Using Braille

4 Using Braille

Braille support is included in the GNOME desktop's accessibility features. Likewise, the brltty daemon that's running as a background process enables users to access information on Braille display devices.

Configuring Braille Options on the Screen Reader

The GNOME desktop's Screen Readers Preference window contains a page for Braille configuration.

Configurable Braille Settings on the Screen Reader

On the Braille page, you can configure the following settings:

Display Settings: Defines how Braille is displayed.
Verbosity: Determines the amount of information that is rendered in Braille.
Selection and Hyperlink Indicators: Defines how selected text and hyperlinks are displayed.
Flash Message Settings: Enables notifications and configures how these notifications are handled.

For more information about configuring Orca's Braille options, go to https://help.gnome.org/users/orca/stable/preferences_braille.html.en.

Customizing Braille on the Screen Reader

Type the following command:
```
orca -s
```
The -s option can also be typed as --setup. The command opens the Screen Reader Preferences window.
Click the Braille tab.
Customize the Braille options according to user needs.
Enable the screen reader by using either the Universal Access panel or, if available, the quick access icon on the desktop's top bar.

Note:

If you change settings in /etc/brltty.conf, then you must also restart Orca. To configure /etc/brltty.conf, see Configuring the BRLTTY Service.

Configuring the BRLTTY Service

Support for a Braille device is provided by the BRLTTY daemon (brltty). You configure this service through the /etc/brltty.conf configuration file.

Note:

The brltty service isn't available by default. To use this service you must install the brltty package.

Configurable Settings of the brltty Service

The following are a selection of configurations that you can set in /etc/brltty.conf:

Authorize users who can use the Braille device.

Specify the users on the line #api-parameters Auth=user:, for example:
```
api-parameters Auth=user:jsmith, jdoe, bbrown
```
Authorize groups who can use the Braille device.

Specify the groups on the line #api-parameters Aut=group:. For example, for a group called braille, you would enter:
```
api-parameters Auth=group:braille
```
Indicate the Braille display device driver.

Uncomment the appropriate #braille-driver line that contains your selected driver. Drivers are identified by two-letter codes, which are provided in the configuration file, for example:
```
braille-driver vo
```
On a single braille-driver line, you can specify multiple, comma-separated drivers. In this case, the service automatically scans the list and detects the appropriate driver.
Indicate the type of Braille display device.

Uncomment the appropriate #braille-device line that contains your selected device. Several lines that correspond to specific device types are provided, for example:
```
braille-device bluetooth:address
```
On a single braille-device line, you can specify multiple, comma-separated devices. In this case, the service automatically scans the list and detects the appropriate device.

Using the brltty Service

Install the brltty package.
```
sudo dnf install -y brltty
```
Configure settings in /etc/brltty.conf as needed.
Enable the brltty service.
```
sudo systemctl enable brltty
```
If prompted, type the user password.
Reboot the system.

After the system reboots, verify that the service is running, as follows:

sudo systemctl status brltty

* brltty service - Braille display driver for Linux/Unix
   Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/brltty.service; enabled; vendor preset: disabled
   Active: active (running) since Wed 2020-04-15 12:07:48 PDT; 25min ago
...

Note:

If you change settings in /etc/brltty.conf, then you must also restart Orca. To configure Braille options in the Screen Reader, see Configuring Braille Options on the Screen Reader.

For more information, see the brltty(1) manual page.