How to use a transcription foot pedal

How to use a transcription foot pedal

With the invention of the internet, there have been a lot of technological advancements in terms of work, play and communication. The internet is a vast source of knowledge and material in forms that suit everyone.

The internet, in terms of work development has revolutionized transcription jobs.

Previously, it was expensive and difficult to set up a transcription work desk at home. You would have to get a playback machine, word processing software and printing equipment.

With the invention of the transcription foot pedal, transcription jobs have become much more easier and efficient.

  1. First and foremost what you need is a computer or a laptop. Most people have their personal computers or laptops for their own purposes and these can be used to set up a transcription work desk as well.
  2. One of the more significant items you require is a good internet connection for audio and video playback. You would want to be able to seamlessly listen to the audio that you need to type out without interruptions. An internet package running at 4 MB should serve you well enough for any transcription job.
  3. Now that you have your laptop and internet connection set up, it is time to get a good, smooth word processing software. Nowadays, Microsoft office is the trendy word processor that is in use by almost every transcriber out there. It has a variety of font, heading, bullets and numbering and other options.
  4. Get yourself an audio and video play back software. Now, here is where it gets only a little tricky. Your usual playback software won’t work here, what you need is a transcribing software and there are many out there to choose from. You need these specifically because they will work with your brand new transcription foot pedal which is discussed in the next step. For now, take a look at software such as FTW transcriber (http://www.theftwtranscriber.com/), easy to use and simple to learn.
  5. Buy your digital transcription foot pedal. You will most likely have to order this crucial piece of equipment online.

How does a Transcription foot pedal work?

A transcriptionist without a foot pedal will always have to go through the tedious process of using his/her mouse to pause, play, rewind and slow down the audio or video that needs to be typed out. This wastes time and therefor money.

So, what the foot pedal does is it allows the transcriptionist to manipulate the video or audio using his/her foot which is on the pedal.  In other words, you are able to control the playback of the audio you are listening to with your foot.

The pedal has different areas on its surface that represents a different function such as rewind, play, pause and more depending on the sophistication of your foot pedal.

With something like this, you will not have to take your hands off your keyboard every time to manipulate the recording. It may not seem like much, but this really saves a lot of time!

Setting up a transcription foot pedal is incredibly easy. Simply plug in the USB of the device into your computerand wait for the prompt to install the software and drivers.

Once that is done, you are good to go! Just play the recording on the transcription software that you downloaded and use the foot pedal to rewind, pause and play it.