CRR Tips for Eclipse Users

[Jenny Griffin, RMR CRR CCRR CRC]

The CRR exam is right around the corner. It might be nice to share some of our CRR Eclipse tips to minimize the stress of it all. My first suggestion is to print out this document so you know what will count as an error.

http://ncraonline.org/NR/rdonlyres/7C0F0BFD-463C-495F-B37D-CA314EAB...

Then create a separate CRR ini. Get into your normal translation ini and click on save settings. Give it the name CRR. This will not change anything in your normal translation ini, it will just make a copy of it.

Now that you are in your new CRR ini, click on the document tab, click on the advanced button, and put a checkmark by all caps. Now you will never have to worry about a single capitalization issue during the test.

[Rebecca Callow]

Great advice, Jenny. It really does take the pressure off for all those proper names like Bill and Pat.

For those taking the CRR, just remember when you output to your ascii, you must check the "Force All Caps" box in order for the output to be in all caps. The all caps that Jenny suggested in user settings is mainly for the display.

Here is how to create an ascii in Eclipse: While in the document you wish to convert, click Shift+Alt+O. Once the dialog box opens spin the "Make" number of copies up to 1, then click "Browse" and select your drive. For example: A for floppy, D: for CD drive. Make sure you know what your drive letter is before you get to the test, because knowing how to create an ascii and write it to a disk is part of the test. Standard Page image is fine. Put a check mark next to "Force all caps". Allow headers, allow footers and form feeds should also have a check mark. Leave all the others alone.

I would check to make sure that you can write a file to a disk before you even get to the test. I know of someone who had a bad disk and was not able to write to it, which would have been an automatic fail. Luckily someone there had a spare one which saved the day.

Good luck to all future CRRs!
Rebecca

[Lori Byrd]

Tips, huh? How's about one from the worst test-taker in history? RELAX. After my CRR exam years and years ago, a few of us were laughing and saying that the only tip we really needed was a double martini. I do think that if you've been doing realtime output for attorneys for any length of time, you just need to put yourself in that mindset, and WRITE. This is not a speed test.

[Tim Floury]

Jenny and all,

Thanks for the tips! I have a good friend taking the test in a couple weeks and I plan on taking it next time around. Any suggestions you have are really appreciated. Thanks for everything.

Tim

[Jenny Griffin, RMR CRR CCRR CRC]

If you have time, it's a good idea to filter out all your words beginning with a capital, highlight them, and Alt W them with the name AllCapitals.dix. Then spellcheck your main dix. It's amazing the mistakes I found when I spellchecked mine!

Once spellchecked, I Alt R'd the AllCapitals.dix back into my main, and then copied my main dix. I gave it the name CRR.dix, and then I took out all Q & A strokes, speaker strokes, and autoincludes.

During the CRR exam I took, the reporter in front of me accidentally stroked something that made a new line and a Q. come up on her test. She made sure she removed all her Q & A strokes, speaker strokes, and autoincludes before the next exam. That's called learning from a mistake!

[Rebecca Callow]

Thank you, Jenny, for this super-duper advice. I have often had this problem. Not necessarily on a test, but what you said about speakers popping up at odd times rang true for me because of stacking, so I decided to filter my dictionary just like you suggested.

I have now started using my CRR.dix as my main dictionary and then I use different dictionaries with speakers and Q&A's in them as job dictionaries. Since I do a variety of different work, CART, legal, etc., I don't always need a MR. SNAO or even Q's and A's, so I have decided to use what speakers dictionaries I need when I need them. I think it has actually helped out with my translation rate.

Awesome!

[Jenny Griffin, RMR CRR CCRR CRC]

The CRR is coming up again.  Any more tips?