Transcribing NIMAS Files

Using DBT and NimPro

Transcribing NIMAS FilesUsing DBT and NimPro

Peter J. SullivanVP, DevelopmentDuxbury Systems, Inc.270 Littleton Road, Unit 6Westford, MA 01886-3523peter@duxsys.com

We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the following individuals and organizations to today’s presentation:

• CTEVH• Pearson Scott Foresman• American Foundation for the Blind• Bob Stepp, CASC• Braille Institute• Susan Christensen

Acknowledgements

Goals

• You’ll talk the talk…– You’ll understand NIMAS,

NIMAC, and NimPro.

• 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.

Goals

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Outline

• Desktop Orientation• NIMAS and NIMAC• What’s wrong with DBT• A better way: NimPro• NimPro design details (yawn!)• Using NimPro, step-by-step• Demo: Basic NimPro• Demo & Lab: Front Matter• Demo & Lab: Body Matter

Desktop Orientation

• Workshop files are on a CD in your D: drive.

• You’ll be storing files on the C: drive, in c:\megawork.

Desktop Orientation

Please locate the following icons on your desktop:

DBT 10.6NimPro 1.0 (Preview 2)

Play with these applications, or others, if the presentation bores you.

Microsoft Office Word 2003

Suppose You Need a Book in Braille

NIMAS Files Can Help!

But what are NIMAS Files?

NIMAS Files are for New K-12 Textbooks

NIMAS Files are DAISY Files

For the full story, see:http://nimas.cast.org/about/index.html

NIMAS Files Replace Other Formats• Many states require NIMAS

files for new publications they will purchase.

• Publishers who make NIMAS files available will usually not make other formats (PDF, Quark, plain text, etc.) available.

• If a publisher has made a NIMAS file available to any state, it is available to all.

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.

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!

Now You Have a NIMAS File

… And You Need it in Braille …

Can You Do It?

Yes!

Demo 1

DBT Can Read NIMAS Files!

DBT 10.6

Opening with DBT Alone

• DBT can only open the .XML file, not the package.

• The resulting file is large – too large for DBT to handle efficiently.

• DBT doesn’t recognize all styles.

• DBT cannot recognize nested structures (e.g. lists within lists).

• DBT misses numbers in numbered lists.

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.

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) and DBT (10.5 or newer).

• NimPro is still unreleased, and indeed incomplete. But it is available, and, we believe, quite useful.

• For latest builds and information, see: www.duxburysystems.com/nimpro.asp

What Files does NimPro Use?

NIMAS File(.XML or .ZIP)

NimPro Project

DBT DocumentWordML

DocumentMegaDots-Ready

Document

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.

• Contain dotty graphics.• Link to ink graphics from the

original NIMAS file.• May evolve to support Braille-in-

Daisy.

Step 1:Get the Hardcopy Too!

Step 2:Put a Friendly Face on the NIMAS File

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.

• Text styles are shown also on a “Style Map” to the left of the document text.

• NimPro normally displays one page of the document at a time.

• NimPro’s “simulated print” display is not intended to eliminate the need for hardcopy.

Step 3:Review Paragraph Style Tags

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

Step 5: Divide and Conquer

• Divide by pages• Divide by sections

NimPro Functionality Summary• Print-oriented display, with

pictures, allows you to easily spot problems.

• 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.

Demo 2

Basic NimPro•Reading Documents•Using Quick Keys•Saving Selected Pages•Viewing with DBT or Word

DBT 10.6NimPro 1.0 (Preview 2)

Microsoft Office Word 2003

NIMAS Trouble

• Text is sometimes out of natural order• Typos• Image description errors• Overuse of bold text• Indistinct styles for Contents

and Index• Heading levels must be

matched to braille formatneeds

NIMAS Trouble (Continued)

• Some lists are doubly-numbered

• Some headings are written as Body Text

Step 6: Edit Individual Volumes• Use DBT,• Use DBT-Ready Word

Files, or• Use MegaDots

Demo 3

Using a Wizard

DBT 10.6NimPro 1.0 (Preview 2)

Microsoft Office Word 2003

Demo, Q&A and Lab

Front Matter and Rear Matter

DBT 10.6NimPro 1.0 (Preview 2)

Microsoft Office Word 2003

Quick Keys ReferenceB Body text (ordinary text paragraphL1 List Item (an entry in a list)T Production Note (a transcriber's Note)H1 Heading 1H2 Heading 2H3 Heading 3

Demo, Q&A and Lab

Body Matter

DBT 10.6NimPro 1.0 (Preview 2)

Microsoft Office Word 2003

Quick Keys ReferenceB Body text (ordinary text paragraphL1 List Item (an entry in a list)T Production Note (a transcriber's Note)H1 Heading 1H2 Heading 2H3 Heading 3

Recap: Coming Attractions

• View By Section will support all the same features as View By Page.

• The NimPro native document format isn’t entirely working yet. It will allow you to save and pick up your work within NimPro without having to reload the original NIMAS file.

Recap: Coming Attractions

• We plan to enhance NimPro’s direct editing capabilities, though we do not anticipate eliminating the need for “touchup” in DBT or MegaDots.

• More Wizards are to be added, and existing Wizards enhanced, as-needed. Our limited experience with real-world NIMAS files prevents us knowing what will be needed in this regard.

Recap: How-To• Use NimPro for a quick

assessment, overall fixup, and division of the NIMAS document.

• Get NimPro at www.duxburysystems.com/nimpro.asp

• Use DBT, Word, or MegaDots from there to:– Search/Replace– Re-arrange– Introduce section markup– Mark uncontracted and CBC text