Braille Screen Input, any pointers?

By Moopie Curran, 16 August, 2021

Forum
Braille on Apple Products

Hi,
Since Flicktype is being discontinued, I need a way to type. I know iOS has a Braille Screen input, but I never got the hang of it. Which way is the most like a Perkins style Braille Writer, with dot 6 being all the way on the right, and dot 3 being on the left, etc.?
Are there any tutorials or pointers on how to get started with BSI? I'm using an iPhone 8 running iOS 14.5.
Thanks

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Comments

By Shawn T on Wednesday, September 1, 2021 - 21:38

Use this along with the comments, preferably reading about the feature on another device while trying the process on your main device. It didn't click for me until I followed along as I was reading. It took quite some time before I got fast and accurate, but I'm glad I invested the time and effort.

By Curtis Chong on Wednesday, September 1, 2021 - 21:38

Greetings:

Here, imbedded in this message, is the link to the article “A Guide to Braille Screen Input on iOS,” submitted by mehgcap on Wednesday, September 17, 2014.
https://www.applevis.com/guides/guide-braille-screen-input-ios

It’s a very comprehensive write-up along with the comments which follow.

I myself use Braille Screen Input in the Screen Away mode, with the screen facing away from me and the Home Button facing to my right. I also use for input 6-dot uncontracted braille and the UEB table. I also prefer to hear each character as I enter it, but this is simply a matter of my own personal choice.

Others may prefer to use contracted braille and the traditional literary braille. It’s all a matter of choice.

With kind regards,

Curtis Chong

By Kerby on Wednesday, September 1, 2021 - 21:38

I use BSI all the time and I love it. I personally use table top mode and I have it set to echo as I type.

By Moopie Curran on Wednesday, September 1, 2021 - 21:38

Hi guys,
Thanks for all of your help. After playing with BSI for about 5 minutes, I started to really get the hang of it. Especially since I can lock it in tabletop mode, and go back to plain old-fashioned Braille Translation table, as opposed to UEB. I never took to UEB. Anyway, is there a way to get UEB out of my Braille table list and make regular English Braille my system default translation? Because now, the Braille table selection is taking up space in my rotar, even though it's not selected to be in there. Also, how do I do the scrub gesture to dismiss BSI, I can't quite figure that out. Anyway, I'm really loving BSI, and am happy it's built right in.

By Clare Page on Wednesday, September 1, 2021 - 21:38

Hi! I don't know how to get rid of UEB, but I can tell you that you don't need the scrub gesture to get out of Braille Screen Input: simply turn the rotor to some other item and you'll no longer be using BSI.

By Kushal Solanki on Wednesday, September 1, 2021 - 21:38

I use BSI all the time and I absolutely love it.
It is much quicker to type then normal touch typing.