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Shorthand or Instantext? Opinions, please - SAM

Posted: Jan 23, 2011

Although my FT job is VR, I've just accepted a PT position that is straight transcription. Although I'm very fast (and accurate), a fellow MT told me one of the above programs could potentially double my production.

I'm not familiar with either program or exactly how they work and are incorporated into transcription. I'm gathering they are a much more in-depth version of an autocorrect program.

Could someone please explain the differences between the two programs to me (in "dummy" terms, LOL) and which one you find the easiest to learn? I'll be working on the Bayscribe platform at the PT gig, if that makes any difference. I know Bayscribe has its own expander program but, having used it in the past, I didn't find it any more impressive than Word's autocorrect function.

Thanks in advance :-)

Depends - Anon

[ In Reply To ..]
If you doing mostly VR, Instantext doesn't have much value, but great for straight transcription.

Shorthand is basically auto-correct. Instantext, for me, at least, has a huge learning curve that I never mastered. People who conquer it seem to love it. Just the book of instructions is the size of a Reader's Digest.

On the contrary, Instant Text has huge value with VR. - s/m

[ In Reply To ..]
Do a search here and on the VR board for Instant Text and how command entries treat repetitive tasks much the same way macros do, but you don't have to learn macro language.

Since you say you didn't master Instant Text, you don't know how much you are missing! :-)

Instant Text wins hands down - sm - All Ears

[ In Reply To ..]
I started out with Shorthand. It is a good program, but after playing with the trial version of InstantText, I switched over.

With Shorthand, I had to remember my shortcuts. There was a reminder window, but I still had to remember at least the first two letters to see all the possibilities. The more shorts I added, the more letters I had to remember to get to the ones I needed to see.

With Instant Text, I don't have to remember shorts. I can still set them up that way, but I do not HAVE to remember them. The ones I use the most, I will remember, the other ones will be there if I need them.

Plus, InstantText will analyze your files to help you build custom libraries. So if you have a dictator who uses the same phrases over and over again, you can analyze his files to help you build a custom library, just based on that. Then you can link his library to other libraries to get even more shorts available to you.

It's more expensive, but it pays in the long run.

SH is flat wonderful and so easy to use, but - IT builds dictionaries for you.

[ In Reply To ..]
With SH, if you make a system that creates them according to a system that doesn't require you to memorize them, your eyes stay on the text all the time you work--a tremendous speed advantage.

You won't ever be as fast checking lists of abbreviations built for you by IT, but its building feature will have you up and running much, much sooner. I'd never go to IT from SH now (my system is GREAT), but if I were starting out from scratch now I'd go with IT.

BTW, IT's dictionary-building feature is the one big advantage that makes it worth studying to learn. Otherwise, IMO, SH's ease of use and general compatibility with other systems have it all over IT. SH is also a very sophisticated system with many features. (Also BTW, in my opinion, comparing a system made for amateur use like auto Correct to a professional system like Shorthand is wildly inaccurate. Sort of like comparing the keypad of an iPhone with your laptop, the general idea at least. The only reason Auto Correct is used at all is that it's free, and I always recommend people avoid that mistake.)

Bottom line good news--you can't lose with either of these.

Here is a chart that compares both programs - from another forum...

[ In Reply To ..]

Click below to view the chart.

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