Complete Transcription Software Solution

Dual Writer puts it all together to solve your transcription problems.

There are a number of different tools you need to transcribe audio and video media files. A word processor is a must have transcribing tool. Many transcription programs give you only a simple text editor to do your writing and editing. So when the transcription is done, you are still not done. You have to save the text file and then open it in a word processor and do your formatting and spell checking, and then some search and replace to clean it up. But what happens if you need to go back to the media file again? Now you have two separate files with different information.

Many transcription programs offer a media player that works outside of your word processor. The problem here is that you must get them working together. The shortcut keys you want to use to control the media player probably conflict with your word processor. So you have to settle for awkward, difficult to remember keys for play and pause, like F2 or F5.

Without the integration offered by Dual Writer, command keys that are easy to use and remember, like Control-P, are not available. It’s almost easier to reach over to the mouse and just click the media player. Except you have two windows open to navigate between. When you click on the other window, your word processor stops working, so you have to click back. It’s easier to just struggle with the keys.

Is a foot pedal really an option?

You could buy a foot pedal. But seriously, foot pedals are proof that for many people, function keys are so bad it’s better to use your feet than your fingers. Foot pedals may be good exercise, but they give you very limited control. As with the function keys, you can only do a couple of things with your foot pedal, like play/pause, fast forward and rewind.

The All-In-One Solution for Transcribers

Dual Writer addresses all of these problems with a complete, full featured word processor with built-in speech recognition and built-in media player. It’s one program. Install Dual Writer and you have it all.

With Dual Writer you are working in a word processor that allows you to do all your editing and formatting while you are transcribing. Spell check as you go. Search and replace. And you can save you transcription document as a “.docx” file so it’s compatible with Microsoft Word.

Transcribing with Dual Writer

Click the Transcribe button in the ribbon bar and the Transcription Panel opens inside Dual Writer. It’s part of the program. It’s right there above your document. You can control it with the mouse or from the keyboard if you like. Set any shortcut keys you want and they will operate the media player while the Transcription Panel is open. You could use Control-P to play and pause the media file. When you close the Transcription Panel, Control-P will print again, just like before. There are no conflicts.

Voice control with Dual Writer is the best the way to go.

Trade in your foot pedal for a USB headset microphone. Dual Writer’s built-in speech recognition lets you dictate your documents, and give voice commands to control the media player. One option is to type your transcript and control the media player with simple, powerful voice commands that give you precise, instant control. No need to fast forward. Say the words, “Go to five” and the media player advances to the five minute mark instantly.

With Dual Writer's voice commands, you simply say the word “go” to play and pause. There is no reaching, no clicking, no stomping. Just say “go”.

To instruct the media player to go back 30 seconds, say “jump 30” and the player instantly jumps back 30 seconds. Say “skip 45” to skip ahead 45 seconds. You don’t have to press the correct function key 4 times to advance that far. Just remember “jump back” and “skip forward,” followed by the number of seconds you want to go.

When you get tired of typing, you can use the shortcut keys or the mouse to control the media player and dictate what you hear into the document. Transcription is the ideal use for speech recognition. Just repeat back what you hear and Dual Writer does the typing for you.

Using voice control for commands and dictation

Dual Writer knows when you are saying a command or saying something to be entered into the document. This means you can use your voice to control the media player and dictate your transcript at the same time. For those of us who hate hard word, it’s the ultimate way to do transcription.

No speech recognition program is perfect. But with just a little practice you’ll quickly get to 95% accuracy. That’s about one wrong word out of 20. Dual Writer is called Dual Writer because you can use the keyboard, mouse and speech commands all together at any time. So simply select wrongly entered words with the mouse and retype them. Or try saying them again.

Dual Writer learns your voice and becomes more accurate the more you use the speech recognition features. Also, you will get better at doing dictation as you gain experience. Learning to speak clearly and precisely for dictation is like learning to type. It just takes practice.

Dual Writer makes it simple to get started, but it’s very powerful, with hundreds of voice commands for navigating your documents, and selecting, editing and formatting text. So it gives you a lot of room to grow as you get better at dictation. The way you choose to use Dual Writer’s features will change over time with practice and experience.