Create&Convert

Welcome to CreateConvert

On 1st October 2010, a powerful piece of legislation came into force: the Equality Act 2010. In a drive to advance equality of opportunity for all, schools, colleges and universities now face some important new obligations.

One of these obligations concerns how information is made available to learners: the Act says that it must be accessible. So, for example, if a learner has a sight impairment, or dyslexia, the school, college or university MUST face up to its duty to make reasonable adjustments, and to provide that information in a format that the learner will find accessible.

Create&Convert is a free tool that has been designed specifically to help institutions or organisations comply with the Act in the way that they publish information.

It is easy to understand the legal consequences for institutions that do not comply with the Act, but for the learner it’s the social consequences that really matter.

The aim of Create&Convert is to help organisations to help their learners to truly realise their potential.

 

What does CreateConvert do?

So what does Create&Convert do? Well, it brings together in one neat package a range of open source programs that can quickly and capably translate electronic documents into an accessible alternative format, such as audio or a talking book. All of the tools are the outputs of the Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) Consortium, and are therefore completely free to use and distribute.

Create&Convert will work with any new or existing document that is in editable form, such as the common Microsoft Word. In a nutshell, Create&Convert is a legislation-compliant, budget-friendly tool that can transform exclusion into participation for the learner.

To find out more listen to the Create&Convert audio interview.

How does CreateConvert do it?

Create&Convert has an easy three-stage process:

Step 1: create an accessible document.
Step 2: export it to talking book format.
Step 3: check the output by reading or listening to the result.

What support is there?

Create&Convert is easy to use. Nevertheless, full support materials are available on Create&Convert to help you every step of the way. In just a few clicks, you can be creating your own accessible and compliant information.

Can CreateConvert translate documents to Braille?

The OpenWriter version of Create&Convert features the latest vesrion of the ‘odt2braille’ extension for OpenOffice.org Writer. The odt2braille extension enables users to save documents as Braille or to send them directly to a Braille embosser.

An overview of all the odt2braille features including video tutorialas, Braille fonts, and guides in mlutiple formats can be found on the odt2braille resource section of the website.

Can CreateConvert convert to large print?

Any document that is created using the basic heading structure, such as Heading 1, Heading 2, etc, can be converted to large print with ease. You can launch an example of an accessible Word document from Create&Convert which you can use to experiment by converting it to large print. Before you get started select this link to view the large print tutorial.

Download CreateConvert

There are two versions of Create&Convert – Microsoft Word 2003/2007 version and OpenWriter. Although both versions work portably from a USB pendrive it is recommended that the OpenWriter version is run from the USB only. The Word 2003/2007 version can also be run from the desktop.

Download the Microsoft Word version of Create&Convert

Download the Open Office version of Create&Convert (Please note that the Open Office version of C&C is designed to work portably and will only run from a USB drive.)

Important information

When you launch OpenWriter from the USB for the first time it may take time to load, please be patient and try to avoid over clicking on the OpenWriter link.

After you’ve downloaded the zipfile you then need to unzip or extract all the files and folders and double-click ‘Create&Convert’.

If you’ve downloaded Create&Convert but not sure how to extract and copy the files to your USB drive you can view the tutorials in the Help section.

LATEST NEWS: Create&Convert Version 1.5 released

Version 1.5 of Word C&C includes:

• compatibility with Word 2010 (both x32 and x64 versions)
• an additional Daisy Reader (Emerson)
• a fixed bug in relation to portable AMIS
• latest version of the DAISY Pipeline
• improved interface

• Version 1.5 of Open Office includes:
  latest version of Odt2daisy ‘export to Braille’
• an additional Daisy Reader (Emerson)
• latest version of Open Writer
• latest version of Odt2daisy Save As Daisy (both Full Audio and XML)
• a fixed bug in relation to portable AMIS

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The Accessible Formatting WordBar?

The Accessible Formatting WordBar can be used with Microsoft Word 2003, 2007 and 2010. In Microsoft Word 2003 the Accessible Formatting WordBar appears as a floating toolbar although it is possible to dock the WordBar onto the main Word toolbar. In Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010 it appears in the Add-Ins section of the Ribbon.

It is also possible to re-purpose existing non-accessible Word documents into accessible documents by adding headings, page numbers, descriptive text to images etc, by using the Accessible Formatting WordBar.

Using the Accessible Formatting WordBar in Micrsoft Word 2007/2010

Using the Accessible Formatting WordBar in Micrsoft Word 2007 You can also use the Accessible Formatting WordBar in 2007 and 2010. The main difference with Word 2007 is that when you open the Word Formatting template the WordBar appears in the ‘Add-Ins’ part of the Ribbon.

Although the Accessible Formatting WordBar is located in the Add-In Ribbon it is still possible to use it in the usual way, i.e., click or select the drop down arrow to reveal the menu.

Save As DAISY Add-In

The Accessible Formatting WordBar can be used alongside the DAISY Add-In for Microsoft Word.

The DAISY Add-In features a document validation tool, ensuring your documents meet the DAISY standard so they can be converted to digital talking books – a free, intuitive and easy way to support learners with print disabilities. And when you’ve converted your Word document to a digital talking book, you can use the AMIS digital talking book reader to playback your talking book.