5 replies to this topic

[cider]

I have made extensive use of the tips and tricks, macros, and general high-standard of knowledge on this board for years, and have contributed a little, but I usually hear it here first! Anyhow, I would like to suggest a new Forum Topic dedicated to the editing community, which seems to be growing larger every day. I know there are various platforms, but we have handled multiple expander programs so why not multiple VR platforms? I work on M-Modal's "Speech Understanding" platform. If VR is here to stay and I mean to stay in transcription, which I very much would like to do, then I think making the transition from straight transcription to editing is going to be unavoidable and I'd like to be as productive at it as possible.

This may be old news to some but new things I've learned this week include:

• The gurus suggest NOT using the foot pedal. This will take me some time to get used to! Alt + A + P starts the audio. Alt + A + S stops the audio, but so does Ctrl + M if you want the audio to restart itself at your cursor when you type Alt + A + P again.
• F11 takes away that nasty, unrecognizable VR document and lets me type it straight. (Not suggested of course, but I've used it occasionally.)
• Ctrl + M moves the audio to my cursor point.
• Ctrl + Shift + M moves my cursor to the audio.
• If it's supposed to be a header but VR didn't catch it, I can highlight the word(s) and use Ctrl + Shift + H to make it a correct header.
• it it's supposed to be normal text but VR made it a header I can highlight the word(s) and use Ctrl + Shift + H to make it NOTa header.
• Crtl + Shift + A toggles through capitalization options (by word or highlighted phrase).
• Ctrl + K will insert a period, a space, and capitalize the next word...but my account needs 2 spaces between sentences....oh well.
• Ctrl + Backspace deletes the previous word.
• I have found that VR gets a lot of the medical terms but misses (or messes up) things like 'are' 'were' 'and' and 'the.' I have these in my expander now. Anything that takes extra keystrokes is doubly (ha) expensive now.
• Ctrl + Shift + T to access SR options quickly when I need to change audio rewind between transcription and editing speed.

Anyhow, if we open up a dedicated forum maybe we can all help each other through the next big transition..?

[14tonks]

I agree that VR has already become unavoidable for anyone working for a national. I'm sure Cheryl would be happy to set up a forum here for people to exchange VR tips if there were someone who wanted to moderate it. In fact, at this point Productivity Talk needs some people interested in keeping any and all of the forums going. Harry left and passed hosting responsibilities to Cheryl a while ago, but Cheryl is now retired and doing other things besides Word for MTs. She's basically kept this board up because a lot of people seem to find some of the information here valuable, although virtually no one except the mods has ever made more than the occasional contributory post. None of the people originally involved here, including moi, have any experience with VRE. S-o-o-o-o-o, if you want a VRE forum, which I agree would probably be useful to a lot of people these days, you need to either volunteer to moderate one yourself or round up someone who will and then recruit some posters to keep it going.

[Autumn MT]

[deleted by user as off topic]

[amart1919]

I would love an Editing forum... All your shortcuts are great.

[Ms. Indigo]

I would be happy to contribute to a VRE forum if one is started. Productivity Talk is unique and special and there will be a need as long as people are keyboarding.

 

In the meantime, just generally, I work fastest by planning my techniques to move forward as much as possible and go back as little as possible. Ideally, when I'm not still too dopey to focus, I confirm demographic data ONCE, the first time it's given -- and that's all. I edit carefully ONCE as the dictation moves forward, including headers and other formatting. When the dictation's at the end, so am I and on to the next report.

 

When I can't make something out, I've learned to drop in blanks quickly, after a couple brisk listens, and return for a relisten only after the report is otherwise complete. I can't think of one good reason to spend time struggling with it initially, and a lot of good reasons to come back later. 
1. Dictators become more familiar to the ear as we continue to listen.
2. Our brain's wrong attempts to interpret a sound, thus blocking comprehension, may wear off and allow us to re-hear the dictation freshly and accurately.
3. The answer often shows up later in the dictation.

4. When I have to look at other reports on the system, it's far faster to research them once for two or three blanks than research for each blank. 

These days few of us are still paid to spend time playing detective, much as most of us hate to send reports with unfilled blanks. It's against my picky nature, but I try to be duly diligent according to current standards and not waste time--defined as beyond what my employer expects. Mine recommends not searching more than 3 reports.

 

Thanks to my expander, which has literally doubled my typing speed, I find moving the cursor to where I need to make a correction often takes more time than if I simply deleted to the next period, say, and replaced the text with the many thousands of words and phrases stored in my expander. Consider this when  you find yourself doing the bunny hop from correction to correction--and absolutely if it's a mistake the SR program is making again and again. I have "wipe" scripts that delete to the next period, to the right margin, to the left margin to get this stuff out of the way fast. 

[julie_w8]

If there's enough interest in a speech forum, I'll start one. For now, let's keep it here. I can always move conversations into a new forum.

 

Thanks!