Where It's AT – Assistive Technology Blog

Turning Your iPad Into a Braille Writer

Contributed by Joel Zimba, Special Projects Coordinator, MDTAP

Writing Braille on an iDevice is not new. It all started back with BrailleTouch, which would copy text you had written into any app.  Then there came mBraille, which expanded upon this idea with many powerful features.  With iOS7 came the built-in Braille text entry system. It seemed as though the days of stand-alone Braille apps had gone the way of $.50 coffee and the lava lamp.

I wasn’t expecting the iBrailler Notes app to impress me.  It’s yet another stand-alone Braille app, right?  Well, yes, but more importantly, it’s a note taking application which just happens to use Braille. It stands out from the others by letting you create and edit formatted Braille files, which often have the extension “.brf.” It also syncs to Dropbox, which makes importing and exporting files much simpler.

iBrailler talks you through getting up and going. One important note is that the “pinch” gesture is used to close a note.  This isn’t stated at the outset, which makes it hard to do anything once painted into a corner. With that in mind, getting back to the main menu is a snap, and using this simple, yet powerful app is a pleasure.

Basic usage is quite intuitive, just place all ten fingers on the iPad screen, and the dynamic keyboard will align itself to your fingers. More complex navigation and editing is also possible.  The custom method of copy and paste is superior to that provided by iOS. Some of these features are accessed via gestures which ape those of the multitasking system of the iPad—so you’ll have to turn them off in “Settings.”

The note-taking aspect of iBrailler Notes is not terribly sophisticated yet.  It would be nice to have folders or tagging for notes. Embedding links and rich text would be an excellent add-on as well.

I found writing Braille to be extremely quick and accurate, which is 90% of the point.  It has proven to be more useful than I thought. iBrailler Notes suggests it may be particularly suited for educational settings, for those just learning Braille or for children. Either demographic was unavailable for comment.