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Technical Support - E-Transcript Frequently Asked Questions What is the difference between E-Transcript and E-Transcript Manager? E-Transcript Manager is the software program used by court reporters to standardize, encrypt and secure their transcripts. The output file is called an E-Transcript. Back to top What operating system does E-Transcript Manager require? Visit Technical Specifications Back to top What software is required to view E-Transcript files? An E-Transcript file requires the recipient to have the free E-Transcript Viewer application installed on their system in order to view transcripts saved in the .ptx format. However, a recipient of an E-Transcript in .exe format only needs the ability to load a file from a diskette, or receive e-mail with executable file attachments. The recipient then has everything they need to view, search, and print. Back to top Will any e-mail service work for sending E-Transcript files? Yes. However, to use the Send Transcript feature successfully within E-Transcript Manager, your e-mail system must be MAPI compliant, which means the Send feature works best with Microsoft e-mail systems and other common e-mail systems. If you use AOL, or another non-MAPI compliant e-mail system, you will need to attach the E-Transcript file manually in .ptx format. Back to top I've finished importing a transcript. How do I e-mail my new E-Transcript file to the client? When using MAPI compliant e-mail systems, highlight your transcript from the E-Transcript Manager software interface, select File> Send To Recipient, add the recipient's address to the e-mail message, and click Send. For non-MAPI compliant e-mail systems, open your e-mail program, select to compose a new mail message, and add the recipient's e-mail address and a short message if necessary. Once the message is ready, choose the option for attaching a file. Browse to the E-Transcript file that you created, select and attach it, then send the message. Back to top What do I tell my clients about the file that I'm e-mailing to them? When using MAPI compliant e-mail systems and the Send To Recipient function, all instructions are automatically included within the e-mail message. When attaching files manually, we recommend looking at this page and using all or part of the text each time you send an E-Transcript to a client for the first time. Back to top What transcript formats does E-Transcript Manager accept? E-Transcript Manager 5.x will accept any ASCII file with line numbers, page numbers and page breaks, (also called a "page image" ASCII) as generated by most CAT systems and word processing applications. E-Transcript Manager 6.x will accept the same formats plus Microsoft Word and WordPerfect documents as well. Back to top Will my CAT software affect my ability to work with E-Transcript Manager? E-Transcript Manager was designed to work with ASCII files created by CAT systems. Back to top I can e-mail ASCII files now. Why should I use E-Transcript Manager? Unfortunately, e-mailing ASCII files does not guarantee page and line integrity, security, and stability. Typical ASCII files can get jumbled while being transferred via the Internet. E-Transcript Manager provides compression and encryption algorithms to prevent this, ensures the security of your transcripts, and maintains page and line integrity. Even when delivered on diskette, ASCII transcripts are at risk. Since they do not have an embedded viewing application, they open in the recipient’s default word processing program and are easily modified. Back to top I do not have CAT software. Can I still use E-Transcript? As long as you can create an ASCII file with page breaks, page numbers and line numbers, you can use E-Transcript Manager. Back to top Can you pull the E-Transcript out of the E-Transcript Viewer and put it into WordPerfect to edit? Yes, the E-Transcript Viewer will allow you to export the transcript back into ASCII format. Back to top How do I save my E-Transcript back into ASCII format for import into other applications? Select File> Save Transcript As> ASCII from the Menu Bar of the E-Transcript Viewer. Back to top Do I still need to use my current condensing product to print transcripts? No. E-Transcript Manager allows both the sender and recipient the ability to print full-sized and condensed transcripts from within its viewing environment. The Word Index which E-Transcript Manager generates may also be configured and printed from the E-Transcript Viewer. This makes printing remotely and on-demand a simple task, both at the desktop and in the field. Back to top What kind of tech support and upgrade agreement is available with the purchase of E-Transcript? Technical support for owners of E-Transcript Manager and their clients using the current software versions (Version 7.x) is provided free of charge during business hours. Bug fixes are free and upgrades are priced based on number, and the types of features added. Back to top Will E-Transcript detect viruses that haven’t yet been invented? E-Transcript Manager does not detect virus patterns. When the file is compressed and encrypted for delivery via e-mail or diskette a checksum digit is created. When the file is opened by the recipient, the program then looks at the check digit. If this file were infected with a virus, the software would detect it by the sum of the check digit, and would not allow the recipient to open the file. Back to top Can I e-mail transcripts to my proofreader and allow them to mark corrections on text without disturbing the transcript? If both parties have E-Transcript Manager 6.0 or above, changes can be made using the E-Transcript Editor function on both ends. If the recipient only has the E-Transcript Viewer, no changes can be made on the recipient’s end without first saving the E-Transcript as an ASCII file. Back to top What is HTML? HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language and it is the language of the World Wide Web. HTML provides navigational formatting by linking specified portions of documents to other items within the document, or other documents. These links provide navigation to related topics and are formatted with colored underlined text. Back to top Can I post E-Transcripts to my web site? Yes. Within E-Transcript Manager, you can select File> Save Transcript As< Html to save your transcript in HTML format. Back to top What is the E-Transcript Manager? The E-Transcript Manager is an interface that aids in tracking imported transcripts and the important data relating to them. File attributes such as encryption and passwords, file name, location, size, header/footer information and the E-Transcript file name are all included in this interface. E-Transcript Manager also offers print unlock codes and the use of HTML filenames. Back to top I want to change transcript information that I selected during import.   How do I update an already imported transcript? You can update an existing transcript by selecting Edit > Properties. You can then change such information as the title, date, header, footer, unlock codes, and splash screen. Back to top How do I delete a transcript from the E-Transcript Manager? Select the transcript in E-Transcript Manager, click the Remove button on the toolbar and follow the prompts to delete the transcript listing from the Manager, the Transcript file from your hard drive, or both. Back to top Are there separate passwords for E-Transcript file security and print billing? Yes, if you decide to restrict remote printing from within the E-Transcript Viewer, a unique unlock code for printing is created during import. This unlock code is different than the password that is used to gain access to the file. Back to top What is a Splash Screen? This is a customizable screen that appears when the file is opened by your client. This splash screen can contain up to eight lines of customizable text describing your company or the transcript. Back to top What is a .ptx file? A .ptx file is an E-Transcript file without the viewer built in. Some clients may not be able to receive E-Transcript files saved as executables (.exe) via e-mail for security reasons. A .ptx file can safely pass through most firewalls without problems. Back to top How do I download E-Transcript Manager or an updated version of E-Transcript Manager? Visit www.realLegal.com and navigate to the downloads web page for E-Transcript (also accessible from the tech support main page). Click on the hyperlink for the software you wish to download. Fill out the information form and click Submit to proceed. You can then save the E-Transcript Manager installer to your hard drive. Once you save this file to your hard drive, please run the file and it will install E-Transcript Manager onto your computer. Back to top How do I create a desktop icon for E-Transcript Manager? E-Transcript Manager automatically creates a shortcut on the Desktop during the installation process. However, if you need to create a shortcut to E-Transcript Manager manually, navigate to the drive and folder where you installed E-Transcript. By default, E-Transcript Manager installs to C:/Program Files/RealLegal E-Transcript (Version Number). Once inside the E-Transcript (Version Number) folder, right-click on the file named tximpwiz.exe, and select Copy (If you can’t see then .EXE extension on the file, you should verify that you are choosing the "application" file). Go to the Desktop, right-click on the Desktop, and select Paste Shortcut. You can then rename it E-Transcript Manager (Version Number)>, or any other name you would like. You now should have a shortcut on your desktop. Back to top A strange string of numbers is showing up on the bottom-right corner of my E-Transcript when I print. How do I remove it? When printing an E-Transcript, you may notice a strange number appearing at the bottom of every printed page. This number is called the Unique Transcript Identifier, and functions as a serial number for each transcript. See the image below that displays the identifier. To remove the unique identifier from printed pages, select File> Page Setup> Full-sized (or Condensed) Transcript> Advanced tab (see below), uncheck “Print unique transcript identifier at bottom of every page”, and click OK. Back to top How do I print a Word Index for more than one E-Transcript? A combined word index (also known as a global word index) can be useful if you have imported multiple transcripts for one case. To do this, you will first need to select the files you wish to include in the combined word index. Select transcripts from E-Transcript Manager by holding down the CTRL button on the keyboard and selecting the files desired by left-clicking once on each transcript of choice. When finished, the appropriate transcripts should be highlighted. Then, select File> Print> Combined Word Index to print a combined index for the selected files. Note: E-Transcript Manager is limited in the number of files that can be included in a combined word index. If you cannot complete a combined word index with multiple transcripts try again with fewer transcripts. A word index includes most of the words from the selected transcripts. The only words that are not included are "common words", or words that appear more than the set number in word index exclusions. You can find the Word Index Exclusion option under Tools> Word Index Exclusions in the Menu Bar. Back to top I use a Word Processor, how do I import a Word Processor document? E-Transcript Manager 6.0 and above allows you to import Microsoft Word and WordPerfect documents directly without any additional conversion. However, all previous versions of E-Transcript Manager were designed for the court reporter using a Computer-Aided Transcription (CAT) program to make transcript delivery faster and easier, and to make the delivered product more functional for the client. To this end, E-Transcript Manager 5.5 (and earlier) was written to use Page Image ASCII or AMICUS format files. One or both of these formats is easily generated from all current CAT programs. Those who are using a word processing program to create their transcripts in E-Transcript Manager older than version 6.0 are faced with the somewhat daunting task of trying to match these formats with programs that were not designed for this specific purpose. It has been our experience that the best way to create a Page Image ASCII from word processing software is to print the finished document to a file. Depending on the version of the word processor in use, there are several items that must be addressed to create the proper format. All non-ASCII characters must be removed from the file, i.e. Bold, Italics, Underlined Text, Smart Quotes and Smart Apostrophes, Superscript, and Subscript. Font spacing must be normal (not expanded). Document should be printed to a file using a TEXT printer driver. In Windows, the driver to choose is Generic Text Printer. The document should be created with the same size font as it will use when printed to the text file. In general, this will be Roman 10cpi. Once this is done, the file can be viewed in a text editor such as Wordpad and should look very similar to the actual printed transcript. This is, in essence, a Page Image ASCII file. *** Please note that recent and current versions of Microsoft Word require checking "Use printer metrics to layout document". This setting is found under Tools/Options on the Compatibility tab. This corrects the situation where only one character is printed per line. *** This is not intended to answer all questions regarding the creation of Page Image ASCII files. For detailed information on your particular software, you will need to contact your vendor for technical support. Back to top Why is it when I upgraded to Windows ME that E-Transcript now says that it "Could Not Get File Information Location"? All versions of E-Transcript Manager up until 5.5 are fully supported in Windows ME. Windows ME is not a supported operating system for E-Transcript Manager 6.0 or later. Back to top How do I transfer my license from one machine to another? In order to transfer your license from one machine to another, you can simply uninstall it from the original machine, reinstall it on the new machine, and contact RealLegal to re-register your software. Please be sure to back up all of your data before removing the software from your machine. Back to top My history is getting difficult to navigate. How do I fix this and what is the "Archive" feature? The Move To Archive option in E-Transcript Manager is provided to keep your manager window organized. Choosing this option opens an Archive dialog for removing selected transcripts from the manager and sending them to an archive directory of your choice for storage. Any HTML files associated with the transcript may also be transferred to the archive directory if the option is selected. The archive folder will also maintain the convenience of the E-Transcript interface. Many clients use this feature to keep associated transcripts in a folder related to their customers or cases. From your E-Transcript manager select the files hold the CTRL key and click on the selected files to be archived. Select Transcript> Move to Archive to open the Archive window. Click on the Browse button to browse for the folder to archive your transcript files, or enter the path name of the folder you have selected. After you have found the folder or typed the path name, click OK, and then click on the Archive button After you click on the Archive button, you will be prompted that you are about to create a new archive. Click Yes in the dialog box and you will be informed that the number of files selected has been imported, and the path name those files have been archived to will display. After you click OK on the dialog box you will be returned to the E-Transcript Manager. Opening the Archive. From E-Transcript Manager, click File> Open Archive. This will enable you to browse for archived folders and open them to retrieve any archived transcripts. You could, also, import and add files to the archive while it is open. Back to top I've been told I need to add a Generic Text Printer; how do I do this? Note: You may need to have your Windows (95/98/NT) CD to load the print driver. If you are creating transcripts in a word processing program such as Word or Word Perfect, you must "Print to File" using a Generic Text Printer in order to prepare the file for importing into E-Transcript Manager 5.5 or earlier. Saving a Word or Word Perfect document to .txt format strips the file of all formatting, but may not retain important elements such as page numbers, line numbers, or headers and footers. "Print to File" will enable your ASCII document to import into E-Transcript Manager, although adjustments may need to be made to the final document in order to appear correctly in E-Transcript Manager. In order to print to a file you will need to have a Generic Text Printer loaded as one of your printer options. To set up a generic text printer, please follow the following steps: Click on the Start menu, and select Control Panel> Printers and Faxes. If you do not see Control Panel after you click Start, select Start> Settings> Control Panel> Printers and Faxes. Within the Printers and Faxes window, double-click Add a Printer. In the Add Printer Wizard window, click Next. In the Local or Network window, check Local printer attached to this computer and uncheck Automatically detect and install my Plug and Play printer. Click Next to continue. On the Select a Printer Port window, select FILE: (Print to File) from the Use the following port: selections. Click Next to continue. On the Add Printer Wizard window, click Generic from the Manufacturer pane. Click Generic / Text Only from the Printers pane. Click Next to continue. On the Use Existing Driver window click Keep existing driver [recommended]. Click Next to continue. On the Name Your Printer window, use the Generic / Text Only printer name in the Printer name: field. In the Do you want to use this printer as the default printer field, click No. Click Next to continue. On the Printer Sharing window, click Do not share this printer. Click Next to continue. On the Print Test Page window, click No. You do not need to print a test page. Click Next to continue. Click Finish to finish adding your printer. If Windows displays the Print to File window, click Cancel. You can now choose this printer in the Print dialogue of your word processing application to save your documents to a .prn file. Then, use the Import Wizard in E-Transcript Manager to select this file to create an E-Transcript file. Back to top What is a Page Image ASCII and how do I create one? Page Image ASCII is the format of choice for your recipients for two primary reasons: The Page Image ASCII format contains all of the information required to reproduce an exact copy of the original transcript. E-Transcript Manager and most litigation support software cannot guarantee page and line integrity without page and line numbers and page breaks which are found in a Page Image ASCII. Of all the formats that can be produced by CAT programs, it is the only format that is consistent from CAT program to CAT program. In the example below, you can see the header, page number and line numbers included in a Page Image format. Note: Eclipse’s Standard ASCII is a Page Image EXAMINATION BY MR. ANDERSON 8 A No. High blood pressure. Q We'll get to the medical portion at the end. We're going to start with a work history, a little identification, every job you've ever had, and then we'll go to medical and personal section of the deposition. Is your Social Security number CAT programs are designed specifically for the court reporting industry and are the programs of choice for creating a transcript format that is reliable and consistent and the most universally accepted by your clients. If you are using a word processing program to create transcripts, you will have a few challenges ahead of you to create a file that looks like the example above. When you Save a file in text format from either Word or WordPerfect, you lose all formatting information as well as all headers and footers. So how can you create Page Image ASCII files using a word processor? Word processing applications can do this. The key is printing to a file. When you print to a file, you are creating a Page Image ASCII format. There are several issues that must be dealt with to achieve the desired results. Word processing applications are designed to make your everyday correspondence look “pretty.” Notice the quotation marks around pretty. These are not standard ASCII quotes and will not transfer to an ASCII file. This is one of a few things that have to be eliminated to make your file work properly. Among those are: Superscript and subscript characters Underlined and bold text Expanded font spacing All of these can cause problems. The easiest way to accomplish the desired results is to create a generic format that conforms to your specified number of characters per line and lines per page and does not contain any special characters. Then, print the document to a file and you’ll have a true Page Image ASCII format. This file can then be imported into E-Transcript Manager and most other litigation support software applications successfully by your client. Additional problems can be encountered when the file has inconsistent line and/or page numbering. Most computer applications cannot understand a page numbering scheme that is not logical. In other words, if the opening pages are numbered 1-3 and then the body of the transcript starts with 1, most computer applications will be confused by this. Also, Roman Numerals or number words cannot be recognized by most applications. The same is true for line numbering. Some CAT programs produce Amicus ASCII files that place line numbers on any line that has text, causing the opening pages to have double numbering. This also causes most litigation support packages problems. Consistent, logical line and page numbering makes the transcript easier to use in applications that are designed to automate the use of transcripts. The best way to confirm the format of your ASCII file is to open it in Notepad or WordPad. By creating a text format that is consistent, clean, and universal, the recipients can convert the text file to an E-Transcript file, or import it into most litigation support applications with minimal problems. This is the best way to maximize the use of your work product. Other formats can cause the recipient to expend hours of manual labor in order to make the file usable. Back to top