DBT Changelog

What's new in DBT 12.7

Jul 24, 2023

Accessibility:
We have changed the JAWS keystroke in DBT to read the last word on the current line from Alt+Slash to Alt+End. The keyboard entry for Alt+Slash was causing problems for some users of non-English JAWS.
We have fixed a problem with voicing DBT codes in the fields for Find and Replace and the fields for adding and modifying styles.
JAWS scripts ensure that the grade of braille on a braille device on the print side matches the user's translation settings in JAWS.
JAWS voicing of keystrokes on the Cosmo Brailler is improved.
Document Importing:
Importing .docx files avoids an unusual pitfall that could cause a DBT crash.
Document Exporting:
HTML and Word exports can reconstruct hyperlinks from DBT markup when a URL is included. Importers for HTML and .docx files produce the appropriate markup, so hyperlinks can, in effect, be preserved round-trip through braille.
HTML and Word exports can be customized.
HTML and Word exports improve handling of many DBT styles, producing better indent and runover in the output.
Math:
Nemeth math-only print-to-braille translation has been updated to prevent insertion of unwanted script indicators in certain instances.
Nemeth math-only braille-to-print translation has been updated for miscellaneous improvements including to the handling of typeform indicators and math styles.
Improved recognition of the start and end of math when importing Word documents.
DBT Operations / General:
Find and Replace dialogs support limited wildcard use in codes.
A new parameter in the [ind] code allows for right alignment of many lines of text.
The menu and dialog in the Global menu formerly labeled Autosave Options is now labeled File Locations. You can use this dialog to set default locations for Open and Save dialogs. The dialog still allows for management of autosave options.
DBT supports a new command line switch /resetfilesavefolder or /resetfileopenfolder for use when the Save As dialog or Open dialog will not appear, or appears only after a long delay. Please contact technical support for help using this.

New in DBT 12.6 (Apr 27, 2022)

New in DBT 12.5 (Jan 20, 2021)

Duxbury Systems continually revises DBT to add new features, fix problems, and to respond to changes in braille rules, embosser and operating system updates, and third party changes.
Below you will find our latest advances since the prior release.
For more sources of information, please take advantage of "Check for Updates" from your DBT Help menu. Or, visit the Duxbury Website for both new information and historical information about DBT features and updates.
Faster Software Response:
DBT operations have been considerably accelerated: translated line display, editing, pasting large blocks of text, etc., are significantly faster than any prior version of DBT.
Document Importing:
DBT imports any Alt Text attached to images as paragraphs by themselves when imported from Word documents.
The Word (.docx) importer has corrections and improvements to: paragraph number handling, the handling of language switches, and text set in Duxbury's French braille fonts. It also more fully automates markup of table header rows, and its UEB Typeform mappings feature is improved.
DBT will center otherwise unstyled lines imported from Word documents.
A low-level defect that may have caused document corruption in the past during imports and editing has been eliminated.
The Word importer will correct problematic Listed Table markup introduced by SWIFT.
Import of certain Cantonese text has been corrected.
Import of Unicode markup with combining diacritics (including U+0300 and U+0301) has been improved.
Automated markup of hyperlinks that include parameters is improved.
User Interface:
New controls in the Table of Contents dialog handle reference page numbering and improve TOC layout.
New options are added to the Create Template dialog to include printer setups, embosser setups, and/or include text and codes in your custom templates. Adding these options will save the template in binary format. Without them the template is saved in text format.
A new menu item allows you to undo "Don't show me this again" dialog preferences.
The translated line display is cleaner in formatted view.
On-screen display of the hard hyphen character (D+EC41) is fixed. This character frequently appears in UEB when translating an underline or macron.
The Activation Wizard is newly localized to French and Korean. The Activation Wizard will run in your preferred interface language, when a translation is available.
The Activation Wizard has been improved to more readily allow switching licenses and to give better details in case of a failure to connect to a network license server.
Major Improvements:
Improvements to forward and back translation for over 40 languages! ( See the Languages section for details.)
Support for 7 new embossers and improved support for 7 current embossers. (See Embosser Improvements below.)
The Listed Table and Stair step Table formatters are greatly improved.
Non-breaking spaces can be copied from DBT documents to other applications intact.
The Swell Braille font is included with DBT. This font is used when printing on swell paper: dots are 80% of normal to allow for swelling when passed through the fuser.
New JAWS script files: Users can now set the DBT-specific JAWS settings in the standard JAWS Quick Settings dialog (Insert+V). The updated JAWS script files correctly select JAWS settings for braille translation and keyboard echo. By default they do not announce style changes.
JAWS Note: You may find it preferable to have UI Automation disabled. This may be necessary for optimal JAWS support. DBT need not be restarted when turning UI Automation support on or off.
NVDA and Narrator: Further development of UI Automation in DBT has improved compatibility with NVDA and Narrator. If you do not have a braille display attached, it is recommended to set "Report Braille to Screen Readers in Local/National Encoding" in the Global: Internationalization dialog.
DBT's user interface remains visible to NVDA and Windows Narrator during operation of the Activation Wizard.
Selection highlighting is done using Windows system standard colors.
The DBT Help Viewer allows side-by-side viewing with DBT's own windows, and is more compatible with screen readers.
Braille Mathematics:
Significant improvements in print-to-braille and braille-to-print translation for many braille math codes. As one example, UEB documents with Nemeth mathematics have seen a large number of updates.
The LaTeX importer supports the UTF-8 character set, files generated on non-Windows platforms, and the vspace command.
Nemeth math-only print-to-braille translation is updated to improve spacing, and supports use of the Unicode minus sign (U+2212) in enclosed lists. (Note: Nemeth is referenced from many templates through the "math" style.)
Nemeth math-only translation in both print-to-braille and braille-to-print supports the math "perpendicular" and "not perpendicular" symbols, and "bar under" mathematical expressions.
The English (UEB) - BANA with Nemeth template includes a "DirectionsNemeth." style, correcting a problem when transcribing through SWIFT. The template also updates other styles.
Embosser Improvements:
ViewPlus Columbia support is improved. Note: Updated drivers are strongly recommended for macOS.
ViewPlus Delta embossers support booklet printing on 11 x 17 paper.
Braillo: DBT offers more direct support for variable line spacing on Braillo embossers. A separator sheet can now be placed between copies when writing to Braillo 600 SR embossers.
DBT supports all Braillo's new "Series 2" (S2) embossers (the 300, 450, and 600).
Interpoint 55 output can be sent in reverse order.
Irie embosser support is improved. Front/back page alignment of interpoint output on the Irie BrailleTrac 120 is corrected.
DBT supports the TactPlus™ EasyTactix embosser,
the ViewPlus SpotDot,
the APH PageBlaster, and APH PixBlaster.
TranSend SE support now includes the EPSON FX-2190II ESC/P model now sold by Humanware.
DBT/Win supports output of TactileView images on the Humanware Juliet 120 and Romeo 60.

New in DBT 12.4 (Jan 4, 2019)

New in DBT 12.3 (Jun 22, 2018)

New Braille Embossers:
DBT adds support for two new Irie embossers, the BrailleSheet 120 and the BrailleTrac 120.
Graphics on Index V5 embossers now output using the "floating dot" format. One benefit is that TactileView graphics output successfully when embedded in a DBT document sent to an Index V5 embosser.
Math Improvements:
MathType 7 is now supported.
French mathematics braille is now supported in the French Unified braille-to-print translator.
Users can now import braille formatted files (BRF's) containing UEB with Nemeth Code, as long as the file starts with a special 4-cell braille header: _%_:
The MAVIS module now correctly recognizes mixed numbers at the start of math mode.
The arc sign is now recognized.
The English/Unified (UEB) print-to-braille table accepts U+27C2 for the "perpendicular" symbol.
DBT's LaTeX importer now allows a "pass through in math" section to be more flexible about characters appearing at the end of a paragraph.
The LaTeX importer allows "pass through in math" with the math-TextInMath style, to be used in additional situations, such as when items are separated by LaTeX vspace commands or sectioning commands (like section and subsection).
The LaTeX importer and exporter now handle European accented letters.
For Nemeth Code in UEB context, the end Nemeth Code indicator is now set up to be on the same line as the last item in Nemeth Code.
For Nemeth Code in UEB context, the new styles RefPageUEBSwitch (and the RefPageUEBSwitch-Embed version) now allow for a new reference page number in UEB without having to terminate and restart Nemeth Code.
General Improvements:
DBT initialization is now much faster.
DBT has improved copying from a braille document into a target other than DBT, such as CorelDRAW.
DBT's Excel importer handles dates in the default format when no format is specified.
Enhanced "code page" selection; allowing greater freedom to import non-English, non-Unicode textfiles.
The "F5" codes list no longer displays antiquated ampersand codes.
The "UEB Pharmaceutical" template is now called "English (UEB) Pharmaceutical".
The two pharmaceutical DBT templates now suppress braille page numbering.
The JAWS script files no longer say "same spot" to alert the user that the cursor is remaining in place while repeatedly pressing the left or right arrow in formatted view. Instead JAWS makes a subtle click.
When you have checked the Global View setting Use verbose labels for non-ANSI characters, JAWS speaks the Unicode value from the DBT status line when voicing a character or its Unicode number. This is very helpful when navigating a DBT print document containing Asian languages that use composite characters, such as Arabic, Hebrew, and Hindi.
Language Updates:
Bulgarian: Now uses dots 46 as the caps sign
Dutch Flag Dutch: Many punctuation problems fixed; capitalization and emphasis modernized per the latest published rules
French: Many significant changes; handling of new characters, improved forward and back translation. Notable features are support for emphasis and for mathematics in braille-to-print
Hebrew-American: Now makes a proper transition from Hebrew to UEB in the print-to-braille direction
Languages of India: Better support for punctuation and dependent / independent vowels in braille-to-print (all languages of India)
Italian: Better handling of the period (full stop) and dots 34 in braille-to-print (distinguishing i grave from slash)
Norwegian Flag Norwegian: Better handling of the period (full stop) and some other punctuation characters in braille-to-print translation
Russian: Now prevents use of the "ae" combined character, with improved comma handling in braille-to-print. The DBT Russian template now uses capital letter indicators by default. This improvement also applies to the Belarusian, Chuvash, Tatar, Udmurt, and Ukrainian templates
Spanish: Fixed two punctuation characters in braille-to-print translation
Thai: Updated the braille-to-print translation direction to match recent work in print-to-braille

New in DBT 12.2 (Nov 30, 2017)

Primary Areas of Improvement:
JAWS script file improvements (see below)
Translated Line is greatly improved and more responsive.
Math improvements (see below)
Contains new BANA 2017 Word Template with numerous improvements.
DBT Templates are now readable text files. This allows skilled users to assemble their own templates much more easily.
New Template for users in the United Kingdom: English (UEB) - UK Formatting (UKAAF)
New Table of Contents Style - UK Basic - which follows UKAAF formatting recommendations.
Improvements to the UEB translator (Unified English Braille) (see below)
New embossers and embosser improvements (see below)
TactileView integration repaired.
Improved Help Content.
Many internal efficiency improvements.
Language improvements (see below)
English UEB:
Now supports document-specific Typeform Indicators as defined in the UEB Rules of Unified English Braille Section 9 for inkprint attributes that carry meanings the braille reader needs to know about . A range of such indicators can be defined such as the use of Script Font, Text Color or Highlight Color, as well as Drop Shadow and Outline Text. See the new user interface in the Global: Word-Importer dialogue.
Certain currency expressions, when marked as "technical notation," no longer give rise to an unnecessary grade one word indicator.
When a sequence of single capitalized letters is treated as a passage, the last such letter is included in the passage.
If [ps]...[pe] (i.e. superscript) codes immediately surround a trademark symbol (U+2122), they are now discarded as redundant.
Contractions of several uncommon medical terms have been improved.
New Embossers and Embosser Fixes:
Support for the Braillo 300 S2 has been added to DBT.
TranSend SE is now supported on Romeo 60 and Juliet 120.
JAWS Improvements:
JAWS now has better support for the DBT Spell Checker.
When reading a line as braille characters, for multiple spaces JAWS now says the number of spaces instead of speaking each space individually.
The JAWS script files for DBT include several new keyboard commands:
Alt+Comma - once, speaks the current column position; twice, speaks the number of remaining characters on the line.
Alt+Period - once, speaks the number of characters on the line; twice, speaks the number of spaces on the left.
Alt+Slash: speaks the last word on the line.
Alt+Semicolon - new keystroke to toggle between the PC cursor and the JAWS cursor at the start of the translated line.
No digits are missing when you press Alt+9 to hear location information.
JAWS consistently speaks the new page number when you move from one page to another in a DBT document.
For those using JAWS with refreshable braille using grade 2 translation, JAWS no longer says "computer braille" when DBT switches to a braille document window and the JAWS translation setting for refreshable braille changes to computer braille. Those announcements could be frequent, and users found them annoying.
Math Improvements:
For translating into Nemeth Code in UEB context, we have solved a problem that caused intermittent errors at the start of math sections, such as a missing numeric indicator for a number at the start of a Nemeth Code section.
When importing a LaTeX file (from Scientific Notebook or another source) to create Nemeth Code in a UEB context, DBT now correctly suppresses the terminating and starting Nemeth indicators where there should be a "pass through in math" section; it also puts in the "one-word switch" where appropriate.
When importing math for Nemeth Code in UEB context, embedded text in a math expression that occurs inside a pass through in math section no longer causes problems.
The translated line no longer drops spaces in certain locations. Specifically, use of the math style now does not cause a space to be dropped on the translated line.
When importing a LaTeX file that uses the command includegraphics, the DBT document now gives the filename of the graphics file.
User Interface:
The Global, Word-Importer dialogue has a new option for mapping font characteristics to transcriber-defined Typeform Indicators for English UEB.
Selecting the correct language for Han character import now happens automatically with the choice of a DBT template. (Previously this selection always had to be done manually from the Global, Import Options dialogue, and that option is still allowed if the user wishes to continue to specify the choice directly.)
DBT updates documents immediately when certain global options are changed.
Miscellaneous Changes:
We have improved the display of the translated line in formatted print documents for languages that introduce discretionary hyphens.
We have added two spaces to the formatted-view translated line at each place where a tab code is present in the markup.
We have eliminated the introduction of a bullet and space at the start of some "numbered" paragraphs in .docx files, where Word itself does not show them.
Treatment of blank cells in columnar tables has been amended to come more completely into compliance with BANA Guidelines.
The BANA Listed Table format now conforms to BANA Formats 2011 (11.16.1.e), so that for each row, the first element is formatted as a cell-5 heading. (That first element is normally labeled with the column heading.)
A Byte Order Mark, if present, is now stripped from the start of Unicode text imports, particularly when imported through DBT's formatted text importer.
DBT now adds codes to control spacing within the Exact Translation style when importing Word .doc and .docx files.

New in DBT 12.1 sr1 (Apr 21, 2017)

Primary improvements:
In all UEB templates as well as those derived from UEB, the computer braille styles are updated to render accurate word breaking. Only those templates specifically for older (pre-UEB) documents still enforce the Pre-UEB word breaking rules.
The four DBT BANA templates (both UEB and Pre-UEB) are once again updated to the most recent versions. This corrects some formatting errors in the 12.1 BANA templates and includes BB-BoxBegin and H1-HeadingCentered.
In the English/American (pre-UEB) print-to-braille tables, the output of underline symbols is restored.
In the English/Unified (UEB) print-to-braille table certain contractions that follow an apostrophe have been improved.
The Afrikaans print-to-braille table and Sotho print-to-braille table have been updated with contraction changes received recently from South Africa.
Refinements in the Welsh print-to-braille table restrict shortform usage within large words to the officially approved list and ensure that strings of letters that could be read as extended shortforms are appropriately marked with grade 1 indicators. Other improvements include automated generation of hyphenation points within long technical expressions such as URLs.
For Myanmar text, DBT now handles some additional, critical Burmese characters for translating Burmese text to braille.
This service release also features the following JAWS script improvements:
The script files for DBT 12.1 changed the technique for SayWord to insure the whole word was gathered and spoken. This change compromised making a selection. The latest script insures that if a selection is in progress, all the words in the selection are retained.
When using a braille display with JAWS 17, the script files manage the JAWS braille translation settings better (turning off input translation) to ensure that output translation is off when you are viewing a braille document.
The save and restore of a Speech Profile is now limited to JAWS version17 and higher to prevent "unknown function" errors in earlier versions of JAWS.
Repetitious announcements of "computer braille" when the window focus is shifted are now suppressed.

New in DBT 11.3 (Jul 14, 2015)

New Features:
Save to MS Word! Under Save As, provided only that you have a copy of Microsoft Word on your computer, you can now save a print file from DBT as a Word file.
TactileView Support! DBT now integrates with TactileView tactile graphics software. TactileView is a full-featured tactile graphics program that can be operated by any user, blind or sighted.
Pre-UEB Braille Formatted File Importer! This new braille file importer converts older raw braille files into UEB files (English language only, without math).
UEB (Unified English Braille):
Typeform indicators in UEB more closely follow user expectations.
Hard spaces around underlining commands, which are not appropriate for UEB, have been eliminated.
The TSBVI "Clusters" learning series for UEB has been added to DBT's partial-contraction menu for English/UEB.
Guide text for UEB templates now uses UEB dots (6,36) instead of (36,36).
The oe ligature within French as a secondary language (within [lng~fra] ... [lng] codes) is now supported.
Unicode U+2033 (double prime/inch symbol) is now supported.
Using the inherently subscripted and superscripted Unicode digits (e.g. U+2083 "subscript 3") to form multi-digit, but otherwise simple, numeric subscripts and superscripts now works properly. (Normal math encoding must still be used for more complex expressions.)
Capitalized passages are no longer extended beyond the end of a sentence or punctuated phrase when only a single capital letter (such as "I'm" or "A") follows and is more naturally capitalized separately.
Math Improvements:
When you Save As to Word, you can display DBT math equations in Word using MathType.
When you Save As to LaTeX, you can display DBT math equations in Word using Scientific Notebook or Scientific Viewer.
You can import braille formatted files in UEB text with UEB math, translate them into inkprint, and then produce them in inkprint using Scientific Notebook or MathType.
You can import braille formatted files in UEB text with Nemeth math, translate them into inkprint, and then produce them in inkprint using Scientific Notebook or MathType. (You must follow our specific instructions to do this.)
You can now easily produce Nemeth math within UEB braille with appropriate indicators (see Template Improvements).
For the languages of India, Laos, and Thailand there are two templates, a basic template that handles UEB math, and a "with Nemeth" template that handles Nemeth math.
Material from from Scientific Notebook no longer loses its formatting when imported.
DBT no longer inserts line breaks for MathType objects not entered as in-line in MathType.
DBT Template Improvements:
For easier recognition, we have renamed a number of templates. Instead of English (Unified), the names are now English (UEB). All English language templates not using UEB braille are marked pre-UEB.
We created a new template for Nemeth code math within UEB, called English (UEB) - BANA with Nemeth.
We include a new UEB Template for Australia: English (UEB) - Australian Formatting.
We include a new UEB Template for New Zealand: English (UEB) - New Zealand (including Maori)
We upgraded the English (UEB) - UK Formatting template with many additional styles.
We modified several templates to better import files from Scientific Notebook.
We updated most basic DBT templates so they can use the UEB math translator for math.
File Open (Import):
Former problems with paragraph numbering when importing files from Word and Open Office have been resolved.
DBT's .docx importer now recognizes style names in files created with non-English editions of Word.
Many aspects of file import are now unified so that there is more consistency across the many different file import paths. This should lead to better file imports for everyone.
As an example, smart quote handling is now the same for all import paths.
The stripping of unneeded Zero Width Joiner characters (U+200D) now works with all import paths, including XML.
User Interface Improvements:
Substantial work has been done to improve the Translated Line display.
For a new installation, DBT offers an appropriate recommended template for more locations around the world, easing the set-up process.
The Activation Process is now localizable. It is already available in French. Russian and some other languages are in progress.
We have expanded the Hyperlink Import Screen and renamed it Import Options. These options affect all the import types, not just the Word importer.
An important issue with UEB Math is control of spaces around signs of comparison. These spaces are placed for the lower grades and not placed for the upper grades. There is now a checkbox in the Import Options to control this behavior.
There is a new Global Import Option checkbox that allows removing spaces around dashes. This is important in Australian formats. (The default is off.)
Import options allow the user to specify the code page for a text file being imported. This may be most useful to users in Central Europe.
Accessibility and JAWS Script Files:
We have revised the information layout and navigation of the Activation Process to make it much more accessible to blind users.
There are further improvements in the embossing of help pages.
Previously, when you pressed Control+H in a DBT document to turn highlighting on or off, JAWS did not say if it was now on or off. JAWS now reports the highlighting state, whether changed via Control+H or the Edit menu.
Previously, when navigating through a document with highlighting on, JAWS would read two items, the item the cursor landed on and the item it left. That is no longer done. Now JAWS reads one item and tells you if it is being selected or unselected.
If the JAWS version is 14 or above, the speaking is customized for DBT as it is when not selecting. For example, when selecting or unselecting a line in a braille document, JAWS speaks the print back-translation of that line. When selecting or unselecting a DBT code, JAWS speaks the code instead of the left bracket, the individual characters, and then right bracket. When selecting or unselecting a braille character, JAWS speaks it as a braille cell rather than as an ASCII character.
Previously, when moving word by word in a braille document, JAWS would try to pronounce the word as ASCII; now it spells the word as braille cells. It also does that when selecting or unselecting a braille word.
Previously, JAWS would beep to indicate a line that was skipped because of styles or codes. It no longer beeps. Instead, you can choose to have these line skips announced. The Alt+I toggle used to let you choose whether to have JAWS announce style changes. Now the Alt+I toggle allows for a choice of whether to announce style changes and whether to announce skipped lines (a total of four choices).
When using a braille device, it is now possible to have JAWS remain silent when you move up or down line by line. Press Alt+U to tell JAWS not to use the translated line for moving up and down.
There is better support for using commands from the keyboard of your braille device, such as the JAWS commands for BrailleNextLine and BraillePriorLine (which will braille the indicated line without speech, even if you have the Alt+U toggle set for speaking the translated line when using the computer keyboard).
Improvements to the Activation Process:
We have redesigned the activation wizard interface to interact more naturally with screen readers. There are major improvements to screen layout, information organization, screen navigation, and text voicing.
The activation process has been localized for additional languages beyond English.
The activation process responses have been fine-tuned to keep the user on the correct path and avoid some common operator errors.
If an internet activation attempt cannot connect, the recovery process saves vital information so that the option to activate by email can succeed.
Activation diagnostics now detect some common user problems like activation folders that lack write access and unusual cases like inconsistent license information. In general, diagnostics provide more information than before to help identify user problems.
The process to register for user group emails is now current with Canadian anti-spam regulations.
Braille Embossers:
DBT now supports integration of Tactile View graphics with the Enabling, Index, and Tiger lines of braille embossers.
DBT now supports the Nippon Telesoft Gemini Super2 embosser.
It now supports the Enabling Phoenix Gold embosser.
DBT has improved support for the Enabling BraillePlace embosser.
The issue of controlling "ET Speaks" from DBT is now resolved.
DBT supports A3 portrait paper (49x41) for the Index-D V.4 embosser and the Index Braille Box.
Certain Braillo models have a multiple copy feature (to facilitate display on the Braillo of the number of copies embossed). DBT now supports this feature.
In Embosser Setup, the default embosser output has been changed from Port to Printer, which is now the more common case.
New Languages and Translation Improvements:
Duxbury is making strides to turn braille emphasis into the markup for inkprint emphasis in braille-to-print translation. This feature is described in the table below as "Respecting emphasis in braille-to-print." It means a student can write a paper in braille on a refreshable braille device, convert to inkprint in Duxbury, and export to Word with all the emphasis of the original braille showing up in the Word file.
The new version of DBT presents the Biblical Original Languages table to meet the needs of blind biblical scholars.

DBT Changelog

What's new in DBT 12.7

New in DBT 12.6 (Apr 27, 2022)

New in DBT 12.5 (Jan 20, 2021)

New in DBT 12.4 (Jan 4, 2019)

New in DBT 12.3 (Jun 22, 2018)

New in DBT 12.2 (Nov 30, 2017)

New in DBT 12.1 sr1 (Apr 21, 2017)

New in DBT 11.3 (Jul 14, 2015)

New in DBT 11.1 SR4 (Sep 16, 2014)

New in DBT 11.1 SR3 (Apr 4, 2012)