Donald Winiecki
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Terrific!
The TG Skills Group is happy to meet and exceed the needs of transcribers and tactile graphics specialists everywhere!
Hi Julie!
The Braille29 font was developed by ViewPlus for use with the Tiger Graphics suite and Tiger embossers. Braille29 is 29pt tall which matches the specifications established by the U.S. Library of Congress <http://www.brailleauthority.org/sizespacingofbraille/index.html>.
When creating TGs for reproduction on a Tiger embosser you should use the Braille29 font with 100% line & paragraph spacing.
However, the Braille29 font should not be used when reproducing materials on microcapsule paper.
The Swell Braille font was originally developed for use with microcapsule paper and is 24pt in height. 24pt is smaller than the specifications established by the U.S. Library of Congress, but this is necessary so that when the microcapsule paper is run through a fuser, the braille can swell to approximately 29pt high.
However, the default line and paragraph spacing for a 24pt font will be too small to accommodate the swelled dots, and lines will be too close together. For this reason, when using the Swell Braille font for reproduction on microcapsule paper, you should set the line and paragraph spacing to 111%.
If Inkscape does not allow setting line spacing to 111%, set it so baseline-to-baseline distance is 5mm (0.19685 inches) when using the Swell Braille font.
In GSTG, Appendix D.2, you will find more information about setting up braille in TGs for microcapsule paper.
In that appendix, GSTG indicates that the Swell Braille font can be downloaded from the Duxbury website, but it is no longer available from there. However, TSBVI (Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired) maintains an excellent archive of materials useful to braillists and TG producers, and the Swell Braille font can be downloaded from that website <https://www.tsbvi.edu/download-braille-and-asl-specialty-fonts>.
Please let us know if this answers your questions!
Hello MenWithAMessage!
You have already spent some quality time with GSTG to get to this point. We hope the following provides answers to your specific questions and gets you to the next step in your TG creation.
First, we strongly recommend the use of 2-cell key abbreviations rather than full-labels. The consideration of full-labels or 2-cell or 3-cell key abbreviations largely hinges on whether full-labels will result in the graphic becoming crowded (GSTG 3.1.4, 7.3.6). The use of alphabetic keys helps to keep the TG as open as possible, and protects your desire to maintain sufficient open space surrounding each tactile feature (as defined in GSTG 3.4.3.11).
If the TG map is still too cluttered, we suggest putting it on two facing pages. Follow GSTG 5.8.3.2 for placement and labeling of the key.
Second, there is no preferred set or specific order of use for symbols to identify points on the TG, but the list you have provided (which appears in the entry for "point symbol" in Appendix I on page I-9) could be used. So your first symbol could be a dot or circle, the next a square, then a triangle, and so on. You can use hollow symbols and then filled/shaded symbols to expand the set of symbols available.
Third, as you have noted and as shown in the figure on GSTG page 3-37, print letters can also be used so long as they are tactually distinctive. However, following GSTG 10.2.7, letters that are tactually similar to the shapes mentioned above, or to other symbols used, should be avoided (for example, A, V, O/D/G, B/E, T/Y, etc.). This may be more of a concern for younger readers who are still developing their tactile discrimination skills, than for more advanced students.
Related to this, we will suggest just using the capital print "Y" rather than enclosing the "Y" in a box. Putting the "Y" in a box puts lines very close together such that it may be misinterpreted as a texture rather than a point object by some readers.
Also, braille symbols should not be used as key/point symbols. The risks in using braille (including the full cell) as a key/point symbol are that it can be interpreted as the braille symbol(s) itself, or as a texture.
Whatever symbols are used, it will be relevant to make use of the tactile graphic proofreading procedures to ensure they are clear to the readers who will use the TG (GSTG 10.2, especially 10.2.23, 10.2.24).
Fourth, GSTG 5.8.1 provides definitive advice on how to create the key items, and what letters/braille symbols can be used in the key and map. In particular, one of the braille symbols in key entries must contain lower dots (GSTG 5.8.1.2) so that when placed on the TG itself the key entry is not mistaken for a texture.
Fifth, GSTG 5.7.1 indicates that there is a specific order in which a key should be presented:
- Area textures
- Line textures
- Point symbols
- Alphabetic key
- Numeric key
Sixth, we will recommend that you move the compass rose out of the body of the map. As indicated in GSTG 7.6.3.4, the compass rose should always be placed at the top left of the page.
Finally, in your draft tactile map, the "N" indicating "North" on the compass rose is shown as lowercase. It should be brailled as a capital "N". Following GSTG 7.6.3.5, it is not necessary to add the grade 1 indicator even though only the capitals letter "N" is used.
Please let us know if this addresses all of your questions!
Hi Julie!
You are correct! Those dimensions do collide. We will contact the BANA committee responsible for revising this document and ask them to address this issue.
In the meantime, we can suggest the following, from GSTG 5.8.4.3:
- 5.8.4.3 Texture symbols used to represent areas and lines start cell 1; the explanation starts in cell 6 with runovers in cell 8. Point symbols are to be centered within the first four cells the line. The explanation should begin in cell 6 and runovers in cell 8.
The 1" x .5" inch rectangle fits perfectly if you start the texture in cell 1 and the explanation in cell 6.
Workarounds are essential in any give production process! Thank you for your earnest, ingenuity, and patience.
Christina, we are searching widely for answers to your question and will get back with you with advice as soon as we have vetted it.
Thank you for your patience Christina! We're still researching the issue. (You're correct. Troubleshooting support for CorelDRAW on the Mac is pretty thin out there!)
Hi MenWithAMessage!
Before we offer advice, we'd like to see the graphic you're working on, and which prompted this set of questions. Would you please reply with that graphic attached?
Christina, we have done some researching to identify problems similar to what you are describing.
Depending on the version of CorelDRAW, the Macintosh OS, and the age of your computer's hardware, the following may help you.
- In the menus, open "Tools > Options" and then select the "Global" options in the dialog box that appears. (Note: Depending on your version of CorelDRAW, the menus and dialog box options may be slightly different.)
- Uncheck the option "Enable Background Tasks."
- Restart your computer and try the same operations in CorelDRAW.
Changing this setting can help because CorelDRAW makes high demands on your computer, and this setting attempts to allow other operations to occur in the background on your computer. If available hardware is older, or hard-drive space, or RAM memory is low, your computer will appear to lock-up when trying to keep everything running and also opening templates, saving files, or other operations.
Please report back to let us know if this helps for you. Please also reply with your version of CorelDRAW and Macintosh OS.
Finally, please also review the following video to check if you have installed CorelDRAW fully on your Macintosh.
Hi Christina!
I think we can all relate to your experience here. In order to provide accurate information for you we would like to know more about your setup and the template you're trying to open.
- What version of CorelDRAW are you using?
- What version of the Macintosh OS are you using?
- Is it possible that you could upload a copy of one of the templates that produces the crash in your CorelDRAW?
Hope to hear from you soon!
Hi Christina!
Corel maintains the following website for learning CorelDraw: https://learn.corel.com/
On that website I searched for "installing templates" and this help video was made available: https://learn.corel.com/tutorials/how-to-use-coreldraw-templates/#1552316717834-7a23715d-20ca
There are tabs at the top of the webpage for PC, Macintosh, and several other selections.
Please let us know if this provides the information you require!
Thanks for the question!
Our experts want to note first that this is an example where we "follow print." Attached is a quick example of how you could handle this by putting the long horizontal graph across two facing pages, with the Y-coordinate scales arranged exactly as shown in print.
We would like to note that we have attached a "new and improved" graphic <line-graph-sample_Across-facing-pages_MK-Rev2.docx>. The newly attached graphic still uses colors to indicate the actual plotted graph lines. You should use distinct tactile line types for each (more on that below).
Other than that, the image reflects accurate placement of braille around the different parts of the graph.
You probably also know the following, but we are including it to be complete for other readers. All of these are found in GSTG 6.6.2.2. GSTG is "Guidelines and Standards for Tactile Graphics" and is found at the following URL on BANA's website http://www.brailleauthority.org/tg/index.html
- Grid lines should be the least distinct lines on the graph
- X and Y axis lines should be tactually distinct from and stronger than the grid lines
- Tick marks may be the same line strength as the X and Y axis lines, and should cross the axes by 1/4" (6mm) on each side
- The plotted lines should be the boldest and most distinct in the entire graphic.
- Plotted lines should be solid unless shown as broken lines in print. This is to retain any relationship between line type and the mathematical significance of the line type that was incorporated by the original designers of the print graphic.
- Each plotted line must be tactually distinct so it can be easily followed by readers. Variations could involve width or height of the lines. This is especially important when plotted lines cross as is shown in your original print example.
We hope this answers your question! Please let us know if you have any follow-ups.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by
. Reason: Include accounting for technical errors in the plotted lines and the right end of the X-coordinate scale. (See two bullets in the middle of the text part of this posting.)
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This reply was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by
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This reply was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by
Taylor,
The BANA guidelines for tactile graphics are currently in the final approval phase. We don't have special knowledge of their contents. BANA, NBA, and other organizations will actively announce those revised guidelines when they are available.
In the meantime, we can share the following:
The NBA training materials for TGs include the following examples as appropriate for the mat plan method. (Note that these examples from NBA training materials use pre-UEB braille.)
The attached figure 1 shows print graphics that would be rendered as mat plan tactiles.
The attached figure 2 displays how one would use the mat plan in a tactile image of the graphic shown.
The attached figure 3 shows a block figure that should be produced as a tactile using the layering method. The layering method is used in this case because there is empty space under cubes in the top layer.
The attached figure 4 shows how the layering method would be used to produce a tactile graphic of the block object shown in figure 3. Notice how shading is used to signify the blocks, and no shading is used to signify where there are no blocks in each layer.
We hope this answers all of your questions for now!
