Macros, an MT’s best friend

Macros in the medical transcription world can mean one of two things…. the actual creating and assigning your own function keys or as a global reference to shortcuts created by a word expander, AutoText or AutoCorrect.   For this article, we’re going to be talking about the function keys to enable us to “skip” around in a template much, much easier, thereby making us more efficient.  Some platforms will not allow you to create your own “hot key” macros, so you have to work with what they give you, but there’s usually some way to work around it.

Each transcription platform has it’s own version of a “bookmark” so to speak when you need to leave blanks.  One company I worked for called them “defys” and it looked like <defy3> or <defy10>, one used brackets [[2:10]] and one used a completely separate playback system so I could only use tildes ~.   The key is to make these work for you when creating your templates. 

If you use a platform where you can set time markers in the document, try setting a time marker, then take out the numbers and see if the program will still “jump” to the bookmark anyway without interrupting the dictation you are listening to.  If that works, then you can create a shortcut of your own to place these “blank bookmarks” in your templates (for example, the company using [[2:10]], I made an AutoCorrect entry with [[ that would then enter [[]] for my bookmark).  

If you are using Microsoft Word, and your platform does not provide for bookmarks within the document, you’ll need to make your own.  A tilde ~ is not a character used much in transcription unless you’re typing in Spanish, so it’s perfect to use as a bookmark.  If you are unsure how to create macros in Word, I’m going to walk you through it.  If you’re proficient at Word, then you’ll want to leave here and go make your macro right now! 

I use Word 2003 – as do most of the companies I have worked for.  The instructions below are for Word 2003.  If you have an earlier version or newer version, it may differ slightly. 

• In Word, choose Tools and Macro from the drop down menu.  You’ll then want to choose Record New Macro.
• Once the Record Macro box appears, you’ll need to name your macro.  I used Tilde just so I could find it easier. 
• Leave everything else the same and click the Keyboard Icon or press Alt-K.
• The next window should come up that will show you where your macro will be stored.  In this window, you will choose what keystrokes will be assigned to this macro.  I used F2.  You can assign any keys that would work best for you such as Alt-B for “blank” or your own combination. 
• Type in the keystroke you want to use then press Enter for “Assign”.  Press Enter again to close this window and start recording the macro.
• You should now see a little cassette tape next to your mouse arrow and a very small box to the top left of the document page. 
• Press CTRL F which will bring up the “Find” feature in Word.  
• Type ~ in the “Find What” section. 
• Press Alt-F for “Find Next” button and press Enter. 
• Tab to Cancel and press Enter.
• You can now click the Stop button in the small box to stop recording the macro.

You now have your bookmark to set up in your templates!  Just don’t forget to check for any “stray” bookmarks you may have left behind when you have finished the dictation.