e-Tip #79 - July 2008 - Text-Only Version <> Keith Vincent - "New Window" Command This month's e-Tip is about the View. I'm not referring to the daytime TV program. I'm referring to viewing options within the Total Eclipse program that can help you take advantage of today's large, high-resolution screens. In his article, Wil Wilcox will show how you can extend your desktop beyond the limits of a single screen. Open any Eclipse text document -- notes, text, or dictionary. Now open the "Window" pull-down menu within Total Eclipse. The first item that you'll see on the list is "New Window." This choice first appeared in EclipseNT about 10 years ago, but I suspect that most people never use it. While it's nice to "Split" a window for text or notes into two panes, I think "New Window" is even more powerful. You can open multiple windows for any kind of Eclipse document. Each window can let you see and edit a different part of the document, at a different zoom level, WYSIWYG or not. For instance, you might have one large window that shows your realtime translation and the cursor is following along at the bottom of the job as you write. That window might not be using the What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get display, and it might use a zoom level of 123%. A second large window might not be following along as you write. Its cursor might be placed at page 35, and perhaps it's using WYSIWYG display at a zoom level of 115% If you take a look at the image on this page, you'll notice several things. First, I have three views of my main dictionary ("Keith"). The original view has been renamed automatically as "Keith:1," and the additional windows are simply "Keith:2," "Keith:3," etc. I often use the "New Window" command when working with dictionaries. Each window on a dictionary can reflect a different filtering. Here "Keith:1" shows all entries, sorted by steno. "Keith:2" shows 3-stroke phrases, sorted by when they were created. "Keith:3" shows conflict entries, sorted by steno. Each dictionary window can have its columns in the order you prefer. When you open a new window on an Eclipse document, the document tab bar would appear at the bottom of the screen and an extra button would be added. You can click on these buttons to pop from one window to another, but you can also use Ctrl+Tab to move among the various windows that you have open within Total Eclipse. If you do not see the document tab bar, go to the "Window" menu and select "View Toggles." Putting a check in the box next to "Document tab bar" will ensure that the document tab bar is visible whenever you have more than one document open within Total Eclipse. If you have maximized a window, it will appear much larger and it will cover up other windows that would be hiding behind it. However, the document tab bar would make it easy to see that there are other documents that are currently open. One last note. Let's say you had several dictionary windows open. Then you closed them one by one. If the last such window that you closed was maximized, then the next time you open a dictionary, Eclipse would presume you want its window maximized; otherwise, the size and position of your last open dictionary would be used. Want to see some of this in action? Check out "S - Organizing Windows: Cascade, Tile, New Window" in Section 1 of the Visualizer Topics. Then try it out for yourself! <> Wil Wilcox - Using a Second Screen to Extend your Desktop Have you ever seen someone using more than one monitor with one computer? Well, if you work with several windows open at a time, you might want to use multiple monitors to improve your productivity. Two monitors can really expand your screen real estate. Notebook computers are great to take to a deposition or into the courtroom, but they're not ideal for extended use. Many notebooks have screens that are too small to read comfortably for a long time. You can use Extended Desktop to view both your notebook's display and an external monitor at the same time. When you are using two monitors, you can take advantage of the extra screen space by simply dragging program windows to the secondary monitor. For instance, you could have your e-mail always open on the secondary display. You can also resize program windows to stretch across the two screens. I love to take my Eclipse window and drag it to the right where my extended display is, until it stretches across both screens. Now I can open one transcript or document on one screen and another on the other. I can even use the "New Window" command to have both windows displaying the same document at different positions, as Keith explained this month. This is perfect for when you want to use GoToMyPC and have someone editing while you are doing realtime. They get to use one screen to edit with; you get the other. You'll both have a full screen and you won't be sharing the same screen in a split-window display. To set up a second monitor, start by plugging the monitor into the external VGA port of your notebook computer. Then place your notebook close to the external monitor to ensure a comfortable view of both screens. Some people place two screens side by side. If you have a small notebook screen, you might put a larger monitor on a stand behind it so that one display is higher than the other, whatever your preference. Your external monitor is plugged in and everything powered on. For Windows XP, right-click on the desktop of your notebook. When the context menu opens, click "Properties." Click on the "Settings" tab. Then you will see two blue rectangles which represent your monitors. Click on the blue rectangle with the number 2 on it and then drag it to a spot similar to where the monitor is -- above, below, right or left. You will be asked if you want to enable the monitor. Pick "yes." (By the way, if you're using Vista, the menus are worded a bit differently. For Vista, right-click on the desktop and then select Display Settings.) Make sure "Extend my Windows desktop onto the monitor" is checked and press "Apply." To be sure which screen is number 1 or 2, if you're not certain, press "Identify" and numbers come up on each screen. You may need to do this if, for instance, you boot up your notebook first and don't have the monitor on. It may think the notebook is the main monitor and put your taskbar on it instead. Select the monitor you want as primary and then click on it and check "Use this device as the primary monitor," then click "Apply." You may have to move the taskbar onto that monitor. Now you've got your multiple-monitor setup. You may need to do this setup each time you want to use both monitors. However, you can also look in the video driver to see if you can save profiles so that you won't have to reset it every time you turn on your computer. When I right-click on the desktop on my laptop, under "Settings" I have two settings available, Default Monitor and Multiple Monitors, so all I need to do each time is select whether I want to use one or both that day. More and more, I'm finding that I'm using both. You may need to adjust your screen resolution (e,g., 1024 by 768) if your desktop background does not appear on the external monitor. If you're using an old monitor, you may get a warning or already know that it cannot display that resolution. In that case, don't risk damaging the monitor by trying to use an unsupported screen resolution. You can also move your taskbar to the external monitor since it is usually the larger of the two screens. This is very easy. On your notebook screen, right-click on an empty area of the taskbar and click "Lock the Taskbar." Then drag the taskbar to the desktop of the external monitor and drop it where you want it to appear. Don't fall into the trap of unplugging the external monitor when you're going to a reporting assignment and then expecting your display to move everything back to a single display. You will need to right-click on your desktop, select "Properties" and then switch the settings back to using a single display. However, it's not hard to learn the routine. By taking advantage of multiple monitors, you will be able to find new and creative ways to enhance your productivity. By the way, multiple monitors can be used with Macs, too, and Apple has made the setup process very easy. In a future e-tip, I'll have more information about using multiple monitors for realtime transcription. In particular, I'll describe a great software program that I've found to make this more convenient. <> Keith Vincent - A Few Notes on Bridge 2 and Transcript Manager Pro In the past few weeks, I've been updating my "Interactive Realtime Transcription" video tutorial, and it's given me a fresh appreciation for Bridge2 and also Transcript Manager Pro. Here's why. Bridge2 is free, but it offers more Help than other programs that cost a lot. Its startup dialogue reminds the client of the reporter or firm who's distributed the program, but it also offers a "Video tour" button. With 20 built-in Visualizer movies (only one of which requires earphones), a user doesn't have to rely on the reporter for instruction. A full electronic manual, a keyboard chart, and a realtime demo accompany an outstanding Help system. Open a dialogue or point to an icon or a menu item and then press F1; you're taken right to the appropriate page of a very well-illustrated Help system, with icons to lead you to the relevant movies. Transcript Manager Pro's movies are available on its website, but they're very well done. Likewise, there's beautifully illustrated Help text and a realtime simulator that can be used for demonstrations and practice. On the Bridge2 toolbar, the Setup & Connect icons are hard to miss. Connect through a comm port or a network-shared file. There's even a "Devices" button to make it easy to check Windows Device Manager. Use CaseView protocol to work with any CAT program; but if your reporting software supports the Bridge protocol, you can enjoy Auto-Refresh, even if your connection is through a serial cable. Connecting with Transcript Manager Pro is also very easy, and I understand that soon the program will support the Bridge protocol (hint, hint.) Bridge2 and Transcript Manager Pro offer Auto-Split Screen Display. When needed, their screens automatically split into a lower pane (always shows the reporter's latest writing) and an upper pane (easy to navigate for reviewing text and making annotations.) Bridge2 also works with any font the user prefers, offers a great of color choices for various items on screen, and makes it extremely easy to zoom in or out for comfortable reading. In contrast, other programs seem to treat realtime display as an after-thought. To insert Notes, the Bridge2 user simply starts typing. It just doesn't get any easier than that. For Bridge2 and Transcript Manager Pro, Quick Marks are inserted by pressing the spacebar or clicking on a line of interest. No surprise there. Issue coding. A Bridge2 user simply clicks on a color-coded button or presses Ctrl 1, Ctrl 2, etc. At any point one can right-click on a button (or press Ctrl I) to label the issue buttons. Transcript Manager Pro offers what I think is a unique method of color highlighting to precisely display the interplay of multiple issues that apply to your text. Searches. I love the fact that the Bridge2 search bar never covers up text, and there's a large number of keyboard commands for Quick Searches (Question, Answer, Speaker, Marks, Notes, Issues, Attachments.) Transcript Manager Pro does offer quick search, but I was more impressed by its Case Search, which enables queries across multiple transcripts. In my opinion, Bridge2 and Transcript Manager Pro are complementary. Bridge2 is ideal for judges and attorneys who want an easy-to-use realtime participation tool. It's for one document at a time, although you can open up multiple sessions of Bridge2 to display multiple documents. For case analysis or a paralegal's work back at the office, the realtime text, notes, marks, and issues can be exported to a more powerful program -- like Transcript Manager Pro. Looking for easy, beautiful, powerful realtime viewing software? There's no need to mess with realtime tokens or annual subscriptions or just settle for CaseView, Summation, or LiveNote. Find more information and free downloads of Bridge2 at EclipseCAT.com. Visit 1360Studios.com for Transcript Manager Pro, which is available in both a PC version and a Mac version. <> Video Update: 3rd Edition, "Interactive Realtime Transcription" A 3rd Edition of the popular "Interactive Realtime Transcription" tutorial is now being released. This latest version features Bridge 2.0 by Advantage Software, but it also covers other new realtime viewing programs. For a complete list of topics, go to the Tutorials page of www.KVincent.com. "Interactive Realtime Transcription" contains more than 3 hours of video presentations. Looking for continuing education units? This tutorial has been approved by the National Court Reporters Association; it offers .4 CEU. If you've already purchased the 1st or 2nd edition of this tutorial, you can trade in your current disk for an updated one. See this month's e-Tip special. If ordering an update disk, send in your current tutorial disk. (Keep your case and your installation code for use with the new disk.) __________ In last month's e-Tip, we mentioned that Bridge 2.0 could be run from a flash drive. That really helps if an attorney's computer has been locked down to prevent the installation of new programs. For your convenience, Advantage Software will offer flash drives containing the Bridge program as well as a number of helpful video demonstrations. The cost is just $10 to $15 each, depending on how many you purchase. The flash drives also contain BridgeDistSetup.exe. This lets you personalize copies of Bridge that you give out. Just another way to help you market your realtime transcription services!