Announcing Quikscribe Version 7 for Windows 7 !
Version 7 of QS Recorder, QS Player and QS Manager now fully support the Windows 7 operating system. You won’t notice many obvious changes to how the programs are used, but there are significant enhancements to ensure compatibility with the new Windows 7 64-bit platform.
The new features include:
Online Manual (QSR, QSP)
The old Help manual has been replaced by an Online Manual (found under the Help menu) in QS Player and QS Recorder. Documentation for all features is now contained in that repository for your reference.
File Cleanup in Recorder Manager/Player Manager (QSR, QSP)
QS Recorder and QS Player have features for “automated housekeeping” of files that have been Sent from QSR, and files that have been Completed in QSP. There is a setting in QSR and QSP to control how long backup files should remain in the Sent folder for QSR, or Completed folder in QSP. Previously, the “cleanup” routine ran when the QS program was started. To improve performance, the cleanup routine has been moved to a background process. For QS Recorder, this process will also include files downloaded from portable recorders.
Reset Hand Control Mapping Button in Settings (QSR)
There is a new feature in QS Recorder Settings to reset the functions on the hand control microphone. This feature is a handy tool to use in case any of the buttons on the hand control stop working. Often resetting the Hand Control Mapping will resolve the issue if it’s software-related and not a mechanical issue.
New Phone Dictation Features
There may be times when you need a convenient way to record dictation, and using a desktop recorder or portable recorder isn’t feasible. It could be that an individual user doesn’t have a comfortable stance with computer technology tools, or maybe there are times when you need a universal method to deliver the dictation. Our new phone dictation features provide a simple way to use a standard telephone device to record and send dictation through the Quikscribe workflow. We offer solutions for one to 32 incoming phone lines, so you can have a backup or alternative method to capture and deliver digital dictation. Please contact us for more information.
Erase Log(QSR, QSP)
Under the Help menu there is a new entry under the Log menu item. The Log provides ongoing tracking of activities while using the QS software, and is very useful when troubleshooting a QS technical issue. If the log file becomes large, it can be reset using the Erase Log function.
Quikscribe Downloader (QSR)
Previously the download program was titled “QS DPM Downloader”, and provided customized support for the Philips Digital Pocket Memo (DPM) series. The new Quikscribe Downloader program still supports the Philips DPM, but has enhanced capabilities to support a wide variety of portable recorders. In most cases for other (non-Philips) recorders, use the setting for “Fixed Disk Integration”. The Quikscribe Downloader manages the connection of the portable recorder device with the PC, and then the transfer of files to transcription using the workflow settings defined for the user in QS Recorder.
Added Support for Loading Wave and MP3 formats for Quikscribe Downloader
The new Quikscribe Downloader program now supports importing wav and mp3 file formats from portable recorders.
Added Icon balloon for failed File Send (QSR)
The Send File activity in QS Recorder uses a background process called SequentialFileSender, which has an icon in the System Tray of the Windows Task Bar, and looks like three networked computers. The icon changes color depending on the status of the Send File process. If the color is black, then there is no file transfer activity. If green, then a file transfer is occurring. If red, then there is a problem with the file transfer, which could be related to a bad network connection or something else. The new feature also provides a pop-up balloon window that states if there is a problem with the file send process. The balloon will alert the author that a problem has occurred with sending a file and that attention is needed.
Bug Fixes:
- Stopped prompting of device changes when disk integration is used (QS Downloader)
- Corrected Send dialog locking up when invoked while QSR is minimized
- Corrected Filemon not starting With Check Files disabled (QSP)
- Corrected Normalize File not working for renamed locked files (QSP)
- Corrected GetNextFile leaving an unlocked copy of file on server when CopyFile setting selected
- Corrected wave files not automatically importing (QSP)
- Enabled Silent Licence Upgrades (QSR, QSP, QSM)
- Corrected Voice Recognition not always working for files with a marker in them (QSR, QSP)
End of Life for Philips SpeechMike (Series 2) Announced – Will Be Replaced by New SpeechMike 3 Series
Philips will discontinue the current Series 2 models of the SpeechMike by the end of this year. This includes model numbers 5262, 5272, 5274, and 5276. The design of the new Series 3 models will be similar to the SpeechMike Air, with brushed aluminum front and stainless mouse trackball. Support for these discontinued models will still be present in Quikscribe Recorder, so there’s no need to rush out and replace equipment that is working well for you. Please contact us if you have concerns with availability of the Series 2 models.
QS Player Enhancements:
Quikscribe Player has numerous improvements for faster file processing, especially for environments that have slower network connections.
Pre-Fetch Next File in Queue
There are new settings that allow you to “Pre-Fetch” the next file in the queue. When you are transcribing a file and reach the defined trigger point, then the Player Manager agent will fetch the next file in the queue and place the fetched file in your Downloaded folder. Then when you complete the current file, you can immediately open the fetched file instead of waiting for the file to load from your network. In the example shown below, the trigger point is set at 80%, so when you are at 80% complete with the current file, the Pre-Fetch feature will start to download the next file in the queue. If you are using the “Get Next File” feature, then when you select Yes for the “Get Next File?” prompt, the file that was fetched will be opened.
(Note: please don’t confuse the Player Manager agent with the QS Manager console program. The Player Manager is a background process to manage certain file activities, and has an IAF icon in the system tray of the Windows task bar.)
- Closing/completing a file is faster: File synchronization process was moved from QSP to Player Manager to speed up QSP when closing a file
- Added feature to display folders as “(Offline)” in open dialogs if the network connection is not available
- Opening files from network now uses a caching process to improve performance
- Created new Temp paths to prevent permission errors
- Moved call to update file monitor status icon into separate app to increase responsiveness
- Added new preference “Alway prefer next file from last author”, so that files may be grouped by author and then opened sequentially
- Added error handling and recovery for automatic conversion of imported files
- Added new display option “Hide date/time required prefix from filename”, so date stamp prefix is not displayed in file name
- Set automated import compression rate based on QSP Setting
- Improved open dialog display time by not accessing file size
- Enabled User configurable fields to be displayed on front of Interface (new feature to extend integration with other applications)
- Added ability to import stereo WMA files
- Added ability to import m4a files from iPhone