What's eBraille?

eBraille books are books on disk or CD in a contracted - or Grade 2 - braille format.

Almost all of our books are available as eBraille (see All Books)

You can also instantly download many of our books in eBraille format!
See download instructions here.

Don't miss our Free Downloads page.

eBraille: Frequently Asked Questions

eBraille is a braille file on disk (in contracted, or Grade 2, braille). All our current titles, and most of our past ones, are available in eBraille format, except those with tactile graphics. eBraille is designed primarily to be read on a portable braille reading device, but these books can also be embossed with a braille embosser, or accessed with a computer and braille display or braille-aware notetaker.

Every eBraille book contains the following:

• A separate file for each volume of the book.
• A ReadMe file that includes this FAQ.

You need one of the following:

• A notetaker with a braille display, such as a Braille Lite or BrailleNote.
• A notetaker that can speak braille files, such as a PAC Mate, Braille 'n Speak, Type 'n Speak, or VoiceNote.
• A computer with either a braille display or version 6 or later of Kurzweil 1000 or OpenBook 7 adaptive scanning software.
• A braille reading device, such as a Bookworm.

You load it the same way you would a text or Web-Braille file. Here are some possible scenarios:

• If you're using a notetaker and have a disk drive designed to work with it, you can put the eBraille disk in the disk drive and copy the file you want into your notetaker's memory.
• If you're using a notetaker but don't have a specially designed disk drive, you can put the eBraille disk into a computer's disk drive, attach the notetaker to the computer, and use a terminal program to copy the file you want into your notetaker's memory. Terminal programs you might use include Windisk, PCDisk, ActiveSync, HyperTerminal Private Edition, and Commo.
• If you're using a Bookworm, you can put the eBraille disk into a computer's disk drive, attach the Bookworm to the computer, and use the download program that came with the Bookworm to copy the file you want into your notetaker's memory.
• If you're using a computer with a braille display, you can put the eBraille disk in its disk drive and open the file you want in a word processor like WordPad, Microsoft Word or WordPerfect 5.1.
• If you're using a computer running an adaptive scanning program, you can put the eBraille disk in its disk drive and open the file you want in that program.

No. eBraille is a plain braille format; the only symbols it contain are braille characters, carriage returns, and spaces. As long as your notetaker can handle braille files, you will be able to read eBraille. If you are using a PAC Mate, open the file in the FS Editor, not Pocket Word.

No. eBraille is in a plain braille format; the only symbols they contain are braille characters, carriage returns, and spaces. If you're using a computer with a braille display, you can open and read eBraille just fine in most word processors, including WordPad, Microsoft Word, and WordPerfect for Windows or DOS. If your braille display or screen reader normally translates text on your screen into contracted braille, just remember to turn this feature off (see the next question for more details).

Yes. If you own version 6 or later of either Kurzweil 1000 or OpenBook 7, simply open the eBraille file in either of these adaptive scanning programs.

Without such a program, eBraille sounds garbled if you try to listen to them with a screen reader. They are written in contracted braille, not text, so your screen reader has no way of knowing, for example, that when it sees the letter "C" all by itself, it should read it as "can." If you're using a braille display, however, the file will appear on the display in contracted braille and you will be able to read it. Just be sure that if your display or screen reader has a feature that translates text into contracted braille, this feature is turned off when you read eBraille. The file is already in contracted braille, so if your display tries to translate it into contracted braille, you will see gibberish.

There is no difference. Previously eBraille contained some specialized formatting; they are now formatted exactly like Web-Braille books.

It depends on the book. A short book, like Who Moved My Cheese, is 70K (kilobytes), while our longest, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is over a megabyte long. Except in rare instances, no eBraille volume is over 125K.

All our current titles (and most of our past ones) are available, except those that include a significant number of tactile graphics, like Touch the Stars.

If you have other questions that we did not answer here, please call our customer service department at 800-548-7323, or (617) 266-6160 x 520.

We at National Braille Press appeal to you not to duplicate electronic download versions of our books. It would be easy enough to do, but it would have a negative effect on our efforts to offer low-cost accessible products, like this one, in the future.

Any publication that NBP offers as a eBraille or ASCII text file is available for download. This includes our periodicals, Syndicated Columnists Weekly and Our Special Magazine.

Most publications are available as embosser-ready electronic braille files with the BRF file extension. Some are also available as printer-ready ASCII text files with a TXT file extension.

You can order a downloadable publication from the NBP website by doing the following:

1. Go to www.braille.com or www.nbp.org.
2. Log in.
3. Select a book or magazine subscription in the usual way.
4. In the Format combo box, choose "eBraille (download)" or "ASCII Text (download)."
5. Purchase additional items, if desired.
6. Check out as usual. Note that if all your purchases are downloads, the page where you select shipping options is skipped.
7. Once your credit card has been approved, you will be on a page containing a link to your My Downloads page. Follow this link to download your purchase.

1. Log in if you have not already done so; you will be taken to your Account page. Note that if you are already logged into the site, you can reach the Account page from any other page on the site.
2. Follow the My Downloads link on this page.
3. Find the book or magazine you wish to download. Any books you have purchased are listed first, followed by periodicals.
4. Click on the link to the publication you wish to download. Depending on your settings, either a download dialog box will open, or the file will open on screen. Download or save the file.
5. If a book is more than one volume long, there is a separate link to each volume; be sure to download them all.

Yes, you can download the publications you purchase as often as you like; they remain on your My Downloads page and may be accessed at any time.

Unless you choose not to be notified, you will receive an e-mail message letting you know whenever a new issue is ready. This message is sent to the e-mail address you use to log in, so be sure it's a working address. This message includes a link to your My Downloads page, so that you can log in and download the magazine. You can also choose to have your new issue sent as an attachment to the message. You can configure your notification for each magazine separately, i.e., you could choose to have SCW sent as an attachment, but to receive only a link to OS. To choose your e-mail preferences, do the following:

1. Go to your My Downloads page.
2. Select the magazine whose options you want to configure. Each magazine is listed in the format, "magazine name - PBD."
3. Press Down Arrow twice to reach a combo box.
4. Choose the notification you want - none, link, or Attachment.
5. Tab to the Update button.
6. Press Enter. Your preference is saved.

Important: If you are correctly subscribed but are not receiving the emailed files or emailed notifications, please check your junk mail folder! Because these emails are generated by our database, they may be identified by some email programs as "spam" or junk. Check your junk mail folder; if you find an email from us in there, use the proper procedure for your particular email system to identify the email as "not junk mail."

Yes. Just let Customer Service know, and they will change your subscription from braille to download. You can e-mail them at orders@nbp.org, or call 1-800-548-7323 or (617) 266-6160, extension 520.

No. You can use the shopping cart if you like, but the Free Downloads page is still available; you can use it to download free publications as before.

If you have other questions that we did not answer here, please call our customer service department at 800-548-7323, or (617) 266-6160 x 520.