Reading RNIB Bookshare Books with the BrailleSense

To download books on the Braille Sense, we recommend using the Quick Browser, located under the Web Tools menu. Please note, if you are accessing [RNIB Bookshare through a Student Access limited account, or simply have a preference, the Braille Sense does have a RNIB Bookshare app. To open the RNIB Bookshare app from anywhere on the Braille Sense, press F1 with K, and for detailed instructions on it's use view our articles from our Braille Sense Help Center article.

However, the Quick Browser offers more direct access to download options, more standard keystrokes, and overall an especially efficient process for accessing RNIB Bookshare content.

Logging in to RNIB Bookshare

  1. From within the Quick Browser, press Enter with U to open the Open URL edit box.
  2. Type www.rnibbookshare.org in computer Braille, then press Enter.

Note: Press Space with G to change your Braille Input settings to computer Braille if they aren’t already set that way. For best results, ensure you are starting at the top of the page by pressing Space with dots 1-2-3 before performing the following tasks.

  1. Press Space with Y to locate the edit box, Enter your user name and password into the appropriate fields using computer Braille, then press Enter.

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Searching for and Downloading books

  1. Locate the first edit box by pressing Space with Y, enter the title or author of a book, then press Enter.
  2. Locate your results by navigating by headings using dot 4.
  3. When you’ve located the book you wish to download, navigate to its download combo box with Space with Y, to select your download format.
  4. Within the combo box, press Space to cycle through the available formats and choose either DAISY Text or BRF.
  5. Locate the Download button, press Enter to start the download, and again to accept the file name.
  6. At the next prompt, select Yes to unzip the book.

Note: Books are downloaded to the Downloads folder on the Flashdisk by default.

Quick Browser Commands

  • Top of page: dots 1-2-3
  • Next heading: dot 4
  • Previous heading: dot 1
  • Next form control: Space with dots 1-3-4-5-6
  • Previous form control: Space with dots 1-2-3-4-6
  • Next link: dot 5
  • Previous link: dot 2

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Tips for Reading Books

Once your book has been downloaded, you will need to open the appropriate program to read it:

  • For DAISY books, press F1 with D (dots 1-4-5) from anywhere on the device
  • For BRF books, press F1 with W (dots 2-4-5-6) from anywhere on the device.
  • To set the BrailleSense to display in UEB, press Enter with Backspace and B (dots 1-2) until you reach the UEB Braille Code setting. Repeat the process to switch back to US Braille.

Note: This change only applies if you’ve downloaded your book in DAISY Text. if you download a BRF book and your [RNIB Bookshare preferences are set to UEB, it is not necessary to make thisse change.

  • Some DAISY books may be too large for the Braille Sense to open. As a result, the device may freeze and need to be reset. In these cases, try downloading and opening the book in BRF format instead.
  • To bypass the copyright notice of a book, press Space with F to activate the Find command, then enter BEGIN CONTENT in all capital letters. Note that you’ll need to type in contracted (grade 2) Braille if reading a contracted BRF file.

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Braille Sense DAISY Reader Commands

To quickly launch the DAISY player from anywhere on the Braille Sense, press F1 with D (dots 1, 4 and5). The following commands can be used to read a book that has been opened in the DAISY player:

  • To toggle play/pause press space
  • To increase speed press Backspace with dot 5
  • To decrease speed press Backspace with dot 2
  • To increase volume press Backspace with dot 4
  • To decrease volume press Backspace with dot 1
  • To set the navigation unit press dots 5 and 6

Note: not all navigation options will be available in every RNIB Bookshare book.

To move to the:

  • First heading press Space with dots 2 and 3
  • A specific heading press Enter with h (dots 1, 2, and 5)
  • Next heading press Space with dot 5
  • Previous heading press Space with dot 2
  • Last heading press Space with dots 5 and 6
  • Next phrase press dot 6
  • Previous phrase press dot 3
  • Next page press Space with dots 3, 4 and 5
  • Previous page press Space with 1, 2 and 6
  • Go to page press Enter with G (dots 1, 2, 4 and 5)
  • To find phrase press Space with S (dots 2, 3 and 4)

For the complete list of commands: Space with H (dots 1-2-5)

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Braille Sense Word Processor Commands

To quickly launch the Word Processor from anywhere on the BrailleSense, press F1 with W (dots 2, 4, 5 and 6). The following commands can be used to read a BRF book that has been opened in the BrailleSense Word Processor:

Note: To bypass the copyright notice of a book, press Space with F to activate the Find command, then enter BEGIN CONTENT in all capital letters. You’ll need to type in contracted (grade 2) Braille if reading a contracted Braille file.

  • To read from the beginning of the book press Backspace with G (dots 1, 2, 4 and 5)
  • To read from the cursor to end of book press Enter with G (dots 1, 2, 4 and 5)
  • To move to the next character press Space with dot 6
  • To read the current character press Space with dots 3 and 6
  • To move to the previous character press Space with dot 3
  • To move to the next word press Space with dot 5
  • To read the current word press Space with dots 2 and 5
  • To move to the previous word press Space with dot 2
  • To move to the next line press Space with dot 4
  • To read the current line press Space with dots 1 and 4
  • To move to the previous line press Space with dot 1
  • To move to the next paragraph press Space with dots 5 and 6
  • To read the current paragraph press Space with dots 2, 3, 5 and 6
  • To move to the previous paragraph press Space with dots 2 and 3

For the complete list of commands: Space with H (dots 1-2-5)

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Transferring Books

If you prefer to download a book on your computer and transfer it to your Braille Sense, rather than using Wi-Fi on the note-taker itself, you’ll need to transfer the files using a storage device such as a thumb drive or SD card.

BRF

  1. Download the book in BRF format using a computer, and unzip (extract) it.
  2. Connect your SD card or thumb drive to your computer and copy the unzipped BRF file to the root directory (main folder).

DAISY

  1. Download the Daisy book to your computer, and unzip (extract) it.
  2. Connect the thumb drive or SD card to your computer and copy the entire unzipped book folder to the root directory (main folder).

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Opening Transferred BRF Books

  1. Insert the thumb drive or SD card in to the device.
  2. From the main menu, press F to open the File Manager, which will bring up the list of available drives. 
  3. Locate the SD card and press Enter.
  4. Press Enter on the title of the BRF book you wish to open, which will also open the Word Processor program.

Note: This could take a minute and the Braille Sense will count down the percentages as it loads the book.

  1. To bypass the copyright notice of a book, press Space with F to activate the Find command, then enter BEGIN CONTENT in all capital letters. Note that you’ll need to type in contracted (grade 2) Braille if reading a contracted Braille file.

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Opening Transferred DAISY Books

  1. Insert the thumb drive or SD card in to the device.
  2. From the Main Menu, press M, then D to open the DAISY reader.
  3. Press back pace until you’ve located the list with the SD card option and press Enter.
  4. Use dot 4 with Space to cycle through the list of available books.
  5. Press Space on the title of the book you wish to open, then press Enter.

Note: For a list of available reading commands, press Space with H while in the DAISY Player.

For more help transferring books to a Braille Sense see our article Transferring books onto a notetaker.

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