Saving Time with Templates

Setting up your transcription documents can be time consuming, especially if you have multiple contracts. Generally each company has their own specialized formatting that is consistent between files, so just the text changes between documents.

Templates are a useful way to increase your transcription productivity, and they couldn't be easier to set up. By setting up a Word template, you can concentrate on accuracy and grammar and leave the formatting up to the template.

A word template can be much more than just formatting though. In addition to formatting, it can contain styles, boilerplate text, headers, footers, and macros, as well as dictionaries, toolbars, and AutoCorrect entries.

6 Easy Steps to Set Up a Template:

1. Create your document. Setup your document per your contract's guidelines. Remember that you can add any of the specialized formatting or tools listed above.

2. Click on File and then Save.

3. In the File name: box give your template a name that you will easily remember. I generally name them by contract. If I have more than one client or format within a contract, then I'll name by contract and any other identifying criteria.

4. In the Save as type: box, select Document Templates (*.dot).

5. Choose the save location for your templates. I have a folder set up where I save all of my transcript templates.

6. Click Save.

Now that wasn't so hard, was it?

And here's a tip that will make it infinitely easier. If you receive a previous transcript as an example for formatting, just delete the text from it and use it to create your template. The formatting is already done for you, so there's no need to reinvent the wheel!

Chained Styles in Microsoft Word – Simple Q&A Formatting

What would you say if I told you there was a simple way to format a Q&A document in Microsoft Word so that all you have to do is hit enter to change speakers and continue on typing?

This is one of my all-time favorite productivity tips – the chained style. I won't take credit for discovering this handy trick. That all goes to Cheryl Flanders the Microsoft Word guru, but I'll lay it out for you in easy steps right now.

The following instructions are based on using Word 2003. Word 2007 is not quite this easy to set up, and I'm still working on simplifying the instructions into a usable format.

• Start by creating a new template file (.dot file).



• Go to "Format/Style" and click the "New Style" button. Type a unique name for your style. I used "Interviewer" for one and "Interviewee" for the other.



• To set up your "Interviewer" style, click on the "Format" button in the style dialog box and select "Numbering."



• On the "Numbering" tab, click on a format that reflects your hanging indent and click the "Customize" button.



• In the number format box, manually type "Interviewer:" (or whatever you want the speaker identification to be without quotes). At this point you can also modify the font to appear in bold, italics, underling, whatever you need.



• Adjust your hanging indent tabs.



• Save your first style. Be sure to check the "Add to Template" option before closing the dialog box.

At this point you will follow the above steps to create a second style for the interviewee in the Q&A.

The next step will be to chain or link the styles together. Modify the first style to enter the name of the second style in the "Style for following paragraph" box. Modify the second style and enter the name of the first style in the "Style for following paragraph" box. Your styles will automatically alternate when you press Enter. Make your first style the default style of the template, and save your template file.

It's that easy! Now when you hit "Enter," Word will automatically switch styles and insert the speaker tag. To create paragraphs within a speaker, you'll need to hit Shift+Enter.

There's one last small modification that you'll need to make to create double spacing between the speakers. Go into "Format," then "Paragraph," under each style and change the "Spacing After" to reflect the font size that you're using.

The best thing about using a chained style is that it's infinitely customizable. You can modify it to work for almost any document, even using it for multiple speakers by combining it with macros. Shaina's got a great modification so that you can use it with documents that require line numbering, and I'm sure she'll share that soon.

One last caveat – you will want to check with the companies you contract with before using chained styles in their transcripts. It can throw off the formatting if they have additional programs that they run a transcript through before presenting it to a client.

Finding Motivation on Tough Files or Long Days

Shaina and I have this little game that we play when we're struggling to focus or trying to hit a deadline. Because we are pretty much always in contact by instant messenger (IM), we'll start racing each other.

I'll message her with the current time and the current timestamp from my audio, and she'll reply back with hers and then we'll race the clock – and each other – to see how fast we can go, giving status updates every 10 minutes or so (I think we update more often if we're especially struggling with an icky file). Obviously it's not always a fair race if one of us has crystal clear audio with a speaker who's stuck in slow-mo and the other has a 12-person focus group with accents from 4 different continents, but it works for us. When she's not on IM, I try to race the clock on my own, but it's never quite as effective.

How about you? Do you ever race the clock? Do you have any fun incentives to help you focus and get your work done faster?

Using a Macro to Format a Timestamp

Recently I discussed how you could use Express Scribe to insert timestamps in a document. This is a very useful tool; however, you will probably need to make some small adjustments to the formatting to convert it to your client's preferred style.

Here's is what the unformatted timestamp will look like:


You can make the formatting easy and simple by recording a macro that will reformat it to your client's specs.

The key to this is to start recording with your cursor on a blank line. Click on "Record New Macro," name it, and then select a keyboard shortcut(I used Ctrl+D). The first recorded step should be to key Ctrl+V to paste in the unformatted timestamp. Then while still recording, format the timestamp to your client's instructions. For example, I removed the milliseconds and added brackets. The final step in recording the macro is to place your cursor at the end of the timestamp. This is important because it allows you to just hit enter and continue typing after inserting the timestamp without any additional maneuvering. Click on the "Stop Recording" button, and your macro is ready for use!

Now when I need to insert timestamps in a transcript I can simply key Ctrl+T (copies timestamp from ES) and then Ctrl+D (formats timestamp), and my formatted timestamp will look like this:

Product Review: LG L227WTG 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor

About seven months ago I decided it was time to upgrade to a real monitor, a big monitor. I went big for a few reasons, one of them being how much space I'd have to put stuff on my screen and not having to flip back and forth between windows. After a lot of discussion and research I decided on a 22" widescreen LG monitor from Best Buy.

There are a few things about my monitor that I appreciate. The first is the 2ms response time. I have never noticed a delay caused by my monitor when I was typing, and this was a huge consideration for me. Delays are not good when transcribing, and I need my equipment to be able to keep up and not slow me down.

I've also found the brightness and contrast ration to be more than adequate, and watching videos and movies on my monitor is very easy on the eyes. Considering I spend a long time each day watching the screen, the comfort level was also a very important factor. I've never had a problem with dead pixels at this point, and my monitor runs probably 15 to 18 hours a day on average. I do use the energy saving feature to have it go into power saving mode when it has been idle for a longer period of time.

You can read what other people thought of the monitor here, and for the most part, people have had nothing but positive things to say. If you are in the market for a new monitor I'd highly suggest the larger size. I can have a full page of my Microsoft Word document open next to ES and still see over half of my browser screen, which is set to open at around a 12"x8" screen I've found that being able to open multiple search tabs and actually view them has helped when working on research-heavy files, and the extra room has also increased my productivity by saving time flipping between as many open program windows.

Amazon has the exact LG L227WTG 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor for sale, and they also have a few comparable models. Additionally, Best Buy often offers sales on monitors where you can save a significant amount. Best Buy Rewards is a wonderful program as well, and I've loved using my points and rewards towards the purchase of other computer-related items I need for work.

Timestamping Files with Express Scribe

Sure, you could spend big bucks for a program that is specifically designed for timestamping, but it's probably not necessary for the average transcriptionist. If you just need the basic ability to be able to insert the current audio time of an audio file into a transcript, this can be done very easily with Express Scribe.

You first should start by setting up a shortcut in ES to copy your current audio time. Open ES and go to Settings> Pedal and Hot Keys.



Click on Add, and then you have to hit the combination of keys you want to use to copy the time. I use Ctrl + T, so I hit that combination, but you can selet any combination that works for you personally.



Finally, you have to select what that combination of keys will do within ES, so select Copy Time and then OK to save it.



Now you have a universal hot key that will copy the current audio time from Express Scribe even if you're working in Microsoft Word. When you're ready to insert a time stamp, you'll simply place your cursor where you need it to appear in your transcript, hit Ctrl + T (or whatever shortcut you assign to it), and then Ctrl + V to paste in the timestamp.

It will probably need some formatting depending on the formatting instructions you have from your client, so check back for a short tutorial on how to record a macro that will reformat it when you paste it in!

Ergonomics for Transcriptionists

Regularly working at a desk or on a computer creates the potential for physical problems in the short and long term if you're not careful.

Back, Neck and Shoulders
Making sure that your chair (or other seat – I often sit on the couch!) provides proper support to help you maintain good posture is an important aspect of ergonomics. Slouching or shrugging your shoulders can lead to muscle stiffness and soreness. If your seat does not provide proper support, then adding a firm pillow as needed can help. Try adding one horizontally behind your lower back or a larger one vertically behind your whole back.

Regularly stretching is another important aspect of avoiding back, neck or shoulder strain. Taking a few minutes every hour or two to stretch can improve your productivity and protect against these injuries. Stretching and changing positions can also help you maintain your focus.

Wrists
Obviously one of the areas that we are most at-risk is for wrist injuries – and for those of us who call this our career, it's also the scariest. You can protect your wrists in a number of ways, as outlined at MedWord.com:

*Maintain a straight wrist position while typing
*Avoid resting your wrists while typing
*Don't rest your wrist or forearm on a sharp edge while typing
*Use a light touch on the keyboard and mouse
*Take frequent rest breaks

Eyes
Staring at a computer monitor for extended periods of time can also lead to eye strain and long-term problems. Eliminating glare on your screen and keeping the screen clear and bright are important to your eye health, as is taking frequent breaks. Closing your eyes or focusing on objects at different distances around the room can give your eyes a chance to rest, and you should do this at regular, frequent intervals, even if for only 30 seconds at a time.

Above all, if you experience any pain related to your work, an early visit to your healthcare professional can prevent the problem from becoming larger and less manageable.

Microsoft Word Shortcuts: Advanced Formatting

Have you been practicing your basic Microsoft Word shortcuts? I'm embarrased to admit I've been pretty lax about it this week. Computer issues forced me to reformat my hard drive, resulting in two days' worth of lost work time, so I've been playing catch-up since Tuesday. I resolve to do better this week and not only work on the basics but incorporate these more advanced formatting shortcuts as needed.

Shortcut	Output
Ctrl + K	Insert link.
Ctrl + L	Aligns the line or selected text to the left of the screen.
Ctrl + E	Aligns the line or selected text to the center of the screen.
Ctrl + R	Aligns the line or selected text to the right of the screen.
Ctrl + M	Indent the paragraph.
Ctrl + Shift + F	Change the font.
Ctrl + Shift + >	Increase selected font +1pts up to 12pt and then increases font +2pts.
Ctrl + ]	Increase selected font +1pts.
Ctrl + Shift + <	Decrease selected font -1pts if 12pt or lower, if above 12 decreases font by +2pt.
Ctrl + [	Decrease selected font -1pts.
Ctrl + Shift + *	View or hide non printing characters.
Ctrl +	Moves one word to the left.
Ctrl +	Moves one word to the right.
Ctrl +	Moves to the beginning of the line or paragraph.
Ctrl +	Moves to the end of the paragraph.
Ctrl + Del	Deletes word to right of cursor.
Ctrl + Backspace	Deletes word to left of cursor.
Ctrl + End	Moves the cursor to the end of the document.
Ctrl + Home	Moves the cursor to the beginning of the document.
Ctrl + Spacebar	Reset highlighted text to the default font.
Ctrl + 1	Single-space lines.
Ctrl + 2	Double-space lines.
Ctrl + 5	1.5-line spacing.
Ctrl + Alt + 1	Changes text to heading 1.
Ctrl + Alt + 2	Changes text to heading 2.
Ctrl + Alt + 3	Changes text to heading 3.
Ctrl + F1	Open the Task Pane.
F1	Open Help.
Alt + Ctrl + F2	Open new document.
Ctrl + F2	Display the print preview.
Shift + F3	Change the text in Microsoft Word from upper to lower case or a capital letter at the beginning of every word.
Shift + Insert	Paste.
F4	Repeat the last action performed (Word 2000+)
F5	Open the find, replace, and go to window in Microsoft Word.
Ctrl + Shift + F6	Opens to another open Microsoft Word document.
F7	Spell and grammar check selected text and/or document.
Shift + F7	Runs a Thesaurus check on the word highlighted.
F12	Save as.
Shift + F12	Save.
Ctrl + Shift + F12	Prints the document.
Alt + Shift + D	Insert the current date.
Alt + Shift + T	Insert the current time.

Dealing with a Lack of Motivation

In honor of our current poll I've decided to tell you what works for me when I feel less than motivated. It's not necessarily one thing that works, but there are a few things I tend to fall back on when I just can't stay awake/can't focus.

I work through it and plug along until I'm done with everything.

This obviously works if you have a deadline looming, and I have a deadline in sight. So, perhaps this is for those times when I've procrastinated to the point of no return and I have no choice but to push on through.

I grab a snack to munch on.

I fall back on this when I'm tired. I choose something small so I have to keep putting it in my mouth. Usually the break helps me wake up a little and refocus my attention back to the audio. Sometimes I put two pieces of gum in my mouth to achieve a similar effect.

I clean my house instead.

I can see several areas of my house from my desk, including my kitchen if I tilt my chair back a little bit. Sometimes it's the chaos around me that makes me feel less than relaxed when I'm trying to get some work done. If I take a moment to load the dishwasher or clean the areas in my direct line of sight I find I am more relaxed and can can concentrate better.

These are a few of the things that seem to work for me and help me stay on track during the day. Do you have anything special that works for you?

A Macro for Gonna, Wanna, Sorta, etc.

I'm excited to share another macro with you today. But first, for those of you who may have had trouble with the first macro, which automatically changes your sentence spacing from one space following each sentence to two, I'm trying something new. I've now hosted a Word document with the macro at Google Docs. I think the issue may have been that the macro lost its formatting when pasted into Blogger and Word couldn't recognize the code. Click here for that document.

Also, be sure to revisit the old post for instructions on installing the macros.

This new macro is another one of my favorites. Because my main contract uses verbatim speech, such as gonna, wanna, sorta, 'em and 'cause, I sometimes find that I inadvertently use these words when transcribing files that require proper English in place of this common slang. This macro automatically replaces all of those words with the correct speech with the push of a button. To grab the code for this one, click here.

Once you've installed the macro, you can then choose a keyboard or toolbar shortcut to make activating the macros a simple process.

Microsoft Word Shortcuts: The Basics

I don't know about you all, but utilizing the keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft Word is probably one of my weakest areas. Sure, I know most of the basics, but I don't always use them in practice as much as I should. Not to mention that there are a whole slew of shortcuts that are less commonly known that I really need to learn.

My ultimate goal is to get to a point where I never have to remove my hands from the keyboard. I've got a long way to go to get there, but I'm determined. If you'd like to join me in this endeavor, this will be an ongoing series to achieve this skill.

We'll start with the basics this week. I'm assuming that you are already familiar with most of these, but there were a few that I wasn't aware of.

Shortcut	Output
Ctrl+A	Selects all text and graphics in the active window
Ctrl+B	Bold - Formats selected text; make text bold, or remove bold formatting
Ctrl+C	Copies the selection to the clipboard
Ctrl+F	Find - Searches for specified text in the active document
Ctrl+I	Italic - Formats selected text; make text italic or remove italic
Ctrl+N	Open a new word document quickly
Ctrl+O	Opens a previously saved document
Ctrl+P	Prints the active file, also gives the opportunity to change print options
Ctrl+S	Saves the active document with its current file name, location and format
Ctrl+U	Underline - Formats selected text; make text underlined or remove underline
Ctrl+V	Paste - Inserts the contents of the clipboard at the insertion point (cursor) or whatever is selected
Ctrl+W	Closes the active window, but does not Exit Word
Ctrl+X	Cut- Removes the selection from the active document and places it on the clipboard
Ctrl+Y	Redo - After an action has been undone, it can be reinstated in the document
Ctrl+Z	Undo the last action. This selection can be repeated several times
Alt+F4	Exit - Closes Microsoft Word

The Importance of Spares and Knowing Your Weaknesses

Raise your hands if you're prepared in the event that your headphones or pedal should suddenly stop working properly. Anyone? Anyone? I'm sure there's a few of you out there, maybe more than a few, but I'm willing to bet that there are a large number who are not. Don't be embarrassed -- you can count me among those who are not, so you're not alone.

You'd think I'd have learned my lesson by now. I've been lucky as far as pedals go, but headphones don't last so long around here, not with the kids yanking on them and toddlers eating the silicon ear buds. Yep, you read that right! Last year my then one-year-old DD popped them in her mouth and it was several days before I saw them again. Of course, they were immediately relegated to the trash.

I experienced this again last week when the right side of my headphones shorted out. Luckily I did have a spare this time, my iPod ear buds, but I'm not very fond of them. They hurt my ears and make transcribing for any length of time very uncomfortable.

So why don't I have a spare set of my preferred headphones or a spare pedal? Honestly, I don't have a good answer. Excuses yes; answers, not so much. I mean certainly the time wasted in lost productivity and the aggravation are not worth it.

After kicking myself for not being proactive in this area, knowing how important it is and how easily I could have avoided the situation, I started thinking about what other areas I need to improve in. I came up with three areas to work on over the next few months. First of all, when I replace my headphones, I'm going to purchase two sets this time so I always have a backup available, because I know I'm going to need them eventually. I mean, with five kids, it's only a matter of time!

Secondly, I can't remember the last time I've cleaned up my text expanders. I have tons of shortcuts from a radio show that I used to transcribe regularly that I can put into a separate file, because I only need them for when I'm filling in these days. Plus, there's a lot of expanders that maybe I added for a single file and then never deleted, and I'd also like to implement some of the suggestions from Mandi and Shaina's text expander lists that I don't use currently.

The final area that I'd like to improve is my knowledge of Microsoft Word shorcuts. I know that I could greatly improve my productivity by becoming more familiar with the various keyboard shortcuts, yet I've never made a conscious effort to force myself to use them consistently. I'm looking forward to starting a series to focus on this aspect later this week.

So how about you -- what areas do you feel that you need improvement in?

Productivity Tips for Financial Earnings Calls

There are a few things you can do ahead of time when transcribing financial earnings calls to increase your speed. This is especially important because of the faster turnaround time (TAT) most of these require.

Here our a few of our favorite tips:

• Once you've received your contract's style guide, go ahead and set up a template that you can use for each call. Having the header/footer and any other style specifics set up ahead of time will save you a few minutes each day because all you'll need to do is add the call-specific information.



• Once you've received your assignment, you can go ahead and finish setting up your file with the company specifics.



• Doing your company research before your scheduled call means that you don't have to do it while transcribing.



• Internet Explorer 7 allows you to open multiple tabs in the same window, which we find to be a priceless tool. Alternatively, you can open multiple windows, but either way you'll want to open the main page of the company website, the executives page and their latest press release. I also like to have Yahoo! Finance and Investor Words open as well for quick research.

Even though these may seem like little things, if you're working at home and trying to balance family demands with the quick TATs, you'll find that you're much less stressed when you get as much done ahead of time as possible.

Text Expanders -- Finding What Works for You

As Tara covered in her Systems for Creating Shortcuts post, finding what works for you and is easy for you is the most important task when creating text expanders. If you aren't going to remember to use the shortcut on a regular basis it's not even worth having. For this reason, I give you a short example of the differences in our text-expanding styles.

Tara's ShortKeys

Shortcut	Output
comm	community
comu	communicate
coml	commercial
comte	commitee
prob	problem
prog	program
proj	projects

Mandi's ShortKeys

Shortcut	Output
comm	community
commu	communicate
comme	commercial
commi	committee
prob	problem
prog	program
proj	project

My ShortKeys

Shortcut	Output
comt	community
comu	communicate
coml	commercial
comie	committee
prb	problem
prg	program
prj	project

You can see we all have different ways of deciding what combination of keystrokes will work best for us. While both Tara and Mandi went with pro as their prefix for problem, program and project, I chose to eliminate the O because I doubt my ability to remember to hit Control and cancel the ShortKey from expanding when I come across someone who says, "No prob." To keep the rest easy for me, I continued with that when creating program and project as well.

Whatever method you decide works best for you, go with it. When you are adding our text expander lists to your text expander program of choice, consider how that fits in with your current way of doing things and whether or not you can make it better for you. The end result should be increasing your productivity, so be sure whatever method you choose is easy for you and does just that.

Sanity Savers During Stressful Times

Whether you work at home or in an office, the stresses of balancing work and personal life can be overwhelming at times. Being tired, malnourished or unprepared only contribute to feelings of not being able to handle everything that we face.

I know that for me personally, when I'm tired, I crave sugar. Eating sugar leaves me more tired and emotional, and I get stuck in a cycle that inevitably leads to a meltdown. On the other hand, eating a healthy balanced breakfast and lunch and drinking plenty of water during the day helps keep my energy up even when I'm sleep-deprived. Because of this, I'm able to complete my work faster as well.

This article from Lolita Carrico at Modern Mom includes five more Sanity Savers for busy working moms, but many of them are useful for anyone. They include preparing the night before, eating healthy snacks, one hand wonders, power naps and in-home spa treatments.

Above all, it's important to realize that sometimes you simply can't do it all. While some things on your task list may be urgent, others may be more important. Eliminating the unnecessary items and delaying those that can be delayed until a less stressful time is okay. No one can do everything!

Mind Tools offers many great articles and resources for time management as well as stress management (not to mention some of their other great resources). However, finding a system that works for you is an important part of dealing with the stresses of life, so if these tools don't appeal to you, keep looking for one that does!

Do you have any stress management tips or resources that help you maintain balance?

Getting the Most out of Microsoft Word 2007

Recently, Kelley left a comment on one of the posts with some additional tips for improving your productivity with Microsoft Word 2007. She's worked for Microsoft for over seven years now in roles ranging from premier support services to enterprise sales and is now an Office Technology Specialist.

Her original comment was:

With Word 2007, there are some additional enhancements that will help your productivity in transcription.

The spelling checker can now find and flag some contextual spelling errors. Have you ever typed a mistake similar to the following? I will see you their. In Office Word 2007, you can enable the "Use contextual spelling" option to get help with finding and fixing this type of mistake. More Info on Grammar and Spelling in Word 2007

When you use the spelling checker, it compares the words in your document with those in the tool's main dictionary. The main dictionary contains most common words, but it might not include proper names, technical terms, or acronyms. In addition, some words might be capitalized differently in the main dictionary than in your document. Adding such words or capitalization to a custom dictionary prevents the spelling checker from flagging them as mistakes. Custom Dictionaries in Office 2007

How to customize the color of the spelling and grammar checker underlines in Word 2007

She also sent me these two additional links that look like great resources. One is the Word team's blog, which includes dozens of great articles, and the other is for the "Getting Started Tab" for Word 2007, which, according to Kelley, "translates the old user interface to the new interface, has links to training, how-to, etc on Office Online. It's really a must for new users of Office 2007."

How many of you have upgraded to Microsoft 2007? Any tips to share? Issues you're having? If you haven't yet, are you planning to in the near future?

Check out this week's poll!

This week, we want to know what program you're currently using for text expanders. Vote in the poll and come back and tell us more about your vote. If you chose "other," which program are you using? What are your favorite features of the program you're using? If you're not yet actively using text expanders, why not? Do you combine AutoCorrect with another program?

We want to hear from you!

Cleaning up Your Text Expanders

We've talked a lot about the importance of using text expanders, whether Microsoft Word's Auto Correct or an accessory program such as ShortKeys, to increase your productivity. Equally as important as adding text expanders regularly, though, is cleaning out those that may be getting in your way or those that you do not use and simply clutter things up.

This weekend I started that process for myself. I started with over 2,200 text expanders, which does not include alternate endings to many of those entries since ShortKeys does not count those separately.

Because I recently stepped down from a regular file that I had been doing for close to two years now, my first step was to take all of those expanders and put them in their own separate file and delete them from my main file. This way, if I fill in for the new person working on this assignment, I can open that file back up without having to deal with those expanders on a daily basis.

I then went through and looked for expanders that fall into the following categories:

*Duplicates
For whatever reason, I had some expanders entered with two different shortcuts even though I only use one of those shortcuts on a regular basis. I didn't have a huge number of these, but I got rid of the ones I did have.

*File-specific expanders
Shaina has a system that works really well for her when it comes to entering file-specific expanders so that she can easily delete/overwrite them when she moves on to her next file. I haven't yet tried her system, but I hope she'll tell you more about it soon because you may find that it works for you as well.

On the other hand, I don't have a really good system for this, and so I had quite a few words that I will most likely not come across again, including names of speakers, that I went ahead and deleted.

*Unused expanders
At the end of the day, I find that I don't end up using every expander that's entered into my program. For example, I once added a huge list of financial expanders, but because I no longer do financial earnings calls, some of those just never get used. (On the other hand, some of them come up fairly often in other files, and so I appreciate having them in there.) Other times, I might have thought an expander would be a good addition only to realize that I just can't seem to put it into practice. My first step is to make a concerted effort to use these, but if I still find that I'm not using them, I go ahead and delete them.

*Alternate endings
Some of my expanders were actually alternate endings to other entries, so I went ahead and combined as many as I could. Having these included as one entry makes it easier to comb through the entries when cleaning them up and also easier to make changes if I find that a shortcut is not working for me.

After my first run-through, I am now down to 1700 expanders! I have quite a few that I actually hope to enter this weekend, and I'll probably do one more run-through to cull any others that I missed.

Being able to do this is actually one of the many reasons that I prefer ShortKeys to Auto Correct. Auto Correct's list is great for correcting common spelling errors, but the list is so huge that it's just too overwhelming to sort through on any kind of regular basis.

How about you? How many text expanders do you have? How often do you clean them out?

Time Coding With Start-Stop PowerPlay

Time coding with PowerPlay is one reason I purchased the software, despite its hefty price tag. I find this feature to be useful in many situations, looking past some annoying drawbacks that I have been assured are being worked on by a customer service representative at HTH Engineering, the company that owns the Start-Stop system. For a brief summary of Start-Stop there is a post here about different video transcription systems and their drawbacks and benefits.

First you want to open your file. (Nothing like the basics.)



Then we open the Time Stamp Functions menu to decide how we want to time stamp the file we're going to be working on.



There are two types of time stamps that seem to be requested most frequently by clients. Some people want the elapsed time of the video itself or the play time. Others want the video time that is recorded on the video directly and is visible somewhere on the screen. We'll go for the easier one first.

To select to use the elapsed time that shows as a video plays, simply select this option in your Time Stamp Functions menu and you're done.



To offset the time stamp to match the time displayed on the screen we want to select the second function under "TIME*" and enter the starting point of the video at 0:00. Use the time that is visible when the video first opens to find the correct number.



You will more than likely have frame numbers attached to your time stamp, and there is no place to enter those on the Time Stamp Functions screen. Only put the first three sets of numbers into the hours, minutes and seconds drop-down menus.

If you need to also have the frame number included in your time stamp you will need to enter it by hand. In order to get the colon or period that comes before that to be added with the rest of your time stamp just place that in the second box under "Enter time-stamping string here."



To make sure your time stamp will show up as the screen stamp, just press the E.T. button on Start-Stop's main menu once. It will turn red and display as "T.S." That is the time that will be entered into your document when you hit your hotkey.



To set your hotkey, open the Hot Keys under Configure and choose a hotkey that works for you. I actually have my right pedal on my foot pedal set to insert my time stamp at the moment; however, it could be any number of keys. Just make sure you choose something that doesn't interfere with any other macros or hotkeys you have set up.



And that's it. As I said before, the kind customer service rep at Start-Stop assured me that they were looking for a way to incorporate adding the frame number with the rest of the time-stamp string as well; however, it's not yet available. Still, from 11 keystrokes down to 2 isn't bad. I'll take it.

Adding Words to Word's Dictionary

This may seem like an obvious tip to many (most?) of you, but I'll admit that it's taken me a while to really do this regularly. However, I've started adding common company names and lingo to Word's dictionary, and it really does cut down the time it takes me to spellcheck and proof my files.

Be careful not to add words that you still want Word to flag (such as gonna, wanna, etc., if you sometimes need to switch to writing these out properly), but overall, this is another time saver that, when combined with other productivity tips, can help improve your speed and increase your earnings.