Damian Lettie

OK, so we can probably rule out OS and third-party software incompatibilities. That's strange. How old are the pedals? If you want to test your foot pedal, go to http://www.lvr.com/hidpage.htm and download SimpleHIDWrite. When you run it, select "VEC USB Footpedal" and press and release the middle button and you should see output like: RD 00 00 00 RD 00 02 00 RD 00 00 00

Thanks for your patience. The next release shouldn't be far off now. This sounds like a separate issue. Is the error message from Scribe or OS X? How much free space do you actually have on your disk? How many dictations are in Scribe's dictation list?

VEC say the IN-USB-2 is 100% backwards compatible with the IN-USB-1. We have come across different firmware versions though, even amongst IN-USB-1's, so obviously something (small?) has changed over the years. Yes, obviously the new code doesn't work well with something in your setup. The question is, what's different between your setup and ours? Do you still get the problem if you don't run other applications?

I tried several different VEC Infinity IN-USB-1 pedals on several different machines (XP, Vista, and 7, one of which was 64 bit), with many, many presses and releases on each. Still didn't see the behaviour you reported. I'm really at a loss here. Are you able to borrow and test another foot pedal?

Are you able to share the problem file with us? In Express Scribe, click Help -> "Send Bug Report", describe the problem, tick the box that says "I can provide an example file", then follow the instructions for uploading the file.

What period of time? Could you describe this a bit more, because we're still having trouble reproducing the problem here.

Did you get an error message? Did it get listed in the dictation list? Did the value of the duration column look correct? Check if the file was truncated when you downloaded it. Otherwise, it's probably a missing codec. MediaInfo might be able to tell you which audio codec the file was encoded with.

Unfortunately, the DSS file format is only supported in the Windows version.

We're looking into how to fix this issue. In the meantime, I suggest everyone having this problem report it using the Help -> "Send Bug Report" menu item, to help us prioritise based on demand. Make sure to supply your email address so we can notify you when it's fixed.

It depends what version you're using.

For a list of recommended foot pedals, open Express Scribe and click on Options -> Controller -> "List of compatible controllers". Avoid hand-held recorders that only record in DSS or DSS Pro (a.k.a DS2) - there's no support for these formats on Mac and Linux, and only limited support on Windows. Prefer recording in MP3 or WMA. It depends on your setup. Is it always the same secretary or do multiple secretaries share the load? Do you work remotely or are you always in the same office? Are the computers in your office on the same LAN? etc.

According to the version log, the latest Linux version is v4.31. Have you tried that?

As you've discovered, currently the only way to set the deadline is when creating or editing a dictation using the Express Delegate Web Control Panel. There was some disagreement about how to improve this. Some say that speakers should be able to set deadlines in Express Dictate (or other clients), others say that only Express Delegate managers should be entering deadlines. If you have an opinion on how you think this should be implemented, please post your ideas here or via Express Delegate's Help -> "Send Improvement Suggestion or Feedback" menu item.

What file extension do these files have? Sorry, it's still not clear what you mean by "revert back to Vista". See the release notes for v4.35.

What happens when you try Express Scribe v5.03? What happens when you load the same files without using drag-and-drop? (e.g. Using File -> "Load Dictation Files..."). Does the dictation appear in the dictation list? Does the dictation's duration stay at zero? Do the loading message and / or progress bar appear in the status bar? What problem were you trying to solve when you originally contacted technical support? What do you mean by "roll ES back to Vista"?

Even funnier that Windows Media Player works. Nevertheless, this sounds like a question for Dell.

Did you try running Scribe's controller setup wizard? Help is bundled in the application file as HTML files which should launch your default web browser when viewed. How did you try to launch the help? By using the application menu? The tool-bar button on the main window? A help button on a dialog? A keyboard short-cut?

Is this the first time you've installed Scribe or did you have a working version before? If you had a working version before, is it only the version of Scribe that's changed? When the non-working files load, do they show the correct duration? Is it only when you try to play that this happens? Are you able to seek around the audio by moving the position slider while the audio is stopped? Does the audio play after it starts responding?

We've confirmed that enabling the foot pedal is the cause of the excessive CPU usage. There'll be a fix in the next release of Express Scribe. Thanks for helping us track that down.

Could you give us some more details? What CPU do you have? Does CPU usage jump to 98% as soon as you open Scribe or do you have to do something / wait a while? How are you loading the files? What's the duration of the files? Do you have any Incoming sources configured? Do you have Options -> Incoming -> "Perform special process" enabled? Do you have a foot pedal configured?

In the View menu, is "Show Video" checked? What operating system are you using? What video hardware do you have?

This doesn't sound like an Express Scribe question. Did you post in the wrong forum?

Was Express Scribe still running when you tried the other programs? If you reboot the machine and try one of the other programs without using Scribe first, does it make a difference?

Unfortunately we still haven't been able to reliably reproduce the problem here. Express Scribe v5.03 is in beta testing, but no changes have been made to the pedal code. You could try Express Scribe v4.35 (or earlier), or Pedable v1.01 (http://www.nch.com.a...edal/index.html). Both were released before the last major pedal code change, and could help you confirm that the problem is software, not hardware, related.

Express Scribe v5.03, which should fix the above issue, has just gone into beta testing. If you want to participate in beta testing, you can download the installer from http://www.nchsoftwa...beta/index.html. Be sure to read the important disclaimer at the top of the page first, then scroll down to "Express Scribe v 5.03 for Windows".