Smart Text Auto Complete Software

With FastFox instant text expander you can improve your typing speed and productivity not only with personalized keyboard shortcuts and shorthand abbreviations, but FastFox also learns what you type the most often and will make suggestions for completing phrases as you type with a popup alert in the corner of your screen. Just like the regular hotkey shortcuts, the auto complete feature will work while you type in any application, so you can select, insert and finish text phrases on the fly.

Bring the power of auto complete to all your typing with FastFox word expander software.

Making Fast & Accurate Transcriptions from Audio Files

Guest post by Danielle McAnn of Smartdocs

Transcription work requires close attention to detail. Every transcription should be assessed individually, as each one will depend on length, quality of recording and turnaround time. There are large companies such as Smartdocs dedicated purely to the transcription of audio files into text documents. We all know that while machine and audio transcription technology has come a long way, it is still useless compared with the keen ear and eye of a human when it comes to decoded human voices and interpreting human speech. Especially when there is more complex terminology being used as is the case in most medical and legal transcriptions. In other words, if you want a high quality, accurate transcription, you need a human to so it. That doesn't mean that you can't use technological aides to help you with professional transcription.

Tools like Express Scribe offer things like variable speed playback of both audio and video files, and transcription file management, making high quality, human transcription much much easier. And, with digital dictation software you can record and send dictation straight to someone else, whether a fellow typist or the document owner. It doesn't matter whether you are using a Mac or PC operating system, you still need a reliable audio software that you can control and manipulate with an effective user interface, because this will make the entire transcription process more efficient and more importantly, produce accurate transcribed files.

Software from A to Z

A: Audio Software	B: Business Software	C: Converting Software	D: Dictation Software
E: Easy Software	F: FTP Software	G: Graphics Software	H: Hardware
I: International	J: Jamming Software	K: Keep (Protect & Save)	L: Live Broadcasting
M: Mobile Software	N: New Programs	O: Optimize	P: PDF Software
Q: Quick	R: Recording Software	S: Social Sharing	T: Typing Software
U: Utility Software	V: Video Software	W: Web Access	X: eXpress
Y: YouTube Software	Z: Zip Software

Speed Up Typing Using Keyboard Shortcut Software

FastFox text expander software used to insert your most commonly used text quickly and easily. Expand words, phrases, images, and more to avoid typing things repeatedly and improve your typing speed and productivity.

FastFox is perfect for everyone whether you are saving shortcuts for the correct spelling of complex terminology, storing email templates and answers to FAQs, or even save your address to fill in online forms more quickly. To help you get started we just put together a tutorial video to walk you through setting up your own keyboard shortcuts and introduce you to the auto complete text suggestion tool.

Download the free trial today. Once you get started using FastFox shorthand text expander to speed up your typing, you'll wonder what you ever did without it.

T is for Typing

NCH Software ABCs Series

Typing is a part of life. The written word is more frequently typed than penned these days and there is no turning back. We've gone from having scribes to copy documents, spending their days putting ink to paper, to having professions like medical or legal transcription that focus on typing words instead. Strong typing skills are required in many other professions as well. So it should come as no surprise that we provide typing software to help you learn how to touch type, testing your typing speed, speed up transcription and making typing more efficient. Check out all of these typing software solutions:

• KeyBlaze typing tutor software
  
• Express Scribe transcription software
  
• FastFox text expansion software
  
• Typing Speed Tester
  

<<< Previous: S is for Sharing

Next: U is for Utilities >>>

Amazing Tools for Transcription

Guest post by EQ Trans UK

As a transcription services provider which caters to clients all across the UK, we believe in the importance of using technology that enables our transcriptionists to perform at their optimum, while simultaneously benefiting our clients as well. Using the appropriate software while working on a transcript can help a transcriptionist do a better thorough job of transcribing and, of course, help in meeting deadlines faster, too.

We have been using various NCH software for a while and they are now form basics of what we do. If you are new in the transcription industry, here is what minimum you need to have to get going:

Express Scribe � This audio player which can be used on both PCs and Macs comes loaded with many features, such as support for foot pedals, variable speed playback, as well as speech-to-text integration. This software does a great job of supporting all the popular file formats. It also gives a transcriptionist better control over the audio playback through the use of a foot pedal and even keyboard shortcuts. Express Scribe does not take up too much screen space, unlike other software, and runs quietly in the background while a transcriptionist is at work.

Switch Sound File Converter - Although there are plenty of file converters available, this software wins hands down for its simplicity. Our clients often send us digital audio files in other formats and we use this software to convert them into an mp3 format using 128 bit mono encoding. This makes it easier for uploading files on our secured server so that our transcriptionists can get to work. Switch also gives users an additional option of configuring up to 3 right-click options which make the conversion process faster, too.

Prism Video Converter - This video file converter converts files from any format to the most commonly used formats, either in singles or in batches, and can even convert files directly from DVDs and other multimedia devices. We use this software mainly for converting large video files into mp3 file format so that they can be uploaded on our server easily. Prism also has another option of resizing a video file format and customising it in terms of the frame rate, brightness, and contrast, as well as text and caption addition.

WavePad Editing Software - One factor which can be detrimental to the process of transcribing itself is the presence of background noise in an audio file. The WavePad Audio Editing Software works on both PCs and Macs, allowing the user to cut and paste specific sections of the recording, besides adding features like noise reduction. This software supports a large number of file formats and has a remarkably easy-to-use interface as well.

EQ Trans UK is a transcription agency based in the UK. We have a well-trained and certified team of transcriptionists to address any client requirement.

What Dictation Can Do For You

Dictation and transcription are common practices in various fields, including the medical profession, law, court reporting, even insurance. However many of us have never considered what dictation or transcription is, much less how it might be able to help us in our careers.

When you have many different reports, letters, memos, or even articles to write, dictation can be a better use of your time than writing them all out yourself. With digital dictation software, you create an audio file with what you want those documents to say. If you need to add something, or go back, you can easily go to any point in the dictation to insert or even overwrite sections. When you are done editing your audio dictation the only thing left for you to do is send it off to your transcriptionist.

At this point all you need to do is wait for the transcriptionist to type up the document from for you. Express Scribe is a very popular transcription software allowing you to play, fast forward, rewind, stop, and slow down dictations to make transcribing faster and easier. And professional transcriptionists are well versus in their areas of expertise giving that extra insurance of complicated medical or legal terminology is correct. Accuracy is doubly important in the professional world and fast, accurate documents sent back to you is exactly what you will get.

Professionals everywhere can become more efficient freeing up time for other tasks by taking advantage of dictation and transcription. Consider what you do at your job, what you type, and how long it takes to create these documents. There is undoubtedly some aspect of your day to day activities that could benefit. Download Express Dictate and Express Scribe and see how it can help you.

Transcription City Makes Their First Instructional Video

Guest post by Transcription City, specialist transcription services

As most transcriptionists know, NCH Software makes some pretty awesome dictation and transcription software. Most of our transcriptionists use Express Scribe for their transcription work, and it is the programme I always recommend when anyone asks for advice on transcription software because of its simplicity and ease of use with pretty much any audio or video file. At the office, I also use Switch audio file converter from time to time, usually because somebody has sent me a file in an unusual audio or video format. I also use Switch to compress large files, which can save so much time when a transcriptionist needs to download a file for quick turnaround. In my opinion, NCH make some of the best software around, so when we decided to make some instructional videos for our clients, NCH VideoPad was our first choice for video editing.

Watch all the Transcription City videos on YouTube at youtube.com/transcriptioncity

Transcription City is an up-and-coming company, and we want our clients to be able to get to know us as a trusted and professional brand. This is why we came up with the idea of making a few videos to help our clients to get to grips with our website, as well as learn a few tips on recording a high-quality audio or video file. In theory, it was simple: make an informative video and then post it to YouTube. As Company Director, I felt the responsibility should lie on me to introduce potential clients to our company, but the problem was once the camera was pointed at me, I would instantly forget what I was going to say or burst into fits of laughter due to my embarrassment; after all, I�m no Angelina Jolie! We needed a solution so we could cut out the guff and get our point across to our clients clearly and informatively.

Enter VideoPad. After downloading VideoPad from the NCH website (which took us less than a few minutes) we began editing our video. VideoPad was so user friendly that we had a fully edited video in around half an hour, without even watching the tutorials. We were so impressed with the software because we could easily edit and upload video from any camcorder or even an iPhone. VideoPad will accept any video file and it can easily be uploaded to YouTube or transferred to DVD (great if you have made a lot of home movies). You can easily add music or narration, stabilise a shaky video or add photos and captioning to your film.

I can honestly say that by using NCH VideoPad, we have created professional, informative videos that our clients can really benefit from. Now, if we could just get them to arrange George Clooney to star in our next video...

Transcription City offers specialist transcription services to businesses and individuals around the world. They provide a cost effective way of getting work done quickly and faultlessly for large and small companies alike.

NCH at the Heart of Transcript Divas Transcription Services

Guest post by Transcript Divas Transcription Services

NCH Software is at the heart of our business process at Transcript Divas Transcription Services. We use three of their programs to edit, convert and transcribe audio and video dictation files.

NCH Software is key in solving two problems we often have to deal with, even before our typists get to work. Obscure recording formats can be problematic�although Express Scribe handles most common formats, clients do send us files that are difficult to handle, especially large video files. So to save time at the typist's end, we batch-convert these problem files to the smaller and more compatible MP3 audio file format using NCH's Switch File Converter.

The second key difficulty we often encounter is how to deal with poor-quality recordings. A surprisingly large number of interviews take place in noisy cafes, with hissing coffee machines and clunking cups almost drowning out the speech. We also receive poorly-recorded group sessions, where the participants farthest from the microphone are practically inaudible, while the closest voices are deafening. In these situations Transcript Divas employ WavePad sound editor to process recordings before they go out to typists. Functions we find particularly useful are 'normalize,' 'amplify volume,' and 'remove noise or hiss.'

Almost all of our 30 Divas use NCH Software's Express Scribe, which is free�though there's also a paid version, Express Scribe Pro, which has more functionality. Express Scribe's user-friendliness makes it the preferred choice when compared with other transcription software packages, and this is something it shares with all of NCH's programs. As one Diva put it, "I especially like the fact that you don't need to be a technical whiz-kid to use it!" Key features that Divas mention are its ability to handle most common file types, the essential functions of speed adjustment, rewind and fast-forward, and the 'volume boost' for quiet files�which saves typists having to go into WavePad for a small poorly-recorded Express Scribe Pro also plays video files�an ability our 'Video Divas' put to good use. To maximize typing speed, many of our typists also use a foot-pedal.

Another key feature our typists have highlighted is Express Scribe's ability to insert time-coding. This is seen as a real gem by the typists, and can save countless hours of inserting them by hand! For the uninitiated, go to Options ? Display�this allows you to set the required combination of hours, minutes and seconds. Once you have chosen, simply go to 'Notes,' 'Insert' and 'Time' each time you need to put in a time code, or press Ctrl+Shift+T to save even more time.

Transcript Divas Transcription Services is a transcription agency with offices in London, New York, Toronto and Sydney.

D is for Dictation

NCH Software ABCs Series

Dictation is still a reality in many industries. While automatic voice-to-text applications may be on the rise, and can be wonderful for the casual user, in professions like medicine and law, a mis-translated term or phrase is a costly error. In the past we have talked to professionals who have benefited from the streamlined efficiency of a digital dictation process for getting their medical reports, correspondence or case notes documented. We aim to provide a wide range of solutions to fit anyone that needs to record dictations. These flexible options allow recordings to be made from anywhere then sent off for transcription instantly, saving you time.

NCH Dictation Solutions include:

• Express Dictate dictation software
  
• Pocket Dictate iPhone dictation app
  
• MSRS court and conference recording
  
• Dial Dictate phone in dictation system
  
• Web Dictate internet dictation system
  
• Express Delegate dictation workflow management
  
• Express Scribe transcription software
  

<<< Previous: C is for Converting

Next: E is for Easy >>>

Dictation Software On the Go: Four Ways to Save Time

If dictations are a major part of your practice or business, you know how it feels to be tied down to devices and software set up on a limited number of computers. We've anticipated the times you can't use your regular dictation setup, or when you're looking to add flexibility to the ways you can make dictations. No matter where you are, or what kind of device/computer/laptop you are or aren't carrying with you, we have dictation solutions for you to make your medical, law, or business dictations and send to your transcriptionist securely.

Pocket Dictate

This iPhone app gives you ultimate freedom to make dictations away from the office. Record into your phone, then send directly to your transcription service or typist.
Download Pocket Dictate free

Express Dictate

If you already have a dictation device, make sure you're familiar with the Express Dictate Dock feature to load dictations you record away from your desk. Express Dictate also makes it easy to send dictations to your transcriptionist and monitor the status of dictation jobs.
Download Express Dictate

Web Dictate

This program allows you to make your dictations over a web application and disburse them to any typist immediately. That means it doesn't matter where you are, as long as you have a microphone and a computer with web access, you can make and send dictations.
Download Web Dictate

Dial Dictate

When computers are out of reach for creating and sending dictations, this dictation program is a great solution. You can phone in your dictations from any phone or cell phone, and have it sent to your typist for transcription.
Download Dial Dictate

For more on the go solutions see business software on the go to learn how the web access feature in our business software programs can help you keep your business running smoothly no matter where you are.

NCH Software ABCs

We have put together a series of posts looking at many different aspects of NCH Software and what you can do with software. The gimmick is an A-Z tour of our software, but we�re confident it will thoroughly introduce you these different facets of the NCH Software world.

A is for Audio B is for Business C is for Converters D is for Dictation E is for Easy F is for FTP G is for Graphics H is for Hardware I is for International J is for Jams K is for Keep L is for Live M is for Mobile N is for New O is for Optimize P is for PDF Q is for Quick R is for Recording S is for Sharing T is for Typing U is for Utilities V is for Video W is for Web Access X is for eXpress Y is for YouTube Z is for Zip

First: A is for Audio >>>

Express Scribe Pro for Mac

Following the September announcement of the new professional version of Express Scribe, we are pleased to say that now the Mac version of our extremely popular transcription software has followed suit and now there are both free and professional versions of Express Scribe available for Mac OS X as well. Features of the professional version include video playback and support for proprietary audio file formats including dss, ds2 and mvf for those professionals working in legal or medical transcription.

HIPAA Compliant Dictation Software

With HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, in effect, medical dictators and transcriptionists have to be wary with the use or exchange of patients' Protected Health Information (PHI) in their dictation transmissions. As a medical transcriptionist (MT), they have to maintain the privacy of every patient record being transcribed.

To protect patient confidentiality, it is recommended that your computer comes with at least the following:

• Firewall protection with solid password protection for user accounts
• Regular Windows or MAC updates for computer security
• Up-to-date antivirus software
• File encryption software (e.g., Dial Dictate, Web Dictate, or Express Dictate)

The recent stimulus plan (or American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) included a specific act � called the HITECH Act (or the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act) which has specific requirements for the electronic transmission of patients' health information. For this reason, NCH Software has created a medical user version for its dictation software applications which integrate seemlessly with Express Scribe on the transcription side to maintain patient privacy through the transcription process.

Dial Dictate: HIPAA-compliant encryption to secure medical patient data when recording as .dct files.
Express Dictate: Supports HIPAA-compliant encryption, perfect to secure patient or client data for transmission over the Internet.
Web Dictate: Recording can be HIPAA-compliant encrypted for privacy and security.

Given that medical transcriptionists receive, send, and store confidential patient data, it's vital they recognize and adhere to HIPAA rules on privacy, security, and confidentiality. If this is accomplished, patient records are secured, data efficiency is obtained, and more importantly customer confidence is increased.

HIPAA offers a set of strict guidelines for protecting patients' privacy and information. Seeing as a lot of health organizations utilize NCH Software for dictating and transcribing medical records, we have carefully considered the best way to sustain these guidelines. MTs can rest assured that NCH Software will assist them in paving the way to a HIPAA-compliant future.

Growing A Quality Transcription Business With Express Scribe

Guest Post by Annalisa Holmes, Director of The Transcription People

We have been using Express Scribe transcription software in our Australian-based outsource transcription business for years and we love it. Why? I have a list, so here goes:

Cost Effective

You can't get more cost effective than free software. For as long as I can remember Express Scribe has been free. This continues to be the case with a free version still being offered alongside a new paid Pro version.

In my business I employ a mix of transcriptionists; we have some work onsite in our office but the majority are work-from-home micro-businesses. Included in that mix are a wealth of "old school" typists and "wannabe" transcriptionists. Old school typists are used to the cassette tape days of micro and mini cassette dictation and are very experienced at transcription. Wannabe typists have time on their hands, want to learn a new job skill and possibly work from home or for an employer.

Express Scribe is perfect for both these dynamics, experienced typists can very quickly switch their mindset to the digital way of doing things and with the option of a USB foot control, can make the transition very quickly from tape to digital transcription with a free download and a low-cost foot pedal. Those new to transcription can have the software installed in minutes and have the flexibility of training themselves using the configurable control keys. For a zero dollar outlay Express Scribe is a very attractive tool to those looking to start a career in transcription.

Multiple Use Scenario

Most people think of Express Scribe as just a tool for transcription typists. That is true for the majority of people, but in my business we also utilise Express Scribe for our proofreading team. My company is renowned for producing high quality, accurate transcription and the way that we do that is with a two-step quality assurance process. Step one is the traditional transcription typist who listens and transcribes. Step two is where the quality and consistency across clients is provided by our proof-reading team. The proofreaders do not transcribe, their role is to apply customer-specific formatting and act as a second set of eyes over the transcript, ensuring the highest quality.

My proofreading team use Express Scribe to play back audio whilst reading through the transcripts. Typically they prefer the control key functionality and love the variable speed playback, one of the many features in Express Scribe.

Very Easy To Set Up, Install and Use

Express Scribe can be installed and up and running in minutes. For users of all technical levels we have found Express Scribe to be a breeze to get working and get used to. People of all transcription abilities get used to Express Scribe very quickly. As we all use the same software throughout my business, we have a pool of experts within our own teams who can help each other out with any questions.

From a business point of view, all my staff are on the same page when it comes to transcription and proofreading software. We don't need to waste time supporting various vendors' software. Consistency across the team makes for a smoother transcription and proofreading workflow.

The Future

I really can't see my business moving away from Express Scribe, there is no need. It has served us well for years and will continue to do so for years to come. We are particularly excited about the new Pro version of Express Scribe which can now process the DSS Pro audio files created on the latest Olympus and Philips digital dictaphones. Before the Pro version came along we had to include an extra file conversion step from .ds2 to .dss. Now NCH has that covered.

Thank you NCH for your excellent software, which has helped my business get to where it is today.

Annalisa Holmes is the director of The Transcription People Pty Ltd, one of Australia's largest outsource transcription services. Annalisa started as a transcription typist in the early years of forming her business and now oversees a large team of transcription typists across Australia and New Zealand. The Transcription People service clients from across Australia, the USA and the UK and boasts AMP, Holden, Ernst & Young as some of her clients.

Scribe Excels at Thesis Transcription

Guest post by Clara Bianchini

I was transcribing the interviews for my master thesis and, like every student in this situation, I didn�t have enough time! I was using the software that my teacher recommended, but it was still taking too long and it wasn�t pleasant to use. To listen and type at the same time I had to reduce the speed, but the voice got distorted to the point that some of the transcribed sentences didn�t make any sense when you read them back. I had already transcribed two interviews and I had 17 more to go. Since quality and timing were crucial to my work, I decided to ask Google about better software.

On the first organic result that Google gave to me I came across a comment that caught my attention. I am normally the type of person that is a little skeptical and will investigate at least three options, but when I read the comment that essentially said, "Express Scribe made my transcribing work 5 times faster, without distorting voices. You should try!" I stopped. It was later than 10 P.M.; I was tired and frustrated with my teacher�s software so I decided to give it a try.

I Googled for where I could download Express Scribe, and in few short seconds, it was in my computer. I opened it, and the first impression was already better: it looked MUCH better than the other software. I opened one of my audio files there, changed the speed from 100% to 50%, crossed my fingers and waited to hear what the sound would be like. To my surprise, the voice was totally clear, almost without distortions, and there was a typing box right there, almost smiling at me and waiting for me to have fun.

The next day alone I transcribed two more interviews, at an incredibly fast pace. I was so happy that I shared my discovery with all my classmates. I am pretty sure that without target="_blank"Express Scribe I would be still transcribing interviews right now. It really made all my work much faster and easier.

Clara Bianchini is a student of Imagineering, a Master's degree in Strategic Business Innovation from the experience perspective, a new program about how to design companies towards co-creation of value. In a more participatory approach, business is done together with stakeholders and value and experience are co-created. Some people might say that this is the next stage of Marketing. In order to understand how to design the participation of stakeholders during her thesis research, Bianchini conducted qualitative research which included one-on-one interviews that were transcribed for analysis.

New Express Scribe Professional Edition

Express Scribe, one of NCH's most successful products and a favorite among transcriptionists worldwide, is going Pro. With the extreme popularity of the program, we have decided to offer some of the functionality in a professional version for a nominal fee that will help us better support users, fix problems, and implement new features and improvements. The free version of this popular transcription software isn't going away, but advanced features like video playback and support for proprietary audio file formats (e.g., dss, ds2, mvf) will now be supported in the professional version.

Transcription Foot Pedal or Hotkeys?

One of our programs popular with transcriptionists worldwide is Express Scribe Free Transcription Software. Express Scribe, an invaluable tool to transcriptionists, helps control the playback of audio or video files during transcription with extremely helpful features, including variable speed playback, and can be controlled either with a transcription foot pedal or with assigned 'hotkeys' on the keyboard. Most transcriptionists rave about foot pedals, but have you ever wondered if they really make transcription more efficient or if their use is really just a matter of preference?

Well here's your answer. Chris Beamish at HoT Virtual Assistant Resources recently crunched the numbers on if you should use hot keys or a foot pedal for transcription and, based on his estimates, you could potentially save yourself over 11 hours-worth of typing in a week by using a foot pedal instead of hotkeys where he has found the potential for hitting the wrong command to be much more likely.

What do you think? Do you use a foot pedal or hotkeys with Express Scribe? And if you invested in a foot pedal did you see an increase in your productivity once you got into the swing of things?

Practice Typing from Audio Dictation

Last year we added a great resource for transcriptionists in training by posting several practice transcription audio files for use with Express Scribe transcription software so you could practice typing and using your foot pedal or hotkeys to control the audio with sample dictations that were provided to us by Accuro Transcription Services.

To add another tier of options to practicing typing from audio or dictation files, we have now also added several audio samples as dictation exercises in another NCH typing software, KeyBlaze typing tutor (version 1.22). This new addition allows you to listen to a dictation file and practice typing along. You can pause the recording at any time and compare your typing to the completed transcription side-by-side, so you can check for formatting, spelling, and other elements inherent to the dictation process. So, if you are looking for training to be a transcriptionist or know someone who is, you'll want to try KeyBlaze for practice transcription and typing from audio files.

Express Scribe Gets DS2 Support

Express Scribe users rejoice! One of your most requested features has arrived: support for .ds2 (DSS Pro Voice) audio dictation files. Express Scribe Transcription Software Version 5.30 for Windows is the first version to include support for both dss and ds2 dictation file formats, so the time of workarounds and training your clients to back-save is now a thing of the past. And ds2 support for the Mac version of Express Scribe will be on the way soon.