FILLING OUT FORMS WITH BRAILLE 'N SPEAK

I am writing this in response to comments and questions from users and potential users of Braille 'n Speak.  Their concern is with filling out forms, usually associated with work.

Although Braille 'n Speak is not designed for the task of filling out forms, it is possible to perform this activity when necessary.  First, let us list the basic steps.

Create a Braille 'n Speak file containing a "template" copy of the form.
Mark the places on the form where responses are to be made.
Protect this file.
Copy the protected file (using a different name) to another Braille 'n Speak page.
Test the form for accuracy.
Fill out this copy.  Print it when necessary and save or erase the completed copy as desired.

CREATING THE FORM

In creating the form, are you at liberty to use a blank sheet of paper on which you may print both the label, (question to be answered or other item requiring a response), and its required response?  Must you use a form document which already has been printed and which contains blanks with boundaries within which your responses must occur?  If you are free to use a blank sheet, the required precision is not as great as it will be if you must use a pre-printed form document.  You can decide where labels and their accompanying data are to be placed.  Even if you want to parallel an existing printed form with your own blank sheet version, there is a fair amount of latitude within which you can operate.

In the case of either type of form, the basic procedure is the same.  Determine where printing is to take place, mark such places and test the result.

MARKING THE FORM

Using a blank sheet, place the labels where you like.  You may use any form layout of your choice.  If you wish to title your form and you wish the title to be centered, determine such things as line length, margin values, page length etc. and make the needed calculation for each label.  Then, tab to the desired spot and write the entry.  Next, place a "mark" at the exact spot you want to reserve for the first character of the answer.

A MARK THAT PROMPTS AND A PROMPT THAT IS MARKED

Consider a simple form with labels which ask for "name, address, telephone number (with area code), and date of birth".  We will use a block style with each item on its own line.  In this example, the dash character, "-", does not represent a dash, but a "control-at sign".  (This is the "null" character and to produce it on the Braille 'n Speak, enter x-chord followed by dot 4.)  We will write each label twice.  The first entry is intended to be printed while the repeated label is not to be printed, but used as a prompt for data entry.

NAME:  -NAME
ADDRESS:  -ADDRESS
TELEPHONE NUMBER:  (-AREA-CODE ) -TELEPHONE-NUMBER
DATE OF BIRTH:  -DATE-OF-BIRTH-MM-DD-Y-Y

Having created and marked our simple form, we should protect it and copy it to another Braille 'n Speak file.  Once this has been done, it will be time to test the form by filling it out and printing it.

FILLING OUT THE FORM

By creating our marks as we have, we will be able to fill out our form by making use of Braille 'n Speak's FIND, DELETE, AND INSERT commands.  Begin by using the FIND command to search for X-chord-at sign.  Braille 'n Speak will find it and say "name".  Now, DELETE one word.  Go into INSERT mode and enter the name which is to appear in the "name" block.  Remember to add a space after the name if one is needed.  If there is a space following a word, that space is the final boundary of the word.  When the word is deleted, its following space is deleted along with it.  If you need to hear the prompt repeated, read the CURRENT WORD, not the current LINE!  When you read the current line, your cursor moves from wherever it may be to the start of that line.  Your marked prompt may be at another point within the current line.  Therefore, if you read the current line and then delete a word, you may delete something you intended to keep.

Once again, search for X-chord-at sign (dot 4).  This time you will hear "address".  Repeat the procedure, delete one word, insert the address (plus a space if necessary), and move on to the next mark.  Note that you will have skipped over the labels which are to be printed.  This is because they do not contain a null character "flag" ahead of them.  Yoursearch command allowed your cursor to pass over them and go straight to the spot where you are to enter information. 

In the case of the next block, the label asks for telephone number, but the marked prompt says "area code".  Note that this prompt is enclosed within parentheses.  The left parenthesis is placed ahead of the first null character (control-at) and the right parenthesis is separated from the last character of the word "code" by a single space.  Suppose you were going to fill in this blank with the area code for Blazie Engineering.  Search for your null character.  You will hear "area code".  Delete a single word and immediately insert "410" but do not follow it with a space.  Look at the result and you will find that it looks like this:  (410).  You should have little difficulty filling in the telephone number.

The "date of birth" block needs a bit of consideration.  This is a fairly long prompt for a relatively small amount of data.  Note that everything within these prompts is tied together with null characters.  In fact, we use them instead of spaces.  Why do we do this?  We do it so that no matter how long it is, every prompt becomes a single word.  When it comes time to delete a prompt, we simply delete a word.  We do not need to count the number of words in the prompt, count spaces in our reply, etc.  We simply delete a single word, stay where we are and immediately shift to INSERT mode and enter the desired data.  We could have tied words together with another punctuation, but null characters are not voiced.  If you move the cursor across a null character, you will hear nothing.  This is true even with speech set to TOTAL PUNCTUATION.  Thus, whenever you come to a prompt, no matter how long, it will be read as a single word.

In the case of the "date of birth" prompt, we not only hear what is expectet, but also are given the format in which it is to be presented; two digits for month, two for date and two for the year.  (If we need to separate mm dd and yy with dashes or slashes, we could have used these characters instead of our null characters.  To do this would not have interrupted the single word string.

Having found the first null of the date of birth block, we follow the same procedure, entering the required numbers as indicated by the format portion of the prompt.  The rather lengthy prompt disappears and is replaced with from six to eight characters.  The important thing to remember is that the resulting entry has its first character placed precisely where you intended.

Before leaving the topic of blank sheet forms, we should consider what to do about prompt blocks which are not filled.  In some cases, we can respond by answering the prompt with "NA" for not available or not applicable.  In any case, when our form is ready to print, there should be no marked prompts left.  We should have erased all which we did not complete. If we simply erase a prompt "word", we may distort the structure of our form if we are not careful.  This is why we need to know the character position for the end of each block as well as each line.  It may be necessary to replace an unfilled prompt with a number of spaces in order to protect spacing between blocks on a single line. While it may seem to be more burdensome than it is worth, attention to detail during the set up process will reward you when it comes time to produce a printed document.  Appropriate treatment of prompts not filled in may be even more important when it comes to working with pre-printed forms.  This should be enough information to give an interested person the necessary foundation on which to build a template for use with a blank sheet of paper.

WORKING WITH PRE-PRINTED FORMS

The need to place print upon a precise target block makes the creation of a template for a pre-printed form a bit more difficult than working with a blank sheet of paper.  Once the template is established, life becomes relatively tranquill.

FINDING THE BLOCK

In working with pre-printed forms, remember that printed forms are more precise than copy machine reproductions.  Forms reproduced on a copy machine become distorted with respect to block size and even location.  While the distortion may be small, it can be enough to throw off the accuracy of your work.  Where possible, insist on having printed sheets produced by the printer or a printing company rather than photo-copies.

To do accurate work, your printer must be one which makes it possible to insert a sheet of paper in exactly the same position every time.  In order to establish your template, most likely, you will need help from someone with good vision.  On the market, there are typewriting rulers.  These can be useful in establishing your template.  They show distances in terms of horizontal row and vertical line spaces expressed in terms of pica or elite type.  (Pica type allows ten characters to the horizontal inch.  Elite type permits twelve characters to the inch.)  With the aid of a typewriting ruler (and someone who knows how to read one) you can make a "map" of the form expressed in terms of lines and columns:  Line 5, Column 26 DATE.  Line 7 column 74, dollar amount authorized, line 11, column 58 dollar amount paid, etc.  It also will be useful to know the location of the final space of each block in which information is to be entered as well as the final character space on each line.

Another way of establishing template boundaries is actually to print a form.  Instead of entering the sort of data which will go into each block, you first need to determine whether your printer produces pica or elite print.  Having done this, produce a Braille 'n Speak file which contains lines of nothing but periods (print dots).  There should be enough dots per line to cover the sheet from edge to edge, left to right.  In the case of pica type, an 8 - 1/2 inch wide form will hold 85 dots per line.  Elite type permits up to 102 dots per line.  In general, estimate six lines to the vertical inch.  For an eleven inch sheet of paper, 66 lines will fill the page.  A one inch top and bottom margin will reduce this value to 54 printed lines per page.  (In Braille 'n Speak terms, set a top margin of 6 and a page length of 60.)  Use dots for printing because they are small and will not cover form labels and still will enable your sighted assistant to find blocks accurately.  By the way, to produce your rows of periods, you only need to write a single line of them.  Mark this line as a block.  Copy the marked block to the clipboard and paste it into your file.

Those who have filled out forms using typewriters report that seldom is it possible to use standard line and character spacing when doing their work.  They often resort to using partial line and half space movement in order to type in a given block with precision.  If your printer accepts escape codes with which to adjust line and character size and spacing, you will want to imbed such information into your template.

NO TRESPASSING

There is a pitfall we may encounter in working with pre-printed forms.  It is the possibility that we may encroach onto another block on the same line on which we are working.  If we are not aware of the limits within which we must operate, our activities might even "spill over" onto the adjacent lower line.  If there are two or more blocks which require entry of information on the same line, when we insert data in the first block we either might spill over into the second block or extend the right end of the line so that the carriage return generated by our right margin value causes the extended material to drop down to the left end of the line below.  In fact, this last condition is more likely to occur than the first.  Suppose you have two blocks on a single line.  As you enter prompts, delete them in order to replace them with desired data and move to the next block, it may be necessary not only to insert text data but also blank spaces to maintain the correct distance between blocks.  This becomes a matter of careful measurement, use of position location and experimentation.

There may be instances where you will want or need to change margin values in mid-document.  You even may need to change the size of printed characters if your printer allows this.  Without a specific case with which to work, the best suggestion I can make at this point is to explore possibilities.  It may be that the "FORMATTER" program, (an externally loaded program), may help in such a situation.  Some of the form filling activities may flow more smoothly when performed by means of one or more macros.  Again, consider possibilities as you develop the setup of each new form.

Having established your template (you probably will not get it on the first try) it is time to create marked labels for use as prompts.  The marked labels you create will not be printed.  As you work your way through the form, you will delete them and replace them with the actual data to be placed where they once existed.  Print samples and make adjustments in print placement as needed.

Having found that your values are correct, save a template on disk and protect a copy in your Braille 'n Speak.

Once all the setup is done for each form with which you work, the task of actually entering the data is not terribly difficult.  However, if you are in a hurry and must enter data under pressure, there is what might be thought of as an emergency procedure which you might want to consider  Instead of trying to fill out the form "on the fly", experiment with turning cursor tracking off. This will allow you to read in one part of your document while writing in another. Thus, as you read the questions or other items which require responses, you can write those responses at the end of your document.  Then, with cut and paste techniques, you can lift those responses and establish them where they belong at a less pressured time.

MACROS AND A FORM THAT GROWS AS YOU WRITE

The following approach may be helpful in processing information which comes to you under pressure.  In my work at the American Printing House for the Blind, I answer telephone inquiries from individuals who want to know about APH products or sources of other products and services.  When people phone wanting to place credit card orders, usually I transfer the call to the APH order department.  In considering the task of filling out forms, I thought it would be useful to have some practical experience working under pressure.  I offered to take orders which would in turn be printed and taken to the order department.  In considering various approaches for filling out information sheets while callers are at the other end of the phone, I decided to prepare a set of macros which would allow me to create a form as an order is taken.

Certain elements of information are common to every order and need to be entered only once.  My order form is housed in eleven macros.

1.  This macro prints the words "Telephone Order" and pastes the date on the same line.

2.  This macro prints "Ship TO:  ".  It begins with two carriage returns to ensure my being down two lines from the heading.  Since it spaces twice after the colon character, I am instantly ready to write the name of the person to whom the order is to be shipped.  On the next line, I write the address to which shipping is to be made.  All macros from here on begin with at least one carriage return and when I finish entering data, I simply stop and let the next macro take care of movement down the page.

3.  Daytime Telephone:  is printed by this macro and I again am able to write the number immediately since my cursor is at the end of the file at this point.

4.  Charge To:  This is not always the same address as the shipping address and when it differs, I simply write the new information.  Otherwise, the word "Same" is enough.

5, 6, 7 and 8 May repeat.  5 asks for quantity; how many of a given item does the caller want?  6 asks for a simple word description, (English-Metric Braille Ruler) etc. 7 for the APH catalog number and 8 the price.  Macro 8 prints "Price:  $".  All I have to do is enter the numbers which follow the dollar sign.

9.  This macro prints "Credit Card:  ".  I follow this with the kind of credit card being used, its number and the expiration date.

10.  "Method of shipment:  " is printed next.  At this point I indicate whether the item is to be shipped "Free Matter" or by an overnight carrier, another land carrier, etc.

This is followed by the final macro which says "Processed by F. G. and again pastes the date.  The macro ends with a form feed character which sets things up for a possible next order.  As each new macro is executed, if I should forget the label it creates, all I need do is read the current line.  Not only do I receive an instant prompt, but since I always am working at the end of my file, my writing cursor is poised at the appropriate place for the next entry.

This approach lends itself to work under pressure.  Some callers have an almost uncontrolable need to give their credit card information first.  Others change their minds in mid call and add or delete items after almost all information is written.  The mechanical difficulties which this causes are my problem, not that of the caller.  To deal with it, I have created a "scratch pad".  This is a file called "temp".  During a conversation if a caller makes changes, I add this information to the TEMP file as accurately as possible.  Then, when I am perfectly clear as to what is wanted, I execute macros 5 through 8 in the temp file, record the necessary information and copy this block or set of blocks to the clipboard.  Then, I return to the main "ORDER" file and paste the information at the appropriate point.

Since macros can be saved on disk, it would be possible to build a library of macro forms as needed and, depending on ones needs, the possibilities are interesting to consider.  Recent Braille 'n Speak revisions allow one to insert a message within a macro which, though spoken, is not a part of text created by the macro.  This message could read a prompt while not printing it in the document.  This ability would be useful in working with printed forms and could read the form prompt while placing the writing cursor in the precise spot needed for entry of required information.

In describing these procedures, I have said almost nothing about the use of the Braille 'n SPeak formatter software except to suggest the possibility of its use.  Certainly, it can be a helpful ally in doing the job of filling out forms.  However, I described the procedure so that you may know the basic approach to handling these tasks.  The rest will be a matter of applying short cuts or other techniques which you may want to employ to make things go more smoothly for you.  In this as in many instances, patience, persistance and practice will pay huge dividends in independence.

Fred Gissoni