Has Anyone Migrated from Stenograph CC to Eclipse??

[Susan A. Zielie, RMR, FCRR]

Has anyone migrated from Stenograph CC to Eclipse?? How hard or easy was it to do? I've been on Stenograph products for a long time -- well, actually, I've only ever used Stenograph products. But I've had ENUF!! So I'm ready to make the switch and am wondering if anyone has successfully made this transition.

[Rebecca Callow]

Hi, yes! There are tons of folks who have taken the plunge. I did it over ten years ago, though. SG had me for about seven years and then I finally had enough too!! From day one I had a bad experience.

When I decided to switch, I had a two-week backlog, and SG pulled my key so I was stuck playing catchup on software I didn't really know how to use. Talk about baptism by fire!! It was TOTALLY worth it and I have never looked back. IMHO, Eclipse is far superior to Catalyst.

Eclipse comes with visualizer movies, which are like little PowerPoint presentations with sound that shows and tells. Each one is about one to two minutes long and they cover virtually every function in the software.

I'm not going to lie and tell you there isn't a learning curve, but the visualizer movies make it a lot easier. You can always come here and ask questions as myself and several certified trainers monitor this thread. Julie Samford is rep and she is always posting on this thread too, and she really KNOWS her stuff!!

Did I mention that Eclipse tech support is 24/7? No need to whip our your credit card on weekends and after 5 p.m. (it's always the most inconvenient time when we need tech support most, anyway) 24-hour tech support is standard. I think they close for a couple of holidays around Christmastime, but other than that, they are there when you need them.

HTH,
Rebecca

[Julie Samford]

Hi Susan! I switched to Eclipse back when it was still DOS, and I wanted to throw it out the window for the first couple of weeks!

BUT now that everything is Windows based, there are icons with pictures of everything you need to do, help buttons, videos inside the program, and the tutorial that teaches you how to use it is like a transcript, so it will feel familiar. It's like "Here's how you insert a word," and then it gives you a sentence with a missing word, and it says, "Now you try it."

I'm not your local rep but I'd be glad to answer any questions you have. I'm doing a beginner training class in Chicago in December, if that's not too far for you to travel, if you need some help. Good luck!

[Susan A. Zielie, RMR, FCRR]

Absolutely, Chicago works! Can you email me and give me the details, [e-mail]. Thanks!

[Lisa Breiter]

Hi Susan,
I switched in 2004 and I am so happy with Eclipse. To be honest with you, it was harder than I thought it would be. I was very slow editing for about a month or two. Take the course with Julie, she is an awesome trainer (hi, Julie!). I was pretty computer savvy to begin with, but I had a hard time migrating because the editing commands were so different. A bit of advice: Just learn the new commands in Eclipse. Even though Eclipse software can mimic your commands from Stenograph, it's better to just learn the new ones and retrain your brain. If you don't use the standard commands, it's harder for trainers and phone support to help you when you have a problem (I learned this the hard way!). Also, not all of my dictionary entries transferred over. But my trainer took care of this. It was mostly modifying punctuation and speakers, if I remember correctly. They can also give you all the include files so you don't have to retype them. I have NEVER NOT ONCE regretted my decision to switch to Eclipse. I have fantastic customer service and 24/7 support and have not cried over my software screwing up on a job in close to 5 years.

[Susan A. Zielie, RMR, FCRR]

Wow, thanks for the input! I really appreciate it. I've just had to buy my second button holder in 10 months, and I get really tired of this nickle and diming for e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g as well as the big dollar costs for everything else. When y you buy a product, it SHOULD just work! Too much drama with CC.

[Judy Gage]

I have been on Eclipse since 2/08 after being on Catalyst from its inception. I think Catalyst is a great program, but I LOVE Eclipse. For me, the hardest part was getting my page formats correct because the way they do the setups is different. I didn't think the edit commands were all that different, they are just in reverse. To define in Catalyst you first mark the word, then pick whether you are going to make it a J or D. With Eclipse, you decide first, then hit CTRL-J or CTRL-G (which is a define) to make it, type in the definition, and then hit enter and you're done. I actually switch back and forth between the two programs all the time with few glitches. Here's something to definitely use: Translation Magic! (Set your number low) Global Magic, Auto Brief, and I totally love Hyperkeys. Since you're new to the program, take the time to learn them. You'll love them. I also like the fact you can pay your support over four months, so it's not such a big bite in the budget.
Good luck!

[Susan A. Zielie, RMR, FCRR]

Thank you for that great info!

[Judy Gage]

Feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions. I'm happy to help you out. I had Eclipse friends help me, and it would have been a lot tougher if I didn't have them.