Expanders

copying or transferring Extext expanders [2008-11-26]
I'm moving to a different MTSO and would like to copy all (probably 20,000) of the Expanders/abbreviations I've created over the years. Hopefully, I can copy these on to a disk and transfer them to the my new MTSO, which utilizes Bayscribe. It wouldn't bemuchfun having to re-create these. Help, anyone?

Expanders [2008-11-09]
Try productivitytalk.com

Word Expanders [2008-11-08]
I am looking for a word Expander to purchase and I was wondering if any of you have Instant Text Pro and how exactly does it work. Are there entries already in there? Also, what is the difference between Instant Text Pro and Shorthand. Thanks so much. Do you think Instant Text Pro is worth the money? Carla

Any new text expanders out there? [2008-11-05]
I like Instant Text and the fact that it compiles multiple reports for you and creates shortcuts for you and almost any method works with it, ABCZ, AAA, ABAB, or just wildcard it. IT also gives you many suggestions at the bottom of the screen in the advisories. I also like the smartline under the cursor in Smartype, but there is no wildcarding in ST. I also like the feature in some of the autocompletion software that learns as we type and remembers words and phrases that are typed often. When will we get a text Expander program that gives us all of these in one program? We deserve it and it has to be around $50.

I have some expanders for [2008-11-05]
some common numbers, sxy for 60, tymg for 20 mg, etc., so just was wondering if there was a system that has been tried and proved. I know I was looking for a needle in a haystack , so guess I just need to start training myself on my number keys a bit better instead of the going over to the key pad :-)

Does anyone have good text expanders for vital signs data? [2008-11-05]
Do you any of you use text Expanders for the numerical portion of vital signs for example, 130/80 ? I have lots of Expanders but none for the actual numerical data. It really slows me down either having to look at my number row or switch to the keypad. I do have some, but nothing consistent. Anything ideas would be great, thanks!!

Expanders [2008-10-31]
Hi, I use Instant Text and absolutely love it! However, I did check out the websites you listed here. The first one, vsisystems, I would not go with for sure, as there are typos and incorrect grammar on their website. I mean, that is not good advertisement at all - - lol! The second one in the list, soft411, doesn't sound as if it is for Word, it sounds as if it has more to do with getting around on the Internet, but I may be wrong. The third one in the list, thinkabdul, is a little confusing to me; so, I don't know about that one. Just my thoughts on the matter. Instant Text does take a little bit of time to get used to, but once you do, it is wonderful.

Bayscribe/expanders [2008-10-27]
I use ShortHand with Bayscribe and it works fine. The only drawback I have is my wireless keyboard messes up Shorthand sometimes but not always. I tried re-installing my keyboard and Shorthand but nothing seems to work, it still messes up occasionally.

How are they using their expanders [2008-10-24]
I use my Expander and still cannot get a line count at 7 cpl. Specifically tell us what they are putting in those Expanders please

Bayscribe and expanders [2008-10-22]
Need someadvice. I have just started using Bayscribe and have been using Shorthand. Does Instant Text work with Bayscribe like SH does, and it is worth the investment? I am coming from an editing position, so straight typing is taking me awhile and I am looking for a way to help my speed. Also, would you recommend ABCZwithInstant Text. Thanks!

ABCZ expanders for Smartype? [2008-10-21]
I need the Smartype version of an ABCZ exapander shortcut list. Anyone know where I can find a list like this that is already in the Smartype format? Thanks

Expanders [2008-10-20]
I've been using Smartype since 1996 when I was still using WP 5.1. I would fell like the fingers of my right hand were gone if I didn't have it to work with. Love it!

yes of course I use tons of expanders. At the most 25% normals though. [2008-10-20]
x

Expanders and normals...not mormals [2008-10-19]
just felt the need to correct your mistakes since you are picking apart others.

work for hospital account - use lots of expanders - nm [2008-10-17]
x

we were told that the only expanders [2008-10-16]
that work in the web-based ChartScript platform was Instant Text and ShortCut. I use ShortCut and it works just fine.

Expanders for Dummies [2008-10-10]
Over the last several days I have been reading about Expanders on this board. A few names mentioned have been Mary Morten, Barb Grow etc. I do have IT but am still learning to use it. Many advised to Google ABCZ. I am sure this is all good advice (always is), but I always wonder what in the world are people talking about.I am not new to transcription but I am new to production. My mother is seriously ill and I chose to work at home to avoid placing her in a nursing home. My pay is still VERY LOW and I look at these boards for help. I must admit, though, that most times the posts (not medically) are way over my head. Can someone steer me in the right directon? Thank you and may God hold you in the Palm of His Hand!!(green for Irish)

Those aren't expanders, but tips on how to use [2008-10-10]
your Expander to help increase production and/or lists of expansions they have made. If you are new to the business/boards you'll see stuff that makes no sense. If you've been around a while and have seen one board evolve into a another than things will make more sense. If you don't understand something ask. When they first started doing appreviations in posts I would see tia at the end of a post and I thought they were saying that had a brain fart, but what it meant was thanks in advance. There are lots of people who still don't know what sm means and some wrongly think it means small message, so there are lots of people who don't know exactly what is being talked about.

Never used expanders [2008-10-02]
I actually did start when we were on typewriters and no Expanders. I don't use one now, but would like to are they hard to learn??? Is there one you all would recommend???

Expanders and proofreading sm [2008-09-29]
This isa response to Expanders and is a little late but as a proofreader in a hospital once, I saw some horrible errors come past my desk, i.e., The patient is restricted from driving her carcinoma for a week. Expanders are wonderful but proofread, proofread, don't be greedy! I'm sure most of you do proofread but some newbies may think they don't have to take the time.

expanders and such [2008-09-28]
Thank you VERY much. What Expander programs do you recommend? Also, I wanted to ask you something else. I had started my MT training several years ago, ended up stopping halfway through to work for a company that does medical conferences. It's a lot different, easier, I think. You get paid by the word, not the line. So my question is, in your opinion, do you think the traditional kind of MT work would be better? In other words, is the field a good one to get into? I see a lot of mixed thinking on that in here, so I would like to get your opinion. Thank you, again, in advance.

Expanders [2008-09-27]
An Expander (or macro)program allows you to save keystrokes. There are many different Expanders out there; in the jobs I've worked they've been built into the platform. You can also purchase ones like Instant Text and many others. You create your own expansions in a way that makes sense to you. I think of it as typing in shorthand. So instead of typing the patient tolerated the procedure well over and over, I just type tpttpw and it spits the whole phrase out. It is the absolute best way to increase your speed. A great book I could recommend is When the Name of the Game is Saving Keystrokes by Diana Rolland.

expanders [2008-09-27]
Thank you very much. I will check into this. anything to make my life easier, right!

Word Expanders [2008-09-22]
Can anyone give me information on word Expander programs and which one would be the best to use. Does it really make a difference in transcription productivity?

Talking about expanders? [2008-09-11]
If so, I use Shortcut for Windows. Easy, simple to use, unlimited. I've heard InstanText is good too.

copying or transferring Extext expanders [2008-11-26]
I'm moving to a different MTSO and would like to copy all (probably 20,000) of the Expanders/abbreviations I've created over the years. Hopefully, I can copy these on to a disk and transfer them to the my new MTSO, which utilizes Bayscribe. It wouldn't bemuchfun having to re-create these. Help, anyone?

Anyone have this trouble? [2008-11-12]
I use lots of Expanders and create more all the time. It's great when I do the same account or two regularly, but during spells of getting more accounts (when my main ones are low) I find I waste time fumbling to see if I have an Expander for things. I have had to deviate from a normal expansion pattern (in a variety of ways), and as long as I am typing the same several dictators, I get used to the way they speak and my expansions and all the deviations just come automatically. However,when I get tons of other docs saying things in so many different ways, the deviations don't come to me and I fumble. I think I could go faster with more straight type. I know people say to have expansions for everything, but do any of you have a good way to determine when it's better to just type it out? - I don't think anyone could use 100% expansion (or even 90%), but does anyone have any advice or general thougths on this? Thanks so much!

legal tx is very different from medical (sm) [2008-11-10]
I've never actually done legal transcription, but I have done legal editing, so I know for a fact it's an entirely different world....Legal transcripts MUST be verbatim - no exceptions; one transcript can be hundreds of pages long; there are multiple speakers who may or may not be clearly identified and who frequently aren't easy to hear if they're too far away from a microphone or shuffling through papers while they're speaking; and because every hearing is different and must be verbatim, tools such as Expanders or macros are virtually useless. It's very interesting work, but very, very difficult.

I will make just over $40K this year sm [2008-11-07]
Actual, I am typing, hands on the keyboard time is about 8 to 9 hours a day. I work as an employee at 8.5 cpl and as an IC for 10 cpl and I do some QA for $16 an hour. The QA is a courtesy to my IC company and really cuts into my typing time there where I can do $30 an hour or better. QA is only about 5 hours a week, except when I am training an MT, and I am training 2 right now. It was 8 hours so far this week. You ask about normals and Expanders. I use an Expander with a lot of shortcuts, as in many thousands. Normals, I have some. The system at my employee job has some in it, I have made a few (less than 50). The IC job I have made a few too (less than 25). Most of my normals are shells of headers and the few things they always say. All I do it is acute care, primarily OP notes and yes, I don't have that many normals. When your pool has about 2000 doctors in it, normals are a challenge to find and make. I have oh, reasonable work habits. I take frequent short breaks because I have to. I do work a split shift, which really helps me make it through the day, and the IC is catch as catch can, and about 6000 lines every 2 weeks. I usually spend about 2 or 3 partial hours a day typing at top speed, like an athlete. The rest of the time I do the best I can. I have stellar days and days when I feel I like I need to eat every hour! And I do it too. Yup, I do the laundry and the dishes while I am working. I always have the TV or a DVD in, but music on Saturday mornings.

lying on the web [2008-11-07]
I talked to a recruiter once who told me she could do 700 lines an hour (no, that's not a typo) of straight typing (Expanders only, no templates). That's right, girls. 700 lph. Talk about feeling small! 700 lines an hour???? My best is 400 template-able text. I posted about it at the time & everyone seemed to agree this was not do-able. So I don't know. Anyway, when I heard that I was ready to throw in the towel.

I second that! [2008-11-05]
I keep trying to come up with good Expanders for number items (including labs and medication dosages, etc.) I have some, but I think because there are so many ways numbers are used, I can't seem to come up with anything consistent and waste time fumbling around checking to see if I have them when I am typing. As the poster said ... if anyone has come up with a good system, we will could use the help (and we will owe you big time!) :)

Does anyone have good text expanders for vital signs data? [2008-11-05]
Do you any of you use text Expanders for the numerical portion of vital signs for example, 130/80 ? I have lots of Expanders but none for the actual numerical data. It really slows me down either having to look at my number row or switch to the keypad. I do have some, but nothing consistent. Anything ideas would be great, thanks!!

Don't see that you are saving any time, [2008-11-05]
in fact you are typing more characters for 60 by using sxy and the same for tymg. That is the point of Expanders, to save typing time. Using the keypad costs big time in production. Taking your hands off the keyboard is not a way to improve productivity.

Yes and no [2008-11-05]
At the time that I purchased mine, I was fearing that I would not be able to continue transcribing at all. I had caused my own arm injury by attempting to move into a recliner (not reclined, but just sitting back in the chair) while still sitting at my desk in order to try to relieve my back pain, which it did, but did not realize until too late that by reaching slightly more upward and all the mousing in that position I was causing an arm injury. So, I will never be as fast as I once was (not the fastest typist out there at 75 error-free wpm) I have achieved (timing on the free typing tests on-line) 60 wpm, but I now use a combination of Expanders, voice recognition (Windows Vista), and straight typing, as well as having the mouse literally right there, and I feel that, with these modifications in place, typing speed is not as important anymore and I am able to complete the same amount of work in a given timeframe as I once was with straight typing/limited expansions.

No I hadn't heard of them...sm [2008-11-02]
The only thing I am familiar with is the Expanders such as Smartype which has a word completion aspect to it. I am not familiar with those you mentioned. Something to look into I guess.

Soothsayer, AutoType, etc [2008-10-31]
Has anyone used any of the word/phrase autocompletion software that learns what you type when you type a word or phrase a certain number of times? Then it will pop up in a suggestion box beside your cursor and then expand for you. This is NOT Instant Text, Smartype, or Shorthand. I am not talking about the MT Expanders. I am talking about like these: http://www.vsisystems.com/autotype.htm http://www.soft411.com/software/autocomplete.html http://thinkabdul.com/2007/11/22/turbo-type-on-screen-auto-complete-word-suggestion-software-for-any-text-input-editor-on-windows/ Has anyone tried anything like this for MT work. I need something better than IT, Smartype, or Shorthand. They really aren't working for me. Thanks

I suspect employers are being forced to care. SM [2008-10-27]
Since it's a new platform, it's a new problem that probably a lot of companies are just waking up to. My sympathies for people who find themselves effectively forced to use it as it apparently is now. With serious compatibility issues with common brands of the Expanders that have become vital to so many of us, at this point I would not apply to a company using it, and I suspect few other good experienced transcriptionists reading about it would either. This seems such a grave flaw that it will have to be repaired, or this platform will end up a dead end used by only a few institutions. How about contacting the company that developed the platform directly for answers and fixes? Also the developer of your own expander, who must be well aware of the issues Chartscript raises for them. The ShortHand tech guy (not my own MTSO techs!) fixed me up promptly when I was put on eScription and developed glitches. Best wishes with this.

You know I wondered how they knew...sm [2008-10-27]
My boss (the owner of Allstate) just said how many of you are cutting and pasting from word? And most everyone said they were. She said the client is having problems and I didn't even understand what she was talking about like what kind of problems. But they traced it back to cutting and pasting from word. The client asked if the MTs were doing that and she told them yes because our Expanders and spellcheckers won't work and they said DO NOT do that anymore. So I said you know I can't do this. It was just a pain. Wasn't worth it. So I don't know how they knew but they did.

Amy, top producers at my company SM [2008-10-24]
earn $60K and UP. They're experienced, fast, use Expanders extensively (of course!), and work a full shift every day. $50K is doable for many, and even slowish but experienced MTs should be bringing in $40K working a full shift every day. Lines rates at this MTSO are pretty standard, with a good incentive scale but not extraordinary. My recommendation for you at this point, now that you've invested so much in becoming experienced, is to shift focus from increasing cpl to increasing lines per minute. Getting faster (without sacrificing quality). That's where your big jump in income is going to come from. Add another cent per line to THAT figure, and you'll have no problem staying positive.

How are they using their expanders [2008-10-24]
I use my Expander and still cannot get a line count at 7 cpl. Specifically tell us what they are putting in those Expanders please

I just would like sm [2008-10-24]
I just would like to be fairly compensated for all the medical knowledge I've amassed in 33 years of being an MT, not just the physicality of typing more.But that is too much to ask. I just can't physically exhaust myself anymore.Expanders or not, you still have to beat the keyboard. If that's what others want to do, so be it. I just work at my own pace and make what I make. I'm not killing myself anymore because then the MTSOs will want more and more and more production and want us to keep pushing, pushing and pushing. Its a never ending cycle.

My goal is $150/day, only type [2008-10-24]
I am a slow typer so I need all of the info that I can get about Expanders/short cuts. I am only getting 7cpl and can type about 135 lph (slow I know). Anyway, I need to be making $150 a day at least. What do I need to do specifically to accomplish this in a 6 to 8 hour day? I have Instant Text.... Thanks

Expander [2008-10-22]
Expanders are great and didn't know that about Instant Text being compatible. Aside from making more money using the expander, they save your hands and your wrists from CTS or the like.

typing [2008-10-19]
I would call putting in Expanders and normals manual work. Actually, also typing is a manual job.

And Inhouse [2008-10-19]
Inhouse you will type for 2 hours, then get a 15 minute break, then type for 2 hours, get a 30 minute lunch and then type for 2 hours then another 15 minute break, then type for 2 hours and go home. According to my friend who works inhouse they rarely get their 15 minute breaks more than once a day, so even working inhouse they only usually get about 45 minutes and they only make $16 an hour. Being at home on production you can decide how much to make if you use your Expanders and actually type instead of surfing the net, etc.

Amanda [2008-10-19]
I appreciate your challenge!!!!! I think you were very kind to post this and I personally am taking it to heart. You did nothing in malice at all. You just posted a challenge and a suggestion. I am not a new MT. I have been transcribing for 20 years. The first 5 years in acute care, then 14 years of psychiatric/psychology, and now another year of acute care. The change from psych back to acute care you can imagine has been challenging. I am doing whatever I can to get my production up. I had never used Expanders other than my autocorrect. I am now doing this and it has helped tremendously, and in that frame of mind, I accept your excellent challenge as you so kindly suggested. I find myself being distracted a lot, and I am sure when I take this challenge I will see this. I love being an at-home transcriptionist. This profession has been wonderful to me and my family. I raised two children being an at-home Transcriptionist and never took time away from them in doing so. I would get up and work an hour before I had to get them up and ready for school, get them up and off, and then work while they were in school, throwing in a load of laundry here and there on my breaks, etc. When they got home from school I was done and spent time with them. In the summer, I changed shifts and worked nights while they slept. You tell me what other profession gives you that type of flexibility. None! Yes, things have changed for us as MTs, but as a working mother and wife, I find that it is still the best. This being said, I also just plain love it. I find it challenging,mind-stimulating, and I am always challenging myself to do better, which to me makes it a FUN profession as well. Again, Amanda thank youfor your post. I am one MT who is going to take this challenge to see where I can IMPROVE myself. We will never arrive to our potential if we do not challenge ourselves. The challenge is on!!! THANKS!

Yes - insult us all! Go for it! [2008-10-19]
Although your posts are getting more amusing (and more full of typos) all the time, I'm still rather shocked at your opinion of MTs! Keeping it realistic? How's this for realistic - its is obvious that you are both sick with jealousy at anyonewith a decent line countAND ashamed of the work you do! You have referred to it as slave labor, manual labor, working like a horse, and rant on and on about how its going down the drain, blame the doctors, blame technology, blame anyone with a stupid idea, blame everything and everybody. Take a look in the mirror the next time you blame! Good grief, woman, if you hate this work so much go do something else for a living! Those of us who enjoy our work and find it profitable really wonder what you think you're accomplishing with all this negativity! You sneer about Expanders,you are outraged at the thought of sitting still and working a whole55 minutes - well that actuallyworks for MANY of us!I take pride in my work and my swelled head matches my swelled paycheck! All the insults in the world from the likes of you can't take it away one bit of my pride, my work ethic, or my whopping line count! So go ahead and stay down to earth....yourattitude isn't dragging down anybody but YOU!

psych Trans [2008-10-18]
I did psychiatric years ago at a psych hospital before there were line counts and we were paid by the line. However I do remember that even the ESLs were somewhat repetitive. I don't know a lot about Expanders as I didn't learn with them, but from what I understand, they may be instrumental in helping you all making this line count. I would think that you should get the same line count as the rest of the company and it is unfair for them to make you get 500 more. Psych is sometimes considered easier in terminology, but on the other hand I found the reports to be very much longer. An op could be done much quicker. They should treat you all the same. I don't do radiology so I don't know why they have so much more, but this whole thing seems a little unfair to me.

demon typist [2008-10-18]
Who needs to be a 'demon' typist in this profession? It is all about Expanders and normals!

Production [2008-10-18]
500 lines an hour are 12.5 pages! A page has usually 40 lines. There are people who cannot even read so fast. I bet all is Expanders and mormals.