A apparatus and method are provided which assist the use of electronic documents in both a word processor (17) and Braille environment (16). The apparatus and methods facilitate conversion of electronic documents between various formats for subsequent use on word processor equipment (15) and Braille equipment (10) as required. The translation utilizes a temporary file (90, 91) in an intermediary format which retains formatting information relating the manner in which the document should be rendered in each environment (16,17). The transfer of electronic documents is transparent to the user in a manner that it appears only one document is being worked with.