App or service to convert .brf to .txt or other formats?

By SienaT, 22 June, 2014

Forum
macOS and Mac Apps

Hi all,

I was wondering if there were any programs available for the Mac that allow users to convert .brf (electronic braille) files to .txt or other formats? I have access to the CNIB library here in Canada, and a lot of their books are in .brf format, and I would like to be able to convert them to other formats so I can read them on my Mac and my iDevices. I have tried RoboBraille, both through their web upload service and by sending the file to convert@robobraille.org as an attachment, but I have been getting error messages and conversion failure messages more often than not. So I was wondering if there was any other Mac app or web based service that works well with Voiceover?

Thanks in advance!

Kind regards,

Siena.

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Comments

By synthesizer101 on Saturday, July 5, 2014 - 14:35

I am working on an app to do this. Currently, it's purely an IOS project, but I'll expand it to both. Unfortunately, it's not high on my list of projects, so it may be a while. Until then, I find that robobraille does a pretty good job. I'll let you know if I find another one.

By Chris Norman on Saturday, July 5, 2014 - 14:35

Not sure if it's of any help, but Duxbury works on the Mac.

It's a pretty expensive way of doing things, and I'm not sure if it converts from BRF to txt (although it works the other way around obviously), but it might be worth checking.

I can check the conversion thing tomorrow when I have access to it again, and I'll get back here unless anyone knows already.

HTH, and good luck!

By SienaT on Tuesday, August 5, 2014 - 14:35

Hi Chris,

Thank you for your response. After reading your post, I did a search on the AppStore for Duxbury, as well as searching for it on the Duxbury website at www.duxburysystems.com . I didn't find anything in regards to Duxbury for the Mac. Could you send me a copy of the demonstration file or a link where I can download it? Just wanted to make sure this was accurate.

Thanks in advance!

Best regards,

Siena.

By LaBoheme on Tuesday, August 5, 2014 - 14:35

http://www.cucat.org/projects/louis/

p.s.: has anyone successfully compiled nfbtrans on a mac? louis is fine, but i find it easier just do it on the terminal.

By SienaT on Friday, February 5, 2016 - 14:35

Thanks for the suggestion! I do have Louis on my computer, but I'm not sure how to convert files using this app! Any podcasts on how to do this? Also, does this app support .brf and .brl files in languages other than English? I work with English, French and Italian on a regular basis, and I need something that will be able to handle Braille tables in multiple languages. Thanks in advance!