[Blindmath] LaTeX

Thu Jun 13 18:31:03 UTC 2013

Just so there is no misunderstanding, I'm 100% behind most people's
suggestion that learning LaTeX for math is a good idea.  Any mainstream
LaTeX converter such as pdftex will do the conversion properly.

But, using LaTex has one really big problem if you are blind -- you'll
never know if you got it "right" or not.  It is very easy, even for
experienced TeX users to make a typo and that can result in either fatal
errors (you probably would get an error message about that) or meaningful
errors such as no exponent (missing "^") or wrong chars in the exponent.
 Without visually "proofing" the answer, you don't know if what you typed
is right.  I suppose converting to MathML and then listening to or
brailling the convert result are ways to check whether you entered it
correctly.  Others on the list like Michael probably have developed useful
methods to checking what you typed.  I'm sure they join the discussion with
their suggestions.

Neil Soiffer
Senior Scientist
Design Science, Inc.
www.dessci.com
~ Makers of MathType, MathFlow, MathPlayer, MathDaisy, Equation Editor ~

On Thu, Jun 13, 2013 at 10:29 AM, Paul Chapin <pdchapin at amherst.edu> wrote:

> There are several Latex to Mathml conversion programs out there and it
> would be interesting to see what people's experiences with them are, but if
> Shalini is preparing her material in Latex, wouldn't it be best if she did
> all her editing and proofing on the Latex side?  She could then convert to
> a pdf and send that to the instructor. How comfortable are we with
> depending of the Latex to pdf conversion being correct?
>
> Paul Chapin
> Academic Technology Specialist
> Amherst College
> X2144
>
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> From: Shalini Menon <shalini1394 at gmail.com<mailto:shalini1394 at gmail.com>>
> Reply-To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics <
> blindmath at nfbnet.org<mailto:blindmath at nfbnet.org>>
> Date: Thursday, June 13, 2013 12:55 PM
> To: "jtblas at hotmail.com<mailto:jtblas at hotmail.com>" <jtblas at hotmail.com
> <mailto:jtblas at hotmail.com>>, Blind Math list for those interested in
> mathematics <blindmath at nfbnet.org<mailto:blindmath at nfbnet.org>>
> Subject: Re: [Blindmath] LaTeX
>
> Thank you.
> How do you convert LaTeX to MathML?
>
> Shalini
>
> On 6/13/13, Jose Tamayo <jtblas at hotmail.com<mailto:jtblas at hotmail.com>>
> wrote:
> Well, let's check if the LaTeX - Access projectis further along.  IT
> promises to provide JAWS access to LaTeX through any of the standard
> windows
> applications or even Adobe reader.
>
> Regards,
> Jose Tamayo
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Blindmath [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
> Rasmussen, Lloyd
> Sent: Thursday, June 13, 2013 12:19 PM
> To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics
> Subject: Re: [Blindmath] LaTeX
>
> There is nothing you can do with a screen reader and Adobe Reader to make
> PDF math readable.  You either have to learn LaTeX syntax or convert the
> expressions to MathML.
>
> Lloyd Rasmussen, Senior Project Engineer National Library Service for the
> Blind and Physically Handicapped
> Library of Congress   202-707-0535
> http://www.loc.gov/nls
> The preceding opinions are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of
> the Library of Congress, NLS.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Blindmath [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Shalini
> Menon
> Sent: Thursday, June 13, 2013 11:12 AM
> To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics
> Subject: Re: [Blindmath] LaTeX
>
> Thanks a lot Jonathan.
> I have another question. I have been able to write out Math equations in
> LaTeX, but Jaws isn't able to read it very well when I convert it to a PDF
> document. Do I need to convert the LaTeX document to MathML and then read
> it
> with Math player, or do I need to make changes to Jaws settings?
>
> Thanks,
> Shalini
> ...
>
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