taming

the savage source file

AHG November 2009Presenters:

Julie K. Balassa - Valencia Community College

Jeff Bazer- Dolphin Computer Access

http://valenciacc.edu

http://www.yourdolphin.com

• A hands-on demonstrationof Alt Format at work - Julie– Publisher source files– Alt Format at work

• Preparing for conversion• The conversion process• The conversion process results• Using the finished product

• Not the total solution - Dolphin• A solution not just for

Higher/Further education - Dolphin• What’s next - Dolphin

Today’s Schedule

“In October of 2008 three altformat producers disappeared while converting a savage source file.

A year later their footage was found.”Picture of scared character from Blair witch project saying, Someone help me…it’s not accessible!

Someone help me... it’s not accessible!

Someone help me... it’s not accessible!

Dolphin alt format toolsused at Valencia

• Production tools– Dolphin EasyConverter (today’s presentation)– Dolphin Publisher– Dolphin EasyProducer

• College-wide software DAISY player– Dolphin EasyReader

Altformat Production Tool Kit - general• Hardware

– Decent computer – duh– High-speed scanner– Printer– PIAF– Embosser– etc.

• Software– Word processor– PDF processor– OCR application– Braille application– Tactile graphic production application– etc.

Skill Set Tool Kit – for EC

• EasyConverter and…

– Microsoft Word– Adobe Acrobat Pro– OmniPage– DAISY player e.g. EasyReader– Braille e.g. Duxbury (for checking/embossing only)

Publisher source files

• Often are in text-backed PDF format, sometimes image-backed– Can you click in/select the text?

• Often have garbage, inaccessible word art, missing letters, etc.

• Often have incorrect pagination and reading order

• Usually are untagged

• Usually have supplementary text (margin text, footnotes, captions, etc.)

• Almost never meet OCR accessibility guidelines

• Never are student-ready

Alt Format at WorkDolphin EasyConverter

• Converts one source file to multiple formats– Text (including MS Word document)– Compressed audio (mp3)– DAISY 2.02 or DAISY 3 digital talking book (dtb)– Large print (.docx, .doc file)– Braille

• Easy to use yet sophisticated– Wizard approach– Step-by-step guidance for alt format “newbies”– Customization options for alt format experts

• Self-contained work flow, not just a step in a workflow

Source Materials

• Microsoft Word Documents • Portable Document Format files (.pdf) • HTML (.html, .htm)• Text (.txt)• Scanned paper (via OCR using onboard OmniPage 16)• NIMAS • DAISY XML• Rich Text Format (.txt)• Kurzweil Project Files (.kes)• Image Files (.jpg, .tif, .bmp)• Open (unprotected) Publication Structure eBook file (EPUB)

- first introduced in version 5

Preparing for Conversion

• Use EasyConverter wisely– EC is your essential altformat production partner– if you use it as magic, the result might be disappointing

cartoon of woman sawed in half wrong way

• Prepare files for conversion according to alt format best practices– edit prior to input to EC or mid-production– paginate correctly– apply styles/headings– punctuate appropriately– perform other mark-up as needed (e.g. math, foreign language)

Preparing for Conversion - storage

• Store pre-and post-production files safely and efficiently– choose a secure storage location, permanent or removable

screenshot of altformat storage drive

Preparing for Conversion – naming folders

• Store pre-and post-production files safely and efficiently– name folders to be easily identifiable (title, author, edition, ISBN)

screenshot of altformat file folders

Preparing for Conversion – naming files• Store pre-and post-production files safely and efficiently

– name files to line up in order

screenshot of altformat files with naming convention 01chapter, 02chapter, etc

Preparing for Conversion – pre-processing

• If publisher sent one huge PDF file, break into chapters, fm, em• Use Adobe Acrobat Pro to do some quick and dirty processing

– e.g. cropping

screenshot of Acrobat Pro Document Crop selection

screenshot of Acrobat Pro Crop dialog box

The Conversion Process Step 1• Choose New Project or Quick Conversion (steps differ) - we’ll choose NP

screenshot of easy converter main screen

The Conversion Process Step 2

• Choose your project name and destination

screenshot of easy converter project information screen

The Conversion Process Step 3• Choose your input document

screenshot of easy converter choose your input document screen

The Conversion Process Step 4• Choose your PDF and image settings

screenshot of easy converter choose your pdf and image document settings screen

The Conversion Process Step 5• Choose your document settings

screenshot of easy converter document settings screen

The Conversion Process Step 6• Choose your output format and preferences

screenshot of easy converter choose your alternative format screen

The Conversion Process Step 7• Choose more preferences

screenshot of easy converter choose your output name for dtb screen

The Conversion Process Step 8• Choose copy and save preferences

screenshot of easy converter copy your alternative format screen

The Conversion Process Step 9

• Start the conversion

screenshot of easy converter start the conversion screen

The Conversion Process Step 10• Optional OCR editing stage

screenshot of easy converter optional OCR editing stage pre-OCR

The Conversion Process Step 10 cont.• OmniPage manual zone selection

screenshot of easy converter optional OCR editing stage zone selection

The Conversion Process Step 10 cont.

• OmniPage OCR result when zones are selected manually

screenshot of easy converter optional OCR editing stage OCR-manual zone selection

The Conversion Process Step 10 cont.• OmniPage OCR result when zones are selected automatically

& you have not cropped in Acrobat Pro

screenshot of easy converter optional OCR editing stage OCR-auto zone selection

The Conversion Process Step 11• Save & return after optional OCR editing continues the conversion

screenshot of easy converter post OCR editing conversion continues

The Conversion Process Step 12• Optional MS Word editing stage

screenshot of easy converter optional Word editing stage

The Conversion Process Step 13• Save & return after optional MS Word editing continues the conversion

screenshot of easy converter post Word editing conversion continues

The Conversion Process Step 14• The conversion completes

screenshot of easy converter conversion completed screen

The Conversion Process Results• Afterwards, EasyConverter displays resulting altformat information

screenshot of easy converter post conversion screen

The Conversion Process Results• Resulting altformat projects & files are stored in the chosen output folder

screenshot of files and folders in easy converter output folder

The Conversion Process Results• EasyConverter produces the usual DAISY files

screenshot of DAISY files and folders in easy converter output folder

Using the Finished Product

• Save to a folder • Burn to CD • Copy to MP3 player• Send to removable hardware DAISY player• Print (large print, Braille) • Preview in the new format's associated application

i.e. EasyReader, MS Word, Notepad or Win Media Player (MP3)

• Use your saved project to alter or repeat your conversion into a new altformat or with different user preferences

So which road will you take?

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

The Road Not Taken...Robert Frost (1915)

Picture of blair witch project woods

screenshot of easy converter start the conversion screen

Presenters’ Contact Information

• Julie K. BalassaAssistant Director, Disability ServicesValencia Community College, Orlando, FLjbalassa@valenciacc.eduhttp://valenciacc.edu/osd

• Jeff BazerAltFormat Sales ExecutiveDolphin Computer Access, Princeton Junction, NJjeff.bazer@dolphinusa.comhttp://www.yourdolphin.com

Questions & Answers

www.yourdolphin.com