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I'm glad I found out about this expander business. sm

Posted By: typin2 on 2006-05-25
In Reply to: When I was considering this company - diddles

I happened to stumble across an ad for Smartype, and it was about $200 ????


That's quite a bit more than I can afford to spend right now.   I want a good line count, but I've got Windows XP, with I believe MS Word 2002.  I'd buy Smartype if I had the $200 to spare.


I'd be really p'd off if I got with a company and needed to buy more things to work with their program, things I couldn't afford at that time.  That along with their $300 deposit?  More money than I've got to spend at this time. 


 We all know you go into a company believing you will be happy, and there are usually things you find out aftewards.  Whether they can be worked around or not, is a different issue for each individual. 


We are all about line count, that's the bottom line.  I'd also be really p'd about this line count issue in Lotus Notes.    All I want is to produce good work, and be accurately compensated for it. 




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Other related messages found in our database

Another small thought on this expander business. sm
If you want to work for a company, ask them what their platform is, and what Expander works on there.  Then, I'd call or email the tech support team for that company, and ask them.  Not the MT company, the company that makes or supports the platform.  Dig around (Google, companies, various boards)  until you find someone who knows what they're talking about.   I almost made a foolish mistake of buying a spellcheck download for mine, until I found out that the one I wanted wouldn't work with this platform version;  I have to wait for the new updated version where it will work.
Glad to see I'm not the only one with a feisty word-expander! I totally.. (nm)
.
I'm glad you are happy and have found a fit.
A happy MT is a productive MT. Yes, the platform is good. Have a good and productive night!
And it is true...I am so glad I found them! nm
x
Awesome! I am glad to have found this company.
x
Good for you, I'm glad you found someplace sm
you feel treats you well.  If you left the bad place behind, why are you still thinking about it?  Enjoy where you are now.
Do you feel better now? !! Business is business, most of it should be confidential. Why post on a
x
I am so glad, so very glad that finally I have reached
the age that if we are low on work, I just take off. No problem at all and love the extra day or so off. I now have worked since the 70s and finally made to retirement age, get SS plus other retirement money coming in and thank the good Lord do not have to worry about if there is work or not. BTW, when I worked inhouse never ran out of work ever, only when transferring out to company do they run out of work. If I had to raise a family now I would most certainly cross train on other accts at my place but only have 1 that I work on, by choice.
Trying to build his business? He's been in business over 15 years!!!!!! sm
I also had a hard time, nearly impossible actually, getting paid. The owner does this on the side; he is very involved with other things.
If you don't know what is confidential, you have no business being in any business.
This is confidential information and should not be divulged. It is one of the biggest problems a co can have. If you have to ask...well I won't be able to explain it to you
Thanks! I'm glad to hear that, I didn't think anyone used it anymore! I'm glad to hear so
I'll definitely check them out!
Expander
As long as it will work with Windows-based programs then whatever expander you use should work in Merit. I use Shorthand with no problems but have no experience with the one you mentioned.
expander?

I worked for a small local company, and only did proofreading, no transcripton, so I'm embarassed to say I don't even know what an expander is.


Expander
As long as your Expander is Windows-based it will work with the Merit platform.
I only use my expander, AUT.
dfsdsd
expander
I'm not a window person but their window program is easy, easy, easy. I use ShortHand as an Expander because it is not limited except by the size of your hard drive - autocorrect is limited, so rather than have everything going on at once, I disabled autocorrect and stayed strictly with Shorthand and made my own custom dict. This is truly a great company but don't play around with your schedule. If you commit to a certain time, be there. They need to know they can depend on you for TAT. I've never had a problem with them. They are great, but they do have standards like not abusing QA because you don't want to take the time to check it out yourself. Otherwise, go for it.
expander
Can you use an Expander with it?
Anyone out here with JLG, what expander do you use? (sm)

I have one that I use to help me with DQS on my full time job, but find it doesn't work that well for me with JLG and I don't want to take the chance of having it set up for JLG and then screw up my FT job.  I also haven't been able to figure JLG's out (don't laugh!) correctly and I'm looking for something else to supplement it/replace it so I can get my line count up higher (only working there part time).  What Expander works for you???


expander
The one I use is ShortHand 8.60v. Having enough money to eat is my motivator I guess!
What expander do you use?

Do you use shorthand? 


expander
when people talk about extext and they use ShortHand and the built in esp, are they referring to shorthand as their own shortcuts or something different?  I don't want to sound stupid but just wanting to make sure I understand!  Thank you for your help!
expander
The platform I am on uses Instant Text ...
I don't use an expander.
It is just a really, really easy ER account with tons of work.
Expander.

I came from a company that used word perfect and honestly I loved it because I was used to it.  Setting up and using macros was easy for me and came naturally after all that time.  I have tried some free demo Expanders and have a hard time getting used to the automatic additions but I'm getting there.  I have not been impressed with the demos and can't see spending the money on the ones I've tried.  I have since been using the word auto correct and auto text. 


I'm thinking about trying Instant Text from the reviews on here and other forums, but the price tag is a little put offish for me.  I don't mind putting the money into if it gives me the money in return, obviously.  Has anybody tried this and regretted the purchase?  Being Christmas time and having 3 kids and a large extended family to think about the coming month, I don't want to put this kind of money into myself, aah, y'all know what I mean. 


Shortly, is it totally worth it to buy for myself at this time of the year???


can you use IT expander?
Also, does their platform come with its own expander?  Thank you all!
yes, it comes with its own expander.
(and remember, this platform was developed by/with MTs)...and a big plus is that you can bring most Expanders in with this platform. I brought years and years of stuff from MQ and they integrated it into their expander. I'm not 100% on IT, but i believe i've seen where you can use it too.
Expander
Hi, I posted yesterday regarding using PC ShortHand as your Expander for a Meditech account. I neglected to tell you that you will have to purchase that software on your own. KS does not supply that. Good luck!
It is in you and in your expander.
x
expander
Can you at least print a list of your expansions in case you need to manually redo them?
But were you using an expander? NM
x
No using expander?
Please tell me you are just assuming this? I do VR and still use my Expander just fine. If you have troubles with your headings/subheadings, you can make shorts for them so they go where they need, etc. Wrong word? Just use your short for it and delete the incorrect one. One big tip - take your hands off your home row, that is bad in VR. I know, I know, we have been brainwashed to it for straight typing, but its a no, no for VR, you will probably use your Ctrl, Alt, and Shift keys far more.

Gals, its really not all bad. You will lose money at first, but as the VR results improve, your major editing will be less and less and your pay back up where you need it to be.

Oh, and if you are using escription, I had heard a while back there VR was excellent, doesn't take long at all to train it.
Can anyone tell me about Medware's expander?
Hi!  Is there anyone that can tell me about the type of expander Medware includes with its software?  I have seen in the Medware ad that they have this and would like to know some specs.  Is it good or should I get Smartype?  THANKS!!
Medware's expander

I personally use Shorthand rather than theirs. I don't think the built-in one is bad, it is just more limited than I prefer. If I remember correctly the names of the macros are limited to a certain # of characters. I do know a lot of people there use it though, so it can't be all bad. Me, I like Shorthand because of the "hints" window that they use, which shows you if there is an entry that matches the letters you have typed.


Here is a link for Shorthand, if you are interested. They have a free trial period.


Medware expander
No, their expander is not good.  It is very limiting.  You will do much better with your own expander, like Smartype or Shorthand. 
Medrite Expander
How do you activate the Expander in Medrite? Does it show a list of what you have added in case you don't remember your entries, i.e., like the little yellow box that is available in Shorthand?
Why cant we use expander with one less space?
We havent gone to one space yet but I got the email this morning that they are working on the accounts and will notify us when our accounts are changed over.  Why cant you use the Expander with one space?  I dont know what I will do without my expander.  When you switched over, did you take a big cut in pay with the one less space?
If you aren't using an expander just think how
many more lines you could produce with an Expander and then that would be like gettin a raise.
I have been using my expander for years

as well, so of course most of the things I don't need to be reminded.  But sometimes it does help, like if I have made a normal for a certain doctor or whatever, because some doctors have SEVERAL different normals so if I have something pop up that helps me to remember which is which, then that helps.  With the Bayscribe Expander you have to actually go into it (unless you use the Quick Bar) to see what is under a particular abbreviation. 


Yes, work that expander (sm)
I know that when I was at a hospital there was a limit to how much you could put in  your text Expanders because there was only so much memory for them.  Now that I'm at a service and there's no limit, I consistently do 300+ lph. 

I am lucky in that my main account has maybe 15 regular dictators I can get used to and I have a lot of entire reports saved (common stuff like colonoscopies or cholecystectomies, and I just make changes as they say them).  I do have to be flexible, though, 'cuz if my main account's caught up I get my backup account(s).  My line count goes down when that happens, but not by all that much.

When I was at the hospital, sometimes people would ask me for help and I'd watch them type a sentence or two and I'd be like they didn't put 'chest x-ray' or 'physical examination' in an expander?  I think there's a book or an article somewhere that can help you make most of expanders (sorry, don't remember where; search the archives here and you can probably find it).
Cymed expander

I was just wondering what kind of Expander Cymed uses?


Thanks


Best expander for BeyondTXT
 I know this comes with ShortCuts which seems okay but has anyone found another you think is a better fit? TIA.
Oh my. You actually use that term enough to need an expander?
nm
Jo, what type of expander are you using? nm
nm
Use the ESP expander built in - you put all your own in.
nm
Extext has its own expander, you don't need
NM
ESP expander for ExText
ESP is just about the same as PC Shorthand. If you do not have an Expander already in use with all the info you need on it, do not go to the expense of buying a different one. ESP is a good one to use.
Do you mean the Shorthand expander?
nm
word expander
Is there a word Expander that can be used with IDXrad?
Is it possible to use a DocQscribe expander on

a different platform like Meditech?  Or would I have to download something like shorthand? 


');>


Thanks!


What type of expander....sm

can I use with Bayscribe.  I only have experience with the ESP Expander on ExText.  Am I going to have to start from scratch and create my own expanders or does Bayscribe have something similar?  Are the ESP files downloadable into Bayscribe?  Thanks for all your responses.  This is a very tough decision for me.


Baycribe expander

I use my old Shorthand expansion program rather than the Bayscribe one.  When I start each day, I have to do CTRL-ALT-T, which turns off the Bayscribe expansion program.  Then my ShortHand works perfectly.  It doesn't turn off the Bayscribe Spellchecker or anything else, just the expansion program.


Works for me!