To check the sound level open a file that you know has good audio levels within it.  The Quikscribe Tutorial has good sound level, so to check the sound level:

•  Open Quikscribe Player.
•  Select Help.
•  Select Play Tutorial.
•  Click Play Tutorial.

If you cannot hear any audio being played, here are some possible reasons:

•  If you can hear the Tutorial but cannot hear a file that has been sent to you for transcription, the author of the dictation may need to increase the recording volume for the Recorder hand control.
•  Your speakers or headphone may not be correctly connected. Make sure they are securely plugged into the correct output jack. If your sound card is color coded, green normally represents the sound output.
•  Your speakers or headphone may not be working. If sound flows through the speakers but not the headphone, your headphone may not be working, and vice versa.  To check, plug in a known working set and test again.
•  Your output volume level may be too low, which means you will have to adjust the audio level.To adjust the volume click the Playback Controls icon.  Adjust the Volume slider to a higher level.
•  The Windows Mute button may be turned on.
•  It is possible that your sound card in your computer is not working, not installed or incorrectly installed. To resolve this issue, contact your Network Administrator to re-install or replace your sound card or sound card drivers.

Q:  One of our typists has left.  We’re using the same computer for the new employee.  Do we need to transfer the license?

A:  You don’t need to transfer the license.  If you select Help, then License Info, then Go Online, you can then select Change Computer Name to identify the license to the new employee.

To configure the new network folder and settings, let’s assume that Joe is the employee who left, and Jane is replacing him.

Here’s an example of steps to set up the workstation and folders for the new employee:

On your network path (usually it’s something like Q:\QSFiles\Typists), you can create a new folder called Jane.

Do this first, and then on Joe’s computer you can go into Settings, then Preferences, and select Set Path Maps.  There you can define the new map to the Jane folder, and then remove the map to the Joe folder.

After the map changes have been made, you can delete the folder for Joe on the server.

Once you add the new folder for Jane, then that folder should show up in QSR and QSM, provided you have mapped to the parent folder Q:\QSFiles\Typists

Category:Dictation -> Hardware -> Troubleshooting

Category:Dictation -> Hardware -> Philips SpeechMike

Category:Dictation -> Hardware -> Olympus

Tips for setting the microphone sound level input for Quikscribe Recorder:
(if you record directly into QSR using a hand control microphone such as the Philips SpeechMike, Grundig SonicMic, Olympus DR-2000, or other PC microphone).

By selecting System Settings in QS Recorder, click on Record Device (under Audio Devices) to select the microphone device you will use for recording.

Then click on Record Device Settings to use Windows Control Panel to select the record device (hand control microphone you are using) and click on Properties to then select the Levels tab and adjust the input volume to about the 80% setting.

You can also select the audio Playback Device to route the playback audio to the speaker in your hand control microphone.  We recommend doing this so that only dictation playback is routed to the hand control mike, and all other Windows audio is routed to your default playback device (usually desktop speakers).

This video demonstration provides instructions for setting the audio sound levels in Windows and Quikscribe Recorder.

Note:  If you have problems with the SpeechMike connection, or with the recording levels not remaining stable, please make sure of the following:

The SpeechMike USB connection should be plugged directly into the computer’s USB port instead of a USB hub.  If you have to use a USB hub, make sure it’s a powered USB plug that plugs into an A/C outlet for external power.

Change the Default Record Mode to Append in case the user is accidentally overwriting audio when reopening a file.  To change the Default Record Mode click Quikscribe Recorder settings (the books).  The settings will open at the Record Controls tab.  Change the Default Record Mode to Append.  The issue of accidentally overwriting audio will occur only if the user frequently closes a file and then reopens the file to add additional dictation.

Another possibility for missing audio is accidentally pressing the undo button on the hand control.  Check the hand control settings.  To check the hand control settings, click Help and select Hand Control Training.  Press each of the buttons on the hand control.  If a button is set to undo and the user is not using that feature, set the function of the button to nil.

Category:Transcription -> Hardware -> Troubleshooting 

Symptom:  USB device sometimes fails or doesn’t work all the time.

Resolution: Turn off the Windows power management setting on ALL the USB ports.

�  Click Start>Control Panel>System Hardware >Device Manager. 

�  Double click Universal Serial Bus controllers, right click USB Root Hub, click Properties, click Power Management, and uncheck “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power”.  Make this change for each USB Root Hub.

You may find the physical address of the computer by selecting:

Start,  then Run

Type “command” in the entry panel, then press Enter.

Now type “ipconfig /all”, then press Enter. 

The physical address will display to identify the PC and allow you to match that address to the Quikscribe registration for that PC.

1.) Open QuikScribe
2.) Select FILE, Select SYSTEM SETTINGS
3.) Select PREFERRENCES
4.) Change COMM PORT to Auto Detect
5.) Save Changes
6.) Close QuikScribe Player
7.) Access Device Manager in Windows Control Panel -> System
8.) Under HID, Human Interface Devices, remove all HID Compliant and Consumer Devices
9.) Scan for hardware changes, give it a minute
10.) Open QuikScribe Player
11.) Select FILE, Select SYSTEM SETTINGS
12.) Select PREFERENCES
13.) Change COMM PORT to USB
14.) Save Changes
15.) Close and Re-open QuikScribe Player.

File delivery notification is displayed in the top left hand corner of the Quikscribe Player interface with a small speaker.  This application Icon notifies you when a new or an urgent file arrives by changing color. The speaker will turn Green when a new file arrives and is waiting to be typed. The speaker will turn Red if an urgent file arrives and is waiting to be transcribed. If the Quikscribe Player is open but not in use, the speaker will flash either Green or Red to attract attention if files are waiting to be transcribed.  Below is a summary of the color and status of the speaker.

Speaker color notifications:

  Yellow - no files waiting
  Green, stable - file open and file(s) waiting
  Green, flashing - no file open but file(s) waiting
  Purple, stable - file open and overdue file(s) waiting
  Purple, flashing - no file open but overdue file(s) waiting
  Red, stable - file open and Urgent file(s) waiting
  Red, flashing - no file open but Urgent file(s) waiting

The Quikscribe Player has an option under the Preferences Tab of the Quikscribe Settings to automatically notify the typist when new files arrive. If the option for automatic notification, Check for new files every (xxx) seconds, is checked, the speaker at the top of Quikscribe Player will change color and/or status.  The default time period is 120 seconds (2 minutes).  With the default setting Quikscribe Player will search all mapped folders every 2 minutes for new files that have been sent by the Quikscribe Recorder.  It is not recommended to set the time for less than 2 minutes, but times over 2 minutes are suitable.

Note:  The notification received also depends on the current status of the Quikscribe Player and the type of file that has arrived.

Additional options in Settings -> Preferences allow you to set an audible prompt when a new file arrives (“Play audible prompt when files are available”) and also “Start QSP when files are available” (so if QS Player is closed, the program will start automatically when a new file arrives in your preferred queue, and the program will appear on the computer monitor).

If you can’t send a file to the transcription destination, it may be a corrupt file on the PC hard disk.

Here are steps to recover the audio portion from the original file.

Since the file is corrupt, you will need to export the file in order to resend it.

Below are the instructions to export the corrupt file and resend it.

- Open the file in Quikscribe Recorder.

- From the file menu, click Export Audio.  Save the file which will be a .wav file.  Note the name and location of the .wav file.

- Close the file.

- Click the Create New File icon in QSR.  Name the new file and click Create. If the file is named automatically, note the name of the file in the blue banner at the top of QSR. 

- From the File menu, click Import Audio.  Select the .wav file and click Open.

- Now send the file that was created.

Symptom:  The Philips SpeechMike (or other USB device) stops functioning for no apparent reason.

Often this is related to Window Power Management settings turning off power to the USB port.

To disable the power management setting on the USB ports:

-  Click Start>Control Panel>System Hardware >Device Manager. 

-  Double click Universal Serial Bus controllers, right click USB Root Hub, click Properties, click Power Management, and uncheck “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power”.  Make this change for each USB Root Hub.

Note:  If you have problems with the SpeechMike connection, or with the recording levels not remaining stable, please make sure of the following:

The SpeechMike USB connection should be plugged directly into the computer’s USB port instead of a USB hub.  If you have to use a USB hub, make sure it’s a powered USB plug that plugs into an A/C outlet for external power.