Starting out with Instant Text Pro V
Here are my recommendations for starting out with Instant Text. First of all, make good use of the manual -- it's really very helpful. I suggest you start with a run through the first couple of chapters. It doesn't take long, really. Then you can dip into the manual for info as and when you need it. Don't forget the on screen Help files either; they are pretty useful too. Many people like to start of with just two or three advisory lines showing and increase them when they are more used to the program. The trade off with fewer lines is, of course, fewer possible expansions. I found I looked mostly at my phrase advisory, and I kind of saw the word side in my peripheral vision. When you become used to what is in your glossary then you really start to speed up, and you’ll probably find you only glance down at it to select the expansion you want. Some people find it useful to only have words or phrases showing, until they became used to it; you can find this under Options|Elements. You do make the greatest keystroke savings with phrases though, so don't put off using them for too long. :) Starting off by using Instant Text only for some of the time is another good way to ease your way into it and is recommended by Patty, amongst others. Perhaps try about 10 minutes per hour to start with, gradually increasing your time with Instant Text until, like me, you can’t imagine transcribing without it. ; -) If you have your own list (PRD, AutoCorrect, QuickCorrect, or something similar), I highly recommend you import this. Having a list which you already know well makes for a nice start. If you don't have your own list of abbreviations to import, I suggest starting off with a couple of the built-in medical glossaries. Perhaps you could "include" or merge the MedWords4 with the MedPhrase5. Don't put off using the "includes" feature because you think it's difficult -- it isn't, and it's an extremely easy way to manage your glossaries and tweak them to your liking. I also suggest creating a folder for your own compilations -- whether you make them by merging built-in glossaries or compiling them from previous work (a wonderful timesaver, by the way), as you can quickly find it difficult to find and manage the build up of glossaries if they are all lumped in together. I have one called "my compilations" as a subfolder of the Exchange folder. Above all, don't be afraid to play with the settings. I've made many changes to my preferences over time, and it was the work of just seconds to change back if it wasn't what I wanted. MarieR
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