Does it have to be this hard?

[tami carlson]

This is my first post here. I just got my software. I spent all morning struggling to learn how to tweak my prefixes/suffixes and phonics table. I just started dictionary building (from scratch) since I made some theory changes after not using my writer for the better part of a decade.

I am now including and tucking my word endings. It was really hard to figure out to get suggestions for tucked endings. I called tech support twice. You'd think I was speaking Swahili to them.

I realize that, as a novice, I have no business starting with advanced features, but I had to so I can get three or four entries from a single verb.

I have it offering me appropriate suggestions now, but was there a better, faster way to learn this ?


Tami

[Brenda Rogers]

Learn it or enter things? Entering is just a matter of slogging through. I can sympathize; I rebuilt my dictionary from scratch starting three years ago. But it's all mine, not some canned thing that has things I don't write that way.

If you can get a list of words from a dictionary or glossary and made a .txt file of it -- one entry per line -- you can import that into Eclipse, choose Build Dictionary, and then just go through the list and enter your outlines from your writer.

That's the basics. I haven't done it so I may have simplified it some. If you have Suggestions checked, I think it will give you the like words with suggested outlines for you to accept or reject.

Let me know if you need more info. Email me. I think I can find more details for you if you need them.

And if I'm way off base as to your question, tell me that! I sometimes get going on what I think is being talked about and turns out I'm wandering off on my own little path.

[tami carlson]

Thanks, Brenda. I was referring to the learning part. I know the dictionary building will take a looooong time. I just wanted it to offer me tucked and included suggestions for words. For example, if I enter "time," I want suggestions like TAOEUMD, TAOEUGM, TAOEURM, and TAOEUMZ. It took me three hours to figure out how to teach it to offer me tucked suggestions. Three hours is nothing compared to the time I will save with the ability to make multiple entries from a single word, but isn't that information, or shouldn't it be, more readily available? Where would you have looked?

Tami

[Brenda Rogers]

Oh, I see. Well, I didn't even know about the Suggestions thing and the idea that it might give me other suggestions. I put them all in as they came up. I do things the hard way . . . training? What's that? ;)

With Suggestions checked, I thought it would just give you the extensions. I didn't know it had to be taught. Not everyone writes the same, though; a lot don't tuck the -R or -G. Those who don't wouldn't want those suggestions. So I guess you just have to go through the process until it understands your writing style.

Getting some entries from others might help. If you get some typical dictionary entries from others who write similarly to you and put it in, that might speed up the learning process.

[tami carlson]

Maybe I just wanted results too quickly. I wanted it to offer me these suggestions right out of the gate. Would it have adapted after some period of entries if I hadn't gone in and started tweaking? Would it have eventually understood my -DZ for "ing" and start suggesting it for dictionary entries? I assumed the AI just applied to misstrokes and untranslates, not dictionary building.

Tami

[Brenda Rogers]

It would have needed the -DZ in, I believe. But the tucked R could be part of the word alone. I think that one needed to be learned, same with the tucked G. Some people use -GT for -th. I use it tucking the ing in, but also for conflict resolution with ght words.

Global Magic learns through AI. I mean,it learns from the way your write and the entries in your dictionary. So when it makes suggestions as you global, it's learning from the way you've defined other words. I don't think it will grab the first time because that may not be a pattern. I think it learns your patterns and helps suggest the right word. They're not all misstrokes or even all untrans. It could be a multisyllable word that you've put together for the first time. GM recognizes it as a possibility and spits it out, along with others.

Eclipse is very good, but it does take it time to learn you and your style. Phonetic table tweaks help, but there is just so much more. Be glad you aren't building your dictionary during a rush transcript like I ended up doing! :)

[tami carlson]

Thank you so much, Brenda.

I am trying to speed-build a starter dictionary; so I suppose it is good that I did tweak. I don't have time to wine and dine my software! I just started plugging away at the 1,400 most common words. Then I'll start with a couple internet lists of the 3,000 or 5,000 most common words; then I'll write a practice CD I have for phrases, which, if I am not mistaken, has every phrase known to mankind.

I just can't stand to see untranslates!

Tami

[Marla Sharp]

Hey, Tami, will you share with us how you taught it to offer you tucked suggestions? I do a lot of tucking of endings, and Eclipse doesn't seem to catch on.

Stick with it. It's awesome software. There's just so much to this software. Learning it all is the hard part.

[tami carlson]

I am always happy to share, Marla. I had a rough day, but now I'm just thrilled that I am able to make multiple entries. Dictionary building is going very well now.

What do you want to know how to do? (I can get back to you after I help the kids with homework and feed them.) So far I figured out how to get a suggestion for tucked R, tucked G, and a DZ only suggested for words that can't take a G.

[Julie Samford]

Hi Tami!
I've got a suggestion for you instead of spending long hours creating a dictionary from scratch! Check out www.dictionaryjumpstart.com. There is a basic dictionary ... I forget how many words come with it ... but lots! The words and phrases come up on the screen, and you just write in realtime and put your stroke in for that word. There's no defining to do. It's in there. So depending on how fast you want to go, you could have your basic dictionary done in no time. Good luck!

[Julie Samford]

To get a crash course in suggestions in Eclipse, you can do Control D to add a dictionary entry. The virtual steno machine will come up. Then put something like TKAOEU for your steno, and press Enter. The global box will pop up, and there's a little place to check next to SUGGESTIONS.

While this global box is showing, you can press F1 to bring up a page to show you everything you ever wanted to know about suggestions and how to set them up. I think there are also a couple of movies that show up on that page that you can watch for a little show and tell action.

PS - When you're on any tab in Eclipse and you want to know what something means, just press F1 for instant answers without digging through that 461-page manual.

[tami carlson]

Thank you, Julie.

I actually looked at Dictionary Jump Start a couple weeks ago. Eclipse comes with several thousand words in its dictionary-builder prigran. It does not, however, enable suggestions within this program, just prompts you to write the steno for the given word. Advantage software designed Dictionary Jump Start, per DJS's website. I'm assuming Advantage sold off this application. If it is similar, it won't do what I want it to. I'm cruising along now. I get from two to five additional entries from each verb I put in.

Thanks for the Control D/suggestions/F1 tip. I'll try that later.

Tami

[tami carlson]

Do you think that anyone ever, in the history of typography, has ever typed "prigran" for "program." I haven't been drinking. Really.

Tami