I have been transcribing for the past 12 years on WordPerfect 5.1. I know there's several other word-processing programs out there that are definitely more up to date than mine. Every year I keep saying that I am going to look into it and switch, but I have 10 doctors that I do work for and every time I think of all the new macros and shortcuts that I have to re-do, I chicken out. Now by force I have to do it and was wondering which is the best and easiest word-processing program out there for medical transcribing?

LVG

[LVG - Please don't use uppercase for every word - SOMara, Administrator]

You could upgrade to a newer version of WordPerfect, of course, and in this case you may be able to convert many of your macros. If you have to go to Word, here is a site where you can get help --

http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/index.html

and another --

http://www.mtwerks.com./

I don't know anything about the following program, but a lot of people seem very happy with it, and it has neat features like line counting and preparing invoices.

http://www.medpen.net/

HTH

THANK YOU FOR THE INFO....I'M GOING TO LOOK INTO THESE WEB SITES....

LVG

I have always used WP for transcribing. I started 100 years ago with WP 4 - now I am using WP 9. (I have also used Word extensively with other projects over the years.)

I have always preferred WP for transcription because of the macros. But now that I use the word expanding program "Instant Text" - Because it will work with either WP or Word, I don't think I would any longer have any preference between the two.

I love Instant Text and because of several of its features, I prefer it to using Macros. It does all that macros do - and much more - and works just great with either WP or Word.

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But back to your problem. Many times when I upgraded WP, I had to redo my macros. I just bite the bullet and did it. It actually never ended up being as bad a job as I felt it would be. And before long, I had most of them back in and was up and running again.

Good luck!

Carol Jean:

Thanks for the info, my new computer comes loaded with word, but my friend just dropped off WP 9.0, so I guess I will load it too...I am definitely looking into this "instant.text" that everyone is talking about....joining this web-site has been the best source for research I have found to date...

thanks again.

LVG

Hi, I just registered on this site tonight, so this is my first time writing to you all. I have enjoyed reading all of the topics. I too have been addicted to WP and started at WP 4.0. I then stayed at WP 5.1 and then everyone kept telling me to go to Word. I hated it!! Maybe old dogs don't learn new tricks!! It was very hard for me to switch, and now I am looking for a job at home and I might just go back to WP 5.1. I have always loved that program for transcribing. My question: I have Flash Forward in there now and I was wondering about the other one, Instant Text (?). I thought that was the name of it. I would like to hear everyone's opinion on that. I definitely need an abbreviation program and want to purchase one soon. I need advice on this. I also want something that is very user-friendly. Does anyone know the price? Thanks for your time and I love this site!! Susie

Susie,

If you are going to be using WP 5.1 I don't think you can use Instantext--it's only for Windows, I think.

I transcribe at home, having previously worked for services using Word and Medrite. I went back to WP 5.1 when I started working at home. I have Flashforward also. I have used PRD also, which I liked, but it is 4 times the cost of Flash and it's not THAT much better.

I have WP 8 which I use if I need to change fonts, but other than that, I type in WP 5.1. I have a lot of killer macros that no one has been able to tell me how to do them in Word or WP for Windows. I have a "data entry" type macro that jumps to the blanks I need to fill in. I ask people who rave about the other programs how they do that, and they don't have an answer. So until I have a reason, I'm not changing.

I have several friends who work at home using WP 5.1 who have and could use any program and prefer it. I can block, cut, and paste way faster with it than using a mouse.

I guess you can tell I'm from the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" school?!??

kkb:
I am so glad that I am not the only one out there that feels the same way about WP 5.1. I switched over to WP-9, and I miss it so bad. I agree with you 100%, I can do things a lot faster on 5.1 than on 9, without the mouse. To me the mouse is just a waste of time. Now they are telling me that Word is much better. I have tried it and I rather use WP. The only thing that is helping me a little is the fact that I customized my keyboard to the 5.1 commands, and that I use Quickwords instead of macros. But I also believe in "why fix something that is not broken". My husband just tells me that I have to cut the umbilical cord off from WP5.1 and get with the new technology. That's easy for him to say, he doesn't transcribe!

LVG

LVG,

What convinces me also is that I have several MT friends who are very computer savvy and continue to use WP 5.1. The people who don't like it are the ones who didn't start with it. They see the reveal codes and freak out! But that's another thing I like about it!

A great expander product for WP 5.1 is Smartype. It's more pricey than Flash, ($200 I think) but I've seen it used and it is good. I just didn't want to spend that kind of money at the time. I think FlashForward is great for my purposes.

Don't feel bad about thinking you're in the dinosaur age! There are lots of us out there!

Hi everyone. I too am new to this chat board and it is interesting to note that those of you using Word also have an expander program. Doesn't Word have one within the program? Isn't AutoCorrect an expander program? Or, maybe it's just not extensive enough? I use WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS and I, too, love it for all it's macros and the ease of it. However, I will be switching to Word soon because my doctors are going digital and was wondering about AutoCorrect. I'd appreciate any help on this.

Diana

Diana:
From my experience in working with Word (just a couple of months) what Autocorrect does is to fix words as you go along, like if you invert "teh", it will fix it to "the" automatically. What I use in Word as an expander is Autotext, which is a tool, sort of like a macro, which you can program and by typing the 4 or more letters you choose, it types out the phrase or sentences you programmed. I'm getting by with the Autotext for now until I can dedicate a little more time to learn more shortcuts...Hope this info helped a little....

LVG

Diana,

You can use Autotext as an expander (I did it when I used Word), but I believe if you actually get an expander you will have more options. Example: If you transcribe a lot of letters and you put addresses in, the expander will put the address in block form, and if I remember correctly, you can't do that with Autotext.

Try going to www.textwaresolutions.com and you will be able to see what the benefits of that expander are. That's one of the more popular ones. I believe Smartype has an expander for Word now also.

Good luck!

Didn't get back here right away but I appreciate all your replies. I guess I will have to play around with it and determine what works best for me. I think though that I may look into Instant Text. I've heard a lot of good things about it. Just don't look forward to learning a new program!

Thanks again!

Hello all-
I just wanted to agree with an above posted website of www.medpen.com Their software MPWord works really well from what I have heard from other transcriptionists. Look into it and hopefully you find something that works for you!