Boston University Office of Disability Services
DAISY Production Training Module

Table of Contents [sitemap]
Introduction

Grooming Textbook Files using Adobe Acrobat

In most cases, the base file format used in this production process is the Adobe.pdf. Therefore, the first thing you will learn is how to work with these for the purpose of preparing them for the next step where they will be converted to other useable formats.

Step 1: Open the .pdf file using Acrobat Reader

  1. Using the “pages” tab on the left side of the document adjust the “pages” column so that you can see the document pages three (3) across.
  2. You will also be able to see the current page on the right.
  3. NOTE – the page numbers that appear under each page picture on the left represent the actual page numbers within the .pdf file itself. They DO NOT correspond to the page numbers printed on the text pages appearing on the right. It is very important you understand the difference as both numbers are important for different tasks.
    • Left Frame – numbers indicate .pdf document pages in the file
    • Right Frame – numbers indicate page numbers in the textbook

Step 2: Use Adobe Acrobat to groom the textbook file for later production

At this stage, we are both removing some pages and inserting others. The pages to be removed are

  • blank pages from the original scanned file
  • reference
  • index pages
  • others as noted on production sheets

Locate the beginnings of chapters, major headings, appendices, references and index pages. Insert a "blank" page before each of these naturally occuring sections within the textbook. The purpose of this will become apparent later in the process when the PDF file goes through OCR and is output or saved as HTML. Trust me - this is designed tomake your job easier down the line.

To insert a "blank" page into a PDF document in Acrobat Standard:

  1. Right-Click on the page that will come directly AFTER the blank page
  2. Either 'click' on "Insert Pages" or keystroke (Shift+Ctrl+I)
  3. Choose the "blank page" located on the desktop
  4. Insert the "blank page" BEFORE the highlighted one
  5. Save document after every insertion.

The reason for doing this is that later on in the process - after we have performed OCR and are set to save the textbook as a HTML file, Abbyy Finereader will save sections between blank pages as individual files within a larger folder. When dropped into the DAISY production software [easePublisher] these create individual "headers" within the larger DTB. This makes working with the files within EasePublisher much easier.

 

  • IMPORTANT: For every text to be converted to a DAISY book include the following information in the 00_Front_Matter section of the book.
    Using the "copyright" .pdf file on the desktop, place this page just prior to the copyright information for the textbook:

    This DAISY book was produced by the Boston University Office of Disability Services using the Dolphin EasePublisher software,
    and may be used exclusively by students with permission from BU ODS. It has been produced in a specialized format for a student with a disability and/or print impairment. Any further reproduction or distribution of this material is is strictly prohibited and is an infringement on copyright law.
  • Date of Original Scanning [mm/dd/yyyy]
  • Date of DAISY Creation [mm/dd/yyyy]