e-Tip #90 - July-August 2009 - Text-Only Version

<> Keith Vincent:  Auto-Brief Customization

Auto-Brief is definitely one of my favorite features in Total Eclipse.  Now with Version 4.3 of the program, it’s even better.

When Auto-Brief was introduced, the little yellow list of steno suggestions could show 5 items and would always appear in the upper-left corner of your realtime translation window.  Now 10 auto-brief suggestions can be displayed and you can move and resize the list.  Just click on the yellow list, hold down the left mouse button while dragging to your favorite spot on the screen, then release the mouse button.  Also, there’s now a small black square in the lower-right corner of the yellow list.  Click-drag the square to make the entire list larger or smaller.  Thereafter, Eclipse will remember to use that position and size for the auto-brief list.	

In Total Eclipse 4.3, the “Programming” tab of User Settings offers “Auto-brief steno theory” so you can control the kind of suggestions that are offered.   Three symbols are used:  plus, minus, equal.

One line can start with the plus symbol, meaning “required.”  If you want every auto-brief to be a doubled stroke, use the plus symbol and a space.  Perhaps you require the asterisk or a final PBLG in all your auto-briefs.  For example, +* -PBLG would mean that every auto-brief suggestion must include the asterisk, must be a doubled stroke, and must end in PBLG.  All this is optional.  Do not use a “plus” line unless you want to state a requirement.

Multiple lines can start with the minus symbol, meaning “not allowed.”  My steno keyboard does not have wide D, Z, or asterisk keys.  So I do not want auto-brief suggestions that end with TD or SZ, etc.  Here are a few lines to express that:
-TD 
-SZ
-H*F
-HA*F
-HAO*F  List out the vowel keys that can occur within H*F.  A sample file is offered at the e-Tips page of KVincent.com.

Multiple lines can start with the equal symbol, meaning “predefined list.” Eclipse would start using this if the other suggestions it would want to offer are not allowed by the “plus” or “minus” lines in your Auto-Brief  theory.  
Steno example:	
=1-GZ	
=2-GZ	
=3-GZ
Voisteno example:
=teemack1
=teemack2
=teemack3
	

This last example implies that Auto-Brief is now a feature that works for voicewriting as well as steno.  However, an EclipseVox user would need to create a predefined list and would need to insert a special “minus” line at the start of the “Auto-Brief steno theory” screen.  That minus line would consist of a minus symbol all by itself, meaning that Auto-Brief should not try to use any steno at all and should only use the predefined list  of lines that begin with the equal symbol.

A new Visualizer has been added to Total Eclipse 4.3 to illustrate Auto-Brief customization.  Check it out and take advantage of these improvements.



<> Wil Wilcox:  Google Tasks

Last time we talked about the Top 10 Reasons to use Gmail, including Google Tasks.  This time I'll describe Google Task, a powerful tool for organizing your work.

As a court reporter I'm constantly concerned that I will forget an important deadline on a transcript that is due.  Google Tasks is an excellent way to prioritize transcripts or to make yourself a note about ordering supplies, etc. If you're a Gmail user and want to start using Tasks, look at the labels below your Inbox on the left-hand side. Just below Contacts you will see Tasks. Click on "Tasks" and you're ready to get started. 

Working with Tasks is simple and straightforward.  Just click the plus sign at the bottom of the tasks window to add an item. Add due dates and notes by selecting the arrow at the right of your task.  I like to always include a due date.  That way you can easily see what your next task to accomplish should be when looking at the list. 

Another awesome feature of Google Tasks is that when you receive an e-mail that you'd like to turn into a task, you can automatically add to your list. While the e-mail message is open, press Shift + T and the title of the message will automatically be recorded in your list of tasks. You can then edit details such as the due date and notes, etc. Right beneath the task will say “Related email.” Click on this, and you’re taken back to the original email! If the e-mail you'd like to include as a task is not open, just check mark the e-mail, click on the More Actions tab and click Add to Tasks and you can add it that way. 

If you're using Google Calendar, any task lists you have created in Gmail will automatically appear in your  calendar. When you choose the Tasks link on the left, the Tasks list will appear on the right side of your calendar. The Tasks list on the right side of your calendar will toggle on and off every time you click Tasks.   

While in Google calendar, you add and manage tasks much like you would from your Gmail window, but with a few added features. Your tasks that have due dates will automatically appear on your calendar in the All Day section.   To add a task with a due date,  just click in the All Day section of a day, or on the date in Month view. You’ll  get  an  “Edit details”  balloon.   Just select Tasks to enter information. It is easy to change the date of a task in Calendar. Just drag the task to the new date. 

Also, don't forget that you can add multiple Tasks lists.  That way you can separate Transcripts you need to do from other items you may want to track such as important long-range goals or other things such as shopping lists.  When you're done with a task, simply put a check mark on it that it's been completed.  You can either keep your completed tasks or have them deleted from your list.

You can make a to-do list on paper, but how often have you gotten to the store and forgotten your shopping list?  With Google Tasks, if you have a smart phone such as an iPhone, Palm Pre or Blackberry, you’ll have your Tasks list with you practically at all times unless you've forgotten your phone.  Just go to gmail.com/tasks on your mobile phone browser and log in.

In addition to Tasks, Google is releasing a whole suite of applications to compete with Microsoft Office.  Besides Gmail, Calendar and Tasks, there’s a web-based program called Google Docs, which I've used to create this article. Google has also released a "great" Web browser called Chrome. It is faster than Internet Explorer 8 and even more stable, in my humble opinion. I’ve been using Google Chrome to view Gmail, Calendar and Tasks. I'm not using Chrome for everything.  I think of it as my program for Gmail, Google Tasks and Google Calendar.  

For general web browsing, I still use Firefox. I'm sure that all of the programs developed by Google will work perfectly in the Chrome browser.  I've also never had any issues while using Firefox. For more information on Google Tasks, go to: http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=106237