A transcription system is used by many professionals to make notes about work or research, and choosing the right system will ensure dictations are easy to create and use. Controller devices are used in conjunction with a transcription system, but there are many different controllers, such as foot pedals and hand-held recorders. Traditional dictations only allow audio or text, but digital dictations can accept digital file attachments. Most professionals share dictations with other professionals, so sharing features may help streamline this process. It is common to make mistakes while dictating, so a seamless editor will help fix these problems.
To allow users to start and stop a dictation, most transcription system programs offer a controller, but there are many different controllers. The most common are hand-held devices, foot pedals and headsets. Users should consider their working conditions and which controller would be the safest and most convenient to use. For example, hand-held devices are good for users sitting at a desk, foot pedals are good for users that often have substances on their hands or do not often have their hands free, and headsets are good for users who move around.
Being able to attach a file to a dictation may be useful for some professionals. Unlike traditional dictation, which only offers audio or text, this allows users to share pictures, text documents and other files that will help explain or clarify the dictation. At the same time, users who just need an audio transcription system may save some money by not getting this feature.
Among many professionals, including lawyers, doctors and researchers, it is common to share dictations with other people working on the same project. If this is a need, then users should select a transcription system that allows easy sharing. Common features that assist in sharing are the ability to email dictations and being able to upload dictations to websites.
While most users try to avoid them, mistakes often occur during dictation. To keep these mistakes from interfering with the quality of the dictation, a seamless editing feature may help. This allows users to fix mistakes without causing a noticeable difference in the audio, making it seem as if no mistakes occurred. There are both editing tools that can be used after the dictation is finished and on-the-fly editing tools that allow users to rewind and change the dictation. Editing tools are typically standard, but some transcription system programs may only offer them with premium versions of the system.