Inserting Braille characters (unicode)?

[hexabinary]

Our use case is to emboss Braille characters on a business card (hinting to a QR code for vcard download, as our blind colleague suggested).

Using the Unicode code chart (Braille Patterns - Wikipedia), I searched in Windows' character map (thus making sure that the font actually contains Braille characters ... Myriad Pro seemed like a safe guess anyways).

But the characters copied that way won't show in InDesign (neither in Illustrator). Any font is just displaying boxes.

Cross-checking here from the clipboard: ⠟⠗

Any suggestions?

[amaarora]

Hi,

What happens when you search the unicode of that character in the font using the InDesign glyph panel?

Open the glyph panel from type menu. Change the font to Myriad pro and search by to Unicode.

If it is in the font it should be shown in the glyph panel too

-Aman

[Jongware · Accepted solution]

I am sure Myriad Pro does not contain Braille patterns. (Even though the local Adobe Staff seems to know more...) I am a bit in the dark, though, how you managed to get to see them in Windows' Character Map. It must have some setting that (just like Word does) automatically selects a different font if the current one doesn't contain something. All I ever get to see is the exact character set as in the font.

Minus the ones that Windows cannot show, that is (ligatures, digits types, small capitals and so on).

It is not strange that none of the fonts you checked contains Braille, it's a very rare set. Also, you only have to have one font -- there is no use to press font makers into adding them to every font.

Check this font list and see if it contains something you recognize: http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/block/braille_patterns/fontsupport.htm (not Last Resort or SIL Unicode BMP Fallback, though -- these are generic 'placeholder fonts' only, and should not appear in such a list).

Surprisingly, I don't see any modern Windows fonts, nor the otherwise trustworthy fallback Arial Unicode MS. My Mac has one font that contains them; it's aptly called "Apple Braille" and came on the system. It seems Microsoft, for its part, fails to see (huh huh) a problem. Then again, if you are able to call them up in the Character Map, you must have a supporting font somewhere...

[amaarora]

Hi [Jongware]​,

That was a nice insight that can help OP.

I only did a little search on the Braille characters and thier usage.

Therefore specifically wrote "If it is in the font it should be shown in the glyph panel too"

-Aman

[hexabinary]

Thanks so much for the fast answers, both of you!

Segoe UI Symbol indeed displays the Braille characters, so that font list definitely solved my task.

But against all speculations - no, Windows' Character Map does not display characters in a replacement font. I triple-checked that. Arial/A' Unicode MS and some other large font sets don't show Braille char's when I enter Unicode "2813" but Myriad Pro does. Let me know if you'd like to see screenshots 🙂

Segoe UI Symbol: equally displayed.

Oddly enough, changing the formatting in InDesign from Myriad to Segoe solves the problem, and the glyphs panel shows at least consistent behaviour within the software (i. e. no result for Myriad, correct result for Segoe).

And of course I absolutely agree that no one needs Braille characters specifically designed into a certain font. But everyone should at least have one font for easier solutions of accessibility tasks.

[Jongware]

Ouch! I did scan that list for possible MS system fonts, but missed the obvious Segoe UI! (For those on a Mac: Segoe UI is the current default desktop font for Windows. Rather than a single fat font, there are various ones for specific purposes. UI Symbol contains lots of graphic dingbats, such as a full chess set.)

I'm not near a function Windows machine right now but will be able to check Character Map later. It may be new behavior; it wouldn't surprise me if the latest update of Windows fixed something (that I'd not consider broken).

[Joppe]

Working in Brussels in the Royal Institute for the Blind, I make graphics for visual impared students.

To create graphics for the blind, I use 'Braillekiama' as a font in 28 Pt bold. It works very good in Adobe Illustrator.

It is important to know that not all caracters fit with the correct translation in braille. You need a list of keys to make the correct translation using this font. But the result is fantastic. Unfortunately, living in Belgium, I use my keyboard in AZERTY. I have no idea witch keys you need all over the world in QWERTY.

[Amelia_Smith3889]

Hi all, Hope this helps...

I had the same issue with boxes appearing when I chose 'Apple Braille'. To solve I simply downloaded Dafont and searched for braille, with the help of this youtube video... https://youtu.be/Dl3x_mYhe78?feature=shared