Paul and Riana,
Apparently, Paul's information is correct in that KeyWord type Braille and
text documents are larger than their .brf and .txt counterparts. As to why it
is like this, I think we need a developer from PDI to explain. Riana is right
that .doc and .rtf versions of files are larger than the KeyWord type because
they have more formatting characters like the $fm format indicators.
It was also mentioned in this thread that Braille documents are smaller
than text versions. Curiously, this is not always true and depends on the type
of file that was translated. If a Braille document is typed and closed, then a
text document is created--not translated--to have identical content as the
Braille document, the Braille file will be smaller as expected because of the
contractions used. The story gets interesting if you translate, import or
export to convert to different file types.
I did some experimenting and here are the results:
Original file:
KeyWord Braille--6,609 bytes
Translated to:
KeyWord text--6,470 bytes
ASCII text--5,853 bytes
Plain Braille--5,981 bytes
Microsoft Word and Rich Text Format--7,615 bytes
Original file:
KeyWord text--7,312 bytes
Translated to:
KeyWord Braille--6,492 bytes
ASCII text--6,483 bytes
Plain Braille--5,956 bytes
Microsoft Word and Rich Text Format--8,243 bytes
This shows that if a KeyWord text file is translated to a KeyWord Braille
file, the Braille document is smaller. We say it is due to the contractions.
But if a KeyWord Braille file is translated to a KeyWord text file, the text
document is smaller. My guess is that this may be due to the formatting of the
source file that is not preserved during translation as Riana wrote in her post.
If the text file is translated to ASCII text and plain Braille, the .brf
file is smaller than the .txt file, and both .brf and .txt are smaller than the
original text document. On the other hand, if the Braille file is translated
to ASCII text and plain Braille, the .brf file is larger than the .txt file,
but both are still smaller than the original Braille document.
I tried this with the source file being .txt, .brf, .doc, .rtf and .wp5,
and the results are similar. If text is translated to Braille, the Braille
version will be smaller than the text, regardless if it is of KeyWord type or
not. If Braille is translated to text, the text version will be smaller than
the Braille, regardless if it is of KeyWord type or not. Microsoft Word and
Rich Text Format files have the same size but I read on this list weeks ago
that the .doc file created in KeySoft is really RTF.
I agree with Riana that it is better to have the files in KeyWord Braille
or text format because the risk of losing them is greater if you keep them in
.doc or .rtf format. I also do not like keeping them in ASCII text format
because sometimes, when I open a .txt file, the hard returns are missing.
There is the annoying prompt asking if you want to review the previous options
every time you open a foreign Braille or text document. Like Riana said, the
Pocket Word converter that works on .doc files you open sometimes cannot find
the DLL file it needs for file conversion but a reset fixes this.
One last observation I like to share is that Format Menu settings like
margins are preserved if you use the Translation Menu to convert files from one
type to another. The formatting is not preserved if you press CONTROL with s
or SPACE with s to save the file, and press CONTROL with x or BACKSPACE with x
to select a different document type.
Use "Translate File" to convert from KeyWord Braille to KeyWord text, and
the reverse. Use "Export File" to convert from KeyWord Braille or text to
.txt, .brf, .doc, .rtf or .wp5. Use "Import File" to convert from .txt, .brf,
.doc, .rtf or .wp5 to KeyWord Braille or text.
Cheers,
Kirstyn
