Stenocat to Eclipse

[KMF]

My contract with Stenocat is up in April and I would like to make the switch to Eclipse.  Has anyone else gone from SC to Eclipse and, if so, how easy/difficult was the transition?  

[Christie Browner]

I scope/proof on both. I have been on Eclipse for 9 years and SC for 1 year. I definitely prefer Eclipse. Eclipse can do a lot more than SC. If you do switch and find yourself overwhelmed, Eclipse does have trainers you can hire to get yourself yourself and even 24-hour support, available by telephone and even email. There is a group on here for Version 5 users that can help answer questions as they arise, as well as a FB group that is helpful. The hard part is trying to do both programs. If you do switch, just commit to it and don't look it. You won't regret it.

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

I can remember hating the transition to Eclipse.  Thank God I did it at a slow time because I couldn't have gotten a transcript out even if I wanted to.  It is a very difficult software to learn, at least it was for me.  On top of that, I was learning Windows too because I was transitioning from a DOS program too.

I love Eclipse now and am very glad I made the change.  Very solid system.  Learning the auto indexing is probably the most challenging part, getting all that set up.  If I were you, I'd hire someone to help you set up a lot of this stuff for you.  I did that and it made life so much easier.

[KMF]

Thank you for the replies.  I will have almost three months before Stenocat is up, so hopefully that will be enough time to get comfortable.  I probably would have done it sooner if it was not for the price.  I heard someone mention in another forum they purchased Eclipse through Acculaw.  Do you guys know if that's the best deal or should I just get it straight from the source? 

[Mary Jo Cochran]

If you have three months left on SC, and you have the money, buy the Eclipse now.  You will have bought yourself three months for learning.  You can do small stuff on the Eclipse or stuff that you have time for.  And if you are super pressed, do it on the SC.  In three months you should be moving along pretty well on the Eclipse.  You will have saved yourself a lot of stress and have a nice smooth transition. 

[Emily Erickson-Sandstrom]

If you have time, Mary Jo or anyone, could you explain to me which equipment a new person should acquire?  I am looking into scoping.  Am still a registered reporter in the State of Idaho, have 25 years of being a court reporter, but have not reported for a long time.  Owned an office, trained reporters, did a lot of technical work, had really good clients, back in the day that having a tape recorder was a disgrace.  That was in south Florida, and I left there in '88 when my husband decided to retire and be an elk rancher.

The nearest town of any size to me is a four-hour drive one way, so there's no one to drop in on here to discuss this in person.  My friend Sue, whom I encouraged to become a court reporter, transcribed without having the equipment for a while.  Right now, I am headed in that direction.

My cell phone is 208 993 1657 if someone prefers speaking to typing.

 

Emily

[Roberta-Anne Schmitt]

Hi Kim,

I switched from SC to Eclipse about five years ago now and am so thankful I did!!!!  Yes, initially you are going to be super duper frustrated, wished you had never done it, hit keys that you think do something familiar that do something entirely different now but trust me, you will be so happy you did it once you get the hang of it, which won't take that long!!!  I was on SC for years and years and years and had always heard such great things about Eclipse (all true!) and, as I said, am soooooooooooooo glad I made the switch.  Trust me.  You will never regret it.  Good luck!!!!

[Martha R]

Ask your salesperson if you can use for Stenocat keyboard commands on Eclipse.  I was able to use My Stenocat keyboard on Case Catalyst, and it was very nice not to have to learn a new keyboard.

[KMF]

And thanks, Martha, I didn't know you could do that.  I think that would be a lifesaver.  

[KMF]

Yes, I keep hearing all the things Eclipse can do and Stenocat has none of these functions. I know it will take some time to get used to, but it just needs to be done. When I calculated all the money I've spent on Stenocat every year, I could have bought Eclipse a couple times over. Thanks :)

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

Oh, also keep in mind that you can switch any of the keys in Eclipse to do what you want them to do.  Once you get a little more comfortable with the system and you don't like the key setup the way it is, just change it.  I've changed a couple of them myself.

[Deborah M.]

When I initially switched from ProCAT to Eclipse, I reprogrammed most of the keys to match what I was used to.  It made it a lot easier.  Like if delete a word was CTRL+T on Eclipse, but I was used to CTRL+D, I changed it to CTRL+D.  Now I don't even know what they're "supposed" to be and what I changed.

[Jenny Griffin, RMR CRR CCRR CRC]

I always tell my students never to change Eclipse keys to match what they've been used to.  I know reporters have done so successfully, like Deborah, but if there are future changes to the software, or even problems where you need to talk to tech support, it's so much easier to talk apples to apples.