Anyone who has been using a VersaBraille will have been using a Braille keyboard with 6 perkins keys and a space bar, and will probably wish to continue doing so. The VersaBraille featured a built-in Braille keyboard and did not have a standard (QWERTY) option. In many situations where VersaBraille emulation is appropriate for a deafblind person to use the telephone, Braille typing is preferred whether the prospective user has actually used the VersaBraille itself or not.
WTC offers several options:
- If you are using it with a screen reader, many refreshable Braille displays include a set of Braille keyboard keys. Braille keyboard input is then available as part of the screen reader setup, nothing to do with WTC's settings.
- You can use WTC with the Focus Braille display from Freedom Scientific without purchasing a screen reader. The Focus display features a perkins-style Braille keyboard, which is fully supported by WTC. This feature is enabled by enabling the Freedom Scientific Braille display driver, which can be done via the Braille support file.
- In either of the above cases, you can also enable a subset of the computer keyboard itself to function as a Braille keyboard. The layout options are versatile and not limited to a standard perkins configuration. The Braille support file sets up the most common configuration and can easily be modified to provide several common alternatives. The full range of Braille keyboard options is discussed in the section on Braille text input.
Page url:
http://wtcmanual.wintextware.com/index.html?vbe_perkins_style_braille_keyboard.htm
