YesLaw PDF Transcript Generator FAQs

The YesLaw PDF Transcript Generator production software is only available for court reporters to produce their transcripts in PDF format for onward delivery to their attorney clients. The software is not available to lawyers or law firms. Court reporters should call our toll-free customer support line for current pricing. The Transcript Generator provides an unmatched pricing compares favorably to the competitive software products.

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Why We Recommend PDF Transcripts

We recommend attorneys request their transcripts in PDF format because:

§ PDF is multi-platform and works for Windows, Mac OSX, iPads, iPhones Blackberry, and Android Operating Systems

§ Attorneys have their choice of viewing applications – pick the one that works best for you

§ PDF is an open standard and will be well supported into the distant future

§ Use a common tool-set (search, markup, reports, etc.) for exhibits, transcripts and other documents

§ No transcript-specific software to purchase, install and manage

§ Adobe provides permanent redaction, Bates stamping, advanced search, annotation, markup and reporting tools

§ Compatible with eDiscovery and trial preparation and presentation tools

§ Ideal for electronic delivery: compressed and not blocked as email malware

§ eFiling standard

Why We Recommend YesLaw PDF Transcripts

YesLaw PDF Transcripts are unique in that:

§ Attorneys can copy-and-paste directly from the full or condensed (mini) transcripts into word processing documents or emails while maintaining the court reporter’s original formatting

§ When you copy-and-paste, the headers, footers, and watermarks are not included – just the court reporter’s text

§ The transcript includes a fully-hyperlinked word index where each page:line is hyperlinked to the corresponding location within the transcript

§ Each word in the index calls the Adobe advanced search tool to create more advanced search queries or search over multiple transcripts and exhibits with a single search

§ Each transcript reference to an exhibit is hyperlinked to the exhibit file

§ Each exhibit is listed in the bookmarks with a hyperlinked cross-reference list of all the transcript references

§ Additional transcript formats (AMICUS, LEF, ASCII) are included as attachments

§ YesLaw PDF transcripts are full-featured but have the smallest file size – ideal for use on mobile devices (iPads, iPhones, etc.)

§ A select-all and copy allows simple creation of a text file transcript

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We Recommend iAnnotate to Manage Transcripts on iPads

We recommend the iAnnotate iPad app (search for iAnnotate on the Apple App store) for managing your PDF transcripts on the iPad. (http://www.branchfire.com/iannotate )

iAnnotate Screen Shot

For the iPhone, we like GoodReader ( http://www.goodiware.com ), but there are dozens of choices of viewing software available for all the different platforms. You have the luxury of choosing the one that works best for you.

Attorney Tips for Using Adobe’s Reader and Acrobat Software

There are a number of blogs and websites dedicated to attorney’s use of Adobe Acrobat and/or PDF files. A quick Google search will find several good sites.

Adobe’s Rick Borstein’s Blog: http://blogs.adobe.com/acrolaw/

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Printing

When printing YesLaw PDF transcripts, on the Print dialog box be sure to select to print Document and Markups otherwise the cover and word index pages will be blank.

The court reporter has configured the transcript margins to meet the state and local transcript production regulations. Be sure to select “None” for page scaling and do not select Auto-Rotate and Center or the your printed margins may differ.

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Copy-and-Paste

With YesLaw PDF transcripts, you can copy-and-paste directly from either the full or condensed (“mini”) transcripts while maintaining the court reporters formatting but without including the headers, footers, or watermarks.

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Bookmarks

YesLaw PDF transcripts include a complete set of bookmarks for quick, easy access to the word index, exhibits, exhibit references, attached transcript formats and transcript pages. The bookmarks can be shown by clicking the bookmark ribbon icon on the left tool bar.

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Exhibits

YesLaw PDF transcripts provide hyperlinks to attached exhibits. Access to the attached exhibit files is through the paperclip icon shown on the left. One or more exhibit files can be selected by clicking and saved as stand-alone files. OCR’d exhibit files can also be searched with Adobe’s Advanced Search tool.

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Annotation Tools

Be sure to add the sticky note and highlight tools to your toolbar to provide instant access to these often-used tools.

Are your annotation tool buttons hidden? You may have to drag your window wider to provide enough room for these tools to be displayed.

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Print Annotations Report

Under “Comment”, Adobe provides a summary list of your annotations/comments/highlights for a PDF file. These can be searched, sorted/selected by type, commenter, or checkbox status. Then all or the selected comments can printed to a summary report.

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Page Navigation Tools

For best use of the hyperlinked word index, enable the “Previous View” (effectively the back button) for your PDF viewing software. Right-click on the navigation bar and select either Show All Page Navigation Tools or select both the Previous View and Next View buttons.

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Simple and Advanced Search Tools

Adobe provides both a simple search tool ( Ctrl+F, see the blue box in the upper-right corner of the window) as well as an advanced search tool accessed through the Edit > Advanced Search menu item or Shift+Ctrl+F keyboard shortcut.

The advanced search tool allows quick searches of all the PDF files – transcripts, exhibits, and other documents – within a case folder.

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Search Results Reporting

Looking for a reason to upgrade? Adobe Acrobat X includes the ability to save your Advanced Search results over multiple documents to a hyperlinked PDF-formatted report or to a spreadsheet compatible (.CSV) file.

The report includes a bookmark for each document and search hits with context.

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Bookmark Summary Report

As you review documents, if you bookmark passages of interest, you can create a comprehensive report in PDF format and/or spreadsheet-compatible file format (CSV) of all the bookmarks added across a large collection of documents. This is an excellent way to provide a summary of your review or a selection of documents.

Create Bookmark Report Action Window