HELP

The FTW Transcriber plays a huge range of file types, including, in alphabetical order:

3gpp, aac, ac3, ape, asf, dat, dss, ds2, dts, flac, flv, hdmov, it, m2ts, mkv, mkv, mo3, mod, mov, mp3, mp4, mpeg, mpg, mtm, nuv, ogg, ogm, ps, s3m, ts, tta, umx, vi, vob, vorbis, wav, wma, wmv, wv, xm

If you have difficulty playing a particular file type, update your Windows Media Player, and also install the latest version of the FTW Transcriber, ENSURING during installation that you install ALL three codecs for which you see prompts, i.e. XP Codec, Sony wav, and Olympus dss.

If you cannot play dss or ds2 files, please install this codec:

http://www.theftwtranscriber.com/OlympusCodec.msi

If you still have difficulty after that, please contact us.

Note that when the FTW Transcriber plays wma, dss or ds2 files, it first converts them to wav.

For most file types, yes. 

Ensure the volume slider on the FTW Transcriber’s interface is fully to the right. Then install this additional codec: http://www.theftwtranscriber.com/K-Lite_Codec_Pack_1175_Mega.exe

It should work in XP and later. For earlier operating systems, it may work if you first install Microsoft .NET Framework Version 2.0, available here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=0856eacb-4362-4b0d-8edd-aab15c5e04f5&displaylang=en

Yes, if you install a Windows environment using software such as WMWare Fusion.  Click here for information.

To solve problems transcribing from a DVD, please visit this page: http://www.theftwtranscriber.com/transcribe-dvds/

The keyboard shortcuts and automatic timestamps will insert into most applications. If you’re using Microsoft Word, Word does not need to be the active window for this to happen. Any other application does need to be the active window – that means it has to be in front of all other applications on your screen, and the cursor has to be flashing within it.  Note that you should only have one word processor open at a time.  If you have open Word and Google Docs, for example, even if you’re typing into Google Docs the FTW Transcriber will insert timestamps into Word.

This issue occurs when you do not have full permissions on your computer, normally because your administrator has restricted them for security reasons. Three possible remedies are given below in the order of the simplest first – please try them in turn.

1 – when opening the program, go to the FTW Transcriber icon on your Desktop, right-click and then click Run As Administrator, then the program will open and you can proceed as normal.

2 – reinstall the FTW Transcriber but this time, during the installation process when you are asked where you want to install it, type C:/FTWT, then click Next.

3 – if you have an administrator, ask them to set up write permissions to the folder where ftwt.cfg is located on your computer.

This message is actually being displayed not by the FTW Transcriber but Windows, normally because one of your hotkeys is conflicting with another program on your computer. Close as many other programs as possible on your computer, and make sure you only have one instance of the FTW Transcriber open.  Also change the hotkey that causes that error message to another key on your computer, ideally not an “F” key.  We suggest the “Scroll Lock” key, or the “Print Screen” key.  The more obscure the key you choose, the less likely it is to interfere with the other software you are using.  To change a hotkey function to another key, click Settings, then Change Hotkeys, and follow instructions

By default, the hotkey functions are associated with the “F” keys by default, and on some computers the hotkey functions may not work if the “F” keys are disabled or are also being used by another program. In such situations, the best recourse is to go to Settings and remap the hotkey functions to other keys. You should be able to change them to virtually any other key on your keyboard, though of course it makes sense to choose keys that you ordinarily do not need, such as the keys on your numeric keypad.

Before you remap to keys on the numeric keypad, you should ensure that “Num Lock” is off, otherwise every time you press a numeric keypad key, a number will be inserted into your transcript. To test whether Num Lock is off, open a word processor and press some of the numeric keypad keys. If numbers appear in the word processor, Num Lock is still on. Press it again to turn it off.

On some computers, particularly Hewlett-Packard laptops, the “F” keys will only work with the FTW Transcriber if you press the “Fn” key and the “F” key at the same time.  This is obviously not realistic for transcribers, but workarounds are explained at these help pages:

http://windowssecrets.com/forums/showthread.php/134495-Cant-use-my-F-keys-without-pressing-fn

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&docname=c02035108

There are a few steps you may need to go through to fix this. If you can get the manual timestamps to work, the automatic ones should too, so we will focus here on the manual timestamps.

Note that if you have both Microsoft Word and another word processor open on your computer, the FTW Transcriber will add the timestamps to Word, even if you’re looking at and using the other word processor.

First, try restarting your computer.  If that doesn’t fix the issue, download the latest version of the software from here: https://www.theftwtranscriber.com/setup.exe

Even if you think you have the latest version of the software, you should still follow that step.  New versions of the software are often added to the site without being given a new version number, so the only way to be sure you have the latest version is to download it from the site.

If that still does not fix the issue, please follow these instructions EXACTLY. Close down as many programs as possible on your computer, INCLUDING Microsoft Word. Open a basic text editor like Notepad, then open the FTW Transcriber, click Settings, then under “Play Mode”, check the “Play until…” option. Then open a file and set it playing. Then go to Notepad and press the timestamp key, which is F9, unless you have changed it. Does a timestamp appear? If yes, try the same test with your normal word processor. If the timestamp does not appear there, it may be that that software doesn’t permit the timestamps to be added (Microsoft Word Starter Edition sometimes does not). In that case, consider changing to a different word processor. There are plenty of free options, including Google Docs (https://docs.google.com/‎), Open Office (https://www.openoffice.org/), and others.

If manual timestamps work for you but automatic timestamps do not, note that automatic timestamps only work if you have upgraded to the paid version of the FTW Transcriber.

Click Settings, then Conversion Menu, then check the box marked “convert wmv to mpg”, then OK, then OK. If you do not see “Conversion Menu” on Settings, please download the latest version of the FTW Transcriber from:
http://www.theftwtranscriber.com/setup.exe

Open Internet Explorer and go to http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/, then download and install Flash Player. Note that you need to use Internet Explorer, not any other browser.

Reset the hotkeys to keys you never use, such as those on the numeric keypad on the right of your keyboard. To reset the hotkeys, simply open the FTW Transcriber and click Settings, then follow instructions.

This is probably because the hotkeys are conflicting with another application on your computer, i.e. the same key does something in more than one application at a time. Even the FTW Transcriber’s default hotkeys can sometimes conflict with your word processor; for example, the F12 key is used for the PX command in the FTW Transcriber (i.e. for playing a section of audio) but is also a keyboard shortcut in Microsoft Word for “Save As”, so if you press F12 while you have both the FTW Transcriber and Word open, it will probably play audio AND open the Save As dialog, which is clearly unworkable.

In Word the following keys may conflict: F1, F5, F6, F10, F12
In Google Docs/Drive the following keys may conflict: F3, F5, F6, F12
In Notepad the following keys may conflict: F3, F5

The first thing to do is close all unnecessary applications. If the problem remains, the simplest solution is to open the FTW Transcriber, go to Settings and remap the problematic function key to a different key on your keyboard, such as those on the numeric keypad on the right of your keyboard.

For Microsoft Word users, a more advanced solution is to disable the problematic key in Word. A third-party explanation is available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcGMOfkoDfs
Which pedals work with the FTW Transcriber?

The Infinity USB pedal (i.e. the same pedal which works with Express Scribe) and the Olympus RS-27 and RS-28 pedals. To use a pedal, simply plug it in and restart the FTW Transcriber.  You may also need to try more than one USB port. Only plug in one pedal at a time, or your pedal may not work.  If you would like the FTW Transcriber to work with a pedal other than those above, please contact us. To purchase a pedal that is compatible with the FTW Transcriber, please visit:
http://www.theftwtranscriber.com/buy_pedal.html

Some file types, for example video formats, cannot be sped up or slowed down. If you need to change the speed of a video file, you will need to convert it to another format first, such as mp3.

Please see this help page: http://www.theftwtranscriber.com/vob-files/

With the FTW Transcriber you can play unencrypted files hosted on remote servers without having to download them first. To do this, open the FTW Transcriber, then click Open, then Open File From Remote, then type or paste a remote link into the box. The link syntax must be exactly correct for playback to succeed.

Note that not all servers will support remote file playback. We are unfortunately unable to assist with technical difficulties in this regard as they are dependent on too many factors beyond our control.

To test remote file playback, paste this URL directly into the Remote File window:
http://www.theftwtranscriber.com/remote_file_test_playback.wav

Remote file playback will only work properly if your bandwidth is fast enough.

One license per computer is now required, in order to prevent previous levels of abuse. The license fee is maintained at a lower level to take this into account.

The FTW Transcriber’s Opportunity Window unobtrusively displays notifications of opportunities that that relate directly to transcription. These opportunities may be sales-related or commercial in nature; however, it is our policy to display only notifications that we think may be novel to you, for example we will not display notifications of transcription pedals since that is a concept that is already widely known.

Notifications update every few weeks.

The notifications are designed not to interfere with your transcription work. They change subtly every few minutes and rotate in random order.

How do I place an ad in the opportunity window?
There are is currently no charge for ads in the opportunity window, but we are very selective about which ads we accept. Please visit
http://www.theftwtranscriber.com/advertise.html for more information.

If you have a technical problem with the FTW Transcriber, please contact us. Note though that we can only respond with issues that are directly related to the FTW Transcriber.