Reading Bookshare Books with the BrailleNote

Logging in to Bookshare

  1. Open KeyWeb on your BrailleNote BT by either pressing I from the Main Menu, or Backspace with Enter and I from anywhere. KeyWeb will prompt you for a URL (web address).
  2. Select Bookshare from your favorites or enter www.bookshare.org on your keyboard.

Note: Because our site uses some additional scripting, you will need to disable your browser's scripting setting before proceeding.

  1. Press Backspace with J, then press Y for yes, followed by Enter, to disable scripting.
  2. Press Space with T, then B to navigate the page to locate links or edit boxes.
  3. Press Space with dots 1-2-3 to move to the top of the page, then press Space with dots 4-6 to navigate to the first edit box to enter your email address and password.
  4. Move to the next edit box using Space with dots 4-6, enter your password, move to the login button, then press Enter.

Back to top

Searching for and downloading Books

Locate the book you wish to read, by typing the title, Author or ISBN number into the edit box, moving to the Search button using Space with dots 4-6, then pressing Enter.

  1. At this point, you’ll want to change your movement to headings, by pressing Space with T, then H for headings.
  2. To locate your search results, press Space with dots 4-6 until you hear the title of the book you’re looking for.
  3. Change your movement unit again by pressing Space with T, then B for both input and links.
  4. Press dots 4 and 6 until you locate the combo box where you can select your download format, press Space to cycle through the available formats, then select either DAISY Text or BRF.
  5. Once the format is set to your preference, press dots 4 and 6 to locate the Download button, then press Enter to start the download. 

Back to top

Opening a Downloaded Book

  1. Open Book Reader by pressing Backspace with Enter and B.
  2. Book Reader will offer you the folder into which you downloaded the book as default. Press Enter, and it will offer you the book as the default file. If you downloaded several books, it will offer the last one downloaded. To select the book, press Enter again.
  3. Book Reader prompts: "Folder for unpacked Bookshare book? Press Enter for My Books." Either press Enter right away or select another file location.
  4. If prompted for your Bookshare password, type it and then press Enter. 
  5. If the book has not been extracted already, the book will unzip here. There will be some progress beeps during this time. When complete, Book Reader prompts: "Delete the original packed Bookshare book?" Press Y.

Note:

  • If the book format is not supported, Book Reader will let you know at this point and return you to the main menu.
  • If there is not enough memory available to unpack the book, Book Reader will prompt – "Could not save unpacked Bookshare book. Disk is full."

  1. Book Reader displays the name of the file, including the extension, for example, "Harry_Po_b_fl.brf". To open it, press Enter.
  2. Book Reader will ask "Review the options?" As the file will have been set up automatically with the correct settings, press Enter or N.

Back to top

Book Reader Commands

Book Reader's read commands are the same as those for KeyWord (the word processor), but they do not allow the book to be edited. This feature prevents unintentional modification to the text of the book being read.

The following commands can be used to listen to a book that has been opened:

  • Go to the beginning of the book by pressing Space with dots 1, 2, and 3
  • Go to the end of the book by pressing Space with dots 4, 5, and 6
  • Find text within a book by pressing Space with F
  • Reads forward by pressing Space with G

Note: While you are continuously reading, you can skip back or forward by sentences or paragraphs without stopping the continuous reading function. This feature is extremely useful if you want to quickly skim forward or back from your current reading position

  • Backspace with enter stops reading

The following commands can be used both while continuously reading or while reviewing:

  • To move forward a sentence press Space with dot 4
  • To move back a sentence press space with dot 1
  • To read the current sentence press space with dots 1 and 4
  • To move back a paragraph press Space with dots 2 and 3
  • To move forward a paragraph press Space with dots 5 and 6
  • To hear the current paragraph press Space with dots 2, 3, 5 and 6

If reading a DAISY book there are some additional navigation options:

  • To open a list of headings press Space with V, pressing enter on a heading will navigate to that heading
  • To cycle through navigation options press Space with T
  • To move forward by the currently selected navigation option press Space with dots 4 and 6
  • To move backwards by the selected element press Space with dots 1 and 3

Back to top

BrailleNote and UEB

If downloading books in the BRF format the UEB setting will be set within your Bookshare download preferences and read automatically on the BrailleNote. If downloading a book in the DAISY format please do the following before opening the book to access it in UEB:

  1. Go to the options menu by pressing Space with dots 1, 3 and 5
  2. Press dots 1 and 2 for braille settings
  3. Space down until you locate "Preferred braille code" and press dots 1 and 5 for UEB
  4. Press enter to save the changes
Note: To change back to US braille, go back to the options menu, press dots 1 and 2 for braille, then in the preferred braille code press dots 2, 3 and 4 for USA

Back to top

Tips for Reading a Book

  • Some DAISY books may be too large for the BrailleNote 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, select F or B for forward or backward search, 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.
  • To obtain a list of Book Reader commands, press Space with H after opening Book Reader.
  • If you exit the book before completing it, Book Reader will bookmark it for you.

Back to top

Transferring Books

If you prefer to download a book on your computer and transfer it to your BrailleNote, 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.

Transferring BRF Books

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

Transferring DAISY Books

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

Note: For help with opening the book you’ve just transferred, please refer to the section titled Opening a Downloaded Book.

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

Back to top