NOTE: Prior to reading this article, you may wish to review previous articles in this series:
In this article, we will concentrate on translating files created on the Orbit Reader into print for sighted teachers. Though we will list the steps of this procedure in the article, there will also be a YouTube video providing a step by step walk through.
A Note and a Word of Caution
You may wonder why these direct instructions are even needed...after all, you probably have Braille 2000, Braille Blaster, or Duxbury installed and they should do the job. Well, yes and no…
What has been happening with many individuals is that when the file created on the Orbit is opened in one of those programs, it only shows the first 20 or so words and will cut off. As you can imagine, this is often a problem. The steps below should prevent this.
Also, as I have said before, it is not recommended that this device be used as a primary way of composing assignments. It is challenging to edit on the device due to lack of cursor routing keys and many students find it challenging to compose using the specific navigation and edit commands discussed in the previous articles
That being said, the editing functions are best used as a “scratch pad” of sorts for the student to use for notetaking and writing down information that will remain on the unit.
Send to Braille and Back from Braille
Once you’ve downloaded the file, open your browser’s download page by clicking on the arrow or pressing control + J. Follow the installation instructions on your screen.
Saving a .txt Version of your Files
- Insert the SD card from your Orbit reader and choose the .brf file you want to print.
- Right click on the file. You will see something like this:
- Click on “Back from braille”
- A text file will appear on the SD card with the same name as your original file. When you open it, it should open in Notepad and look something like this:
- You can correct the running text issue by clicking on “format” and selecting “Word Wrap”
- Now it should look more like this (the whole verse is there, I just did a partial screen shot):
- You can either edit/print it from here, or select it all and paste it into Word. Whatever you are most comfortable with.
Want more resources? You can view the Orbit User Guide here.
Also, please check out the Orbit Reader video below. It provides a step by step walkthrough of the process from beginning to end.