Scott Foresman • Michigan’s Integrated Technology Supports • American Foundation for the Blind • Bob Stepp, CASC • Braille Institute • Susan Christensen 3

4. Goals • You’ll talk the talk… • You’ll understand NIMAS files (but no more than you need to). • You’ll walk the walk… • You’ll transcribe portions of a real textbook from a NIMAS file. • You’ll get your questions answered… • And I hope you’ll answer mine. 4

5. Goals POLITICS 5

6. Outline • NIMAS and DAISY • Desktop Orientation • What’s wrong with DBT and MegaDots • A better way: NimPro • NimPro design details (yawn!) • Using NimPro, step-by-step • Demo: Basic NimPro • Customizing NimPro • NimPro Export Options 6

7. Outline • Demo & Lab: Front Matter • Demo & Lab: Body Matter • Demo & Lab: Tables • Demo & Lab: Graphics • Demo: Getting Help • Moving Beyond NIMAS • Evaluations 7

8. Suppose You Need a Book in Braille 8

9. NIMAS Files Can Help! But what are NIMAS Files? 9

10. NIMAS Files are for New K-12 Textbooks 10

11. NIMAS Files are DAISY Files For the full story, see:http://nimas.cast.org/about/index.html 11

12. NIMAS Files Come in a Zip Package You can download the Zip package with or without graphics. A short PDF is always included. The main file is a .XML file. We’ll be looking at a sample. Your CD file contains a full package, with graphics, already un-zipped. 12

13. NIMAS Files are Available Through Your State’s Authorized User(s) Go to http://www.nimac.us All can search for content by title, publisher, or ISBN Log In to obtain content Authorized Users (AUs) can obtain content as required under contract with the publisher Alternate Media Producers (AMPs), including braille transcribers, can obtain content assigned by an AU You may or may not use the NIMAC directly. We’ll see more later! 13

14. Now You Have a NIMAS File 14

15. … And You Need it in Braille … 15

16. Can You Do It? 16

17. Yes! 17

18. Let’s Get Going! 18

19. Desktop Orientation • Login Name: Training • Leave password blank 19

20. Desktop Orientation • Web Username: guest(lowercase) • Web Password: HO4813(two capital letters) • Write these down! (You may need them later, even if you don’t need them now.) 20

21. Desktop Orientation • Workshop files are on a CD in your D: drive. • You’ll be storing files on the C: drive, in c:\megawork. 21

22. NimPro 1.0 (Preview 4) DBT 11.1(Preview 1) MegaDots 2.4 without Speech Desktop Orientation Please locate the following icons on your desktop: Play with these applications, or others, if the presentation bores you. 22

23. DBT 11.1(Preview 1) MegaDots 2.4 without Speech Demo 1 DBT and MegaDots Can Read NIMAS Files! 23

24. Problems You May Have Seen • The resulting file is too large to handle efficiently. • Some styles aren’t recognized. • Numbers in numbered lists may be missing. 24

25. Problems You May Have Seen • Nested structures (e.g. lists within lists) aren’t recognized. • DBT formatting is missing unless a special template is used. 25

26. And Some You Didn’t See… • DBT and MegaDots can only open the .XML file, not the package. • Page Numbers aren’t always appropriate for braille documents. • Tables may cause problems for MegaDots. • Tables will cause problems for DBT. 26

27. Why NimPro? • NimPro improves the imports of DBT and MegaDots. • NimPro can divide files as needed. • Designing one product (NimPro) allows us to make improvements in two product families. • NimPro can ease transition of graphics from the NIMAS package into tactile formats. 27

28. What is NimPro? • NimPro is a preprocessor. (NimPro stands for NIMAS Processor.) • It is a standalone application. • NimPro is free for users of MegaDots (2.3 or 2.4) and DBT (10.5 or newer). • NimPro is still unreleased, but essentially complete for initial release. We believe it is quite useful. • For latest builds and information, see:www.duxburysystems.com/nimpro.asp 28

29. What Files does NimPro Use? 29

30. NimPro Project Files • Contain text as in the original NIMAS file. • Text is in linear form – just a series of paragraphs instead of nested structure of original NIMAS file. • Paragraph styles are intended to be meaningful to braille transcriber. • May evolve to support Braille-in-Daisy. 30

31. NimPro Project Files • Contain dotty graphics. • Link to “thumbnail” graphics from the original NIMAS file. • Not directly portable from computer-to-computer. 31

32. Using NimPro: Step-by-Step 32

33. Step 1:Get the Hardcopy Too! 33

34. Step 2:Put a Friendly Face on the NIMAS File 34

35. Step 3:Review Paragraph Style Tags 35

36. Step 4: Revise Use Quick Keys in Edit Style Mode to revise paragraph style tags Use Text Edit Mode to change text Use Wizards forthe Big Jobs 36

37. Step 5: Divide and Conquer Divide by pages Divide by sections Use the Word Count display to help estimate volume size 37

38. Step 6: Edit Individual Volumes Use DBT, Use DBT-Ready Word Files, or Use MegaDots 38

39. Choosing a Path to MegaDots MegaDots Native files are the simplest to manage an affirm, but require MegaDots installation. MegaDots Markup files are a historical format for compatibility. MegaDots Ready files may best allow external manipulations. 39

40. Choosing a Path to DBT DBT Files offers the best support for graphics and Exact Translation texts. WordML Files can be made anywhere, but DBT won’t read them. Word Files require Word to be installed with NimPro. 40

41. NimPro Display • Text and graphics are presented in a natural order, derived from the NIMAS file. • Text styles are presented on screen as they would be presented to a print reader. • NimPro’s “simulated print” display is not intended to eliminate the need for hardcopy. 41

42. NimPro Display • NimPro normally displays one page or one section of the document at a time. • A Word Counter tells you how many words are in the page or section shown. 42

43. NimPro Display • Text styles are shown also on a “Style Map” to the left of the document text. • Sidebars are shown with a grey background. • Auto-numbers are shown with underscores. 43

44. NimPro Preferences • DBT Version • MegaDots Binary Preference • Image Handling • Use of email for support requests 44

45. NimPro Functionality Summary • Wizards are designed to fix several common problems at a stroke. • Quick Style Editing, and other limited editing capabilities, can be used to fix other problems. • Export to DBT, Word, or MegaDots to fix further problems. 45

46. NimPro 1.0 (Preview 4) DBT 11.1(Preview 1) MegaDots 2.4 without Speech Demo 2 Basic NimPro Reading Documents Using Quick Keys Saving Selected Pages Viewing with DBT or MegaDots 46

47. NIMAS Trouble • Text is sometimes out of natural order • Typos • Image description errors • Overuse of bold text • Indistinct styles for Contentsand Index • Heading levels must bematched to braille formatneeds 47

48. NIMAS Trouble (Continued) • Some lists are doubly-numbered • Some headings are written as Body Text 48

49. NimPro 1.0 (Preview 4) DBT 11.1(Preview 1) MegaDots 2.4 without Speech Demo 3 Using a Wizard 49

50. Demo, Q&A and Lab Front Matter and Rear Matter 50