Most people understand the basics about braille: that it provides a reading medium for blind people, using 'cells' made up of raised dots in various patterns instead of the characters used in regular print. But many people do not realize that the cells-for-characters substitutions are not, typically, on a one-for-one basis.

The process is especially complicated in languages such as English and French where 'grade 2' braille is used, involving 'contractions' that are based in part upon pronunciation. Formatting of braille pages also involves issues beyond those affecting print. DBT provides translation and formatting facilities to automate the process of conversion from regular print to braille (and vice versa), and also provides word-processing facilities for working directly in the braille as well as the print. 'Fonts' are used for displaying the braille.