E-Brl is great, and I’m absolutely sure it will make reading Braille textbooks much easier, especially when a teacher jumps around asking a student to turn to page 37 or go to the second heading in chapter 4.
But, there are thousands of books out there already formatted for embossing, usually with 40-character lines, page breaks and lots of blank space to properly format them for an embossed page.
Now that we have multi-line Braille, we users will want to read those books and the idea that we would have to convert them, in my opinion, is just plain silly.
This is something the Monarch should be able to automate with Braille reflow.
Just as sighted readers on small phone screens turn to epub because it reflows, Braille reflow implements the same concept. Words are wrapped based on the display length and paragraphs and headings begin new lines. But if a line ends simply because the file is embosser-ready, spaces are trimmed from the end except for a final trailing space and it is joined with the line below.
Extra blank lines and extra blank space are also removed. The idea is you have a continuous reading experience, no trawling through a desert of blank space.
In addition lists of ingredients in a recipe and items in a table of contents are also accurately formatted for the display length.
I tried on one of the zoom calls to explain Braille reflow to a sighted person and why it was so great, but I don’t think the sighted people or even the TVI folks on the call understood.
However I know of at least three Braille readers who work at the APH connect center who know what this feature is; perhaps sighted people who don’t understand its value could speak with them.
The NLS eReader implements Braille reflow so it’s a far greater pleasure to read an embossable BRF file on their single-line 20-cell display than on the Monarch. Braille reflow is implemented on their BARD mobile app, and works with displays that have a user-selectable line length.
Why humanware did not implement Braille reflow on the Mantis, Chameleon and Brailliant I don’t understand as they know how to do it. It works beautifully on the eReader.
I’d really like to see this feature on the Monarch along with support for NLS BARD Braille and any other services that provide electronic Braille files.
Here’s the user guide sections on this feature from NLS.
From the NLS eReader user guide:
3.3.4 Word Wrap and Braille Reflow
With 20 cells on a braille display, it can be helpful to manage how content is presented. A simple way to do this is with Word Wrap, an item in User Settings
that prevents the display from breaking words. The default setting for Word Wrap is on. This means that unless a word or string is more than 20 characters
long, the display will only show the words that fit in the available space without dividing the word. Turning Word Wrap off will cause the display to show
as many characters as possible even if it means that only part of a word can be shown with the rest of the word appearing when you move the display forward.
The eReader also has a feature called Braille Reflow that intelligently presents the content of a book to make the best use of a 20-cell display. Each
line of a book is analyzed to determine what type of line it is. If it is the beginning of a paragraph, the two-cell indentation is retained. Headings
are indented appropriately, and page change indicators and boxing lines are shortened. Braille Reflow can be turned on and off in User Settings or with
Space with d (dots 1-4-5).
From the BARD Mobile user Guide:
7.10: Braille Reflow
Braille Reflow was added to make reading braille books and magazines easier with braille displays shorter than 40 cells.
NLS braille books and magazines are formatted with 38 to 40 cells per line. Reading them on a shorter-length display can be awkward, as each line is broken into at least two lines, usually of different lengths. Braille Reflow allows BARD Mobile to tailor line lengths to match the user’s braille display size, breaking lines only when necessary (e.g., at the ends of paragraphs) to provide a smoother reading experience.
Braille Reflow is off by default. To use Braille Reflow, it must be turned on in Settings>Display Settings. Once turned on, you will have an opportunity to select the desired display length using the picker item. Available display length values are: 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 24, 32, 40.
The shortcut key “d” will toggle Braille Reflow on and off. When turned on, text will reflow to the value selected in Settings. If no value is selected in Settings, use of the shortcut key will reflow braille to the default setting of 40 cells.
When Braille Reflow is active, paragraphs will be indented as usual, page numbers will be correctly positioned and other items such as lists of ingredients in a recipe will be properly formatted. However, Braille Reflow is done automatically so it is possible that there may be occasional instances when the reflow is not done correctly.
Good morning Deborah. I have submitted your suggestion as feedback to our developers. Thank you for your feedback.