Tips and Tools of the Trade

[Green]

Like most of us, my favorite resource when searching for spellings is Google. I can't imagine what my work would be like without it.

Over the years, I have acquired a few tips when searching on Google. For example, if you type words in between two quotation marks in Google's search window, it will only list website links that have those two words in the exact order I have them in between the quotes.

Somebody shared this link with me, and it is very helpful when looking for spellings: Internet Public Library.

Please share some tips and resources that you like. I am always looking to gain new tools of the trade.

[Barbara Graham]

Originally Posted by Green

Somebody shared this link with me, and it is very helpful when looking for spellings: Internet Public Library.

Green, that's awesome!

[Lori786]

Green, Google is awesome but what I use is a more customized version of Google that searches just medical and MT-related websites. The difference from normal Google is that it doesn't search all those millions of non-medical, non-English, non-relevant websites and hence you get to what you are looking for faster.

It's been one of my best finds amongst all my resources. Have a look. Here's the link.

Medical Transcription Word Seeker

A dictionary an MT can't do without is this one,

OneLook Dictionary Search

I like the fact that it allows users to use wildcards. I use this quite often.

Another website I turn to often is this,

Medical Transcription Phrases, Words, And Helpful Hints

It has lots of useful word lists and sample reports to refer to. An extremely useful site!!

[Green]

I am glad you like the link, Barbara Graham.

Lori, those resource links are very informative and cool. I will definitely be using them in the future. This is what I am hoping this thread will do. It is nice to learn new work tools. Thank you very much, Lori, for sharing.

[Green]

Originally Posted by Lori786

OneLook Dictionary Search

I like the fact that it allows users to use wildcards. I use this quite often.

This OneLook site has some very useful tips that I did not know about, like with the asterisk, question marks, and colon inserted between letters when searching for a spelling:

bluebird - Find definitions of bluebird
blue* - Find words and phrases that start with blue
*bird - Find words and phrases that end with bird
bl????rd - Find words that start with bl, end with rd, and have 4 letters in between
bl*: snow - Find words that start with bl and have a meaning related to snow
*: snow or :snow - Find any words related to snow
*: winter sport - Find words related to the concept winter sport
** winter** - Find phrases that contain the word winter
expand:nasa - Find phrases that spell out n.a.s.a.

This is going to make my work life much easier, Lori. Thank you, thank you, thank you again.

[MTHome]

Another good thing about OneLook is you can customize the dictionaries that it searches. For instance, if you're looking for a medical word, you can customize the search to show medical words first. There are 10 types of dictionaries that it searches.

[Green]

Originally Posted by MTHome

Another good thing about OneLook is you can customize the dictionaries that it searches. For instance, if you're looking for a medical word, you can customize the search to show medical words first. There are 10 types of dictionaries that it searches.

That is very nice. Thank you for letting me know that. This is a keeper!

[Transcription Plus]

Did you know that you can configure Express Scribe to add a timestamp to a document? To do so, go to options>system-wide hot keys. Then click 'add.' Set the hot key to something like Ctrl+R and then for the command select 'copy time.' Now, when you're in Microsoft Word, or whatever document editor you use, simply hit Ctrl+R then Ctrl+V to add a timestamp into your document.

Thanks for starting the post, Green. This has generated some very useful resources

[Green]

Originally Posted by Transcription Plus

Did you know that you can configure Express Scribe to add a timestamp to a document? To do so, go to options>system-wide hot keys. Then click 'add.' Set the hot key to something like Ctrl+R and then for the command select 'copy time.' Now, when you're in Microsoft Word, or whatever document editor you use, simply hit Ctrl+R then Ctrl+V to add a timestamp into your document.

Thanks for starting the post, Green. This has generated some very useful resources

I love you, Transcription Plus. Seriously, that is really a great tip for all of us to learn and know.

I can't wait to use that now.

Keep coming with these tips, people. These are really helpful.

[Sadie1Lady1]

You can now also use Express Scribe and adjust your timecode to match the embedded timecode in a video.

Make sure in options/display, the Time Elapsed button is checked. Right click on any file and go to Dictation Information. Fill in the time offset box with the starting embedded timecode.

This is very useful for those of us that required to have the timecode to match the embedded one.

This is only available in version 5.3 or newer. With Express Scribe you can also type in Word while still controlling Express Scribe.

By the way Green, thank you for starting this thread. A lot of great links and info here.

HTH