Superior Global Knowledgebase

Shortcut for Windows Q&A

Steve Ela — Thu, 06 May 2010 06:27:41 GMT

Q: Does ShortCut® work with WordPerfect for Windows?
A: Yes, ShortCut® for Windows works in all known Windows-based word processors, text editors and programs which run on Windows 95/98, NT, 2000, XP.

Q: Does ShortCut® work with Windows NT?
A: Yes, ShortCut® works in Windows 95/98/NT. It will work with OS up through Windows 7, but not with 64bit machines.

Q: Can I convert a list from another expander program?
A: If your current text expander can export your entries to a text file in a 2-column file (e.g. abbreviations left-justified in one column and then expansions in column 2), then ShortCut® will be able to convert the text file to a ShortCut® table. To do this, you will need a special utility (free of charge) which is included with your purchase.

CAUTION - The conversion program is generally 90-98% accurate -- you will need to check your ShortCut® table for:
- Special Codes (e.g. if you're converting an entry for WP51 which bolds by using , this will give unexpected results in Microsoft Word or other applications.)
- Older expander program "macros"

Q: Is there a limit to the number of entries I can make?
A: No.

Q: How long can an individual entry be?
A: 4096 characters. HOWEVER this isn't as limiting as you might expect. For "normals" or expansions longer than this, you can direct ShortCut® to simply retrieve the text from a Word (or other format) file. Not only is this faster for larger expansions but it can make it easier to maintain and edit appropriately in the word processor or editor you use.

Q: Why don't you define what each of the special keys means?
A: Because YOU define them, then use them as commands within ShortCut® expansions.

Q: Will ShortCut® work with proprietary software such as that used by Transcend?
A: Yes, ShortCut® has been designed to work with any Windows-based software.

Q: Does ShortCut® interfere with any programs when is it running?
A: No.

Q: Does the 30-day free support period end 30 days after the receipt of the program or 30 days after the order is placed?
A: 30 days from the date purchased.

Q: May I return ShortCut® if it doesn't perform as advertised?
A: ShortCut® for Windows works under most Windows configurations and environments. To make sure it will work in your individual environment, we offer a fully-functional 30-day trial in place of a return policy to ensure that ShortCut® meets or exceeds all if your expectations.

Q: Will ShortCut® work with WordPerfect 5.1?
A: ShortCut® for DOS was designed for WordPerfect 5.1 users in mind. ShortCut® for DOS works exceptionally well with WordPerfect 5.1 and many other DOS-based programs. ShortCut® for Windows, on the other hand, will work with virtually all Windows-based programs but will NOT work with Wordperfect 5.1 for DOS.

Download Link for ShortCut for Windows

Steve Ela — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 06:02:57 GMT

http://media.ehti.net/ShortCut/sc32.exe

This is a direct link to the download. When prompted, please select Save.

Importing ShortCut Custom Files on a New Computer

Steve Ela — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:34:44 GMT

You can copy your ShortCut custom files (*.sc) by locating them in your ShortCut folder (default: C:\Program Files\ShortCut for Windows\). Copy the *.sc files (i.e. med.sc) onto a USB drive or CD, by right clicking on the file and using the (send to) option or (copy) option).

Open the ShortCut application on the new computer. If it is not already installed on there, you can go click here and download a copy of the ShortCut application. Use the registration number received when you purchased ShortCut for Windows. Install the application if necessary.

Once installed, insert the USB drive or CD where you copied the .SC files. Go to (my computer), select the drive, locate the file, right click on the (*.sc) file, select copy to copy the file to the clipboard, go to (C:\Program Files\ShortCut for Windows\) and paste your custom file into the new ShortCut for Windows folder.

You can now open the file in ShortCut, go to [File] [Open] and select the file.

To make this custom folder your primary file, open ShortCut, go to [Tools] [Configuration] and make it the default table.

How To Create Shortcuts to Files (Normals)

Steve Ela — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:03:12 GMT

Creating ShortCuts to Files (Normals)

If your expansions are longer than a couple of sentences, it is suggested that the expansion is inserted as a file instead of just text. The reason for this is that there have been issues with slowness when the expansions contain a lot of text. If you experience this, follow the steps below to convert the expansions to files:

Open ShortCut.

Click the Add button. You will see the Expansion Editor.

Type in the name of the abbreviation in the Abbreviation field ("test" in this example). Click on the Special Keys button to bring up the Special Keys dialogue box. To insert a file, mimic the keys manually typed to insert a file in Word. Those Keys are ALT+I to pull down the Insert menu. "L" to select the File option. Then type in the path to the file. The last key is to insert the Enter special key.

The end result should look as displayed. In this case the abbreviation is "test" and the file that is being inserted is test.txt. The complete text below is:

{ALT+I}l c:\test.txt{ENTER}

Ensure that you save the new entry along with the table.

Other things to consider:

1) Put all "normals" in a designated folder that is the same for all transcriptionists. This is usually:

c:\Program Files\HTI\MediScribe.NET\Client\ShortCut\NORMALS\ - or - just use C:\NORMALS

2) To get these into Normals - the transcriptionist can open up Word, type the abbreviation into Word and save to that folder.

a) Make sure that Word is using that same default styles and fonts as is used in the templates, or else it not appear correctly.

b) Make sure the filename this something other than the abbreviation name. To keep from cycling through this again, simple naming scheme is to preface each with "n-" . For example: "n-stnm" for Dr. Stansell's standard nuclear medicine start.

c) Then change the expansion to be "<Alt>IL{normal name}<Enter>".

Getting ShortCut to Work with Vista / Windows 7

Steve Ela — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:06:08 GMT

Shortcut is a keyboard logging software program that expands text while typing. Windows Vista has new security features that are enabled by default, which may prevent Shortcut from operating.

The workaround is to disable the UAC (User Account Control).

Go to Control Panel, and open User Accounts. You will see an option to "Turn User Account Control on or off". Click this.
Uncheck the UAC box and click OK to save the changes. You will need to reboot the computer after changing this setting.

Further, when starting ShortCut for Windows, right-click on the icon and select "Run as Administrator". You will need administrator credentials to do this.

Note: For Windows 7, the User Acocunt Control is a slider. Set it to the lowest value and restart.

ShortCut duplicating first letter

Steve Ela — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:24:12 GMT

If the first letter remains after an expansion is triggered (doc becomes dDoctor), please make sure there are no additional copies of Word running on your system.

If you do not see additional Word applications open, check Task Manager for WINWORD

Best practices for a complete WinScribe Text system restart

Billy Rawls — Wed, 20 May 2009 05:09:16 GMT

A WinScribe Text install will consist of the following components:

WinScribe Text Licensing Service
WinScribe Text Distribution Server Service
WinScribe Text Distribution Client (possibly multiple instances on multiple machines)
WinScribe Text File Exchange Service
WinScribe Text HL7 Interface Service

If a system restart is required, we recommend that the services come down in the following order:

1) All Distribution Clients.
2) Distribution Server Service.
3) HL7 Interface Service.
4) File Exchange Service.
5) Licensing Service.

Once these services are down, reboot the servers (if this is the plan). Once the servers are back up, if the services are not set to auto-start on boot, restart the services in the following order:

1) Licensing Service.
2) Distribution Server Service.
3) All Distribution Clients.
4) File Exchange Service.
5) HL7 Interface Service.

ShortCut for Windows working with ChartScript.net

Steve Ela — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 05:15:59 GMT

Some have reported that It is not typing the full shortcut - sometimes the first few letters, sometimes a only a few words of a paragraph (it almost appears to be backspacing).

The Shortcuts program works fine in the office documents program, just not ChartScript.net.

What works best is starting ChartScript.net application, disable the built-in word expander, then start the ShortCut application.

Importing AutoCorrect Entries in to ShortCut using SCMerge

Melissa Browder — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 06:30:29 GMT

Importing AutoCorrect Entries in to ShortCut© using SCMerge

The SCMerge utility, which came with your ShortCut program, was designed to import a two-column text file containing your abbreviations and expansions into ShortCut. It is an easy utility to use if you have made the proper preparations.

Getting Ready (see the related article links below "Exporting Word97Autocorrect files" for instructions on creating Autocorrect macro and "How can I import/ export autocorrect entries to transfer to another machine".)

1. Make sure the text file you created using the AutoCorrect macro and excel contains no apostrophes, colons, semi colons, quotation marks, question marks etc. in the abbreviation column. If you open it in wordpad you can do a Find (Ctrl F) to search for them, then replace the ones in the left column. Remember, you will need to put them back once the merge has been completed.

2. Be sure you know the path (location) of the AutoCorrect file you created - (*.PRN). (Chances are it resides in the My Documents folder on your local C: drive).

Running SCMerge

1. The SCMerge Utility is copied into your scwin folder when you install ShortCut. The easy way to find it and launch it is by using the find function on your PC. Do this by clicking on the START button, then click FIND, then Files or Folders.

2. In the Named box, type scmerge.exe

3. In the Look in box make sure it shows either MY Computer or an entry with the C: drive in it.

4. Click on the Find Now button. Windows will search your hard drive for the program scmerge.exe, which will import the AutoCorrect file you created using Excel into ShortCut.

5. After the search stops, click on the SCMerge icon in the lower box of the find screen. This will launch SCMerge.

6. In SCMerge, type the name of the file you created in the red box next to Source File 1: In our example we used C:\mydocu~1\ACOR.TXT (SCMerge is a DOS program and it does not recognize folders or filenames longer than 8 characters. It recognizes the folder My Documents (path) as C:\mydocu~1\). If you didn’t change the file extension from *.prn to *.txt you should type C:\mydocu~1\ACOR.PRN. Use the down arrow to highlight the field next to Destination File: and type the name you want your file to be. Again, we used ACOR.SC as our destination file. You may want to use MED.SC or SHORTCUT.SC (remember only 8 characters in the name). No path is needed since this will be created in the proper folder.

7. Hit the F10 key to begin the merge. If you are asked if you want to overwrite the report file SCMERGE.RPT, type Y.

8. If you get invalid abbreviation errors minimize SCMerge and open the Excel file (*.xls) you created in step 9 of the Exporting Word97 Autocorrect Files document and edit the left column to remove the offending character. In our example the error is on line 418 of the file. Make your edits, save as both Excel (*.xls) and space delimited text (*.prn).

9. Once complete, you will see this screen:

10. Hit escape to exit.

11. Open ShortCut by clicking on the Icon on your desktop. Click File>Open and click on the file you just imported. It will walk you through the final steps.

12. Make the destination file (ACOR.SC) your default dictionary by clicking on Tools, then Configuration and type ACOR.SC in the Default Table box.

You have now completed the process of importing your Word AutoCorrects into ShortCut..

Exporting Word97 Autocorrect Files

Melissa Browder — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 04:23:20 GMT

Word97 and Word2000 Autocorrect entries reside in a file with the .acl file extension. You can open it using Word or notepad, but it really doesn’t make much sense and the file cannot be manipulated very well.

The following instructions and the Autocorrect.dot macro will allow you to export your Autocorrect entries from one PC and import them into another or make them ready to import into ShortCut.

1. Create a folder named Autocorrect on your C: drive

2. Download the Autocorrect.dot macro below:

and save it to the C:\Autocorrect folder you created. Unzip it using Pkunzip or Winzip.

3. Open the folder and double click on the Autocorrect.dot. This will open the file containing the macro. Be sure to click the “enable macros” button.

4. Run the macro by clicking on the “Backup” button

5. This will create a file named Autocorrect Backup Document.Doc. Click on the Save button to save the file. If you are migrating your autocorrections to another PC you should save to a floppy diskette, so you can easily transport it to the other PC. (Save the Autocorrect.dot to the floppy as well.)

If you are copying your autocorrections to another PC, simply open the Autocorrect.dot from the floppy, click on “enable macros”, then click “Restore…” . This will move the autocorrect entries to your new PC and replace the existing autocorrect entries.

If you want to migrate your autocorrect entries to ShortCut . . .

6. Click Cancel and close the Autocorrect.dot file and open the Autocorrect BackupDocument.doc. Your Autocorrect entries are now in a Word table with three columns. Use the find command (Ctrl+F) to find all colons, semicolons, appostrophes and quotation marks in the left column. Delete the whole line or edit the entry in the left collumn to remove the punctuation marks – these cannot be imported into ShortCut. Also delete the top five lines and the bottom 7-8 lines – they contain unallowed symbols. Move your cursor to the top of the first column until it becomes a black arrow pointing downward. Click and hold down the mouse button and move the cursor to the top of the second column. This will highlight the two columns.

7. Click on Edit>Copy or Ctrl+C to copy the contents of the two columns.

8. Close Word and open a new spreadsheet in Excel. Then click on Edit>Paste or Ctrl+V to paste the contents of the two columns into the Excel spreadsheet.

9. Save this file as an Microsoft Excel Workbook file *.xls and as a Formatted Text (Space Delimited) *.prn file.

10. This file (*.prn) is now ready to import into ShortCut using the SCMerge utility. Refer to the document Importing AutoCorrect Entries in to ShortCut using SCMerge.

Can you import the dictionaries from Stedman's Smartype into ShortCut for Windows?

Melissa Browder — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 04:44:48 GMT

Can you import the dictionaries from Stedman's Smartype into ShortCut for Windows?

If you are able to export the Stedman's Smartype data out as a two column, tab-delimited text file, containing your abbreviations and expansions, SCMerge can convert it into ShortCut tables.

You can look in you ShortCut Manual, under Appendix B: Importing AutoCorrect Entries in to ShortCut using SCMerge.

If you do not have access to the SCManual, follow the link below:

http://kb.ehti.net/Staff/StaffEditArticle10245.aspx

Using ShortCut to Bold in non-Word Applications

Melissa Browder — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:21:43 GMT

Shortcut simply presses keys automatically, it does not add formatting, and therefore any application that doesn't use Word's default (CTRL-B) to bold will not go into bold mode using a made-for-Word shortcut.

If your non-Word application supports bolding, you will need to modify the shortcut to use its particular key command to enable/disable bolding.

For example to bold in notepad editor, you will need to use the special keys feature in ShortCut.

Click on the Add a New ShortCut Entry button. Type the name of the abbreviation in the Abbreviation field (in this instance we named the abbreviation “noteb”.

Click on the Special Keys button to bring up the special keys dialogue box.

To bold, mimic the keys manually typed to bold in Notepad editor or other non-Word Application. Those Keys are ALT+O to pull down the Format menu. "F" to select the Font option. Then ALT+Y Special Key to select font style, type “bold”. The last key is to insert the Enter special key. The end results should look as displayed.

In this instance, {ALT O}f{ALT Y}bold{ENTER} would be the expander used to format bold in notepad. The same would apply for italic, regular or bold italic accordingly.

Instant Text compatability with Mediscribe.NET

Steve Ela — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 10:12:25 GMT

v5.44 Instant text

This version does maintain the link between documents (an improvement from the previous version).
However, it also links to every aspect of Mediscribe, including the create document screen, and inquiry.

Overall, it would be useable by a transcriptionist, keeping an eye on the other screens while in use.

Allow a support technician to connect using ISL

Jeff Tindall — Tue, 20 May 2008 07:50:01 GMT

In order to allow a support representative to connect to your machine using ISL, you must first download ISL to your machine from http://www.ehti.net/ISL.
Once the file is downloaded, run the program.
Enter the code the support engineer gives you
Once connected, the support engineer will request to view your screen. You will receive a popup confirming that you want to grant them access. Click "Yes"