Damian Lettie

I've just recently downloaded Express Scribe, but can't use it because what I've downloaded doesn't match the tutorial.

The online tutorial was created a long time ago and the information is unfortunately out of date.

The screen on the version I have doesn't have the 'settings' and doesn't appear the same as the tutorial. I've tried using it, but can't set up a template.

"Settings" was renamed to "Options" a few versions ago. Document templates can be found in Options -> Other.

I also have no play back if I hit the > play arrow.

Please check the value in the Duration column. If it's zero then the audio hasn't loaded properly.

Changes in Express Scribe v4.33:

• Added: "Previous Dictation" and "Next Dictation" to list of possible commands for system-wide hot-keys.
  
• Added: "Export Notes" to File menu.
  
• Fixed: "Sound card has not been selected or is being used" error in Dock (Audio Cable) dialog.
  
• Fixed: Numerical "Check interval" input on "Incoming" properties dialog no longer accepts non-numeric input.
  
• Fixed: Image was missing from "Refresh" button on "Load Dictation File(s)" dialog tool-bar.
  

Changes in Express Dictate v5.11 for Windows:

• Added: "Export Notes" to Dictation menu.
  
• Added: Confirm overwrite if file already exists when saving a transcript from the "Recover Sent Dictations" dialog.
  
• Fixed: "Unable to start sound record device" and "Sound card has not been selected or is being used" errors.
  
• Fixed: Email attachment size is no longer always 1.5MB when using "Automatically split the file" option of email send method.
  
• Fixed: Size input for "Automatically split the file" option of email send method wasn't accepting the period character.
  
• Fixed: An ampersand character in the notes no longer causes notes to be truncated when uploading a dictation to an Express Delegate server.
  
• Fixed: Dictation report header lines were overlapping.
  
• Changed: Data added to XML elements when creating a new dictation is now HTML encoded.
  
• Changed: Audio playback now loops on the "Soundcard and Playback Volume" page of the setup wizard.
  
• Changed: More descriptive error when trying to load a DCT that has attachments.
  
• Changed: "Edit with WavePad" and dock dialog "Auto-send" features no longer function if Express Dictate hasn't been registered and the trial period has expired.
  

I have Express Delegate 4.03, and I am attempting to create a new FTP auto import source. After filling in the FTP server information I get the following message:

 

Server "www.relsolutionsmt.com" is OK.

Logon details are OK.

Directory changed OK.

Current directory is: /

Contains: [no files]

Unable to upload to the server

 

Because of the last line, I am unable to save the source. Any idea why I am getting the upload error?

Ask the administrator of the FTP server to give your FTP account write access.

So using "Dispatch" kicks in the email window that then ties into whatever email program the person has in op ??

Express Scribe can send email in one of three ways:

• By asking your default email client program to send the email.
  
• By contacting an email server directly.
  
• By impersonating an email server.
  

Is email then only way to dispatch the text files or is there a way (other than stick) that avoids the email prog. It just seemed to me another cog in the wheel.

You could use an Express Delegate server. Recordings can be uploaded to Express Delegate using any of several methods:

• Directly from Express Dictate.
  
• From a web browser.
  
• By configuring the automatic load feature to load from a shared folder or FTP server.
  

Express Scribe can then download the recording directly from Express Delegate. When you "Dispatch" the matching transcript, it's uploaded back to the Express Delegate server.

I can not add any other users to my Delegate? I don't know why. I can add them on my Delegate page, but when they go to log in, it doesn't work? Any suggestions?

You'll need to give more details for us to help. You say you're adding managers, so I assume they're trying to log into the Web Control Panel? What web browser are they using? Are they able to access the Login page at all? If so, what error do they get when they try to log in?

Please could you advise what ES has done with the typed text and what needs to be done to close the workflow effectively.

"Done" just moves the dictation out of the current list - use "Recover old dictation(s)" to get them back. If you want to send the transcript to someone then you should use "Dispatch" instead of "Done".

I am writing a pedaldrv.dll using the http://www.nch.com.au/scribe/pedaldrv.html

 

it seem to find the dll because it do lock the dll , but it do not call my entry ExpressScribePedalsOpen.

That documentation appears to be out of date. Instead of ExpressScribePedalsOpen() / ExpressScribePedalsScan() / ExpressScribePedalsClose(), please rename your functions to match the following:

typedef void* HPEDALS;

#define ESPEDALS_RIGHT uint16_t(0x0001)
#define ESPEDALS_LEFT uint16_t(0x0002)
#define ESPEDALS_MID uint16_t(0x0004)
// Note: If supporting 2 pedals only use ESPEDALS_RIGHT and ESPEDALS_LEFT
// Note: If support 1 pedal only use ESPEDALS_LEFT

extern "C" HPEDALS CustomPedalsOpen();
// This is used to initialize data and connect to the pedals
// Should return NULL if pedals are not available or it fails.
// Returns an opaque 'handle'. Express Scribe just passes the same
// 'handle' value back to Scan and Close (below).

extern "C" uint16_t CustomPedalsScan(HPEDALS hPedals);
// Returns the or'd state of the pedals with the ESPEDALS_ constants above.
// Returns 0 on failure (or if no pedals pushed)

extern "C" void CustomPedalsClose(HPEDALS hPedals);
// This is used to close the connection to the pedals.
// Must not crash if NULL value is passed in hPedals.

Some versions of ED (like 4.12) have a new behavior that is making problems for us.

 

We use the ED api to have ED create a new dct file. We have been providing names like "rick smith.dct". We have the Send/File file name option set to simply %filename%. The file is being renamed to "rick smithdct.dct" when it's sent. But the file is listed as "rick smith.dct" in the recover files list.

 

If we provide a file name of "rick smith" then ED changes it to "rick smith.dct".

I'm not sure about v4.12 (which is actually quite old), but in recent versions, EDAPIRename() and the %filename% variable actually both refer to the dictation name, not the file name. The naming of %filename% is a bit misleading.

So if you call EDAPIRename("rick smith") then EDAPISend() with the file name format set to %filename% and get a file called "rick smith.dct", that is correct behaviour.

When I plug in my pedal, I get a message that says USB Device Not Recognized.

Try to narrow down where the problem is. Do you have any other USB devices, like a joystick or an external hard drive? Try plugging them in - do you still get the same error?

I downloaded the Win98 version on the website and it appears to be the same file as the current version which does not list Win98 as a supported OS. I could not get the file to install. It does nowthing when launched on a Win98 system.

Yes, http://www.nch.com.au/software/win98/essetup.exe currently has the same version (v4.31) as the main Express Scribe website. The main website no longer mentions Windows 98 because future versions will not support it (which is happening across the board for all NCH software), but v4.31 will continue to be available from the Windows 98 / Me download page.

I did a test here, and v4.31 does install and run on Windows 98.

Right click on essetup.exe, select Properties, click on Version. Does it say 4.31 for File Version?

Right click on My Computer, select Properties, and check in the General tab of the System Properties dialog. What version of Windows 98 are you running? (eg. 4.10.xxxx).

What version of Internet Explorer is installed?

I am the coordinator of 12 end users to Express Dictate and manage through Express Delegate. Our new physician is having HUGE issues using this system. He "swears" that he downloads his work but it does not always show up in Delegate and out to the MTs file folders. Other than looking in Express Dictate retrieval file folder, where else can I find his voice files that did not move through the system. There is an area in the PC hardware system that stores these files I think but not sure where to look. We use the Digital Wave Player to download to PC and then through Express Dictate to Express Delegate and out to the MT file folders. I have been using Express Dictate, Express Scribe, and Express Delegate software since 2006.

Are you using a legacy (pre-v4.00) or modern (v4.00 or greater) version of Express Delegate?

What send method is Express Dictate using?

No. I can move the playback position slider to the beginning of the file. What is happening is that I get near the end of the dictation and it starts over. It shows something like 4:52.5, but it is playing the dictation from 0:00.0 on over again.

What version of Scribe are you using?

What file format are the files in?

Do you know how large the original files are?

How many channels do the files have?

How are you loading the files into Scribe? (eg. Automatic incoming from FTP?)

Do you have an example of a file (that doesn't contain sensitive information) that you'd be prepared to send to us?

I am a new user to Express Scribe and I am unable to "load" a DVD to transcribe.

Express Scribe cannot load DVD's.

PS: Duplicate post deleted.

But on my Mac OS X 10.5.6, no audio seems to work with express scribe v4.30 Intel... I work with wav and dss files and I really can't get it to work.. It says I need codecs or something.

Express Scribe for OS X cannot load DSS files. Use a Windows program like Switch to convert them to a format that does work (like MP3).

There are many possible codecs for WAV files. Some work on OS X, many are Windows-only. Use a program like MediaInfo to work out which codec(s) is/are being used.

I am having a problem with Express Scribe beginning over towards the end of a dictation which prevents me from finishing a transcription report.

Do you mean you can't move the playback position slider to the beginning of the file?

Is it only happening with one particular file?

Changes in Express Delegate v 4.03 for Windows:

• Added: Automatically import recordings from local folders or FTP servers. [Express Delegate Plus only]
  
• Added: Support for many more audio file formats when creating a dictation using auto-import or the Web Control Panel. [Express Delegate Plus only]
  
• Fixed: Uninstall was failing with "because it is being used by another user" error message if the uninstall was run without quitting the application.
  
• Fixed: No longer get "Download Interupted" error in Express Scribe when attempting to Sync a large dictation file over a slower network connection.
  
• Fixed: "Recording downloaded" message is no longer logged when the download times-out.
  
• Fixed: Deadline was displayed incorrectly when web control panel's "Create New Dictation" page had invalid file name when "Create" was clicked.
  
• Fixed: Deadline date & time values are now validated on web control panel's "Create New Dictation" and "Edit Dictation Details" pages.
  
• Fixed: "Age" and "Deadline" list columns on web control panel's "Dictation" page were sorting incorrectly.
  
• Changed: Window title and About text now better distinguish between Express Delegate (Trial) and Express Delegate Plus (Trial).
  

We are getting an error from the clients (Express Scribe Users) when they are allocated and try to download (sync) some jobs. It appears to only happen when the jobs are larger / longer - the short ones come through OK. The error message appears at about 75% download and reports "Download Interupted"

The problem has been found and fixed in an internal beta version. Stay tuned for a new release in the near future.

Nowhere do I see any referece to or any way to access a "Wayback Machine Archive"

The first link in my post pointed to http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.nch.com.au/express

saw a check mark atop screen and figured it was for spell check, clicked it and 30 minutes of work disappeared as my text vanished.

Transcriptions that have been marked as Done (which is what the icon with the check-mark does) can be recovered by selecting File -> "Recover Old Files..."

How. Do. You. Save. Text In This Program.

Many people choose to transcribe into a word processor, rather than use the Notes window of Scribe. (The latter has a limitation on the total number of characters, as well as being less friendly to use). If you do choose to type into the Notes window and you want to save as a TXT/DOC/whatever then you'll have to copy & paste into a document in the relevant program.

So, I can play my Real Player file (.rm) in Express Scribe, and control the audio with the hot keys (start, stop, rewind, etc.)... But, I don't see the video, only hear the audio.

Express Scribe is only for transcription of audio files.

I received the following instructions for using Express Scribe:

 

You will need to set the file association to (.rm & .rma) in the setting menu to work with Real Media files.

 

Okay... I can't figure out how to "set the file association"...

Those instructions are for the Windows version of Express Scribe. There's no equivalent feature in Scribe for OS X.

But file associations are just there for convenience anyway - you don't need them in order to load files, as you discovered.

Apparently however a program on my laptop automatically installed an up-date to V 5.09. Now presumably because of this change to my EDictate program my secretary can not use her version of EScribe to transcribe the dictation.

You mentioned that you still have the registration details so you can indeed re-install the old version and re-register it without having to pay for an upgrade.

If you didn't back up the old installer, you might be able to find it on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine archive of http://www.nch.com.au/express. These release dates might help:

Remember to take into account time-zone differences.

I have four CDs with a bunch of CDA files on them. Now I've got the first one in my disc drive and have loaded the files into ES, or so I thought. When I got to file 2 I found it's exactly the same file as file one.

Please make sure you're using Express Scribe v4.31 or later, as earlier versions have the bug that you described.