e-Tip #69 - September 2007 - Text-Only Version


<> Will Wilcox:  GoToMyPC  Have your Scopist or Proofreader Right There with You)

Working with a scopist on expedites just got easier. Longtime readers of our e-Tips newsletter will recall that we have previously featured articles on GoToMyPc for Web-based remote access. (See e-Tips 36 and 37 regarding Online Editing.) 

GoToMyPC would even enable your scopist to delete files from your computer, but we’re presuming that you trust each other.  The point is that it allows remote access for your computer, which can be a very good thing indeed.

GoToMyPC is now even better than before. Version 6.0 can play sound, too.  So you can have your scopist or proofreader remotely edit your jobs and enjoy the audiosync just as if they were right there with you. Of course, this also requires Internet access, and I’ve been having great success with my Sprint EVDO wireless Internet service.

If you’re in the middle of a daily transcript or have a rush expedite you, no longer have to wait to transfer those huge WAV files to your scopist’s computer. Your scopist can log on to your computer through GoToMyPC and edit the file, with the audio. This eliminates the time it takes to transfer files. An added benefit is that with GoToMyPC. your scopist or proofreader does not even need a software key to edit the files on your computer as long as you’ve got yours plugged in.

The other day I had been working on a daily and needed to get the file from the morning session to my scopist, fast. We didn’t have time to transfer audio files and wait.  They wanted the finished transcript that day and were going to pay extra -- the magic words.

Instead of transferring the transcript from my computer to hers via an e-mail attachment and then uploading the WAV file, which takes a lot of time, especially when you only have a 5-minute break, I simply had her log in to GoToMyPC and start editing. The morning session was half way finished in the same amount of time it would have taken to transfer the WAV alone. The attorney was thrilled when I gave him the transcript at the end of the day instead of the next morning.

Version 6.0 of GoToMyPC also makes remote printing easier. While connected to your host PC, the printer at your remote location shows up in the printer pull-down menu. You no longer have to transfer files from your host PC to your remote computer just to print them where you are. So my proofreader can log in and print out that transcript that needs proofreading, and it prints right there on her computer, again without even transferring the actual file or having an Eclipse scoping key.

To get started, designate one computer that is always on and connected to the Internet as your host PC (the one you or your scopist will want to access remotely). Then install a small GoToMyPC agent on that computer. I use my realtime computer as the host since I primarily want this for my scopist. No configuration is needed on the host computer beyond installing the program and creating an account by entering your e-mail address, an account password, and a host-system access code (another password). On the remote end you simply access the GoToMyPC Web site from any Windows computer. Then click “Invite Guest,” and an e-mail will be sent to your scopist telling them how to connect to your PC. This takes about 2 minutes to set up.

Don’t forget that you can also use GoToMyPC to print out a transcript from your host computer at home or in your office.  So if you don’t have that transcript you finished editing, you can access it anytime without worry. Other new features include being able to drag and drop files between the local and remote desktops so that if you did forget an important file that you need, getting access to it is a piece of cake. 

If you're working with a scopist on a daily or simply connecting to your computer remotely yourself, go for the simple solution. GoToMyPC is easy to use, flexible, secure, and fast. The cost of the yearly fee can be paid for in one daily transcript. Now go have some fun at the end of the day and don’t stay up all night working on expedites anymore.


<> Keith Vincent:  Changing Plural Back to Singular

You meant to write “cities” but it came out as “city.”  You can change your singular to a plural by simply pressing Ctrl K or Hyperkey w (as in “word” endings) and then “s.”  Eclipse changes the “y” to an “ies” and your singular has become plural.

Well, if you sometimes write “cities” when you meant to write “city,” you can get a quick fix for that, too.  Here’s how.  

Go to the “Programming” section of your Eclipse User Settings, and modify the table that contains your Prefix and Suffix Definitions.  When the table opens, don’t be alarmed by its geeky appearance.  Just press the Enter key so that you are creating an empty line.  Placing your cursor in that empty line and typing the following text will tell Eclipse how to change a plural back to a singular.  (Note:  The first “S” that you see is capitalized.)

       ^-S=^^^[=ies]y,^^^^[=ches]ch,^^^[=xes]x,^^^[=ves]fe,^^^[=ves]f,^[s]

Having done that, go ahead and place your cursor on a plural word in one of your transcripts.  Then press Ctrl K or Hyperkey w to open the “Prefix/Suffix” dialogue.  Each item on the list starts with a “Shortcut” letter, and you probably don’t often use “T” to add a suffix.  Let’s set it up so that on the “Prefix/Suffix” dialogue, “S” will be to create a plural but “T” will be to revert to a singular.  

Using the mouse, single-click on the line that begins with t:  Remove that shortcut by pressing the “Delete” button on the dialogue (as opposed to the “Delete” key on your computer keyboard.)

In the “Shortcut” box, type t .  In other words, just a lower-case “t”.  

In the “Text” box, type ^-S.  In other words, Shift+6, hyphen, then upper-case “S”.

Having typed in the shortcut and text, use the “Add” button.  Once you’ve done this, the “t” on this dialogue will quickly change a plural back to a singular.
	

<> Dorothy McGrath:  Your Own Intranet for Wireless Realtime with TeleView

Want a quick, inexpensive, wireless setup for realtime transcription, WITHOUT installing software or drivers on clients’ computers?  Hate configuring ports or baud rates and worrying about PCMCIA cards or USB-to-serial adapters?   Well, simply purchase a small wireless router and TeleView. 

TeleView by Advantage Software has been around for more than five years now.  It was originally developed so that Eclipse users could provide remote CART service, especially in universities and other settings where internet access is readily available.  However, it can just as easily be used in place of CaseView, LiveNote, etc., and it does not absolutely require INTERnet access because you can set up your own INTRAnet.

Did I mention that TeleView is inexpensive?  A one-client license is $195, and licenses for additional simultaneous clients are $50 each.  These are not rental rates.  It costs less than $400 for a five-client license that you can use over and over again.  A permanent license for 25 simultaneous clients costs less than what you might pay for just one or two days of some other service and, I repeat, there’s nothing that you have to download or install on your clients’ computers.

Here are the steps to set up your own INTRAnet for wireless realtime with TeleView.

1. Buy a wireless router and turn it on.  (It does not need to be placed very close to your computer.)  The wireless router will automatically create its own network name.  For instance, if you bought a Linksys router, it creates a wireless network called Linksys.  

2. Connect to this network as you would any other wireless network.  In our example, you’d  look for the name “Linksys” and connect.

The next steps are shown in the Visualizer on TeleView (Section 3 of the Visualizer Topics.)

3. Go to Eclipse user settings, Realtime, and set up the Output to TeleView.  So look for “Output” and use the “Add” button.  Select “Bridge/LawBridge/TeleView” at the “Output Format” dialogue.  The “Comm device” will be “File Sharing.”  Use the “Setup” button to select a folder for your realtime output file.  This does not have to be your Eclipse jobs folder.  (By the way, you only need to set this up one time. So if you already have this set up, you can skip this step).

4. Start realtime translation.  Eclipse will create a .LAW file that TeleView can use.

5. Start TeleView.  Use the “Browse” button to find your realtime output file.  If you named your job “Smith,” you’ll be looking for “Smith.LAW.”  Select the file, then press the “Open” button.  Choose a  password for your clients.  Then press the “Run Server” button.

TeleView will tell you what your intranet number is.  Tell your clients to type that number in the address line of their normal web browser.  (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Mac Safari, etc.)  The client will be asked to type his/her name, plus the password that the reporter has chosen.  That’s all.  

A few things to bear in mind, though.  First, your realtime output folder must be set up for sharing. Here’s how.  Go to “My Computer,” find your output folder and right-click on its icon.  You’ll see an option to set up sharing.  You can set up your computer so that only your realtime output folder is shared.  No need to let folks visit any other folder.

Second, if you want control over who connects to your realtime output, write down the password to TeleView instead of broadcasting it. While you can see who is connected to your TeleView, the program does not currently give you the option to disconnect specific clients.

Third, during the initial setup, disable your virus/firewall programs and security protocols on the router.  Then test the TeleView connection.  Once a successful connection is established, follow the manufacturer's instructions for both your virus/firewall programs and your router to allow this connection.

Every once in a great while, you may run into an attorney who has no JAVA installed on their computer. In that case, just simply give them the Bridge program and connect through that.  Let’s say you’ve named your computer “reporter” and your output folder is “realtime” and your job is called “Smith.”  A client connected to your intranet could open Bridge and go to its setup dialogue.  As with TeleView, “File sharing” would be used.  However, when you connect, at least in this example, you’d use this path, which begins with two slashes:  \\reporter\realtime\smith.law.  

Another thing to keep in mind is that a wireless card cannot be used for two different types of connections at the same time. Thus, while you are providing realtime transcription with this type of connection, you may not be on the Internet as well.  The same goes for the attorneys who are connected to you.  One way around this is to use your computer’s built-in WiFi capabilities for the intranet that we have described here, plus a PCMCIA wireless card that would offer a second avenue for accessing the Internet.

One of the best features about Teleview is that your clients see the entire day’s proceedings, even if they connect late.  Also, as you edit on your Eclipse screen, your corrections, globals, and insertions carry over to your clients’ screens.  Finally, your clients cannot save a copy of the realtime transcript unless you grant access.