The Sensus Access Document Converter is an automated, self-service system that converts documents into alternative file formats that work with different assistive technologies.
File types that can be imported
- PDFs
- Microsoft Office documents (.doc, .docx, .ppt, .pptx)
- Text files (.txt, .rtf, .asc),
- LaTeX files (.tex)
- Web pages (.xml, .htm, .html)
- E-books (.epub, .mobi)
- Images (.tiff, .tif, .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .bmp, .png, .pcx, .dcx, .j2k, .jp2, .jpx, .djv)
Output file formats
- Text or Word files
- Tagged (accessible PDFs)
- E-books (with or without synchronized audio)
- MP3 audio files
- DAISY talking books
- Braille
Converted files will be emailed to your brynmawr.edu address when the process is complete. Turnaround times range from a few minutes to several hours depending on the length of the document and the type of conversion.
Attention: The Document Converter is designed to convert accessible documents into alternative file types. Although it can improve the accessibility of a scanned PDF or image file, it can’t make them fully accessible. A human must check the accessibility of the output file and fix any issues before posting it to Moodle or a College website. (See Create Accessible PDFs with Adobe Acrobat and Create Accessible Documents in Microsoft Word for how-to instructions.)
How to use the Document Converter
- Go to the Bryn Mawr College Document Converter page.
- Scroll down until you see the Document Converter option under Getting Started.
- Choose your Source. The source document can be a file that needs to be converted, a URL or direct link to a file that needs to be converted, or you can paste text to be converted directly into a text box.
- Follow the on-screen instructions; see sections below for detailed instructions for each source type.
File or URL as a source
If you chose a file or URL as your source
1. Upload your document:
- If you chose File as your source, click Choose File to browse for and select the file, then click Upload.
- If you chose URL, enter it in the URL box and click Fetch and Upload.
2. Select the output format from the drop-down menu. Options include mp3, DAISY full text and audio, DAISY full math and audio, Braille, e-book, and accessibility conversion (converts image files or image-only PDFs into files with screen-readable text).
3. Specify auto options (settings) for the format chosen in the previous step.
See the full range of options for each format type.
MP3 options
- Language: Select the language that your file is written in. For some languages, you may also have a choice of recording voices.
- Speed: Choose the speed at which you would like the text read.
DAISY full text and audio options
- Language: Select the language your file is written in. (If it isn’t listed, check whether it is an available language for MP3 conversions.)
DAISY full math and audio options
- Language: Select the language your file is written in. (If it isn’t listed, check whether it is an available language for Daisy without math or MP3 conversions.)
Braille options
- Language: Choose the language the file is written in. (If a language is not listed, Sensus Access does not currently support conversion to Braille for that language.)
- Contraction level: Choose the Braille contraction level for the conversion.
- Target format: Choose a format.
E-book options
- Format: Choose MOBI (Kindle) if the e-book will be read with Kindle; otherwise, choose EPUB3 with media overlay (includes a synchronized text-to-speech audio recording), EPUB3 (no audio), or EPUB (for old devices).
- Baseline font size: Choose a default font size.
Accessibility conversion
- Target format: Choose a file format for the converted file. If you are uncertain, choose TXT file if you do not need to preserve visual formatting and a PDF, RTF or DOC file if you do. (Difference between “text over image” and “image over text” PDF options).
Attention: If an output format above isn’t listed, it means that the Document Converter cannot convert the source file type you uploaded into that format. Choose a different output format or save your input file as a type that the Document Converter can convert to the format you want. For example, the Document Converter cannot create a Daisy file from a PDF; you could either convert it to MP3 instead or open the PDF file and save as a Word document (.doc or .docx), which the Document Converter can convert to Daisy.
4. Next, enter your Bryn Mawr email address in the text box and submit your request by hitting Submit.
Text as a source
- Click inside the text box, type or paste in the copied text, and click Upload.
- Select the output format from the drop-down menu. Options include mp3, Braille, or e-book.
- Next, under Specify auto options, select the settings for the format you chose in the previous step.
See the full range of options for each format type.
MP3 options
- Language: Select the language that your file is written in. For some languages, you may also have a choice of recording voices.
- Speed: Choose the speed at which you would like the text read.
Braille options
- Language: Choose the language the file is written in. (If a language is not listed, Sensus Access does not currently support conversion to Braille for that language.)
- Contraction level: Choose the Braille contraction level for the conversion.
- Target format: Choose a format.
E-book options
- Format: Choose MOBI (Kindle) if the e-book will be read with Kindle; otherwise, choose EPUB3 with media overlay (includes a synchronized text-to-speech audio recording), EPUB3 (no audio), or EPUB (for old devices).
- Baseline font size: Choose a default font size.
4. Next, enter your Bryn Mawr email address in the text box and submit your request by hitting Submit.
Note: Text input cannot be converted directly to Daisy or MP3 files. If you need these formats, paste the text into a word processing program like Word or Google docs and save it as a .docx, .rtf, or .txt file, then choose Upload as a source and upload that file to convert it.
Questions?
If you have any additional questions or problems, don't hesitate to reach out to the Help Desk!
Phone: 610-526-7440 | Library and Help Desk hours
Email: help@brynmawr.edu | Service catalog
Location: Canaday Library 1st floor
