Introduction
Welcome to Brailliance! This is your one-stop section where you will find articles on how to operate your modern smart braille display. The models covered include:
Since all these models have practically the same software with a few minor differences, we decided to make a section devoted to the use of each application on these devices. If you want to read reviews of each product, we suggest you check out our reviews section to see what we think of each model. This section assumes you are familiar with the braille system, both input and output.
Chorded Commands
To simplify the layout of these articles a bit, we will use the word “Chord” for all the commands that require the “Space Bar” when pressing them. This actually was used back in the days of the old braille notetakers, but it got phased out afterwords for most newer models. Now, Screenless Allies is giving the word “Chord” a comeback! For instance, rather than saying, “Press “Space+O” to go to the options menu,” the sentence would read, “Press an O Chord to go to the options menu.” Again, this is done by pressing “Space” with whatever letter or symbol you need to activate many commands on the devices in question. Mantis users, you will get the QWERTY equivalent right next to it. For instance, if you need to exit an application you can press an “E Chord” (Escape key). It is to be assumed that, when you see QWERTY commands, they are going to be aimed at the Mantis.
We Have Manuals!
Yes, we are aware you can use manuals to look up any command, but why do this if we can make these articles much more easier to read? We don’t use big words, and we make sure that you, the reader, are engaged and able to master the device in a simple way. Apart from that, you won’t need to switch out of the manual that’s built into your device to do something, you can have the article open on a computer, while you try these commands out on your device. We thank you for visiting this section of the site, and we hope you get useful information from it! Feel free to let us know if you have any questions! And now, let’s get started with some basics!
Orientation
Let’s start looking at the orientation of your braille displays with the braille keyboard. Remember, this applies to the Brailliant models, and the Chameleon 20. ALL devices have the exact same layout, but if there is a difference, we will outline it when needed. Let’s start from the front, and head right around each side, eventually ending back up at the front.
Front panel
From left to right, you will find four rectangular buttons, with a round button in the center. This is what is known as the “Thumb Keys.” Use these buttons to read content on your braille display. From left to right, the keys are “Previous, Left, Right, and Next.” Use the longer thumb keys to move your display forward or back a cell width. use the shorter outer thumb keys to navigate menus. Press “Next” to move forward, and “Previous” to move back. In the middle, the round button is called “Home.” This button will take you right back to the main menu, or if you are in the terminal application, it takes you back to the connection list.
Right side
If you own a Mantis, there is NOTHING on this side. On the braille keyboard devices, you will find a headphone jack at the bottom right, followed by “Volume Down,” and “Volume Up.” These control the built-in voice these models have in order to talk through your menus, and read documents and books.
Back Panel
Moving around to the back, if you have a Brailliant 40, you will NOT have anything in this area. If you own a Mantis, Brailliant 20, or a chameleon, you will find an SD card slot on the back left. You can use this slot to store even more documents.
Left Side
Moving to the left side, from top to bottom, you will find the USB C port, an LED indicator to show if the units are powered on or off, an oval shaped power button, then a standard USB port. Use this port to connect thumb drives for more storage.
Top Face
This is where the differences are much more noticeable. Starting at the front and making your way to the back, you will find two space bars. You can use either one of these to make a “Space.” You can even press both at the same time! Above these keys, you will find the braille display. Above this, you will find small springy looking buttons. These are your cursor keys. These basically are very much like a mouse. If you need to correct something that is on a specific cell, press the button above said cell, and make the correction as needed. Above the braille display, you will find the braille keyboard for the Brailliant and Chameleon, or if you have a Mantis, you will find the QWERTY keyboard. So, from left to right, you will see, “Backspace, dots 3, 2, 1, 4, 5, 6, and Enter.” “Backspace and Enter” are also called “Dots 7 and 8,” but in these articles, we’re using “Backspace and Enter,” to make life easier. The Mantis keyboard is EXACTLY like a modern laptop keyboard. The bottom row of keys on the Mantis keyboard from left to right are, “Control, FN, Windows, ALT, Space, Right ALT, and Control.” We emphasize this bottom row because some keyboards are different, but the Mantis follows the standard outline. If you need to perform a “right click” on something on a PC with the Mantis connected, press “FN+Right Control.” The rest of the keyboard layout is pretty straight forward.
Control Keys
On Brailliant 40 models, on each side of the braille display are three round buttons. These are “Control Keys.” These essentially help you perform other functions if you are connecting the Brailliant to a computer. On the left, from top to bottom, the keys are called “C1, C2, and C3.” On the right, in the same order, these are called, “C4, C5, and C6.” You may need to perform functions that require you to press multiple buttons at once. For instance, for the NVDA screen reader, to activate the NVDA menu, you would press the braille letter “N.” In this case, it is “C1, C3, C4, and C5” all at the same time. It can be tricky, but once you do it a few times, it will be second nature. Remember, these are ONLY on the 40 cell model of the Brailliant.
Work-arounds on Mantis
You’re probably thinking, “I need my six-pack on this keyboard! Where’s the Applications key?” No worries, we have you covered! You can perform all these functions on the Mantis without any issue. The following list tells you which command to perform to execute these functions.
- Home; “FN+Left Arrow”
- End: “FN+Right Arrow”
- Page-UP: “FN+Up Arrow”
- Page-Down: “FN+Down Arrow”
- applications or right clicking key: “FN+Right Control Key”
As you can see, the Mantis does have all the functions you would expect if you had an ordinary computer keyboard. We will talk more about this in the terminal article.
Powering Up
As we mentioned before, we are ONLY tackling navigation on these smart displays in this article. So, let’s power on the device and give it a go! When you first turn on the devices out of the box, it will ask you to choose a language. Let’s go ahead and leave it in English and press the “Next” thumb key until you read, “Close.” Press “Enter,” and your device will start up one more time. You should see, “Starting” followed by a spinning dot to the right of it, which tells you the unit is starting up successfully. Once you’re fully started, you will then hear and see, “Terminal” on the braille display. If you are using a Brailliant, this is the first option. If you are using a Mantis or Chameleon, the first option is “Editor.” Below is a list of apps you will find on ALL models. The orders do not matter in this situation. All we care about is the applications that are there.
- Editor
- Braille Editor
- Terminal
- Library (On Mantis and Chameleon) or Victor Reader on Brailliant Models
- Calculator
- File Manager
- Settings (On Chameleon and Mantis) Options on Brailliant models
- Date and Time
- User Guide
- Power Off
Power Button
Apart from holding this button for three seconds to either turn on or off your display, you can also just press it to put your unit on stand-by. Think of this button like your “lock” button on your phone that turns off your screen, but the phone is still on. When you’re ready to use your display again, push “Power” again to wake it up. It will take you back right where you left off. When turning off the display, you will be asked, “shut down?” Push that “Next” thumb key until you find , “Ok.” Press enter and you will get, “Shutting down…” After a few seconds, your display will vibrate, and all the dots will raise up to indicate everything is off.
Navigation
Now that we have established all you need to know if you are a beginner, let’s do some navigation. We’re assuming you have your braille display turned on and at the main menu at this point. Of course, this works in any kind of menu system.
“Space and Backspace”
That’s right! This even works on Mantis as well. Use the “Space Bar” to navigate forward, and “Backspace” to move backward in a menu. The nice thing about the menus is that, when you get to the end or beginning of one, it automatically jumps back to the bottom, or top, depending on what key you pressed. When you find the option you are looking for, press “Enter” or a “Cursor” button above the menu item on the braille display.
Thumb Keys
You can also use the “Next” thumb key to move forward, or the “Previous” thumb key to move backward in any menu. The same commands mentioned above apply when you’re ready to select an item.
Arrow Keys
If you are using a Mantis, you can use the SAME commands that a regular screen reader requires to move around in a menu. In this case, you can use “Up” and “Down” arrows to move up and down respectively. Press Enter to select an item.
Top and Bottom
You can also move to the first or last item in a menu. On braille keyboard models, use an “L Chord” to move to the top, and a “4-5-6 chord” to move to the bottom. Use “Control+FN+Left Arrow” to move to the top and “Control+FN+Right Arrow” if you are using a Mantis.
First Letter
If you know the name of the menu item you want, you can also press the first letter of said item. For instance, if I want to open the editor, all I need to do is press the letter “E.” Once my device says “Editor,” I can press “Enter.”
Global Commands
Before we end this first installment, let's show you a few commands you can press from ANYWHERE, on your braille display.
Bluetooth
If you need to connect a new bluetooth device to your braille display, first you'd have to find the terminal, then find "Add Bluetooth Device," and press "Enter." There is a MUCH easier way to do this. From anywhere, hold down "Enter" for about five seconds until you see, "Activate your device's bluetooth settings" followed by the name of your display. From there, pair as normal from your device you're trying to connect.
Date and Time
Like every other person on Earth, we want to know what time it is, every thirty seconds. No need to fear, because all the devices have a command to check the time and date! To check the date, press "Enter+D" (Control+Alt+D"). To check the time, press "Enter+T" ("Control+Alt+T.")
Battery Power
Your student now cannot give the excuse that their battery was dead to get out of doing homework! With this command, you can always check the battery from anywhere to make sure they are powered up and ready to go! To check power from anywhere, press "Enter+P" (Control+Alt+P.")
Voice Commands (Braille Models ONLY)
Your Brailliant and Chameleon has a built-in voice to read out the menus, documents, or books. We can control the speed and if the voice is turned on or off from anywhere. To turn the voice on or off, press a "Previous Thumb Key Chord." This is a toggle, so use the same command to turn off, if it was on, and vice versa. If you turn the voice on, you will hear, "Speech: on." If the voice was turned off, you will hear nothing, but "Speech: off" will be displayed in Braille.
Speed
We can also control the voice speed from anywhere on the unit. To increase how fast the voice is, press "Enter+Dot 5." To decrease the speed, press "Enter+dot 2." The speed ranges from -4 being the slowest to 10 being the highest.
Launching Apps (Brailliant Models ONLY)
If you have a Brailliant display, (Sorry Mantis and Chameleon) you can press a command from anywhere to launch an app on the unit. This is done by holding down "Backspace" and "Enter," and as those are held down, press the first letter of the app name. For instance, if you were looking for the editor, you would press "Backspace+Enter+E." It will then take you straight into the app itself.
Notes
Let's say you want to write down a phone number really quickly and do not have time to pull out your phone. This is pretty easy. From anywhere, you can press "Backspace+N" (Control+Alt+N," which will open a blank document in the editor where you can write whatever you need. Alternatively, if you wish to open the braille editor, which basically works with braille files without any translation to text, you can press "Backspace+B" ("Control+Alt+B.") It will open the same blank file, and you can write whatever you need. For a Mantis, your keyboard is practically disabled. Use your home row to input text, similar to a braille keyboard. The letters "F, D, and S" are dots 1, 2, and 3, while "J, K, and L" are 4, 5, and 6. Use "Space" and "Enter" as you normally would use it. When finished using any of these editors, press an "E Chord" (Escape) to exit. You will be asked to save the file. Press "Y" for yes, or "N," for no, and press "Enter" to accept the option. If you say "Yes," you will be asked "File name." Here you can name it whatever you want, and you can then press Enter to take you back to the main menu.
Conclusion
So many ways to navigate for sure! However, with a bit of practice, you will be able to master the art of moving around on your braille device! We encourage you to just move around the menus so you can get acquainted. Remember, if you get lost, just press the “Home” button located in the middle of the thumb keys to go back to the main menu. Happy Navigating!