Opens the Get Started menu. The menu also opens the first time StarCAT starts. See Set up StarCAT the first time. It shows the Dictionary, writer, Jobs folder and license number. Dictionaries…, Writer…, Jobs… and License… open their menus.

Opens this manual, at starcatsteno.com/manual, in your web browser. On the Help menu.

Opens the License menu. Shows the edition, the StarCAT version, the name the license is issued to, the license number, and the date the license works offline until. Opens with no job open. See Enter a license number and Join the beta.

The Scopist edition also lists what it does not do. The Free edition says the page count where print, export and delivery stop.

During the beta, Switch to and Switch Edition change a beta license between Reporter and Scopist. Pick the edition, then click Switch Edition. The license number changes; jobs, dictionaries and settings are kept.

At the bottom, Install updates is the update switch. On, StarCAT looks for a new version when it opens and every six hours, downloads it, and asks before it installs. Off, it never looks.

Check for Updates looks now, even with the switch off. A new version downloads and StarCAT asks to install it. This also brings back a version you went back from.

After an update, Go Back returns to the version you had, for example Go Back to 0.1.3, with the date of the update beside it. It downloads that version's installer, closes StarCAT and opens it again as the earlier version. The version you went back from is not offered again; the next one after it is. Dictionaries, settings and jobs are kept.

Opens the Writer menu: port, machine and speed, Device Manager, Favorites, Byte monitor, Prompt for starting stroke and the Writer turns list. With Prompt for starting stroke on, a Stentura writer with strokes in memory asks where to start: First Stroke brings in every stroke on the writer, Last Stroke starts with the next stroke written, or pick a stroke from the list. Off, Translation starts with the next stroke written, and the strokes already on the writer are not brought in.

Second writer is for two reporters on one job: one writes while the other edits. Select the COM port and Machine, then click Connect. The button then reads Disconnect.

Delete on a row in Favorites removes that favorite. For a keyboard in place of a writer, see Keyboard Steno and Key Map.

Opens the Keyboard Steno menu, which sets the keyboard key or keys for each steno key when you write on a computer keyboard. The Writer menu has a Keyboard Steno button when COM port is Keyboard.

1. Click a steno key on the board. The key turns blue, and the line under the board lists its keys.
2. Press a key on the keyboard to add it. A key that already makes another steno key moves to this one.
3. To remove a key, click it on the line. Press Esc to stop.

Point at a steno key to see its keys. Reset puts back Plover's layout.

Arpeggiate, on the Writer menu when COM port is Keyboard, is for keyboards without N-key rollover, which cannot read many keys pressed at once. Press the keys one at a time, then the Send key, Space by default, to write the stroke. A steno key cannot be the send key.

Opens the Key Map menu, which sets the writer key or keys for each steno key on a Gemini PR, Plover HID, Tréal or Passport writer. The Writer menu has a Key Map button when one of these is the machine.

1. In Machine, select the writer's protocol.
2. Click a steno key on the board. While a key is picked, strokes go to the menu, not the job.
3. Press a writer key to add it. A writer key makes one steno key, and one steno key can have several writer keys. To remove a key, click it on the line. Press Esc to stop.

Extra keys lists the writer's other keys, such as Fn, res1 and pwr. Each is off unless given a steno key or a command. A key given a command runs that command, like a pedal button, and is never part of a stroke.

Reset puts back Plover's map. Each machine has its own map.

Connects or disconnects the writer, the same as the Connect or Disconnect button. On a connected cable writer, stops and starts Translation; the port stays open, so running the command again turns Translation back on. On a keyboard writer, gives the keys back to the keyboard.

Opens the Writer menu at the Writer turns list. A writer turn is the writer and the Dictionaries that are on, saved under a name, for two reporters taking turns in one job. Type a name and click Save to save the current turn. Select a turn and click Take Turn to switch to it, or Delete to remove it.

Realtime > Virtual Realtime replays a job's strokes into a new job, as written. Use it to test a Realtime output, such as captions, with no writer connected, or to watch a job come out stroke by stroke. It is a test, not a way to make a transcript. The menu sets the job, the speed (0.5x to 8x) and the starting stroke, with Play, Previous Stroke, Next Stroke and Start Over. Realtime outputs send as they did on the day. Defines made that day are not repeated. Closing the menu stops the replay. A menu opened over the replay pauses the replay until that menu closes.

Shows and hides the writer port and machine fields on the status bar. Off, the status bar shows the port and machine as text, or No writer set up; click the text to open the Writer menu. On by default.

Shows and hides the writer bar, a bar at the top for the record button, writer selection and connection status. Off, they are on the status bar. Off by default. Right-click the bar to move it.

Turns the number bar as a dragged key on and off. On, an undefined stroke with the number bar down is read without the bar, unless every key in it is a digit. For example, an undefined #KAT reads as KAT, cat, because K is not a digit. #TA stays 25, since T and A are digits. On the Input tab of Translate Options. Off by default.

Turns Number bar untrans on and off. On, a stroke with the number bar down that reads as digits only is an Untranslate, unless your Dictionary defines it. Turning it on or off retranslates the job.

• Off: an undefined #SPH writes He lives at 134.
• On: He lives at [#SPH].

With Phonetic translation on, the Untranslate is then sounded out, so #SPH can come out as a word. On the Input tab of Translate Options. A job setting: a new job starts with the last job's choice. Off by default.

Opens the Dragged and Dropped Keys menu.

A dragged key is one pressed by accident along with the stroke. A dropped key is one you meant to press that did not register.

StarCAT counts both from your fixes. Say you meant KAT, cat, but wrote KAOT, and KAOT is not in your Dictionary. The Infobar and the Define box offer cat, "without the O". Pick cat, and O gets one more on the Dragged side. Meant TKOG, dog, and wrote TOG: pick dog, "with a K", and K gets one more on the Dropped side.

Each key shows a bar and its count. A long Dragged bar means the key is too easy to hit: turn its sensitivity down on the writer. A long Dropped bar means turn its sensitivity up.

Check the keys that drag and the keys that drop, and click Save. Use closest guess from dictionary on misstroke then only takes off checked dragged keys and only adds checked dropped keys. With none checked on a side, StarCAT uses the keys next to each other on the keyboard. With all checked, any key on that side can come off or go on, which finds more guesses and more wrong ones; check only the keys that misbehave.

Sends one key press, with Ctrl, Alt or Shift if set, to StarCAT's fields, not to other programs. For macro steps and Dictionary entries.

Opens the Appearance menu. See Change the appearance. The menu has three tabs, Frame, Writing Window and Raw Steno, and a search box that finds a setting on any of them. Each tab has three sections: Backgrounds, Fonts and Other. The Frame tab also sets the waveform colors: Background, Waveform and Played.

Reset to Defaults returns every size, font and color on every tab to the appearance's own. Ctrl+Z undoes it. Like any change, the reset waits for Save.

On the Writing Window tab, Highlight is the color behind a Find hit, the words a steno row wrote, and the word Scan stops on.

Inverse colors, on by default, draws it as a solid block with the text in the page color, so a marked word stays readable. Turn it off for a light wash that lets a mark's own color show through.

The appearances are below, like next to like. A new installation starts on Light or Dark, whichever Windows is set to.

Switches to an appearance by name. An appearance you made keeps the panels that were open and where they sat, so a key or macro step with Use Appearance returns to that layout. Set the name when you assign the command to a key or add it to a macro.

For example, Use Appearance with the name Onyx switches to Onyx. In a Dictionary entry, that is {@RUN(uselook Onyx)}.

A panel opened, closed or moved while an appearance you made is on stays with that appearance. To make one, see Change the appearance.

Shows and hides the toolbars. Listed on View > Bars under the first bar's name. Show toolbars on the Toolbar menu is the same switch.

Shows and hides the second toolbar. Listed on View > Bars under the second bar's name. Off by default. Further bars are shown and hidden on the Toolbar menu.

Sets the size of the toolbar icons: Tiny, Small, Normal, Large or Largest. The same setting is on the Toolbar menu.

Sets the text size of the toolbar labels: Small, Normal, Big or Bigger. Normal by default.

Sets the text size of the hotkeys shown on the toolbar: Small, Normal, Big or Bigger. Normal by default.

Sets the line weight of the toolbar icons: Thin, Medium or Heavy. The default is Thin.

Sets how the toolbar icons are colored.

Line draws the outline only and is the default.

Tint adds a light fill.

Color adds a full fill.

Sets the tab names on the writing window and the rails to Bold or Plain. The default is Bold.

Sets the font of the menus, toolbars and panels. The default is Lexend. The list holds 27 fonts in groups:

• Lexend, Plex and JetBrains Mono.
• Windows: Segoe UI, Verdana, Tahoma, Calibri, Bahnschrift, Corbel, Candara, Georgia.
• Made for reading: Atkinson Hyperlegible.
• Plain sans: Source Sans 3, Noto Sans, Open Sans, Lato, Fira Sans, Public Sans, Red Hat Text, Work Sans.
• Narrow: Plex Sans Condensed, Barlow Semi Condensed.
• With character: Nunito, Ubuntu, Source Serif 4.
• Fixed width: Plex Mono, Consolas.

The Windows fonts and Consolas come with Windows. The rest come with StarCAT.

Sets the text on a switched-on button, such as Follow or Waveform, to Bold or Plain. The default is Bold.

Opens the Backups and users menu.

Besides backups and saved users, the menu lists the folders StarCAT uses under File/Folder Paths, each with Open and, where it can be moved, Change.

Delete beside a saved user removes that user. Off on the Backups path turns backups off, and Use and a cloud folder's name moves them there.

See Back up your settings, Share settings, Import shared settings and Keep a second user.

Reminders sets a message to appear when a job closes or when StarCAT closes: Reminder is the message, Details the text under it. Click Stay on the reminder to keep the job or StarCAT open.

Lists your other saved users. Pick one with the arrow keys and press Enter, or click Restart as User. StarCAT saves the open job and restarts with that user's settings. With no other user saved, it opens Backups and Users instead.

Opens the settings menus as one set of tabs, on the menu last used. The first time, it opens on Appearance. The User row of tabs is above the Job row.

A Job tab opens its menu in its own window, and Settings on that window goes back.

Restore Defaults on a menu resets its fields. It takes two clicks: the button reads Confirm Restore after the first. Tables on the menu are not reset.

Searches every command, menu item and setting by name. The list drops down under the search box at the top of the window. Selecting a command runs it. Selecting a setting opens its menu and outlines it.

Opens the Dictionaries menu. Each row has a checkbox to use it, the Main and Job radio buttons, the arrows that move it, and the entry count. Main picks the Dictionary a Main Define goes into, and Job the one a Job Define goes into. See Set the dictionary order. StarCAT reads .dct, .dix (and .db0 to .db9), .sgdct, RTF/CRE .rtf, .json, .py and StarCAT .cdx.

• Add a Dictionary…: adds a Dictionary file to the list.
• New dictionary and Create: makes an empty Dictionary with that name.
• Tools: Edit Dictionaries, Dictionary Builder, Compare Dictionaries, Conflicts, Normalization Table, Endings Table and Export Dictionary to RTF/CRE.

On each row, the double arrow moves the Dictionary to the top, and × takes it off the list. A row with changes waiting shows Write in, which puts them in the Dictionary file.

The Update Area is a holding Dictionary for entries meant for the Main Dictionary, so you can check them before they are kept. It is off on a new installation. The controls under the list:

• Main defines go to the Update Area: a Define to the Main Dictionary goes to the Update Area instead.
• Translate with the Update Area: entries in the Update Area translate as if they were already in the Main Dictionary.
• Review the Update Area (#): opens the entries in the Dictionary editor. Move an entry to the Main Dictionary to keep it. This button shows only while Main defines go to the Update Area is checked or the Update Area holds entries.

Turns the Dictionaries panel on and off. The panel lists the Dictionaries in use, in reading order.

Right-click a Dictionary in the panel:

• Edit this dictionary: opens it in Edit Dictionaries.
• Turn off or Turn on: stops or starts using it.
• Move up, Move down, Move to the top: change the order.
• Make this the main dictionary: Main Defines go into it.
• Make this the job dictionary: Job Defines go into it, and it moves to the top.
• Remove from the list: takes it off the list.

Opens the Edit Dictionaries menu. A changed or added entry rewrites the job at once. To have it wait for Retranslate Changed Paragraphs like other Dictionary edits, turn off Retranslate on Edit Dictionaries saves in Translate options.

Filters, across the top:

• Search: finds text in the entries. Look sets where: Anywhere, Steno or Translation.
• Type: shows one kind of entry, such as Conflicts, Numbers, Macros, Two strokes, Never written or Deleted.
• Last used: shows entries last written before this date.
• Dictionary: Every dictionary or one Dictionary.

Paging, at the top left:

• Back and Next: move a page.
• Rows: the number of rows on a page.
• Go to: jumps to the first row holding this text, without filtering the list.

The list:

• Click a translation to change it. Double-click a row to open the entry in the define box.
• Up and Down move between entries. Enter or Alt+L opens the entry in Edit Entry. On an entry that plays a macro, Alt+L opens that macro in Macros instead.
• Edit, Delete and Revert show under Rows for the selected row. Revert takes off a change and puts back what the Dictionary says. On a deleted entry, Restore puts it back.
• Type in the top row and click Add to add an entry to the Dictionary chosen in that row.
• Click a column head to sort. Drag a head to move the column, and drag its edge to size it. Right-click a head to show or hide columns and table lines.
• Toggle, in the Steno head: shows steno as notation or as tape columns.
• Right-click a row for Edit, Delete and Add Entry.

The buttons on the left act on the checked rows. With no rows checked they act on every entry the filters match, and they say so: Copy All 147,424, or Copy 3 with three rows checked.

• Into: the Dictionary that Copy, Move and Merge write to.
• Copy: copies the entries into the Into Dictionary.
• Move: copies the entries into the Into Dictionary and takes them out of the Dictionary they were in. An entry StarCAT can't take out of its Dictionary file stays there too, and the line under the buttons gives the count.
• Delete: deletes the entries. They go to the Deleted type, where Restore puts them back. With no rows checked, this button requires a Last used date.
• Print: prints the entries in list order, with steno as Toggle shows it.
• Core List: saves a .txt file of the words and phrases, once each, in alphabetical order, without the steno. Each translation of a conflict is listed. Entries with no letter or digit are left out. This is the list to give a scopist.
• Trim Spaces: shows when Type is Broken. Takes the spaces off both ends of each translation.
• Merge from and Merge: brings entries into the Into Dictionary from Personal, from any Dictionary on the list, or from A file…, which takes the Dictionary file types StarCAT reads. Search and Type narrow a merge from a Dictionary on the list.
• Undo: takes back the last change to the Into Dictionary. The button names it.

If an outline in Copy, Move or Merge is already defined differently in the Into Dictionary, a table asks what to do with it. Clicking a column head sets every row.

• Keep old: the translation in the Into Dictionary stays. On Move, the entry also stays where it was.
• Keep new: the incoming translation replaces it.
• Conflict: the outline keeps both translations as a conflict.
• Neither: the outline comes out of the Into Dictionary.

Replace, for Translations only:

• Replace and With: the text to find and the text to put in.
• Location: Contains, Begins with, Ends with or Exact match.
• Match case and Whole word: narrow the search.
• Replace in: runs it on the checked rows, or on every entry the filters match. Undo on the line under it takes it back.

Sets the text size of the Edit dictionaries table. Ctrl and +, - or 0, or Ctrl and the mouse wheel over the table, also change it. Larger by default.

Goes to an entry in Edit dictionaries without filtering the list. Opens the menu if it is closed and moves the cursor to its Go to box. Type the steno or word and press Enter. The menu says Not in the list: when there is no match.

Opens the Dictionary Builder, for defining a list of words by writing the Steno for each one.

To build a list:

1. In Word List, type or paste the words, or click Load a File.
2. Choose the Dictionary the entries go into, if the menu asks.
3. To run the list from the writer, assign a stroke to each command in the boxes under the list.
4. Click Start. The first word comes up.
5. Write the Steno for the word. One stroke defines it and the next word comes up. For more than one stroke, check More than one stroke, write the strokes, and click Define.
6. Repeat for each word. Use Skip to pass a word and Back to return to one.
7. Click Done, or finish the last word. The list of what was defined comes up. Click Take Back on any entry to remove it.

The list:

• Word List: type or paste the words, names and phrases. Rows, commas, semicolons and tabs separate them. A duplicate is asked for once.
• Load a File: adds a .txt or .csv file to the list.
• A row with Steno, like SPH*EUT = Smith, is added at Start without asking. The Steno can be keys or sounds: MERJ goes in as PHERPBLG.
• With more than one place to go, radio buttons choose the Dictionary the entries go into. With one, the line under Load a File names it.

The boxes under the list assign a stroke to each command, so you can run the list from the writer. Each is one stroke, and that stroke can't also be a Dictionary entry during the build.

• Define and proceed to next: defines the word and moves on.
• Multi-Stroke: turns More than one stroke on or off.
• Previous: goes back a word.
• Skip: moves on without defining.
• Additional outline: defines the word and stays on it.
• Hear it: says the word.
• Read each word out: turns that checkbox on or off.

While a word is up, your writer goes to this list. Nothing written here reaches the transcript.

• Steno: write the stroke. One stroke defines at once. With More than one stroke checked, strokes wait for Define. The asterisk takes one back.
• Define: defines the word with what is in Steno.
• Additional Steno: defines it and keeps the word up for another outline. If you already write the word, a line says so, and this adds an outline without taking that one away.
• Board: opens a steno keyboard for building the stroke with the mouse.
• Read each word out: says each word as it comes up. Hear It says it once.
• Suggest Steno: offers outlines from the theory in force, fewest strokes first. Clicking one defines the word.
• Back, Skip and Done: go back a word, move on, or end the list.

A stroke can bring other entries with it. They show as a checked list: uncheck any you don't want and click Add Them and Go On.

If a pasted Steno is already defined in the Dictionary it goes into, StarCAT doesn't overwrite it. It shows both, with Replace on each row and Replace All for more than one.

Done lists what was defined. Take Back removes an entry, and a replaced entry goes back to what it was. Build Another List starts again.

Looks up a word or Steno. Type in Word or steno. A word lists the entries that write it, and Steno lists what it translates to. Delete on a row deletes that entry.

With Word or steno empty, the menu lists the entries added to the job dictionary and the Main Dictionary. Delete or Restore on a row deletes the entry or puts it back.

To add an entry, fill in Steno and Translation, select the Dictionary in Add to, and click Add.

Opens the Define menu with the commands list open. The list shows the formatting commands an entry can use. Find a command narrows the list. Click a row to put it in the Translation box. See Define box keys and Define box buttons.

Lists the Misstrokes the translator matched to the nearest entry in a Dictionary. Defining one points its Steno at the intended entry. Nothing is defined until you click a row's Define.

Opens the Normalization table. Each row is one sound and the ways it splits between two strokes, written as end keys/start keys, separated by commas. The Define menu's Boundaries pane uses it, so one Define also covers the other splits: with Boundaries open and the T row, T/,/T,T/T, a Define of PET/TEUGS as petition also defines PET/EUGS and PE/TEUGS. Save keeps your changes. Shipped Rows restores the shipped table.

Opens the Endings table. The Define menu's Endings pane uses it. Each row is the ending, =, then the keys that write it. Rows from Eclipse's Integral prefix and suffix table copy in as they are. Save keeps your changes. Learned Rows restores the rows read from the Dictionary. Ending extrapolation does not read this table: it has four fixed keys of its own, listed under Extrapolate undefined suffixed strokes.

• ^ed=-D: -D on the last stroke writes ed.
• dis^=STK: a caret after the letters makes a prefix. STK goes on the first stroke.

A comma and a check can follow the keys. The check looks at the stroke the ending goes on.

• Keys with no + are keys the stroke must not have. ^ing=-G,-TSDZ: RUPB gets RUPBG for running, and RUPBS gets no -G, because it has -S.
• Keys after a + are keys the stroke must have, one of them at least. ^s=-Z,+-D: HRAPBD gets HRAPBDZ for lands, and RUPB gets no -Z, because it has no -D.

The hyphen in -D marks a final-side key, as it does in any Steno. It does not mean "must not".

Compares two Dictionaries. Select Dictionary and Against and click Compare. The menu lists Steno in both with different Translations, 50 rows a page.

Keep writes that Translation into the other Dictionary.

Delete from both removes the Steno from both.

Undo reverses a settled row.

Back and More move between pages.

Save as a File writes the comparison to a text file (.txt).

Exports one Dictionary to RTF/CRE. Select it in Dictionary and click Save. Check Conflicts as first choice for a Dictionary you load onto a writer, which cannot choose between Conflict choices: each Conflict is written as its first choice. Clear it for another CAT program, which keeps every choice. Nothing else changes. Entries that write no text, such as paragraph commands, macros, fields and speakers, are left out and counted.

Lists the multi-stroke entries you write most, with a one-stroke brief for each: Dictionary > Brief My Dictionary. The count comes from the strokes you have written, not from the Dictionary. Set the fields and click Find.

• Find entries with: 2 or more strokes or 3 or more strokes.
• That do not have: Shorter Steno leaves out an entry whose words another entry already writes in fewer strokes. One-stroke Steno leaves out only words that already have a one-stroke entry.
• Used in the past (months): only entries written in that many months. 6 by default; 0 counts every stroke ever written.
• Show: how many rows to list, most used first. 10 by default.

Each row shows Used (times written), the Translation, the Steno and the suggested Brief: one stroke that no Dictionary has. None free means no brief was found, and the row cannot be checked. Edit a brief, or use New Suggestion or Stop Suggesting on a row. Stop Suggesting means that entry is not suggested for a brief again, here or while you write. Add # to Main Dictionary adds the checked rows.

Lists the words in a set of transcripts that the Dictionaries cannot write. Check the jobs to read. Jobs in the current case and the open job start checked. Add Files adds other files.

• Seen at least: leaves out anything that comes up fewer times than this.
• List: Words, Phrases or Both.
• Sort: Frequency or A-Z.
• Create List: makes the list.

On each row, Cap cycles the capitalization and Remove takes it off the list. Undo All puts the list back as it was made. Save List saves it to a file.

Heads-Up List prints a sheet to read before the job. The words are grouped by how often they occur. Words a Dictionary writes come first, with their Steno; the words no Dictionary writes follow.

Start Dictionary Builder puts the list in the Dictionary Builder.

Opens the Jobs menu: start a new job, open a job from the list, set the case and job dictionary, and append another job. It has three tabs: Jobs, This Job and Options. The menu opens on the last tab used.

Jobs list

• Jobs, Includes and Exports are folders shown as tabs. Add Folder adds any folder as a tab. Ctrl+Left and Ctrl+Right move between them.
• The × on a folder tab takes the tab off. The folder stays. Up goes up one folder.
• Click a column heading to sort by it. Drag a heading to move the column. Drag the right edge of a heading to make the column wider or narrower. Double-click the edge for the default width.
• Right-click a heading to show or hide columns: Read-only, Started, Last modified, Pages, Strokes, Words, Untranslates and Size. Check Read-only on a row and the job writes no file of any kind when it opens or closes.
• Type in the Job box to rename a job, or in the Case box to move it to another case. Press Enter to keep the change or Esc to undo it.
• Pick a Status on the row. Edit Statuses at the bottom of the list opens Job Statuses.
• Pick a Due date on the row. Click the Due heading to see what is due first. A job past its date shows in orange, unless its status is Finished. Clear the box to take the date off.
• Click Open, or double-click the row, to open the job.
• Click the arrow by the name to list the job's files: Job, Stroke log, Notes, Audio, Dictionary, Exhibit and Export. Job is the .starcat file. Double-click it in File Explorer to open the job in StarCAT. Stroke log (job.log) lists every stroke and edit in the job. Notes is a .stn notes file of the job's strokes, written when the job closes, for anyone who asks for your notes. Double-click a file to open it in its own program.
• Check the boxes and press Delete to send jobs or files to the Recycle Bin. The open job cannot be deleted.
• Search every job finds words in every transcript, or in every job Dictionary. Pick Job info to search what the pane beside the list shows: "Michael" finds every job Michael created or edited, and "Created by: Michael" only the jobs he created. Copy List copies the list to paste into a spreadsheet.
• The picker beside Search every job picks what to search: Job Name, Transcripts, Dictionaries or Job info.
• In Search every job, ? is one unknown letter and * is any number of them. Click Search.
• Whole word and Match case narrow the search. Whole word does not show for Job Name or with Regular expression.
• Regular expression reads the box as an expression. Expressions puts a ready-made one in the box. Neither shows for Dictionaries.
• This case only searches the open job's case. It shows when the open job is in a case.

The pane beside the list shows the selected job: Case, Status, Due, dates, pages, size and folder. Once a job has been opened, it also shows who created it, who last edited it, its speakers, and its lines, words, folios, strokes, untranslates, conflicts and selected conflicts, and the fields you filled in, such as WITNESS. A selected conflict is a Conflict whose Translation StarCAT picked and nobody has confirmed yet. A folio is 72 words. Edit time is the time spent working in the job. A break of more than five minutes counts as five.

Click a file in a job's list of files to show it in the pane: its type, dates, size and folder. A dictionary also shows how many entries it has, and an audio file shows its length.

• Append creates a new job: the open job, then the selected job after it. The new job is named "<open Job> with <selected Job>" and opens. The two jobs it came from do not change. Use Append to put the volumes of a long day together.
• Copy creates a copy named "<name> copy" on the list.
• Copy to Folder copies the job out of StarCAT, such as to a thumb drive.
• Show Folder opens the job's folder in File Explorer.
• Job Report prints what the pane shows, on one sheet: the job's dates, pages and folder, its statistics, and its fields.

Open, Append, Copy and Delete show only for a job that is not open.

At the top of the menu:

• Job Dictionary: the Dictionary for the new job. New one for this job… shows Name, to name it. Choose a file… picks one from anywhere.
• Transcripts…: makes jobs from .rtf, .txt, .asc or .ecl transcripts. Select one file or several.

On the This Job tab:

• Job Dictionary: the same picks, for the open job. Click Save.
• Translate settings: a saved set of the writer's port and protocol, the outputs and the Print Layout. Pick a set and click Use. This sets the writer but does not connect it. To save the current settings, type a name in Save as and click Save. Delete deletes the set picked.
• Writer…, Print Layout…, Dictionaries… and Translate Options… open those menus.

On the Options tab: Save to is the folder new jobs go in. Change… picks another.

Read notes from your writer:

Your writer saves every stroke to its memory as a notes file, even when not connected. Notes…, at the top of the Jobs menu, makes a job from that file. StarCAT reads .stn, .not and .ecl files, and StarCAT job.log files.

1. Copy the notes file off the writer onto the computer.
2. Open the Jobs menu and click Notes….
3. Select one file, or several. Each file becomes its own job, translated with your Dictionaries.

All in one job, on the Options tab, puts several files into one job instead.

Default name codes

Default name, on the Options tab, names each new job. Click Save beside it to keep it. Type plain text, codes, or both. %name is the name you type in the Job Name box. Each other code is replaced by the date or time the job starts. Examples are for Tuesday, October 13, 2026 at 2:05:09 PM.

• %name: the name you typed
• %Y: year, 2026
• %y: year, two digits, 26
• %m: month as a number, 10
• %B: month, October
• %b: month, short, Oct
• %d: day of the month, 13
• %o: st, nd, rd or th for the day, so %#d%o is 13th
• %A: weekday, Tuesday
• %a: weekday, short, Tue
• %w: weekday as a number, Sunday is 0, 2
• %H: hour, 24-hour clock, 14
• %I: hour, 12-hour clock, 02
• %p: a.m. or p.m., p.m.
• %P: AM or PM, PM
• %M: minutes, 05
• %S: seconds, 09
• %j: day of the year, 286
• %U: week of the year, 41
• %x: date, 10/13/26
• %X: time, 14:05:09
• %c: date and time, 10/13/26 14:05:09
• %z or %Z: this computer's time zone, Eastern Daylight Time
• %%: a percent sign

Put # after the percent sign to drop a leading zero: %#I is 2, not 02. A code not on this list stays as you typed it.

Example: %name %m%d%y-%H%M names a job "Smith 101326-1405".

Breaking stroke

Use a breaking stroke when you write two proceedings in one notes file, such as two depositions in one day without turning the writer off.

• Pick one stroke you never write in a transcript, such as STPH-FPLT.
• Write it five times in a row between the two proceedings.
• When you read the notes, StarCAT starts a new job at each run of five. The jobs are named after the file with 1, 2, 3 on the end. The breaking strokes are left out.
• Written fewer than five times, the stroke is ordinary writing and stays in.

To set it, open the Options tab, click Set beside Breaking stroke, and write the stroke on your writer. You can also type the Steno in the box. Leave the box empty to create one job per file.

On the Options tab, Warn when deleting asks before each job, once for all of them (the default), or never.

Ends the open job and opens a new one, translating, with no menu. A job with nothing written is discarded. The new job takes the Default name from the Jobs menu.

Opens a job folder from any location, such as a thumb drive or archive drive. Dragging the folder onto the window does the same.

Open a recent job

File > Open Recent lists the jobs you last opened, newest first, up to 10. The open job is not listed, nor is a job you have since deleted or moved. Click one to open it. Jobs 1 to 9 are numbered: type the number and press Enter.

Ends the open job. A job with nothing written is discarded; otherwise the End Job menu opens. Every stroke and edit is already saved. Click one of your job statuses or End Without One. The status shows on the Jobs list. Edit Statuses opens Job Statuses. An empty job opens in its place, so the next stroke is not lost. The job's defines are then written into the dictionary files, and the Jobs menu opens.

The statuses you pick from on the Jobs list and when you end a job. StarCAT comes with Editing, Sent to Scopist, Proofread, Read, Final Edit, Draft Print, Final Print, Invoiced and Done. The last three are Finished.

• Click Add Status and type its name.
• Check Finished on a status that means the job is done. A job with a Finished status never shows as past due.
• Change a name and every job with it takes the new name.
• Click Delete to take a status off the list. Jobs that have it keep it.

Closes StarCAT, the same as the X at the top right. Every stroke and edit is already saved. A reminder set for Closing StarCAT shows first.

File > Retranslate to New Job retranslates the job's strokes with the current Dictionaries into a new job named "<title> retranslated". Edits and paragraph labels are not copied. The original job keeps its edits.

Use it when the Dictionary was wrong for the whole job and you typed over words it now gets right: the new job starts clean, without those edits. To keep your edits, use Retranslate Changed Paragraphs instead.

Edit > Retranslate Changed Paragraphs lists the paragraphs that read differently with the Dictionaries as they are now. Click a row to go to its paragraph. Retranslate Changed Paragraphs updates them in the open job.

Use it after you fix Dictionary entries while editing. Your edits stay; one typed over words that now translate differently is marked Stale. To start over without your edits, use Retranslate to New Job.

Saves the open job to one .scjob file: the job folder (Steno, job Dictionary, audio and exhibits), without exports. The save dialog opens at the Exports folder.

Saves the open job, its audio, and the Dictionaries that are on, with their changes, to one .scjob file for a scopist. Python Dictionaries are not included. On the scopist's computer the Dictionaries apply to that job only.

Opens a .scjob file as a new job folder. An existing job is never overwritten. A file that is not a job is refused and nothing is written.

Saves the marked part of the job, with its audio, as a new job named "<title> part". The open job is not changed. Mark the part first, one of two ways:

• On the Raw Steno panel (View > Panels > Raw Steno), press the first stroke's row and drag to the last, or click the first row and Shift+click the last.
• In the transcript, select the words. The strokes that wrote them are the part.

A Raw Steno mark of two or more strokes comes first.

Opens the Case menu. Select a case to show its case caption (the court, parties and case number that head the transcript), jobs and index. The next job in the case starts with the case caption on the menu. Put a job in a case on the This Job tab of the Jobs menu.

• Case: selects the case. Save saves what is on the menu to it.
• Fill This Job from the Case: see Fill Caption from Case. Gray unless the open job is in that case.
• Caption: Field, Answer and Add add a field. Empty an answer to remove the field from the case; the witness, date, time and place stay on the job.
• Parties: come from Save Caption to Case. Edit a name in place. Empty a name to remove it.
• Jobs in this case: Job, Started and Last modified, oldest first.
• Index: Read the Index lists the entries across the case, with Category, Item and Where, as volume, page and line. The volume is where the job falls in the case, oldest first. Print is gray until the index is read.

Writes the open job's case caption to its case, replacing the one already there.

Fills the open job's unanswered blanks (fields) from its case. Answered blanks are not changed.

Fills the JOB START TIME or JOB END TIME field with the time of the last stroke, as HH:MM. Assign it to a key (Change a key, Assign a command that takes a parameter to a key), or use it in a Dictionary entry such as {@RUN(jobstarttime)}.

Opens the Translate Options menu, with four tabs: Input, Numbers, Keywords and Output.

The switches at the top of the Input tab each have an entry below. The rest of the tab:

• Obscene words list: Phonetic translation never writes a word on the list. Your Dictionary entries always write. On by default. Edit Obscene Words opens the list, one word to a line. Empty puts back the list StarCAT ships. A User setting.
• Leave Out of Realtime: for broadcast. Words on the list go to no output: the CART window, Caption Wire, encoders. The transcript keeps them. Off by default. A User setting.

• Delete stroke: the stroke that takes back the last stroke, * by default. A stroke defined as {Delete} does the same.
• Brackets on untranslates: an Untranslate shows between Untran opening and Untran closing, [ and ] by default: [TKPWHR]. Clear the switch, or empty both boxes, and it shows bare Steno: TKPWHR.
• Answer after colloquy: an Answer written right after colloquy or a parenthetical becomes colloquy under this name. Empty, the default, leaves it an Answer. Example, with THE WITNESS: in the box: THE COURT: Objection, then the Answer stroke and cat, becomes THE WITNESS: Cat., not A. Cat.
• By-line, speaker first: the by-line written when you write a speaker, then the Question stroke. None by default. BY MR. SMITH: and BY Mr. Smith: go on a line of their own. Q. (BY MR. SMITH), Q. (By Mr. Smith), Q. (BY MR. SMITH): and Q. (By Mr. Smith): go in front of the question. After anyone else speaks, the next Question gets the by-line again, with the last name used.
• By-line, question first: the by-line written when you write the Question stroke, then a speaker. Only the forms in front of the question. While this is set, a by-line goes in only where you write the speaker.
• Answer by-lines: an Answer written next to a speaker gets a by-line too, such as BY THE WITNESS:. Off by default.

Example, with By-line, speaker first set to BY MR. SMITH:

With By-line, question first set to Q. (BY MR. SMITH), write the Question stroke, then MR. SMITH's speaker stroke and did: Q. (BY MR. SMITH) Did.

The by-lines, the Answer name and the brackets are job settings.

• Show Live Suggestions, Live Suggestions, Live Suggestion defines, Oops on replace and Translation first: see Show Live Suggestions.
• Retranslate on dictionary edits: a Dictionary edit retranslates the whole job. Off by default: text already written stays as it is until you Retranslate. A User setting.
• Retranslate on Edit Dictionaries saves: see Edit Dictionaries.
• Ask before a define replaces an entry: see Defining.
• Realtime reach: see Pick Conflict Choice.
• Prefix/Suffix Keys... opens Prefix/Suffix Keys: the Ctrl+Alt+Shift keys that put an ending on the word at the cursor. Extrapolate undefined suffixed strokes does not use them.
• Advanced, Quoted text paragraph map: see Quote.

Turns Translation on and off. Off, strokes from the writer are not translated and are not recovered later. Turned back on, the status bar shows how many strokes were not translated.

Writes strokes at the cursor instead of at the end of the job. Off by default, and off again each time StarCAT starts. On, the status bar shows AT CARET.

Warning: use Write at Caret only when editing. Turn it off before you write live. On, every stroke from the writer goes in at the cursor, not at the end of the job.

• Each stroke goes in at the cursor, and the cursor moves on after it.
• Highlighted words are replaced by the next stroke.
• The asterisk takes back the last stroke written at the cursor.
• When the highlight is part of one stroke, or the words on both sides of the cursor were edited, the stroke goes on the end of the job and the status bar says so.

Turns Dialog Translation on and off: Realtime > Dialog Translation. On, when the cursor is in a text box on a menu, such as Find, strokes from the writer go into the box, translated through the job's Dictionaries. Off by default. Once turned on, it stays on the next time StarCAT starts.

While it is on, the status bar shows DIALOG, and the box taking the strokes shows STENO on its top edge.

Example: open Edit > Find, click in the box and write TKOG. The box reads dog, and nothing is added to the job.

Warning: a stroke written into a box is not in the Job. With Dialog Translation on, words written while the cursor is in a box do not go on the record.

• Highlighted text in the box is replaced by the next stroke.
• The asterisk takes back the last stroke. With no stroke written yet, it deletes the word before the cursor.
• A stroke defined as Enter or Esc works as the menu's OK or Cancel. A stroke defined as Tab moves to the next box or button.
• A stroke defined as a command runs the command.
• In Find's Steno search, each stroke is added as Steno, not as Translation.
• The Define box always takes strokes, with Dialog Translation on or off.

Turns Phonetic translation on and off. On, a stroke with no Dictionary entry is read phonetically from its keys and marked Phonetic. On by default.

Opens the Theory menu: the rows Phonetic translation sounds out with, as Beginnings, Vowels and Endings, each a Steno and its Translation. Your rows replace the shipped ones. The rows are kept in theory.txt, a plain text file in the Program data folder.

Teach Phonetic translation a sound:

1. Open the Theory menu. Try, at the top, shows how a stroke reads with the rows as they are now. Type SKRAEUP: it reads skrape, because no row says SKR is scr.
2. Click the tab for the keys: Beginnings for SKR.
3. Type the Steno and the Translation, SKR and scr, and click Add.
4. Try now reads scrape, and so does every undefined stroke that starts with SKR.
5. To go back, click Reset on your row. A changed row returns to the shipped Translation; a row you added is removed.

Turns ending extrapolation, Extrapolate undefined suffixed strokes on the Input tab, on and off. On, an undefined stroke that is a defined stroke plus one of these keys takes the ending, marked Ending folded on. On by default.

• -Z or -S: s
• -G: ing
• -D: ed

These four keys are fixed. Two other things in StarCAT are named Endings:

• The Endings Table: the ending forms a Define adds.
• Prefix/Suffix Keys: keys that put an ending on the word at the cursor.

Turns Use closest guess from dictionary on misstroke on and off. On, a stroke one key away from a Dictionary entry reads as that entry, marked Misstroke, nearest entry. On by default.

Turns Answer conflicts the way you answered them before on and off. On, a Conflict picked before is written the same way and marked Conflict answered for you. On by default. A new job starts with the last choice.

Turns Brackets on conflicts on and off. On, an unpicked Conflict prints as defined, such as [to|too|two], instead of its first Translation. On by default. A new job starts with the last choice.

Turns Let new punctuation replace previous on and off. On, a punctuation mark written straight after another replaces it. Off, both stay. A mark you type, or one written next to it, always stays. On by default.

Turns Smart quotes on and off. On, the quote stroke opens a quote and, written again, closes it. One left open closes where the paragraph ends; Backspace on it takes it off. On by default.

Turns Smart parentheses on and off. On, the parenthesis or bracket stroke opens and, written again, closes. One left open closes where the paragraph ends; Backspace on it takes it off. On by default.

Turns Tuck punctuation with quoted words on and off. On, a period, comma or 's after a word the Dictionary spells in quotes goes inside the quotes. On by default.

Opens the Punctuation menu.

Spaces after sets the spaces written after each punctuation mark.

Defaults resets them.

After the current word sets where a mark goes when the cursor is between words: off, on the word behind; on, on the word ahead.

Abbreviations: a comma after one of these keeps its period. One a line, without the period. A word with a period inside, like e.g., always keeps it. The list saves when you leave the box. Defaults under it puts the shipped list back.

Puts an Oops mark on the words written before the stroke, or on the cursor's words when used from a key. The mark does not print, and a second stroke does not remove it. Its word is "Oops" unless the entry gives another. In a Dictionary entry: {@RUN(oops)}. To go from one Oops mark to the next, define a stroke as {@RUN(nextmark Oops)}.

To remove an Oops mark, put the cursor on its word and use Mark Line.

Opens the Define box on the Steno at the cursor, with the last Dictionary used selected. With a count, takes that many strokes. With no count, takes the selection, the Steno under the cursor, or the last stroke written. See Define a word. See Define box keys and Define box buttons.

Opens the Define box with the Main Dictionary selected. With a count, takes that many strokes. See Define box keys and Define box buttons.

Opens the Define box with the case selected. A job in no case uses the job Dictionary, or Main if it has none, and the box says which. With a count, takes that many strokes. See Define box keys and Define box buttons.

Opens the Define box with the job dictionary selected. With a count, takes that many strokes. With no job dictionary, the box offers Job Dictionary, Name and Use. See Define box keys and Define box buttons.

Saves the entry in the Define box to the selected Dictionary and closes the box.

When that Dictionary already has the Steno with another Translation, Already Defined asks first: SREBG is already in Main Dictionary as van. Press O, M or K:

• Overwrite: the new Translation replaces the old one.
• Make Conflict: the entry becomes a Conflict of the two.
• Keep Original: nothing changes.

Esc goes back to the Define box. To save without asking, clear Ask before a define replaces an entry in Realtime > Translate Options, Input tab. A Local define and an E-Define never ask.

Steps the Translation in the Define box through initial cap, all caps and lowercase.

Empties the Define box field the cursor is in, Steno or Translation.

Adds one stroke to the left of the Steno in the Define box. A count adds more.

Removes one stroke from the left of the Steno in the Define box. A count removes more.

Adds one stroke to the right of the Steno in the Define box. A count adds more.

Removes one stroke from the right of the Steno in the Define box. A count removes more.

Opens the Define box set to E-Define, with the selected word, or the word at the cursor, in Words. An E-Define replaces words with words in the job and adds nothing to a Dictionary. Matches whole words only; Case sensitive matches capitals exactly.

Defines the words behind the cursor, or the selection, to a slot's Steno with no box. Takes the slot number; with none, uses slot 1. The slot sets the Steno, the number of words, and the Dictionary. Dictionary > Define Slots makes the stroke for it; in the Define box, the Commands list has it as Define to Slot.

Opens the Define Slots menu. Each slot has a Steno and a Define stroke. A slot with no Steno is off. Save adds a new Define stroke to the Main Dictionary. See Define slots.

The slots also show at the bottom of the Infobar: each slot's number, Steno and Translation, or not defined. The slot you defined last is highlighted. Clear Show on Infobar to hide them. Show Define Slots in Edit Infobar is the same setting.

Makes a brief from the writer. The first use takes the words behind the cursor: one word, or the count given. Write the brief, then use it again. The brief is defined to the words in the job dictionary and the brief strokes are removed from the text. Dictionary entry: {@RUN(brief)}; {@RUN(brief 3)} takes three words. In the Define box, the Commands list has it as Brief Words Behind.

Does what Brief Words Behind does, with the words initial-capped: bank of the south becomes Bank of the South.

Adds a speaker from the writer. Write the name, then write the stroke for Add Speaker. The words behind the cursor, two by default, become a named speaker on the roster, and their Steno is defined in the job dictionary to start that speaker's colloquy. No box opens. A job that has no job dictionary gets one, named after the job.

Adds the selected words to the Phrase list of the word index. Select two or more words.

Sets the size of the transcript text, 8 pt to 32 pt. The default is 16 pt.

Moves the transcript one step up the Transcript Size list.

Moves the transcript one step down the Transcript Size list.

Returns the transcript to 16 pt.

Sets the transcript's font on the screen, by its name in Appearance, for example Courier New. Set the name when you assign the command to a key or add it to a macro.

Sets the transcript's size on the screen, for example 14 pt. Set the size when you assign the command to a key or add it to a macro.

Gives the transcript a separate size while Raw steno is displayed. Opening or closing Raw steno swaps the two sizes; Zoom In and Zoom Out change the size in use. Off by default. Also on Settings > Appearance, on the Writing Window tab, as Own size while Raw steno shows.

Sets the space between lines, 1.0 Single to 3.0 Triple. The default is 2.0 Double.

Sets the on-screen font of the transcript. Fixed width and proportional fonts are listed separately. A proportional font changes how columns line up on screen. The default is Courier Prime.

Hides what is checked in Zen Settings: by default, everything but the transcript. Run it again, or press Esc, to turn it off. Zen Mode is off each time StarCAT starts.

Sets what Zen Mode hides: Menus, Toolbar, Side panels, Raw Steno, Line numbers, Page bar, Status bar, Playback Bar, Ruler, Timestamps, Scrollbar, Format box, Page numbers and Untranslate marks. All but Raw Steno, Format box, Page numbers and Untranslate marks hide by default.

Under Shows instead:

Quiet line shows the page, line, time and stroke count at the bottom.

Dim what stays fades what is still shown.

Center the page centers the transcript.

All three are on by default.

Sets how page breaks display.

Full shows the margins between pages and is the default.

Compact draws a line between pages.

None runs the last line of a page straight into the first line of the next.

Sets the width of the cursor: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 12 or 16 px. The default is 2 px. At 8 px and wider, the cursor is see-through, so the letter under it shows.

Sets the width of the cursor while a mode, such as RocketKeys, is on, 1 px to 16 px. The default is 8 px, so you can see at a glance that the mode is on. It is set apart from Cursor width.

Sets the height of the cursor: Full, Half or Hidden. Hidden is for CART, where the cursor is not wanted on screen.

Sets the size of the rails, panels, toolbars and the writing below the transcript, Smaller to Twice normal. The menus are not affected. The default is Normal.

Sets the size of the Raw steno text, 7 pt to 16 pt. The default is 11 pt.

Sets the font of Raw steno. Only fixed width fonts are listed, because the steno keys are laid out on a grid. The default is Cascadia Mono.

The Writing Line Slider is the thin handle on the right edge of the transcript. It sets where the newest line of writing sits during Realtime: at the bottom of the writing window, or higher. Drag it up or down. The transcript moves as you drag, so you can place the line by eye. The slider goes as high as 90 percent of the window, so at least one line of writing always shows. Its place is kept the next time StarCAT opens.

This command turns the slider on and off. Off, the slider is hidden and the newest writing stays where the slider set it. Right-click the slider and click Hide Slider to hide it. On by default.

Turns Print View on and off. Print View shows the transcript in the job's print layout: the size nearest the printed size, 2.0 line spacing, Full page boundaries and the print font, black on white, without the Paragraph Bar or format marks. The appearance is not changed.

Shows and hides formatting marks: a dot on each space, an arrow on each tab and a ¶ at the end of each paragraph. Off by default.

Shows and hides the headers and footers on each page of the transcript. On by default.

Shades the Reporter's Area: the lines written by the last 128 strokes, the part a command from the writer can still reach. A scopist editing alongside the reporter in Team Editing edits up to the shading and not inside it. Screen only. Off by default.

Shows and hides the ruler above the transcript. The ruler shows the margins, the first line indent and the tab stops of the paragraph at the cursor. On by default.

Two buttons on the ruler say what a change applies to:

• This Paragraph: only the paragraph at the cursor.
• Every and the style's name, such as Every Question: every paragraph in that style, in this job only.

The ruler starts on This Paragraph when the paragraph already has its own margins or stops, and on the style otherwise.

• Drag a margin, the indent or a tab stop to move it. While you drag, the spot in inches and columns shows under the marker.
• Click an empty spot on the ruler to add a tab stop.
• Drag a tab stop down off the ruler to remove it.
• Reset puts this paragraph back on its style, or puts the style back on the stock layout.

Tab stops can also be typed in; see Paragraph styles.

Divides the writing window into two panes. The lower pane shows the end of the job as it is written. The upper pane scrolls and edits without losing sight of the writing. Drag the bar between the panes to set the lower pane's height.

Moves the cursor to the last word written each time a stroke arrives. On by default. Turn it off when someone else is editing the transcript during Realtime. While the mouse button is held down or the split screen is open, the cursor does not move.

Measures how fast a passage was written. Highlight the words and run it, or put the cursor in a paragraph for the whole paragraph. The status bar gives the words per minute, the word count and the seconds, measured from the first stroke of the passage to the last. Realtime Statistics measures what is being written now; this measures any passage after the fact. Typed text has no stroke times and gives no rate.

Counts the words in the job. The count appears as a status message.

Turns on the next mode in the keyboard map. After the last mode, the modes turn off. On a map with one mode, such as RocketKeys, turns that mode on and off.

Collapses or expands the left column. A left column with no panels is not affected.

Collapses or expands the right column.

Adds and removes the second right column, outside the right column. Removing it moves its panels to the bottom of the right column.

Collapses or expands the second right column. Does nothing while the second right column is off.

Collapses or expands the bottom rail. Does nothing when the bottom rail is empty.

Collapses every column and the bottom rail at once. If all are already collapsed, expands them all. Empty columns are not affected.

Swaps the right column and the second right column. Each column's panels, width and collapsed state move together. Does nothing while the second right column is off.

Switches the left column between tabs and stacked panels.

Switches the right column between tabs and stacked panels.

Switches the second right column between tabs and stacked panels.

Switches the bottom rail between tabs and stacked panels.

Pins the panel shown in the left column above its tabs, or releases the pinned panel. The column must be on tabs with at least two panels open.

Pins the panel shown in the right column above its tabs, or releases the pinned panel. The column must be on tabs with at least two panels open.

Pins the panel shown in the second right column above its tabs, or releases the pinned panel. The column must be on tabs with at least two panels open.

Pins the panel shown in the bottom rail above its tabs, or releases the pinned panel. The rail must be on tabs with at least two panels open.

Turns the Infobar on and off. The Infobar is a column on the left that lists the commands for the cursor's position, each with its key or number, and messages.

Opens the Infobar menu. Sets the number of alternates shown and the commands pinned to the top for each place. Unpin Everything removes the pins.

• Place: where the settings apply: Everywhere, a paragraph style, or a spot under the cursor.
• Number of alternates: 0 to 9.
• Show Define Slots: shows Define Slots on the Infobar. It is the same setting as Show on Infobar on the Define Slots menu.
• Use Numbers While Editing: see Use Numbers While Editing.
• Order and Position: where Commands, D-Briefs and Define Slots sit: 1, 2 or 3, Top or Bottom. Giving one part another's Order swaps them.
• Search: finds a command in the list.
• The list: check a command to pin it to the place.
• Pinned to the top: the Infobar for the place. A pinned row has Move up, Move down and Unpin. Other rows have Pin and Remove. The Alternates row has Move up and Move down, and Remove sets its count to none. Show brings it back.
• Put back N removed rows: restores every row removed from the place. It shows when a row has been removed.

Turns plain numbers on and off for the Infobar. On, a plain digit runs that Infobar row while the cursor is in the text, without RocketKeys. To type a number while it is on, use Edit at Caret. Off by default.

Runs an Infobar row by its number, given on the key or macro step: 1 to 9, and 0 for the tenth row.

Turns status messages on and off: the message after a command and the note after a setting changes. Off hides any message showing. The Action Log still records. A failure always shows, and so does the answer of a command like Word Count. Off by default.

Turns the Raw steno panel on and off. The panel shows each stroke as it arrives.

Turns the Steno Visualizer panel on and off. The panel draws a steno keyboard and lights the keys of each stroke as it arrives.

Edit on the panel opens its settings: colors, transparency, key letters and font.

Turns the Team Editing panel on and off. The panel has the same host, join and chat controls as the Team Editing menu, so the chat stays in view while you write. See Team Editing.

Shows or hides the Steno Visualizer in its own window, outside the writing window. Right-click it for its settings.

Shows the phonetic reading of each stroke in the Raw steno panel in place of the Translation. Clicking the column head does the same. Off by default.

Turns the Globals panel on and off. The panel lists the job's Globals. Right-click a row to edit or remove the Global.

Turns the Speakers panel on and off. The panel lists the job's speakers, each with its color and the shortest Steno that writes it. A speaker with no Steno shown has no Dictionary entry yet, so it cannot be written. Right-click a row to name it, give it Steno or a color, or seat it.

Turns the Marked lines panel on and off. The panel lists each marked line with its page and line number. Click a row to go to the line, or click the mark's words to change them. Print makes a page of the marks to print or send. The dropdown shows every mark or only the marks with one word. It shows when marks have two or more words. The number box sets how many lines show above and below each mark, 0 to 5.

Turns the Includes matching panel on and off. When you write the first words of an include that has Offer it while I write on, the panel lists the includes that match, best match first. Write Matching Include writes the rest of one.

Turns the Script panel on and off. A script is prepared text sent into the job a line at a time. Open opens a script. Close puts it away.

Opens the Script panel with a chosen .txt file.

Sends the next line of the script, or the given number of lines up to 9, to the end of the transcript and to every output. Opens the panel if closed. Send on the panel does the same, and is gray with nothing left to send. Clicking a line sets the next line without sending it.

Turns the Codes panel on and off. The panel shows the transcript, a row for each paragraph, with its codes drawn as tags around the words, such as <Bold>Smith</Bold>. The paragraph style is a tag at the start of each paragraph. Words found with Find are lit, with no tag.

• Click in the words to type there. The typing goes into the transcript.
• Type <Bold> in front of words and </Bold> after them. The tags come off and the words turn bold, in one undo. Italic, Underline, Superscript, Subscript, Strikeout, Redacted, Release and Literal work the same way, in any case.
• Click a tag and press Enter to change it to another code.
• Click a tag and press Shift+Left or Shift+Right to move its end a character.
• Highlight words in the panel and right-click to put a format on them.
• Right-click the style tag to pick another paragraph style.
• Press Ctrl+Z to undo. The keyboard stays in the panel.
• Up and Down move a line and keep the column.

The tags for marks: Untranslate, Stop, Conflict, Resolved, Phonetic, Folded, Misstroke, Edited, Stale, Check, Blank, Filled and Spelling. For formats: Bold, Italic, Underline, Superscript, Subscript, Strikeout, Redacted, Release, Literal and Bench.

Sets the text size of the Codes panel. Ctrl+plus, Ctrl+minus and Ctrl+zero on the number pad also change it while the panel has the keyboard.

Sets the font of the Codes panel. Plex Sans by default.

Moves the keyboard into the Codes panel, opening it if closed. Delete or Backspace on a tag removes the code. Esc returns to the text.

Turns the Paw Pad on and off. The Paw Pad keeps notes and Steno for this job, this case, or all jobs, with a Find box. Side by side shows All Jobs next to the other tab. Pinned rows come first. To put a note in the job at the caret, click the cursor button on its row, or right-click it and click Insert. Double-click a row to edit it.

Sends the highlighted words to the Paw Pad.

Sends the highlighted words and their Steno to the Paw Pad.

Turns spelling marks on and off. Misspelled words are underlined.

Turns proofreading marks on and off. Marks doubled words, unmatched quotes and parentheses, blanks and grammar faults.

Opens the Proofreading menu. Sets the rules Mark Proofreading applies. Mark proofreading at the top turns it on and off. It is off by default, and the rules can't be changed while it is off. Every check is on by default; uncheck one to stop marking it. Press Esc on a mark to remove it for the job.

• The paragraph opens on a space, a comma or a period
• A question or an answer ending on a comma, a semicolon or a colon: none of the three ends a sentence.
• A quotation mark with nothing closing it: within the paragraph.
• A parenthesis with nothing closing it: an opening parenthesis nothing closes, or a closing one that opens nothing.
• Repeated word
• Incorrect A/An: the article does not match the word after it, as in "a apple" or "an car".
• Two questions in a row and Two answers in a row: Q after Q, or A after A, with nothing between.
• The same speaker twice in a row: a colloquy paragraph naming the speaker who was already speaking.
• Question without by-line: a question after anything but an answer, with no by-line between them.
• A blank paragraph in the middle of testimony: a blank paragraph with testimony above it and below it.
• A subject and a verb that disagree: "they was", "he don't". "If I were" is not marked.
• The wrong form of a verb after have, be or a modal: "have went", "could took", or "they taken" with no helping verb.
• Custom Rules: the lines in Custom Rules, below.

Proofread Includes also checks the paragraphs that came in from an include, such as a title page. Off by default.

Lines a minute is the rate for Read Through.

A flag on a subject and verb that disagree, or a verb in the wrong form, offers the corrected words on the Infobar: "They was" offers "They were", and "have went" offers "have gone".

Custom Rules adds rules, one a line: what the Infobar says, an equals sign, then the words to flag. For example, Mismatched verb=he do flags every "he do" and shows "Mismatched verb". Add {a} and a suggestion after the words, as in Mismatched verb=he do{a}he does{a}I do, and each suggestion is a row on the Infobar that writes it in place of the flagged words. A line with no equals sign is flagged as a watch word. Clear Custom Rules to stop flagging them all.

Turns the Action Log on and off. The Action Log lists each command run, newest first. Each row shows the time, what ran the command and what it did. What ran it is one of these:

• The hotkey, such as Ctrl+B.
• The Steno, such as KPA\*.
• Menu.
• A macro and its step, such as My Macro, step 2 of 3.
• The control on the screen.

Undo on a row takes that change back. A row for a setting can also have a button that opens its menu. Edit opens Edit Action Log. Clear empties the list.

Opens the Edit Action Log menu. Sets the commands the Action Log records. Check a command to keep it out of the log. Search finds a command. Reset to Default clears every check.

Turns the Byte monitor on and off. The Byte monitor shows the bytes arriving from the writer's port in hex and as printable characters.

Closes the open menu from a key or a stroke, the same as the X at the menu's top right, its Close button, or Esc.

Ends a macro back at the writing. The cursor returns to the end of the writing only if it was there when the macro began, so a macro run during read-back leaves you where you were reading. The Realtime macros end with this command. Pressed on its own while you read back, it does nothing. To jump to the end, use End of Transcript.

Closes any open menu or popup, turns off any writing mode, pauses audio playback, and returns to the writing. Docked panels stay open.

Goes to the next mark of a kind checked in Scan Stops. The search wraps from the end of the transcript to the start.

Goes to the previous mark of a kind checked in Scan Stops. The search wraps.

Turns CAT Scan on and off. On, a Define or a Conflict choice moves the cursor to the next mark after the job retranslates; typing over a word does not. Turning it on reports the marks left of each kind and goes to the first. CAT Scan uses the scan command run last, so it can step through Conflicts only or Untranslates only.

Opens the Scan Stops menu: which marks Scan and Scan Backward stop on. The menu counts the checked kinds in the open job, leaving out a kind with none. On by default: Untranslate, Scan stop, Conflict, Conflict answered for you, Phonetic, Blank to fill and Oops. Off by default: Misstroke, nearest entry, Folded ending, Misspelling, Typed in, Out of date and Proofreading. Single-kind commands, such as Next Untranslate, are not affected.

Moves the cursor down the transcript one line at a time, for proofreading. Use it again, or press any other key, to stop. Read Through Backward reverses the direction. Set the rate in Lines a minute on the Proofreading menu, 1 to 600, 30 by default. It stops at the end of the job.

Moves the cursor up the transcript one line at a time at the Proofreading rate. Use it again, or press any other key, to stop.

Reads the transcript aloud from the cursor. Use it again, or press any other key, to stop. A stroke from the writer also stops it.

Goes to the next Untranslate. The search wraps.

Goes to the previous Untranslate. The search wraps.

Goes to the next unresolved Conflict. The search wraps.

Goes to the previous unresolved Conflict. The search wraps.

Goes to the next Conflict, unresolved or answered for you. An answered Conflict keeps its mark until you clear it; a Conflict you resolved has none and is not found. The search wraps.

Goes to the previous Conflict, unresolved or answered for you. The search wraps.

Goes to the next Phonetic translation. The search wraps.

Goes to the previous Phonetic translation. The search wraps.

Goes to the next misspelled word. The search stops at the end of the transcript.

Goes to the previous misspelled word.

Goes to the next Proofreading mark, the blue line. The search stops at the end of the transcript.

Goes to the previous Proofreading mark.

Goes to the next marked line. A word given on the key or macro step, such as {@RUN(nextmark Oops)}, limits it to marks with that word. The status bar shows the reason for the mark.

Goes to the previous marked line. A word given on the key or macro step limits it to marks with that word.

Goes to the start of the last Question.

Goes to the start of the last Answer.

Goes to the start of the next Question. With none after the cursor, the cursor stays where it is.

Goes to the start of the next Answer.

Goes to the start of the next Speaker paragraph.

Goes to the start of the previous Speaker paragraph. Inside one, the first press goes to its start.

Goes to the last edit. Use it again to go back one more edit, up to five; the sixth press returns to the most recent.

Sets a bookmark at the cursor. Use it again to go to the bookmark and set a new one where the cursor was. The bookmark is not shown and is not saved in the job.

Puts the cursor in the Page box above the transcript. Type a page number and press Enter. Tab moves to the Line box and the time box. With the Line box empty, the view moves to the page and the cursor does not.

Puts the cursor in the time box above the transcript. Type a time and press Enter. The cursor moves to the words written at that time.

Goes to the next word.

Goes to the previous word.

Goes to the start of the next sentence.

Goes to the start of the current sentence, then the sentence before.

Goes to the next punctuation mark.

Goes to the previous punctuation mark.

Goes to the start of the word after the next punctuation mark.

Goes to the start of the word after the previous punctuation mark.

Goes to the next character.

Goes to the previous character.

Goes to the next line, in the same column.

Goes to the previous line, in the same column.

Goes to the start of the line.

Goes to the end of the line.

Goes to the start of the next paragraph.

Goes to the start of the previous paragraph.

Goes to the start of the current paragraph.

Goes to the end of the current paragraph.

Moves up one screen.

Moves down one screen.

Goes to the first line of the current printed page.

Goes to the last line of the current printed page.

Goes to the start of the first line wholly on the screen.

Goes to the end of the last line wholly on the screen.

Goes to the start of the transcript.

Goes to the end of the transcript. The view scrolls with the writing again.

Selects the word at the cursor.

Turns on Block Mark: the movement keys select from the cursor, as if Shift were held. Use it again, press Esc, or click in the transcript to turn it off.

Selects the sentence at the cursor, through its ending punctuation.

Selects the paragraph at the cursor.

Selects the printed page at the cursor. To remove a range of pages, open Edit > Delete > Delete Pages.

Extends the selection forward by one word, or by the number given.

Extends the selection back by one word, or by the number given. Inside a word, the start of that word counts as the first.

Adds one more word to the end of the selection, or the number given. When words are selected, it is row 9 on the Infobar.

Adds one more word to the front of the selection, or the number given. When words are selected, it is row 0 on the Infobar.

Extends the selection forward by one sentence, or by the number given.

Extends the selection back by one sentence, or by the number given. Inside a sentence, the start of that sentence counts as the first.

Extends the selection one character right.

Extends the selection one character left.

Extends the selection back to the start of the last Question. The Q symbol is not included, so deleting the selection leaves the paragraph.

Extends the selection back to the start of the last Answer. The A symbol is not included.

Selects the whole transcript.

Clears the selection. The cursor does not move.

Opens the edit box on the word at the cursor. Characters and Fields work as they do on Special Character.

Corrects the Steno at the cursor instead of the text. The edit box opens on the strokes. The corrected stroke retranslates.

Types the given text at the cursor, from a key or macro. The text is entered as typed characters, so {Q} appears as three characters.

Translates the given text as a Dictionary entry. {Q} starts a Question. No Steno is added. Any paragraph, capitalization or Conflict syntax that works in a Dictionary entry works here. A line of commands only, like {Omit Text Box}, may change nothing you can see, so the status line says Forced and the line.

Turns Overtype on and off. On, a typed character replaces the character at the cursor.

Undoes the last change. A define is skipped once you write a stroke after it; remove it in the Dictionary editor.

Redoes the last change undone.

Lists every change to the transcript, newest first. Undo and Redo step through the list in order. Back to Here on a row undoes every change down to and including that row. Redo brings them back one at a time.

Lists the words typed over the Translation, with what each replaced, when, and its status. Undo on a row restores the Translation of the strokes.

Opens the Globals menu, Edit > Transcript > Globals, which lists every Global made in the job (see Global a word in Defining).

• Edit opens the Define box filled in from the row.
• Unglobal takes the Global back: the text reads as it did before, and the entry comes out of the Dictionary it was defined into.

Under the list, a second table lists the Universal Table and every other job that has Globals, to add their Globals to this job. Use it on the next volume of a case, which spells the same names.

• Show lists that job's Globals. Each row has Add, which makes that one Global in this job, and Edit, which opens it in the Define box first.
• Add Globals makes all of them in this job.
• No Dictionary changes, and the other job stays as it was.
• On the Universal Table's rows, Remove takes the entry out of the table.

Opens the Speakers menu: the job's speaker roster and the seating chart. A speaker is a slot: write {S 3} and slot 3 is speaking. Name the slot and every paragraph it wrote takes the name, the ones written before too.

Name a speaker:

1. Type the slot number in Slot, such as 3.
2. Type the name in Name, such as MR. SMITH, and click Name or press Enter.
3. To set the Steno that writes the slot, write it on your writer and click The Last Stroke, or type it in Steno. Click Set. The entry goes in your Dictionary as {S 3}. A Steno that already writes another slot is refused.

The table lists every slot the job has written, named or not:

• Slot, Name, and Steno, the shortest Steno that writes it.
• Said: how many paragraphs the slot has.
• Shortcut: what you type to pick a named speaker from the speaker list, such as SM for MR. SMITH. Empty means the speaker's number. Shortcuts are saved in the job and the case. A Shortcut another speaker already has is refused, and the old one comes back.
• Color: the color the name shows in on the screen. No Color takes it off.
• Rename puts the slot in Slot, to type a new name. Seat puts the speaker on the seating chart; Unseat takes them off it. Take Off takes the name off the slot.

Under these, a second table lists the entries in your Dictionary that write a speaker as plain text, such as P1:. Naming a slot changes nothing they wrote. Use Slot 1 defines the Steno as {S 1} in your Dictionary, so it writes slot 1 from then on.

Clear all speakers:

1. Click Clear All Speakers….
2. Check This Job, All future jobs in this case, or both. This job is checked to start with. All future jobs in this case is gray when the job isn't in a case.
3. Click Clear, or Cancel to leave them.

This job takes every name off its slot, and the paragraphs print SPEAKER 3 again. All future jobs in this case clears the case's speakers, so a new job in the case starts with none. The jobs already made keep theirs. The status reads, for example, "3 speakers cleared from this job."

Seating chart:

The seating chart shows a card for each seated speaker, in the place they sit in the room. Drag a card to move it. Drag a card's corner to make every card bigger or smaller. Right-click a card for Unseat and the speaker's name, and Unseat Everybody when more than one speaker is seated. Point to the small chart on the menu to show the cards over the transcript.

• Show the Cards puts the cards over the transcript, as Show All Speakers does. It then reads Hide the Cards.
• Hide them again after *n* Seconds: hides the cards shown over the transcript after that many seconds, 1 to 60. On, 3 seconds, by default. The Auto Hide Speakers command turns this box on and off.
• On top: Name or Steno on the top line of each card.
• Slot number: Small, Large, or Leave it off.
• Transparency: how much of the transcript shows through the cards, 0 to 80 percent. 25 by default.
• Keep the room for: This Job keeps the chairs in the job only. This case and Every job save the room, so a speaker seated before sits in the same chair when named in another job of the case, or in any job. A job in no case uses the Every job room. The chairs are saved each time one moves. This Job by default.
• Line the cards up: while you drag, a card snaps into line with the other cards or the middle of the room, and a thin line shows where. On by default.

Turns the seating chart on the Speakers menu on and off. Turning it on opens the Speakers menu.

Shows the seating chart over the transcript. With Hide them again after *n* Seconds on, on the Speakers menu, they hide after that many seconds (default 3). On a key, the seating chart stays up while the key is held. To move or unseat a speaker, see Seating chart.

Hides the seating chart shown over the transcript.

Turns Hide them again after *n* Seconds, on the Speakers menu, on and off. Off, Show All Speakers leaves the seating chart up until you use Hide All Speakers. On by default.

Opens the Spell Check menu, which lists every word in the transcript that is on no word list. See Check spelling.

Accept on a flagged word accepts it in every job. Reject flags the word from now on. Each decision is listed under Your decisions, and Take Back on its row undoes it.

Add Word List, under Word Lists on the same menu, adds a word list from a file, such as a medical word list: a text file, one word per line. Every word in it is considered to be correctly spelled. Remove on a list's row takes the list off.

• Search: type a few letters to show only the words with them, in the flagged words and in Your decisions.
• Count the words in your dictionary: every Translation in your dictionaries counts as a correctly spelled word. The line under it says how many. On by default.
• Stop on capitalized words, Stop on all-caps words, Stop on mixed-case words and Stop on words with a digit: the check passes over words such as Kowalski, EXHIBIT, McKenna and 14-B. Check one to have the check stop on those words when no list has them. Off by default.
• Ask Google for a spelling no list has: the word the check stops on is sent to Google, and Google's spelling is offered with the suggestions, marked from Google. Nothing else is sent. Off by default; while it is off, nothing is sent.
• Ask Google in Potentials: see Pick from Potentials.

Checks spelling from the cursor forward, stopping on each misspelled word with suggestions. With Proofreading on, the check also stops on A/An, agreement, verb form, a repeated word and your proofreading rules. Ignore All on one of those hides it for the rest of the job.

Opens the Typeover list. After a word is typed over, the edit box offers that replacement the next time the word appears. Rows read that=the,what,he, newest first, three replacements deep. An exclamation point at the end of a row locks it: a later typeover does not replace what the row holds. Edit the rows in the Rows box, one a line, and click Save.

Opens the Autoreplacements list. Rows read adn=and or otr=on the record, one a line. Type a listed word and press the space bar, and it is replaced, in the transcript and in the edit box. Spell check replaces listed words without stopping. Ctrl+Z right after a replacement gives back what you typed.

The case follows what you typed: Adn becomes And. A whole-word row with a capital in it matches only that case. A replacement with its own capitals, such as nyc=New York City, keeps them. A replacement can hold a paragraph code such as {P}.

A star at one end changes part of a word. wiht*=with turns wihtout into without, and *toin=tion fixes the end of any word. A whole-word row wins over a partial one.

• Save keeps the rows. Each list has its own Save.
• Add Common Typos adds a starter list of common slips to the box. Save keeps them.
• This job only holds rows for the open job. A row there wins over your row for the same word.
• In the edit box, type the replacement over a word and press Alt+7. The pair goes on your rows.
• In the Define box, type fmc=Ford Motor Company as the Translation and press Alt+7. The row goes on your rows and nothing is defined.

Opens the Autoreplacements list with the word at the cursor as a new row, such as adn=, with the cursor after the equals sign. Type what it becomes and click Save. A word already on the list opens its row, with the replacement selected.

Opens the edit box at the cursor with the character map, for accented letters and symbols such as the degree and section signs. Characters shows or hides the map. Fields inserts a field.

Puts a table at the cursor, with the number of columns and rows you choose. Each row is a paragraph in a new table style. Tab goes from cell to cell. Grid lines show on screen and do not print.

Right-click inside a table for the commands below. Outside a table they are grayed out. Each one is a single Undo. Deleting the last row or the last column deletes the table.

Adds an empty row above the row the cursor is in.

Adds an empty row below the row the cursor is in.

Deletes the row the cursor is in, with its text.

Adds an empty column to the left of the cursor. The column the cursor is in is split in two, so the table keeps its width.

Adds an empty column to the right of the cursor, split from the column the cursor is in.

Deletes the column the cursor is in, with its text. The column beside it takes its width.

Deletes the whole table the cursor is in.

Swaps the row the cursor is in with the row under it. The cursor moves with the row, so pressing it again moves the row on down the table.

Copies the row the cursor is in, or every row the highlight touches, for Paste Rows Above and Paste Rows Below. Works in a read-only job.

Copies the row the cursor is in, or every row the highlight touches, and deletes them from the table. Cutting every row deletes the table.

Puts the rows from Copy Rows or Cut Rows above the row the cursor is in. The rows must have the same number of columns as the table.

Puts the rows from Copy Rows or Cut Rows below the row the cursor is in.

Makes two tables, starting the new table at the row the cursor is in. Both keep the same column widths until one is changed. The cursor cannot be in the first row.

Joins the table the cursor is in with the table under it. Both must have the same number of columns, with nothing but blank paragraphs between them. The joined table takes the column widths of the top one.

Puts a picture on its own paragraph under the cursor. Pick a PNG, JPEG or BMP file. StarCAT copies it into the job folder's images folder. The picture is as wide as the paragraph at most, and half a page tall at most.

Right-click a picture to open its menu: Cut, Copy, Paste, Image Size…, Align Left, Align Center, Align Right, Wrap Text and Delete.

Sets how many lines tall the picture at the cursor stands. Open Edit > Insert > Image Size…, or right-click the picture and select Image Size…. Type the lines and press Enter. The width follows the picture's shape, no wider than the paragraph. A picture stands 2 lines at least and half a page at most; a number outside that is kept to it, and the status bar says so. Ctrl+Z puts the picture back as it was.

A seal 12 lines tall, Image Size 6: the seal stands 6 lines tall and half as wide.

On the Includes menu, put the cursor on the {Image} line and use Image Size the same way. A picture that came in from an include or a dictionary entry is not resized in the job, and the status bar says so.

Stands the picture at the cursor against the left margin. Right-click the picture and select Align Left. Pictures are on the left when inserted.

Stands the picture at the cursor in the middle of the line. Right-click the picture and select Align Center. A centered picture does not wrap.

Stands the picture at the cursor against the right margin. Right-click the picture and select Align Right.

A seal on the left, Align Right: the seal stands against the right margin, on the same lines.

On the Includes menu, the three Align commands work on the {Image} line under the cursor.

Turns text wrap on and off for the picture at the cursor. Right-click the picture and select Wrap Text; a check mark shows when it is on. On, the words after the picture are set beside it for the lines it stands: on its right for a picture on the left, on its left for a picture on the right. Print, PDF, RTF and Word keep the same line breaks. Ctrl+Z turns it back.

A seal 6 lines tall, aligned right, Wrap Text: the words after it run beside the seal, on its left, for the seal's 6 lines.

Text does not wrap:

• Beside a centered picture. Wrap Text is gray on its menu. Align it left or right first.
• When fewer than 20 columns are left beside the picture. The picture stands on its own lines.
• Beside a picture that came in from an include.

Opens the Find bar. The search can be limited to a paragraph type, a kind of mark, or paragraphs with a print command. See Find and replace, Replace and Find Steno.

• Up and Down arrows: Previous and Next. Enter is Next.
• List: lists every hit in the Unresolved panel, by page and line.
• Aa: match case. It turns on when you type a capital.
• "w": whole words only.
• Steno: finds by Steno. Replace works on words, not Steno.
• Any words dropdown: only Untranslates, Phonetic translations, Conflicts, and the other kinds it lists.
• No pattern dropdown: a shipped pattern, instead of typing one.
• Anywhere dropdown: only Questions, Answers, Colloquy, Parentheticals, Speakers or Plain text.
• Any command dropdown: only paragraphs with Page breaks, Layout changes or Includes.
• Replace with, Replace and All: replace this hit, or every hit.

Opens the Find bar set to search by Steno.

• Click keys on the Steno keyboard to build a stroke. Each stroke has its own keyboard, with a blank one after it.
• Or type Steno or sounds in the box. A space is the slash between strokes. For sounds, the bar says Finding and the Steno. For neither, it says That is not steno.
• List, Aa, "w" and the dropdowns are gray, and the Replace row is hidden.
• Click Steno to turn it off.

Opens the Find bar. The cursor is in the Replace with box when Find has text, and in Find when it is empty. Enter in Replace with does Replace. See Find and replace. A search by paragraph type alone can't replace, and the bar says Replace needs words to find.

Goes to the next hit of the last search.

Goes to the previous hit of the last search.

Lists every hit of the current search in the Search results panel, by page and line. Steno searches are not listed. With no search yet, the Find bar opens. The Search results panel is the Unresolved panel.

Deletes from the start of the paragraph to the cursor. The paragraph and its Q or A stay. Whole strokes are deleted, so a cursor inside a word deletes that word.

Repeats, at the cursor, the sentence before the cursor. With no sentence before the cursor in the paragraph, the last sentence of the paragraph above is used, without its ending punctuation. A number from 1 to 9 repeats that many sentences.

Puts in the time the last word before the cursor was written. Text given on the key or macro step, such as a closing parenthesis, goes directly after the time.

Opens the Insert Time/Date box at the cursor. The time and date start at the time the word at the cursor was written, or now when there is none. Change either before it goes in.

• Preset formats lists the formats, each showing what it writes.
• The Format box takes codes such as %H:%M. Pick a code in the list under it and click Add to put it in at the cursor.
• The Output shows what goes in. Click Insert or press Enter. A selection is replaced.

The format is kept for the next time until StarCAT closes.

Opens your browser on a Google search for the selected words. Only the selected words are sent, and only when you use it. Right-click a word for Search the Web too.

Copies the selection.

Cuts the selection.

Deletes the selection without putting it on the clipboard, the same as the Delete key.

Pastes at the cursor, or over the selection. Line breaks in the pasted text become spaces.

Turns Keep Steno on Paste on and off. On, words copied from a transcript paste with their Steno. Off, they paste as typed text. On by default.

Pastes as typed text, without the Steno, whatever Keep Steno on Paste is set to.

Opens and closes the Clipboard panel. The panel lists the last ten copies and cuts, newest first, each with Paste and Lock. A locked item is not pushed out by newer items and is kept after StarCAT restarts. Unlock All unlocks every item. Clear All empties the list.

Pastes a numbered item from the Clipboard panel. Item 1 is the newest.

Turns Track Changes on and off for the open job. On, each edit is recorded under the Editor ID in the Track Changes pane.

Turns Display Changes on and off. On, tracked changes are colored on the page by editor.

Opens and closes the Track Changes pane.

Keeps the picked change, or the change at the cursor, and takes its color off.

Undoes the picked change, or the change at the cursor. The Steno translates as it did before.

Keeps every change in the job and takes the colors off.

Undoes every change in the job.

Searches the transcript for every entry on the three Mistran Watch lists. Hits are listed in the Search results panel.

Adds the word at the cursor, or the selected phrase, to the user Mistran Watch list, which applies to every job.

Adds the word at the cursor, or the selected phrase, to the Case Mistran Watch list.

Adds the word at the cursor, or the selected phrase, to the Job Mistran Watch list.

Opens the user Mistran Watch list in the default text editor, one entry per line.

Opens the Case Mistran Watch list in the default text editor. For a job in no case, opens the job's list.

Opens the Job Mistran Watch list in the default text editor.

Deletes whole pages by number. Type pages and ranges separated by commas, such as 5, 15-20, 29. Later pages move up and renumber. One Undo restores all of them.

The menu shows how many pages the transcript has. Delete is gray until the box holds valid pages, then reads Delete and the count.

Deletes the word after the cursor.

Deletes the word before the cursor.

Deletes the whole word the cursor is in, on or nearest, wherever in the word the cursor is. With a selection, deletes the selection.

Takes the ending punctuation off the sentence at the cursor and opens Edit at Caret where it stood. Type the rest of the sentence and its punctuation, then press Enter. Esc leaves the sentence as it was. A sentence with no ending punctuation is extended at its end.

Opens the spell check box on the word at the cursor. The box closes after one answer. A word spelled right shows Spelled right: and the word on the status bar.

• Replace with: the new word. Type it, or pick a numbered suggestion below. Press a digit to pick one, 0 for the tenth, or use the up and down arrows. Enter does Change.
• Change: changes this word.
• Change All: changes every instance in the job, with an E-Define.
• Ignore: leaves this word.
• Ignore All: leaves the word for the rest of this job.
• Add: stops flagging the word, in every job.
• Delete: flags the word from now on, in every job.
• Definition: looks up the word in the browser. The box stays open.
• Global…: opens the Define box.
• Pause: closes the box and keeps the place. Run the command again to go on from there.
• Cancel: closes the box.

At a proofreading stop, Change All, Add, Delete, Definition and Global… do not show.

Deletes the line at the cursor.

Deletes from the cursor to the start of the line.

Deletes from the cursor to the end of the line.

Deletes from the cursor to the end of the paragraph.

Deletes the character after the cursor.

Deletes the character before the cursor.

Inserts a tab. The text moves to the next tab stop set in the paragraph style.

Replaces the word at the cursor with the next spelling in its alternate list: their becomes there, then they're. The lists are on Edit > Spelling > Word Lists > Alternate Words. After the lists come words that sound the same, such as sum and some. A word with neither is not changed.

Turns alternate searching on and off. On, when the word at the cursor has no alternate, Alternate Spelling changes the next word in the paragraph that has one. Off by default.

Opens the Alternate Words menu. Each row is a list of spellings that Alternate Spelling steps through, words or phrases. The menu starts with the shipped lists. A list removed from the menu is no longer used.

• Alternate Words: one set a line, in turn order: to too two. For a set with phrases, put each one in angle brackets: <to><too><two>. ~ closes up a space.
• Search: finds a line. Enter goes to the first one found.
• Save: keeps the box. Nothing else here is kept until you click Save.
• Import: adds the lines of a .txt file to the box.
• Export: saves the box to a .txt file that Import can read.
• Restore Defaults: puts the shipped sets back in the box as they ship. Lines you added stay.

Swaps the word at the cursor with the word before it: dog red becomes red dog. Punctuation does not move.

Swaps the word at the cursor with the word after it: red dog becomes dog red. Punctuation does not move.

Rewrites the number behind the cursor, or at the end of a selection, in another format. Pick the format from the Number Format button on the toolbar, or right-click the number and point to Number Format. Each row shows what the number becomes before you pick it. A format that does not fit the number shows nothing.

The formats, with examples:

Money on a number followed by cents keeps the amount: 25 cents is $0.25. Press it again for 25 cents. Otherwise Money and Cents keep the figure and write over the word after it: 25 dollars under Money is $25, and $50 under Cents is 50 cents.

See Format Federal Rule below.

Pick the same format again for the next reading of the same digits. A date of five or seven digits can be read more than one way: 91826 becomes 9/18/26, then 91/8/26. A format with only one reading goes back to the digits.

A percent sign, an ordinal ending or a Roman numeral that came from your Steno stays when you pick another format. One that a format wrote is taken off again.

Opens the Number Format list at the cursor, the same list as the Number Format button. Each row shows what the number becomes. Does nothing when the cursor is not on a number.

Formats a rule or statute citation written as one run, with the levels in parentheses. Fingerspell the citation as one run, then pick Federal Rule from Number Format. Works on the word just written or the word at the cursor.

• 12B6 becomes 12(b)(6), as in Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6).
• 26A2B becomes 26(a)(2)(B), as in Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(B).
• 45D3A4 becomes 45(d)(3)(A)(iv), as in Fed. R. Civ. P. 45(d)(3)(A)(iv).
• 56A becomes 56(a).

The levels, in order: the number as written, (a) lowercase letter, (1) number, (A) capital letter, (i) lowercase Roman numeral, (I) capital Roman numeral. A letter takes its level's case, whatever case you wrote it in.

Two numbers in a row cannot be told apart, so put a hyphen before a sixth level: 401A9B4-2 becomes 401(a)(9)(B)(iv)(II), as in 26 U.S.C. § 401(a)(9)(B)(iv)(II). A hyphen between any two levels is allowed.

The section sign (§) is not written by this format. To put it in, open Edit > Insert > Special Character (Ctrl+W), click § in the Marks row, and press Enter.

A word that is not a citation is not changed.

Stitches the word at the cursor, or a run of single letters: Mary becomes M-a-r-y, and B R A U N becomes B-R-A-U-N. Use it again to remove the stitch. Numbers and hyphenated words are not changed.

A witness spelling a name for the record: fingerspell the letters, then stitch them.

Changes the space at the cursor to a sticky space, which keeps the two words on the same line. Use it again to change it back. On the Edit > Word menu. Dictionary entry: {@RUN(spaces)}.

To write a sticky space from the writer, write a stroke defined as {~} between the two words, or put a caret in an entry: St.^Louis.

Adds or removes a possessive: dog becomes dog's, and back. A word ending in s takes the apostrophe alone: witness becomes witness'. A contraction is not changed.

Steps the word through singular, singular possessive, plural possessive and plural: dog, dog's, dogs', dogs, dog. A capitalized name is treated as a singular. A word with no plural is handled as Toggle Apostrophe S.

Opens a contraction into its words, or closes two words into a contraction: do not becomes don't. Use it again for the next reading: she'll becomes she will, then she shall, then she'll. Only pairs on the shipped contraction table are changed.

Changes the case of the word at the cursor. With no case given, steps through initial cap, all caps and lowercase: doctor becomes Doctor, then DOCTOR, then doctor.

Initial-caps the words behind the cursor. Give it a count for a name or title: united states of america with a count of 4 becomes United States of America.

Turns capital stepping on and off. On, Cap Word moves the cursor on to the next word, so pressing it again caps that one: john smith takes two presses to become John Smith. Only when you have put the cursor in the text, not while you write. Off by default.

Turns punctuation stepping on and off. On, the cursor moves to the end of the next word after Punctuation or Ending Punctuation, so pressing it again marks that word. Only when you have put the cursor in the text, not while you write. Off by default.

Turns capital dropping on and off. On, a word typed in front of the first word of a sentence takes the capital, and the old first word drops to lowercase. On by default.

Turns Auto capitalization on delete on and off. On, deleting the capital letter of a sentence's first word capitalizes the next letter. Off, the next letter keeps its case, as in Notepad. Off by default.

Puts double quotes around the words behind the cursor. Give it a count for more than one word, or use it again to take in one more word. With a count of 5 after boy, He said the dog was a good boy. becomes He said the "dog was a good boy."

Puts double quotes from the cursor back to the start of the sentence. With the cursor after boy, He said the dog was a good boy. becomes "He said the dog was a good boy."

Puts single quotes around the words behind the cursor, or around the selection. Give it a count for more than one word. With cat selected, the cat sat becomes the 'cat' sat.

Puts parentheses around the words behind the cursor. Give it a count for more than one word. With a count of 2 after cold, The room was very cold that day. becomes The room was (very cold) that day.

Puts reporter dashes (--) around the words behind the cursor. Give it a count for more than one word. With a count of 2, The car I think was red. becomes The car -- I think -- was red. Use it again to take the dashes off.

Changes the space behind the cursor to a hyphen: well known becomes well-known. Give it a count to hyphenate more words.

Removes the space behind the cursor: boiler plate becomes boilerplate. Give it a count to join more words.

Splits a compound word in two: greenhouse becomes green house. Use it again for the next split, notice becomes no tice, then not ice, and again to rejoin the word. Both halves must be in the spelling dictionary, unless the split is on the Split Words menu.

Adds the split shown at the cursor to the Split Words menu, so it is offered first for that word. The text is not changed.

Adds the split shown at the cursor to the Split Words menu as excluded, so it is never offered for that word. The text is not changed.

Opens the Split Words menu. The menu shows two lists, Offered first and Never offered, one row each in the form notice=not ice. Click Save to keep changes.

Adds the named ending to the word at the cursor and corrects the spelling of the root: run becomes running. An ending already there is removed; a different ending is replaced. If the result is not a word, nothing changes.

Removes one ending from the word at the cursor, shortest first: wanderings becomes wandering, then wander. Nothing is removed unless the rest is a word.

Removes the last letter of the word at the cursor.

Removes the last letter of the word before the cursor.

Changes the word at the cursor, or the word before it, back to its raw steno, ready to define or global.

Opens the ending keys as a list at the cursor. Press the letter of an ending to put it on the word at the cursor; spelling is adjusted where required. Settings opens the Prefix/Suffix Keys menu.

Opens the Prefix/Suffix Keys menu, Edit > Word > Prefix/Suffix Keys, which lists the ending keys. Each key is a Ctrl+Alt+Shift chord and a suffix. A suffix followed by ^, such as un^, is a prefix and goes on the front of the word.

• Key and Suffix: type a letter and a suffix and click Add.
• Turn Off: the key does nothing now. A shipped suffix moves to the Off: list.
• Off: lists what is turned off, under Suffixes, Prefixes and Hyphen. Turn On gives it a key, shown on the list at the top. Turn On is gray when no letter is free.

Puts the named punctuation mark at the cursor. A different mark there is replaced. The same mark there is removed.

Changes the ending punctuation of the sentence at the cursor. With no mark named, steps through period, question mark, exclamation point and reporter dash. With a mark named, puts that mark.

Removes the nearest punctuation mark behind the cursor. With a mark named (comma, dash, period), removes the nearest mark of that kind.

Accepts a Phonetic translation, a misstroke read from the nearest entry or a folded ending, and removes its mark. Works on the word at the cursor, or the last one behind it.

Replaces a wrong word written earlier. Write the wrong word, write the correct word, then write the stroke for Fix Last Word. The last occurrence of the wrong word behind the cursor is replaced, and the two words just written are removed.

Deletes a word written earlier. Write the word, then write the stroke for Search and Delete. The last occurrence of the word behind the cursor is deleted, and the word just written is removed.

Replaces the last Untranslate. Write the correct word, then write the stroke for Replace Last Untranslate. The word replaces every stroke of the last Untranslate behind the cursor, and is removed from where it was written.

Applies the Universal Table to the open job: Edit > Transcript > Apply Universal Table. The Universal Table is a list of Globals kept apart from any job, the way Case CATalyst's Xtra Global Table is. Use it for fixes you make in every job, such as a scopist fixing the same misstroke in every job a reporter sends.

• To add a Global to the table, check Add to Universal Table in the Define box.
• Only the Globals the job does not have yet are made, so applying it again after a few more defines adds just the new ones.
• No Dictionary changes.
• To see or remove the table's entries, open Globals and click Show on the Universal Table row.

Opens the User Definitions menu. Each row is a word, a definition and alternate spellings. The definition shows in the Infobar when the cursor is on the word, and in the Spell Check box. Spell check offers the alternate spellings first.

• Filter: shows the rows with the text in the word, the definition or an alternate spelling.
• Entry type: Any, Numbers (a word with a digit) or Phrase (a word with a space).
• New: adds a row. It is kept once it has a word.
• Delete: deletes the row.

Marks Steno with no Dictionary entry. The Unresolved panel offers Define.

Marks words printed by a Dictionary entry such as {U:CHECK SPELLING}. Scan stops on them. Not counted as an Untranslate. The Unresolved panel offers Replace.

Marks Steno with more than one Translation in the Dictionary and none picked. The Unresolved panel offers Pick.

Marks a word read phonetically by Phonetic translation from a stroke with no Dictionary entry. The Unresolved panel offers Define.

Marks a Conflict picked by Answer conflicts the way you answered them before. Scan still stops on it. Click it to pick a reading. The mark stays until you do.

Marks a word whose stem came from the Dictionary and whose ending was added from the stroke. The result can be a different word.

Marks a stroke read as the Dictionary entry one key away, by Use closest guess from dictionary on misstroke.

Marks typed text that no stroke wrote.

Marks words you typed over a translation when the strokes under them now translate differently, for example after a Dictionary change. Your typed words stay. Right-click the mark and pick History to see what changed, and fix the words if they are no longer right.

Marks an unfilled field, such as [DATE], or an unfilled [ ] blank.

Marks a filled field. The text changes when the field is answered again.

Marks a word the spelling dictionary does not have, with a wavy red underline.

Marks the text between {@BENCH(ON)} and {@BENCH(OFF)}, or {@BENCH(TOGGLE)}. The text stays in the job and goes to no Realtime output.

Shows and hides the Unresolved panel. Lists every Untranslate, Scan stop, Conflict, Conflict answered for you and Phonetic mark in page order, with page, line and a Define, Replace or Pick button. Also shows search results sent to it, and Marks goes back to the marks.

Menu opens the Scan Stops menu. Right-click the panel for Hide Type and Hide Page and Line, which read Show once hidden.

Opens the D-Briefs menu, Dictionary > D-Briefs. Lists briefs in the Dictionaries for phrases written out the long way in this job, ranked by strokes saved. Word List reads a .txt file, one word or phrase to a line, and lists briefs for it.

Below them, in a second color, Suggestions lists made-up one-stroke briefs for phrases written out that no brief covers: the longest phrase only.

On each row, the buttons are:

• Define: on a Suggestion, opens Define with its Steno and Translation.
• Stop Suggesting: stops offering the phrase. The phrase moves to Not suggested under the list. Press it there to bring it back.
• Reject Outline: stops offering that outline. The outline moves to Outlines not offered under the list. Press it there to bring it back.

Click anywhere else on a row to open Look Up on the phrase.

Suggest after sets how many times a phrase is written before it is suggested: Off, or 2 to 5 times. The default is 2.

Max words sets the longest phrase listed, 1 to 10 words. The default is 6.

One stroke only lists only one-stroke briefs, in both sections.

Both settings also apply to the D-Briefs column. Neither applies to words you select and ask about.

A Suggestion translates as soon as it is offered, so you can write it right away. When you write one, it is copied to the job dictionary with the comment D-Brief. A job with no job dictionary keeps it in this job only, and the status bar says so. To keep them, open Define and set Add to to job Dictionary. Pick a job dictionary, or a new one for this job, and click Use. The Suggestions you wrote go into it. The settings are in the left column: see D-Briefs Settings.

A word you fingerspell is suggested the first time, at the top of the column. When every one-stroke brief for it is taken, the Suggestion is its opening sounds written twice: Pindrel is PEUPBD/PEUPBD. A Suggestion for the first word of a sentence is defined lowercase, unless the word's own entry is capitalized.

A Suggestion only uses a stroke that no loaded Dictionary defines and that does not start a longer entry, so it never takes a stroke you already write. Suggestions are one stroke where they can be, and never use the number bar.

Turns the D-Briefs column on and off, View > Panels > D-Briefs. The column shows briefs for phrases as they are written, and the Live Suggestions.

Each brief is one line, Steno = Translation, such as KA = cardiologist. The steno is in its kind's color, and each kind has a faint row color:

• Reminder: a brief already in a loaded Dictionary, for words you wrote out the long way.
• Suggested: a made-up brief that is in no Dictionary yet.
• Written: a brief you wrote or accepted after it was offered. It turns gray, moves to the Written rows and gets a check mark.

The three kinds go Suggestions, Reminders, Written. D-Briefs Settings sets the order and how many rows of each.

Right-click the column, away from a Live Suggestion, for Show Row Colors (or Hide Row Colors) and Translation First (or Steno First). Both are remembered. Row Colors start off. The colors are on the Frame tab of Appearance.

Opens the D-Briefs menu, whose left column is D-Briefs Settings: Settings > D-Briefs Settings, the D-Briefs tab of Settings > Settings, or right-click the D-Briefs column.

Panel and Infobar. A table of Rows and Order for each kind, Reminders, Written and Suggestions, once for the D-Briefs panel and once for the Infobar. Rows is how many of the newest rows of that kind show. 0 hides the kind. Order sets which kind comes first. The panel and the Infobar start at 3 Reminders, 1 Written and 3 Suggestions.

• Panel font and Infobar font: Default, or one of the fonts the steno board offers, such as Courier New or Verdana. Verdana by default.

• Panel size and Infobar size: Smaller, Normal, Large, Larger, Largest, or Twice normal. Large by default.
• Panel Bold and Infobar Bold print the rows in bold. On by default.

• Panel spacing and Infobar spacing: the space between the rows, 0 to 8 pixels. 1 by default.
• Transparency lets what is under the panel show through when it is popped out. 0 by default.
• Pin New Briefs keeps the new briefs you write in the Written rows until the job closes, past the Rows count: a Suggestion you wrote, or a D-Brief you accepted. Briefs already in your Dictionaries keep the count. It is on by default.
• Show briefs phonetically shows each brief with its common chords as letters: TKPWHRO shows as GLO, AO*EUPLTS as AO*IMTS, PWAPBLG as BAJ. EU shows as I. The asterisk and the other vowels stay as written. Point at the letters to see the steno. On by default.

• Phonetic Letters is the list Show briefs phonetically reads, one chord a line: STKPW = Z. A right-hand chord starts with a hyphen: -PBLG = J. Where two chords fit, the longer one is used.

Reminders.

• Minimum savings is how many strokes a brief must save over what you wrote before it is a Reminder, 1 to 5. The default is 2.
• Avoid number bar shows a Reminder only for an outline without the number bar. When every outline for the words uses it, there is no Reminder. It is off by default.

Suggestions.

• Suggest after and Max words are the same settings as on the D-Briefs menu.
• Minimum keys is the fewest keys each stroke of a Suggestion has: Any, or 2 to 6. The default is Any.
• One stroke only lists only one-stroke briefs.
• Confirm in Define: a Suggestion does not translate when you write it. Use Accept D-Brief, which opens it in Define, and press Enter. Off by default.
• Write Twice to Define: off, a Suggestion you write translates and is copied to the job dictionary with the note D-Brief. On, writing it once translates it but copies nothing. Write it twice in a row to copy it: the two strokes translate as one and the Translation shows once. Off by default. With Confirm in Define on, it does nothing.

For example, with from pig to man offered as TPRO*PLT, write TPRO*PLT/TPRO*PLT. The transcript reads from pig to man, once, and TPRO*PLT is in the job dictionary. - Allow numbers suggests briefs for phrases with numbers in them, such as May 12, 2007. It is off by default. - Archive all suggestions saves every Suggestion offered to *jobname*_AB.json in the job folder.

Opens the Suggestion at the top of the D-Briefs column in Define, Dictionary > Accept D-Brief. Nothing is defined until you press Enter. It works with the column shut. With no Suggestion, the status bar says No D-Brief to accept. Eclipse's {ABACCEPT} runs it, and {ABREJECT} runs Stop Suggesting Last One.

Stops the most recent suggestion in the D-Briefs column from being offered again.

Replaces the Untranslate with the Live Suggestion of the given number. Double-clicking a suggestion in the column does the same.

Requests Live Suggestions for the highlighted words. The set appears in the D-Briefs column, which opens if closed.

Defines the Live Suggestion of the given number. The entry goes to the Dictionary set in Translate options under Live Suggestion defines, the job Dictionary by default.

Turns Live Suggestions on and off. On by default. The switch is Show Live Suggestions on the Input tab of Realtime > Translate Options. Or right-click the D-Briefs column and click Hide Live Suggestions (or Show Live Suggestions).

Off, the D-Briefs column shows no Live Suggestions and an Untranslate stays as written. Replace with Live Suggestion and Define Live Suggestion still work by number. Request Live Suggestion does nothing, and the status bar says Live Suggestions are hidden. Turn on Show Live Suggestions in Translate Options.

The other Live Suggestion settings are under it on the Input tab. All of them are User settings.

• Live Suggestions: how many show, 2 to 5. The default is 3.
• Live Suggestion defines: the Dictionary Define Live Suggestion writes to: the job dictionary, This case (the case dictionary, shared by every job in the case), or the Main Dictionary. The default is the job dictionary. This case, for a job with no case, writes to the job Dictionary.
• Oops on replace: Replace with Live Suggestion puts an Oops mark on the word it writes, so you can find it again. On by default. Example: replacing SKWRUPLD with uphold leaves uphold marked Oops. See Oops.
• Translation first: for a word Phonetic translation wrote, that word is Live Suggestion 1. Off, the Phonetic word is left out of the list. On by default.

Changes the paragraph at the cursor to a Question. Words and punctuation are not changed.

Changes the paragraph at the cursor to an Answer.

Changes the paragraph at the cursor to Colloquy.

Changes a Question to an Answer, or an Answer to a Question. Other paragraphs are not changed; use Change Paragraph Style.

Changes the paragraph at the cursor to its quoted twin: a Question to Question (quoted), which prints "Q., and the same for Answer, Continuation and Colloquy. With a block over several paragraphs, all of them change. Shift+Alt+Q on the Eclipse map.

The twins are set in Translate Options > Advanced > Quoted text paragraph map, one paragraph=quoted twin per line. Empty puts back the map Eclipse ships.

Changes a quoted paragraph back to its plain style. With a block, every paragraph in it changes. Shift+Alt+N on the Eclipse map.

Starts a new paragraph at the cursor and puts the Certified question include in it: (Question certified.) The first time, the include is saved to Edit > Insert > Includes, where its wording can be changed. The sample Certified questions index line lists each one by page and line. Ctrl+Shift+Q on the Eclipse map.

Marks an interruption: reporter dashes at the end of the paragraph cut off and at the front of the paragraph where the same speaker resumes. Works on Questions, Answers and colloquy; colloquy pairs by speaker name. The cursor can be in either half or the paragraph between. A pair already dashed is not changed; use Undo to remove the dashes.

Marks a Question that runs straight into its Answer: reporter dashes at the end of the Question and at the front of the Answer. The cursor can be in either paragraph. A pair already dashed is not changed.

Joins the paragraph at the cursor to the paragraph before it.

Starts a new paragraph at the cursor with the text after the cursor. With no style named, the new paragraph continues the current one. With a style named, it takes that style.

Starts a continuation paragraph at the cursor: a second paragraph of the same Question or Answer, indented, with no Q or A.

Changes the paragraph at the cursor to the style set on its key or macro step: Question, Answer, Colloquy, a style, or a speaker. With a selection, every paragraph in it changes.

Opens the paragraph style list at the cursor. Type the letter beside a style, or click it. Inside the words, the paragraph splits at the cursor and the words after take the style. At the start of a paragraph, the paragraph changes. With a selection, every paragraph in it changes. The last row is [Set paragraph status], which opens the status list.

Starts a paragraph of the style set on its key, at the cursor: Question, Answer, Colloquy, Parenthetical, Fixed, Centered or Right Flush. Inside the words, the paragraph splits at the cursor and the words after take the style. At the start of a paragraph, the paragraph changes.

Lists the job's speakers at the cursor, each with its Shortcut: the one set on the Speakers menu, or else its number. Type the Shortcut or click the name to start that speaker's paragraph at the cursor. At the start of a paragraph, the paragraph changes. To add a speaker, pick the last row, [Speakers], to open the Speakers menu.

Typing picks at once when what you typed is a whole Shortcut and no longer Shortcut starts with it. Otherwise the highlight moves to the first Shortcut or name that starts with what you typed, and Enter takes it: with speakers 1 and 12, typing 1 waits. Case does not count. Backspace takes back a character.

Switches a paragraph between the two styles set on its key or macro step, for example Answer and a speaker. A paragraph in neither style takes the second.

Puts a page break above the paragraph at the cursor. On a paragraph that has one, removes the page break.

Opens a list of page layouts. The layout applies from the paragraph at the cursor to the next layout change, and starts a new page. Pick The job layout to return to the job's own layout.

Sets the first line indent of the paragraph at the cursor, in inches from the left margin. Only that paragraph changes. Leave it blank to return to the style's indent.

Turns line numbers off on the page at the cursor, such as a title page or an index page, and back on at the top of the next page. Use it again to turn them back on. The setting is attached to the paragraph, so it keeps its place when the pages move.

Lines up the paragraph at the cursor, or every paragraph in the selection, on the left, in the center or on the right. Align Left returns the paragraph to its style. A Dictionary entry with {Centered} or {Right Flush} does the same as Center or Align Right.

Sets the status of the paragraph at the cursor, or of every paragraph in the selection: Rough, Scoped, Edited, Proofread, Final, Reverted or Broadcast. A status is a tint behind the paragraph on the screen, so a team can see what has been done to each part. Nothing prints. One status at a time: the next replaces it, and Off removes it. A Dictionary entry with {Status Rough} does the same.

Opens the Status Graph: a line for each paragraph status, with the job from start to end. Each line is filled in the status color where paragraphs have that status, with the percent of the job beside it. Click a line to go to that paragraph.

Shows the first letter of each paragraph's style in a square at the left of the line numbers: Q, A, C. Click a letter to put the cursor at that paragraph and open the paragraph style list. On by default.

Single spaces the paragraph at the cursor, or every paragraph in the selection. Use it again to return to double spacing.

Sets the number of the page at the cursor and starts a new page number section. Later pages count up from that number. Leave it blank to remove the number.

Removes the page number section at the cursor. Its pages count on from the page above.

Starts a new volume at the page at the cursor. The page number does not reset; set it with Page Number from Here. Leave it blank to remove the volume.

Removes the volume at the cursor. Its pages return to the volume above.

Sets the number of the next numbered paragraph, from the cursor on. A numbered paragraph is one whose style has a Paragraph number (in) in the print layout, often the Questions. Type 40 and that paragraph prints 40. Later paragraphs count up from that number. Leave it blank to remove the number.

Numbers the paragraph at the cursor, for a colloquy paragraph that needs a number where the Questions are numbered. Use it again to remove the number.

Applies bold to the selected words. The mark is Bold.

Applies italic to the selected words. The mark is Italic.

Applies underline to the selected words. The mark is Underline.

Raises the selected words above the line, at full size, and replaces a subscript. The mark is Superscript.

Lowers the selected words below the line, at full size. The mark is Subscript.

Draws a line through the selected words. The mark is Strikeout.

Removes all formatting from the selected words, including redaction and font color. Keep Capitals and Keep on Line Above are not removed.

Colors the selected words with the color set on the key or macro step, as #RRGGBB. none removes the color. With no color set, the color picker opens.

Puts a color behind the selected words, like a highlighter. The color is set on the key or macro step, as #RRGGBB. none removes it. With no color set, the color picker opens.

Keeps the capitals of the selected words in output set to all caps: select Mac in MacDonald and the name prints as MacDONALD. The mark does not print and has no effect on other output. The mark is Literal.

Redacts the selected words. In every printout and export each character, spaces included, becomes an X, so page and line numbers do not change. The words in the job are not changed. The mark is Redacted.

Keeps the selected words on the line above, past the right margin, instead of wrapping them. Use it to keep page and line numbers after a late correction. The mark is Release.

Opens the Timestamps menu: whether the margin shows the time of day or the time elapsed from the start of the job, and how often.

Where the times show. All three are off to start with:

• On screen: in the margin of the transcript.
• On the printed page: on paper and in a PDF.
• Beside the raw steno: beside each stroke on the Raw steno panel.

How a time reads:

• Show: Time from the start of the job or Time of day. Time of day by default.
• Hours, for the time of day: 12 hour, with AM and PM, 12 hour, no AM or PM, or 24 hour. 24 hour by default.
• Seconds: No or Yes. No by default.
• Time zone, for the time of day: Yes adds the computer's time zone, such as 10:32 AM EDT. No by default.
• Separator: the one character between the hours and the minutes. A colon by default: 10:32. With a period, 10.32.
• Size, under Printed page: Same as the text, or 8, 9 or 10 point.
• Font, under Printed page: Same as the text, or a font on this computer. A font this computer does not have says (not on this computer).
• Bold, Italic and Underline.

Where they print:

• One on: Every paragraph, Every line, The first line of a page, or Every so many lines. Every line by default. Lines apart, for Every so many lines, is counted down the page from its first line. 5 by default: lines 1, 6, 11 and on.
• Paragraphs: All of them, or Only these. Only these shows a box for each paragraph style of the job's layout, such as Question and Answer. The times print only on the ones checked. With none checked, nothing gets a time, and the menu says so.
• Side: Left, in the gutter or Right, past the text.
• Column: where the time starts, in inches from the left edge. 0.1 by default. In the gutter, it must fit before the line numbers. A time that runs into the line numbers, the text, or off the paper is named under the fields.

Under the fields, a line shows how the first line of the job prints and how a line two hours in prints.

Set the clock to a start time:

The time of day is the time the job opened plus the time of each stroke from then. To match another clock, such as the videographer's, set the time the job opened by that clock. Every time of day moves by the same amount.

1. Open Format > Timestamps. Start time shows when the job opened by this computer, such as 9:00:00 AM.
2. Type the time by the other clock, such as 9:01:35 AM.
3. Click Set.

A line written at 9:00:40 AM then prints 9:02:15 AM, and every other time moves 1 minute and 35 seconds too. Back to When the Job Opened takes the start time off. It shows only once a start time is set.

Changes the timestamps of the selected words. Enter the time of the first stroke, or click Now. The other strokes in the selection move by the same amount. Take Back Every Retime removes all retimes in the job.

Sets the elapsed clock on the line at the cursor. The rest of the job counts on from there. The time-of-day column is not changed.

Restarts the elapsed clock at 0:00:00 on the line at the cursor. The time-of-day column is not changed.

Stops the elapsed clock at the line at the cursor, or starts it again if stopped. The time-of-day column is not changed.

Opens the Print Layout menu. On the right is a sample page. Each field has a small number that matches a number on the sample page. Click a paragraph on the sample page to pick its style. The −, Full Page and + buttons, or Ctrl+Minus, Ctrl+0 and Ctrl+Plus, zoom the sample page.

Changes on this menu change the open job only. To keep them for other jobs, save them as a layout.

Layout

• Layout: the layouts StarCAT ships, then the ones you saved.
• Save as and Save: saves the settings under a new name. With Save as empty, Save writes over your layout. A layout StarCAT ships cannot be written over.
• Delete: deletes a layout you saved. A layout StarCAT ships cannot be deleted.
• Measure in: Inches, Centimeters, or Lines and spaces. Changes only how the numbers on this menu read. A User setting, not part of the layout.

The layouts StarCAT ships:

• 25 lines, 9 pitch: Letter paper, 25 lines, 9 characters to the inch. This is what a new job uses.
• 25 lines, 10 pitch: the same, 10 characters to the inch.
• 28 lines, 10 pitch: 28 lines, 10 characters to the inch.
• 24 lines, 9 pitch: 24 lines, 9 characters to the inch.
• Texas, 9 pitch and Texas, 10 pitch: the Texas page, with a box around the text and tab stops for Q and A.
• Federal: the federal court page (Guide to Judiciary Policy, volume 6, chapter 5, section 520). Left and right marginal lines, 25 lines, 10 characters to the inch, Q and A at the margin.
• New York: 22 NYCRR 108.3. A double line on the left, a single line on the right, 25 lines, Q and A five spaces in, colloquy 15 spaces in.
• California: the Minimum Transcript Format Standards (16 CCR 2473). 25 lines, 60 characters to the line, no box. A county that asks for more lines is one number changed on the menu.
• California, Los Angeles: the Los Angeles Superior Court Master Format Manual. A box, 28 lines, 56 characters to the line, Q and A at the margin with no period, tabs at 7 and 14 spaces, parentheticals 14 spaces in from both margins. The manual also asks for capitals; that is your writing, not the layout.
• California, Orange County: the Orange County guidelines. A box, 26 lines, 14 point Courier, the state rule for everything else.
• California, Solano County: the Solano Minimum Transcript Format Standards. 28 lines, 64 characters to the line, Q and A at the margin with the words two spaces after, colloquy 7 spaces in, no box.
• Florida: Rule of Judicial Administration 2.535(f). 25 lines, 60 characters to the line, no box.
• Illinois: Administrative Regulations for Court Reporting Services, section 7. 24 lines, left margin 1.5 inches, right margin 0.75, Q and A five spaces in, paragraphs ten, no box.

These are built from the published rules. Check one page against your court's rule before you file.

Paper

• Size: Letter (8.5 x 11 inches), Legal (8.5 x 14), A4 (8.27 x 11.69), or Other. Letter by default.
• Font: Courier by default, then the fixed-width fonts on this computer. A font this computer does not have says (not on this computer).
• Width (in) and Height (in): the paper size. 8.5 and 11 by default.
• Pitch (cpi): characters to the inch. 9 by default; 10 is common.
• Lines to the page: 25 by default.
• First line (in): where the first line prints, from the top edge. 1 inch by default.
• Last line (in): where the last line prints, from the top edge. 10 inches by default. This is the line's place, not a gap up from the bottom.
• Line numbers end at (in): where the line numbers end, from the left edge. 0.95 inch by default.
• Gutter (in): extra room for binding. The whole page moves over, or down when the page is bound at the top. None by default.
• Bound at: The side or The top.
• Break a line at a hyphen: on, cross-examination can break after cross-. Off, the whole word moves to the next line. Off by default.

Every measurement runs from the top or the left edge of the paper. Its label ends with the unit Measure in is set to: (in), (cm), or (spaces) and (lines).

Line numbers

• Print line numbers: on by default. Off, the page prints with no line numbers.
• Numbers from and Numbers through: the first and last line numbers. 1 through 25 by default.
• Numbers on: Every line, Every 5th line, or Every 10th line.
• Numbers as: 1, 2, 3; a, b, c; A, B, C; i, ii, iii; or I, II, III. Index references cite the line the same way.
• Blank print line: what prints on the numbered lines below the last line of the transcript. A slash is usual.

Format box

Draws rules around the text, as on a Texas page. The box sits outside the text and the line numbers.

• Left rule (in), Right rule (in), Top rule (in), Bottom rule (in): where each rule prints. Empty means no box.
• Style, a row with a box under Left, Right, Top and Bottom: None, 1 Line, or 2 Lines. A side set to None does not print, but still marks where the other sides start and stop.
• Thickness (in), the row under it, for each side. Empty is a hairline.
• Header text interrupts box and Footer text interrupts box: the rule breaks around the header or footer text.

The box prints and goes into a PDF. RTF and Word files do not get it.

Header and footer

Each of the header and the footer has three boxes: Header left, Center and Right, and Footer left, Center and Right. Type text in a box, or click a box and pick from the Field... list under it to put in a field. A field fills in on each page.

• Page number: [page]
• How many pages: [pages]
• First page in section and Last page in section: [firstpage], [lastpage]
• First indexed word and Last indexed word: [firstword], [lastword]. Filled on index pages only.
• Volume: [volume]
• Job Name: [job]
• Case: [case]
• Date: [date]

Under these, Job fields lists the fields the job's includes ask for, such as WITNESS. One goes in as [!WITNESS] and prints what was filled in for it.

For example, a footer center of Page [page] of [pages] prints Page 12 of 140.

Add a Header Line and Add a Footer Line add a line, up to 7 each. The boxes of a second line read Line 2 left, Center and Right.

The settings for each of the header and footer:

• Prints at (in): where it prints, from the top edge. Empty is one line out from the text.
• Starts at (in): where it starts, from the left edge.
• Across: The margins, The paper, or The box. The left, center and right boxes spread across this width. The margins by default.
• Size: Same as the page, or 6 to 24 points.
• Font: Same as the page, or a font on this computer.
• Bold, Italic and Underline.
• Numbered lines (header only): puts the header on the numbered lines, from line 1 down, instead of in the top margin.

A warning shows when a header or footer is too wide for its width.

Page numbers

• Page numbers: prints a page number in the top margin, at the right edge. On by default. If the header has a [page] field, turn this off, or the page number prints twice.
• Page numbers start at: 1 by default.
• Volume numbers: 1, 2, 3; I, II, III; or i, ii, iii. How a [volume] field prints, and the volume in an index reference. Page numbers stay 1, 2, 3.

Paragraph styles

Each kind of paragraph has a style: where its lines start and end, its Q. or A., its spacing. Pick a style from the buttons, or click a paragraph on the sample page. Compare All Styles shows every style in one table.

The styles StarCAT ships, on a 25 line, 9 pitch page:

• Question and Answer: Q. and A., text at 1.7 inches. A second paragraph inside one is set in Continuation.
• Continuation: first line at 2.2 inches, the rest at 1.7.
• Colloquy: first line at 1.7 inches, the rest at 1.2.
• Speaker: like Colloquy, with the speaker's name in front, such as MR. SMITH:.
• ByLine: BY MS. JONES:. Keep whole is 2.
• Paren: a parenthetical, such as (Recess taken.). Keep whole is 3.
• Centered: each line centered.
• NewLine: any paragraph with no other style.
• Index: index pages.
• Caption and CaptionIndent: the caption on a title page, ending at 4.25 inches with a ) at the end of each line.

The fields for the picked style:

• Name: custom styles only. A style StarCAT ships cannot be renamed or deleted. A style used in the open job cannot be deleted.
• Behaves as: Normal, Question, Answer, Colloquy, Speaker, Parenthetical, or Fixed. Tells StarCAT what kind of paragraph the style is. A custom style such as Sworn Examination set to Question gets a question mark when written with none. Fixed is a line you set the words of: its first word is not capitalized.
• Ending punctuation: the mark used when a paragraph is written with none: Automatic, None, period, question mark, exclamation point, colon, or --. Automatic uses Behaves as: a Question gets a question mark.
• Symbol: what prints in front, such as Q. or A.
• Symbol at (in): where the symbol prints. Empty is 2 spaces ahead of the first word.
• First line (in): where the first line starts.
• Left (in): where every line after the first starts. A first line left of Left makes a hanging indent.
• Right (in): where every line ends.
• Characters: the characters between Left and Right. Typing it moves Right.
• Paragraph number (in), Before number and After number: numbers each paragraph in the style. With [ before and ] after, the third paragraph prints [3]. Empty means no number.
• Bird cage: a character printed at the right edge of every line, such as ).
• Keep whole (lines): the lines kept together on one page. 0 lets the paragraph break anywhere.
• Spacing: Double, or Single. Single puts two lines of text on each numbered line.
• Alignment: Left, Center, Right, or Justified. Center sets each line in the middle, between Left and Right. Right sets each line against Right. Justified widens the gaps between words so every line but the last runs from Left to Right. A line with a tab in it, and a table row, are not justified. Left by default.
• Continued in: the style for a second paragraph inside this one.
• Tab stops (in): up to ten, separated by spaces. Empty is a stop every fifth space.
• Table: on, a long cell wraps under its own column.
• Text capitalized: the words of the style print in capitals, on paper and in every export. The screen shows them as written. Off by default.
• Auto-punctuate: on, a paragraph in this style ends on the mark a Dictionary entry asks for, such as do you{>?}. Off, it ends only on its Ending punctuation. On by default.
• Label Font: Regular, Bold, Italic, or Bold Italic. The typestyle the Q. or A. prints in, on the screen and in every export.
• Text Font: the same four. The typestyle the words of the style print in. Bold or italic put on by hand still shows.

For the whole layout:

• Paragraph numbers start at: 1 by default.
• Bird cage line above and Bird cage line below: None, underscores, dashes, or equals signs across the caption.

Create a paragraph style:

1. Click New Style.
2. Type the name in New Paragraph Style Name, such as Exhibit List.
3. Pick the style to copy in Base values taken from. Question by default.
4. Click Add, then change the fields.

Opens Format > Page Elements. It lists the pages that print differently from Print Layout: a custom header or footer, or a header, footer, page numbers, line numbers, timecodes or the text box left off. Pages in a row that print the same way show as one range. Click a range to go to its first page.

Add a range:

1. Click Add Range. The form opens on the page the cursor is on.
2. In Pages, type the pages, like 5-20.
3. For each element, pick Default, Hide, or, for the header and footer, Custom.
4. Click Apply.

A Custom header or footer has Left, Center and Right boxes, Bold, Italic and Underline, a Size and a Font. It starts from the Print Layout header or footer, and prints in its size and font where those are left at Default. [page] in a box prints the page number. A header on numbered lines prints at the page size and font. Add a Footer Line adds a line under the last one, up to seven, as in Print Layout.

Edit opens a range in the same form. Change Pages to make the range longer or shorter: the pages it leaves go back to Print Layout. To take a range off, click Restore Defaults on the form, which sets every element to Default, then click Apply. Restore Defaults under the list takes every range off, and the entry codes below too: click it, then Confirm Restore.

Timecodes set to Hide come off those pages in the writing window too.

A range is page numbers, kept with the job. Nothing is written into the text, so when an edit moves text onto or off a page, the range stays on the pages you typed. RTF exports leave ranges out.

Entry codes set the same elements in the text, from where they are written, and can go in a Dictionary entry or a macro: {H}, {F}, {Job Header}, {Job Footer}, {Omit} and {Resume}. See Entry codes: Paragraphs. In a {H} or {F}, bars split the words into left, center and right, and a fourth piece sets the look: {F Volume II | Page [page] | | bold 10}. Two bars start the next line: {F Volume II || Sealed}. On a page in a range, the range wins.

Opens the Includes menu. An include is text you keep once and put in many jobs by name: a title page, an appearance page, a certificate, a standing parenthetical. Each place it is put in stays linked to it, so a correction to the include corrects every job that has it. Exported files get the text as it reads.

Each include is a file in the includes folder. Copy a file into the folder and it is on the menu.

Library

Lists the includes, with the layout of each, how many blanks it has, whether it is in this job, whether it prints on its own page, and whether it is offered while you write.

• Insert at: The caret, The start of the transcript, or The end.
• Insert: puts it in the job, at Insert at.
• Edit: opens it in the box below.
• Define a Stroke: opens Define with the include filled in, so a stroke puts it in.
• Delete: takes it out of the library. A transcript still naming it says so on the page.

Write an include:

1. Type a Name, such as Certificate.
2. Pick a Sample to start from, or start with an empty box.
3. Type one paragraph a line. Put a style in braces at the start of a line, such as {Centered}, and a blank in brackets, such as [WITNESS].
4. Check the Preview.
5. Click Save.

The settings for an include:

• Layout: Default, or a named layout. A named layout sets its own margins.
• Its own page: starts a new page before and after, so it prints alone.
• No line numbers: prints the include with no line numbers, as on a title page. The transcript after it is numbered again.
• Offer it while I write: when you write its first words, it is offered on the Includes Matching panel. Or define a stroke as {@RUN(writematch 1)} to write it without the panel.

The toolbar over the box: Sample, Style (the layout's styles, plus New Page and Tab), Bold, Italic, Underline, Field and Insert for a blank, Image… for a picture on a line of its own, and Caption Table.

An example, a line from a title page: {Caption}COUNTY OF [COUNTY] prints COUNTY OF JEFFERSON in the Caption style, once COUNTY is answered. {New Page} on a line by itself starts a page.

Signature

• Signature image: the file, or none. Choose… picks a PNG, JPEG or BMP. Remove clears it.

Sign on white paper, scan or photograph it, and save the picture. Then {Signature} on a line of its own prints the picture there: the line stays empty and the picture stands on it, two and a half lines tall, as wide as its shape makes it. It prints in the PDF and on paper. Without a picture the line prints blank, so the certificate still has room for a signature.

The Certificate page sample ends with three lines: {Signature}, then {Centered}______________________________, then {Centered}[REPORTER]. The signature sits over the rule, with the reporter's name under it.

Samples

StarCAT ships no includes. The samples fill the box, and are kept only when you save them.

• Title page: the court and county, the caption with the plaintiff, the defendant and the case number, DEPOSITION OF the witness, the date, and who took it, where and when. On its own page.
• Appearance page: APPEARANCES, then FOR THE party:, with the attorney, firm, address, phone and email. On its own page.
• Title and appearance page: the two on one include.
• Off the record: (Discussion off the record.) Offered while you write.
• Back on the record: (Back on the record at 10:42 a.m.) Offered.
• Recess: (Recess taken at 12:01 p.m.) Offered.
• Exhibit marked: (Exhibit 3 marked for identification.) The number counts up each time. Offered.
• Certificate page: the reporter's certificate, with the witness, the first and last page, and the date it prints. On its own page.
• Certified question: (Question certified.) What Certify Question puts in.
• Objections index, Instructed not to answer index and Requests for production index: each one line that indexes the matching colloquy under the attorney who spoke. Certified questions index lists each certified question by page and line. See Index lines.

Blanks

A blank is a name in brackets. Answer it once and every place that names it fills in. A line with only blanks, all answered empty, is left out.

• [WITNESS]: a blank. The same name twice is one answer.
• [Plaintiff|Defendant]: a choice between words.
• [WITNESS^]: prints in capitals.
• [EXHIBIT+]: counts up by one each time the include goes in.
• [CASE:20]: 20 characters wide.
• [PAGE:5>]: lined up on the right within its width.
• [ATTORNEY1@ATTY]: picked from the ATTY field list.
• [DEPONENT=WITNESS]: fills from the WITNESS answer.
• [TOTAL: (PAGES - FORMPAGES) * PAGERATE]: worked out from the other answers, for a billing page. A colon and a space, then the arithmetic: add, subtract, multiply, divide, parentheses. It fills in once every name in it has an answer, and is never asked for itself.

The blanks StarCAT knows:

• Appearance: SPEAKER1 (appearing for), FIRM1, ATTORNEY1, ADDRESS-A1, ADDRESS-B1 (the second address line), CITY1, STATE1, ZIP1, PHONE1, EMAIL1. For a second attorney, copy the lines and use ATTORNEY2, FIRM2 and so on.
• The case: CASE (the case number), COURT, COUNTY, JUDGE, PLAINTIFF, DEFENDANT.
• The proceeding: WITNESS, DEPONENT, DATE, TIME, PLACE, REPORTER.
• Pages, filled in by StarCAT: FIRST PAGE, LAST PAGE, PAGES (how many), FIRST PAGE IN SECTION, LAST PAGE IN SECTION.
• Current, changes each time the job opens: CURRENT DATE, CURRENT TIME, CURRENT YEAR.
• Static, set once: STATIC DATE, STATIC TIME, SEAL DATE, SEAL DATE WITH DAY. Each is a set date or time: the time of the stroke that first wrote the field into the job. It never changes after that, unlike CURRENT DATE and CURRENT TIME, which change each time the job opens. Use STATIC TIME for the time in a recess parenthetical: (Recess taken at 10:42.) SEAL DATE reads 1st of November 2026; SEAL DATE WITH DAY reads 1st day of November 2026. A read-only job sets none of them.
• When it started and ended: JOB START TIME, JOB END TIME.

Blanks in this transcript lists the blanks not yet answered. Type each answer in its box. To answer a blank empty, press Enter on its empty box: the blank prints nothing. Answered blanks are listed below, each with Unanswer.

Field lists

A field list is a list of answers you use again, one entry a line, such as every attorney you write for. [ATTORNEY1@ATTY] picks from the ATTY list and fills the blanks after it: firm, address, phone and email.

An ATTY entry, with the columns in order:

kurk@Anna Kurkowski+Kurkowski & Kohlmeyer LLP+200 West Adams Street+Suite 1400+Chicago+IL+60606+312-555-0101+akurkowski@kurkowski.example

• + moves to the next blank.
• kurk@ at the start gives the entry a short name, kurk.
• _ makes the next character plain, so a + in a name stays a +.
• A line starting with ; is a note. ; SORT keeps the list sorted.

• Import vCard adds contacts from a vCard file; you can also drop the file on the box.

StarCAT ships sample lists, ATTY, FIRM, PARTY, COURT, JUDGE and PLACE, with made-up names.

Puts the named include in at the cursor. A Dictionary entry {INCLUDE:Title page} puts in the Title page include. An include that starts a paragraph must go at the start of one.

Writes out the rest of a started include. The number given picks one of the offered matches; with no number, the first is used. Text already written stays.

Goes to the first unfilled blank and opens it for an answer. After each answer the cursor moves to the next blank. Used on a blank, it starts from that blank.

The box for a blank has:

• Fill In: takes the answer and goes to the next blank. With the box empty it goes on and leaves this blank.
• A button for each choice, on a blank with choices.
• Today, on a date blank: today's date, in the format set under Date fields.
• The entries, on a blank with a list. Typing narrows them. Enter takes the lit one, or the typed words when none match.
• Add to field list: keeps the answer on a list named for the field, so a plain [COUNTY] keeps its answers on a list called COUNTY.
• A row for each blank left. Click a row to go to that blank.

Inserts a blank at the cursor. Type the field name, or pick one the job already uses. The blank shows the name until it is filled, and one answer fills every blank with that name.

Converts filled fields to plain text, so they no longer change with their answers. Converts the fields in the selection, or every field in the job when nothing is selected.

Turns the Index panel on and off. The panel lists exhibits and witnesses by category, with the page and line of each. Click a row to go to it. Indexed lines have a star in the margin.

See Build the index. The buttons at the top of the panel:

• Add: opens Index entry.
• Run: indexes a range of exhibits.
• Find: marks what the transcript names.
• Insert: puts the index in the transcript.

Each row has Attach, Edit and Delete. A row from an include shows the include's name instead: change it in the include. A row with a file has a button with the file's name, which opens it.

Attach keeps a file with the exhibit, such as a scan or a PDF:

1. Turn on the Index panel.
2. On the exhibit's row, click Attach and pick the file.
3. Double-click the star beside the exhibit's line to open the file. Point at the star to see the file's name.

The file is copied into the job's exhibits folder, so it stays with the job.

Every other place the transcript names the exhibit opens the same file: Ctrl+click Exhibit 58, Exhibit No. 58, Plaintiff's 58 or State's Exhibit 58 anywhere in the job. The words StarCAT reads before the number are Exhibit, Plaintiff's, Defendant's, Defense, State's, People's, Government's, Joint, Respondent's and Petitioner's.

An exported PDF includes the files too. Click a mention in the PDF to open its file, or open the reader's attachments list. A PDF/A copy includes none.

A web address or email address in the transcript, such as www.example.com or jane@firm.com, is a link in the exported PDF. Click it to open it. Nothing is set up: the address is the link. A PDF/A copy has none.

Opens the Index entry menu. Set the category, the item, the action (Marked, Offered, Admitted, Refused, Withdrawn, Voir dire, Direct, Cross, Redirect or Recross) and an optional description, and click Save. The entry is placed at the cursor.

Indexes a range of exhibits at the cursor. Enter the range as 1-20, A-F, 1A-1F or numbers separated by commas. Put a name containing a hyphen in quotes.

Finds the witnesses, examinations and exhibits the transcript names and adds them to the index. Also the Find button on the Index panel.

• A witness: a name in capitals that starts a paragraph saying sworn or affirmed, such as JANE DOE, having been first duly sworn.
• An examination: a heading paragraph in capitals, such as CROSS-EXAMINATION, FURTHER REDIRECT EXAMINATION or VOIR DIRE EXAMINATION.
• An exhibit: a parenthetical such as (Plaintiff's Exhibit No. 4 was marked for identification.) - Words between the number and the verb are the description: (Exhibit 4, a letter dated May 1, 2024, was marked.) A description already on the entry is kept. - The action: marked or identified is Marked; offered is Offered; received or admitted is Admitted; not admitted, refused or excluded is Refused; withdrawn is Withdrawn. Marked and received files both. - (Exhibit 5 was previously marked.) files nothing.
• A part of the proceedings: a heading in capitals such as JURY VOIR DIRE, OPENING STATEMENT, CLOSING ARGUMENT, JURY INSTRUCTIONS or VERDICT, filed under PROCEEDINGS.
• The side: a heading such as PLAINTIFF'S CASE, or a sworn paragraph saying called by the Defendant, gives the side for each witness after it, until (The Plaintiff rests.).

Entries already in the index are not added twice. The status message reads "3 index entries found." Remove a found entry the same way as one you marked.

Marks the next exhibit. Fills a blank in the paragraph, or inserts the line (Exhibit No. [ ] marked for identification.), uses the next number entered, and files the entry as Marked. Esc files nothing. The category is given on the key or macro step; EXHIBITS by default.

Inserts the index at the start of the cursor's paragraph as editable text: the category named on the key or macro step, or all categories.

Says which index entries point at the cursor's line, in the status message: the category, the item and the action, such as EXHIBITS Exhibit 4, Marked. Use it on a line with a star in the margin to see what the star is without opening the Index panel. A line with none says "Nothing indexes this line."

Adds the indexes to the transcript, on pages of their own, as text that exports include. Where they go:

• In a job with an Appearance include, the witness, examination and exhibit indexes go on the page after the appearances. The word index goes at the end.
• In a job with no Appearance include, every index goes at the end.

Running it twice adds a second copy. The Export menu also attaches and removes them.

Opens the Numbers tab of Translate Options, Format > Numbers.

Quantities, Money and Ordinals

The grid at the top of the tab has a row for each kind of number:

• Quantities: a count or an amount. six people, twelve thousand five hundred.
• Money: a number with dollars or cents after it.
• Ordinals: first, second, twenty-first.

Each row has three settings:

• Spell out: the numbers written in words. Every other number is in figures.
• Spell out at the start of a sentence: the numbers written in words when they start a sentence. Empty uses Spell out.
• Back to words at: from this size up, a round number of millions, billions or trillions ends in a word. thirty five million is 35 million, not 35,000,000.

Type a range, a list, or both: 1-9, 1-12, 20, 30, 40, 0-10, 20, 30. Empty means never.

The defaults:

• Quantities: spell out 0-10, at the start of a sentence 0-100, back to words at a million.
• Money: never spelled out, back to words at a million.
• Ordinals: never spelled out, at the start of a sentence 0-10, never back to words.

Quantities, with the defaults:

• there were six people: There were six people.
• there were eleven people: There were 11 people.
• he was twenty one: He was 21.
• one hundred forty eight people came: 148 people came.
• twelve people came: Twelve people came. It starts the sentence and 12 is in 0-100.
• it cost thirty five million: It cost 35 million.
• the city has two million three hundred thousand people: The city has 2,300,000 people. It is not a round number of millions.

Quantities, with other settings:

• Spell out 1-9: there were ten people: There were 10 people.
• Spell out 0-10, 20, 30: there were twenty people: There were twenty people.
• Spell out empty: there were six people: There were 6 people.
• Spell out at the start of a sentence empty and Spell out 1-9: twelve people came: 12 people came.
• Back to words at never: it cost thirty five million: It cost 35,000,000.
• Back to words at a billion: it cost thirty five million: It cost 35,000,000. it cost two billion: It cost 2 billion.

Money, with the defaults:

• he paid fifty dollars: He paid $50.
• he paid four thousand dollars: He paid $4,000.
• he paid five million dollars: He paid $5 million.
• he paid four dollars and fifty cents: He paid $4.50.
• it was fifty cents: It was 50 cents.

Money, with other settings:

• Spell out 1-10: he paid five dollars: He paid five dollars.
• Back to words at never: he paid five million dollars: He paid $5,000,000.

Ordinals, with the defaults:

• on the sixth page: On the 6th page.
• the twenty first witness: The 21st witness.
• sixth on the list: Sixth on the list. It starts the sentence.

Ordinals, with Spell out 1-9:

• on the sixth page: On the sixth page.
• the twenty first witness: The 21st witness.

Digit grouping

• Group digits from: the number of digits that gets a separator. five digits is the default: 4500 has none, 12,500 has one. four digits writes 4,500. never writes 12500.
• Separator: comma (12,500), period (12.500) or space (12 500).
• Always group money, whatever the width: on by default. $4,000 has a comma even though it is four digits. Off, it is $4000.

Other switches

• Read "and" as part of a number: on by default. one hundred and forty eight people came: 148 people came. Off: 100 and 48 people came.
• Add comma to date after month: on by default. January six two thousand nineteen: January 6, 2019. in March ninety eight: in March '98. Off: January 6 2019 and March 98.
• Read "oh" as a zero between two numbers: on by default. nine oh five p.m.: 9:05 p.m. Off: nine oh 5 p.m. An oh with no number on both sides is always a word: oh, I see stays Oh, I see.
• Keep ordinal suffixes lowercase under Caps lock: off by default. On, 21st stays 21st in text written with Caps lock on. Off, it is 21ST.
• Numbers in a series go into figures: off by default. On, numbers in words joined by and, or, through, to or a comma go into figures: I waited two to four weeks: I waited 2 to 4 weeks. Not at the start of a sentence. Off, a series goes into figures only when part of it already is: ten to fifteen minutes, with fifteen written as 15, is 10 to 15 minutes.

Vocabulary

The words numbers are written in, for a job in another language or a house with its own spelling. Each box shows what the job uses now.

• Value and Word: pick a number in Value and type its word in Word. 40 is forty.
• Decimal word: the word that starts a decimal. three point one four: 3.14.
• Grouping word: the word inside a number. one hundred and forty eight.
• Decimal symbol: the period in 3.14.
• Time symbol: the colon in 9:05. Type a period for 9.05.
• Ordinal suffixes (0 to 9): the ten suffixes, by last digit, 0 first. 11, 12 and 13 take the one for 0.

Date fields

Date fields picks how a date field writes today's date, and how the Today pick on a date blank writes it. The choices, for January 6, 2019: January 6th 2019 (the default), January 6, 2019, Sunday, January 6, 2019, 6 January 2019, 01/06/2019, 1/6/2019 and 01/06/19. The list shows them with today's date. A date already filled in keeps its format.

Keywords

A keyword is a word or phrase near a number that decides how the number is written. Keywords are on the Keywords tab of Translate Options. Show at the top picks the table: Keywords, Rules, Templates or Currencies.

Each row has:

• Keyword: the word or phrase. The check box in front turns the row off without deleting it. Keywords with the same Where, Rule and switches share one row, which shows the first two and a count (January, February +6). Click it to see each keyword, with its own check box and Comment, and + Add Keyword. The × on a keyword removes it. A keyword alone on its row has a + beside it that adds one with the same rules.
• Where: where the keyword sits. before the number (Exhibit 5), after the number (fifty dollars), or trigger.
• Rule: the format the number is written in. One is the usual case. + Add Rule adds another, and the × on a rule removes it. Several are tried in order, and the first that fits the number is used. A second rule only matters when the first can turn a number down: Ordinal takes only numbers said as ordinals, MonthDay only 3, 5 or 6 digits. Generic, Figures and Money take any number.
• Example: what the row writes, worked with Numbers on.
• Comment: a note for you. StarCAT does not read it.

Add a Keyword adds an empty row at the bottom, Rule Generic, Where after.

Remove on a row deletes it. Click More on a row for its switches, and Less to put them away:

• The keyword joins the number: the keyword becomes part of the figure. fifty dollars is $50, with no dollars after it.
• Cap the keyword: highway 66 is Highway 66.
• Match its case: the row only matches the keyword with the same capitals. May on the May row, not may.
• Cap words in front: the number of words before the keyword to capitalize. 1234 red pine avenue is 1234 Red Pine Avenue.
• Words between: how many words can stand between the keyword and its number, 0 to 4. At 0 the keyword is right next to the number. It never reaches past another number.
• Money symbol: the symbol a money row writes. Empty is $.
• Symbol before the number: on writes $50. Off writes the symbol after the number with a space: 50 USD.

Type in Try it to see what the table does with a sentence before you leave the tab.

Before, after and trigger

• before: the keyword comes before the number. Exhibit five: Exhibit 5. With Words between at 1, Exhibit No. five is Exhibit No. 5.
• after: the keyword comes after the number. fifty dollars: $50. fifty US dollars stays 50 US dollars: a row that joins the number, like Money, always has to be right next to it, whatever Words between says.
• trigger: the keyword sets the format of the next number, however many words later it comes. The phone number is usually in the answer, not right after the words phone number: What is your phone number? (212) 555-1212. A trigger looks forward only, into the next paragraph at most, and the keyword has to be in the last 12 words of its own paragraph. Another trigger replaces it.

Default keywords

Money. Rule Money, after, joins the number:

• dollar, dollars: fifty dollars: $50. four dollars and fifty cents: $4.50.

Cents. Rule Cents, after, joins the number:

• cent, cents: fifty cents: 50 cents.

Percent. Rule Generic, after:

• percent: ninety nine percent: 99 percent. The word stays.

Clock times. Rule Time, after:

• a.m., p.m., A.M., P.M., a.m, p.m, am, pm: eight oh seven p.m.: 8:07 p.m. three thirty three a.m: 3:33 a.m.
• o'clock: five o'clock: 5 o'clock.
• in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, at night: five thirty in the afternoon: 5:30 in the afternoon. two in the afternoon: 2 in the afternoon.
• am on its own is only a keyword right after a number: I am here stays I am here.

Months. Rules Ordinal, MonthDay, Generic, before:

• January through December: May four: May 4. May fourth: May 4th. January six two thousand nineteen: January 6, 2019. March ninety eight: March '98.
• March, May, April and August are on Match its case, so only the capitalized word is a month: a protest march one day stays a protest march one day.

References. Rule Generic, before. The number is always in figures:

• Section: Section 2002, never Section two thousand two.
• Chapter: Chapter 7. Article: Article 3. Rule: Rule 12.
• Count: Count 2. Exhibit: Exhibit 5.
• Page: Page 40. Line: Line 12. Volume: Volume 2.

Roads. Rule Generic, before, Cap the keyword on:

• highway sixty six: Highway 66.
• route nine: Route 9.
• interstate ninety five: Interstate 95.

Streets. Rule Generic, after, Cap the keyword on, Cap words in front 2:

• avenue, street, road, boulevard, drive, lane: twelve thirty four red pine avenue: 1234 Red Pine Avenue. four hundred main street: 400 Main Street.

Measurements. Rule Figures, after. Always in figures, whatever Spell out says:

• Length: inch, inches, foot, feet, yard, yards, mile, miles, millimeter, centimeter, meter, kilometer, with plurals and the -metre spellings. six feet tall: 6 feet tall. five feet eleven inches: 5 feet 11 inches. two miles: 2 miles.
• Speed: miles per hour, kilometers per hour. sixty five miles per hour: 65 miles per hour.
• Weight: pound, ounce, ton, tonne, gram, kilogram, milligram, microgram, with plurals. one hundred eighty pounds: 180 pounds.
• Volume: gallon, quart, pint, liter, milliliter, fluid ounce, cc, cubic centimeter, cubic inch, cubic foot, cubic yard, with plurals. five cc: 5 cc.
• Area: acre, square inch, square foot, square yard, square mile, square meter, with plurals. a thousand square feet: 1000 square feet.
• degree, degrees: ten degrees: 10 degrees.

Triggers. The next number, however far ahead:

• phone number, telephone number, cell number, cell phone number. Rule Phone: seven digits are 555-1212, ten are (212) 555-1212, eleven are 1-800-555-1212.
• social security number. Rule Social: 123-45-6789.
• zip code, postal code. Rule Zip: five digits are 34994, nine are 34994-0625.

A trigger with a number that does not fit its rule writes the digits as they are. Twelve digits after phone number are 123456789012.

Rules

When more than one thing could set a number's format, the first of these wins: a {# format from a Dictionary entry, then a trigger, then a keyword beside the number (an after keyword wins over a before one), then the Numbers tab.

The Rule column takes these names. Set Show to Rules to see each one on a sample number.

• Quantity: by the Quantities settings. 12500: 12,500.
• Figures: always figures, with grouping. six: 6.
• Generic: always figures, no grouping. 12345: 12345.
• Ordinal: by the Ordinals settings. twenty one: 21st.
• Money: dollars. fifty: $50.
• Cents: fifty: 50 cents.
• Words: twelve: twelve.
• OrdinalWords: 33: thirty-third.
• Roman: three: III. RomanLower: three: iii.
• Percent: 40: 40%.
• Decimal: two places. 1.5: 1.50.
• Fraction: three and a half: 3 1/2.
• Time: 1015: 10:15. A number no clock can show, such as 1275, stays as it is.
• Date: 91826: 9/18/26. 10152026: 10/15/2026.
• MonthDay: the digits after a month, written on the number bar. January 62019: January 6, 2019.
• Phone, Social, Zip: as under Triggers.

Custom formats

Set Show to Templates for custom formats, such as a docket number. Remove on a row deletes it. Click Add a Template, type a name in Template and the shape in Shape. So shows the shape on a sample.

• # is a digit. Everything else is written as it is.
• < at the start fills the shape from the right.
• [ and ] around a part that is left off when there are not enough digits.

Examples:

• ##-#### named Docket: one two three four five six: 12-3456.
• ###-###: one two three four five: 123-45.
• <###-###: one two three four five: 12-345.
• #####[-####]: 34994 is 34994, 349940625 is 34994-0625.

Use the name as a Rule on a keyword row, or in a Dictionary entry. For a number said digit by digit, make the row a trigger. With a row for docket number, trigger, Rule Docket: the docket number is one two three four five six: The docket number is 12-3456.

Currencies

Set Show to Currencies for the money a Dictionary entry can name. It starts with dollars (D) and cents (C). Add a Currency adds a row, and Remove on a row deletes it.

• Letter: the letter after {#M}. E is {#ME}.
• One and Many: the currency's name, as in Euro and Euros.
• Symbol: ^ is where the number goes. $^ is $50, ^ EUR is 50 EUR.
• Unit: Main has cents, Hundredth is a smaller unit such as cents or pence, Whole has no decimals, such as the yen.

Importing your Eclipse settings brings your Eclipse Currency list in.

Format a number from a Dictionary entry

Put {# and a format name in an entry to set the format of the next number. Use it for one-off formats, such as a juror number or a roman volume number.

• {#R}: Roman. Volume {#R} three: Volume III.
• {#r}: roman, lower case: Volume iii.
• {#W}: words. chapter {#W} twelve: chapter twelve.
• {#N} or {#G}: figures, no grouping. code {#N} six: code 6.
• {#Q}: by the Quantities settings.
• {#M}: money. paid {#M} fifty: paid $50.
• {#C}: cents. {#C} fifty: 50 cents.
• {#M and a Letter from the Currencies table}: that currency. With a Euro row on E, {#ME} fifty: 50 EUR.
• {C: and a One or Many name}, after the number: fifty {C:Euros}: 50 EUR. With no number in front it writes the name.
• {#O}: ordinal. {#O} twenty one: 21st.
• {#D}: date. {#D} nine one eight two six: 9/18/26.
• {#T}: time. at {#T} ten fifteen: at 10:15.
• {#P}, {#S}, {#Z}: phone, Social Security, zip.
• {#Docket}, or any name in the Rules list or Custom formats.

{#R} sets only the next number. Add >> to keep it on until an entry with {#} turns it off:

• volume {#R>>} one and volume two then volume three {#} and volume four: volume I and volume II then volume III and volume 4.

Change one number after it is written

To write one number another way, use Write Number As: right-click the number and point to Number Format. See Write Number As.

Opens the Keyboard menu. Lists every command with its key, lists the saved keyboards and the modes, and sets the audio keys and the foot pedal. See Change a key, Set up a mode and Assign a command that takes a parameter to a key.

• Keyboard: selects a saved keyboard.
• Remove: deletes the selected keyboard. The one in use can't be removed.
• Save as and Save: saves the keys under a new name.
• Coming from: loads the keys of another CAT program, and keeps the keys you set.
• Import Eclipse Keys: reads keys from an Eclipse .set or .ini file.
• Add a Mode: adds a mode to the Modes table.
• Find: finds a key or command in the Keys list.

Print the Keys prints every key, with the pedal buttons in a section of their own.

Print Key Grid and Print Keyboards print the keys as a grid in keyboard order and as drawn keyboards.

A pedal button can run a macro. Under Pedal, pick the macro in Add a button for (macros are in their own group) and click Set the Button. One press runs every step, for example Faster then Play from Cursor. On a button's row, click press or let go to choose when it fires. Remove takes the button off.

Switches to the next saved keyboard. The keyboard's name appears as a status message, with status messages on. With one keyboard, nothing changes.

Turns RocketKeys on and off. In RocketKeys, single keys run commands without Ctrl or Alt. Alt+Z enters and leaves the mode. On the Eclipse map, the default, G runs Define. On the StarCAT map, the key is the command's usual key with the modifier left off, so D runs Define where Ctrl+D does outside the mode.

Changes the case of the text at the cursor. Use it once for the letter, twice quickly for the word, three times for the line. Text with a lowercase letter becomes uppercase; text with none becomes lowercase. With text highlighted, the highlight is changed. In RocketKeys the command is on a tap of either Shift key.

Makes an arrow key leave the mode. The arrow still moves the cursor. The switch is Arrows Exit RocketKeys, on Settings > Keyboard under Modes. Off by default.

Shows and hides the cheat sheet, a list of commands with their hotkeys and Steno. On a held key, the cheat sheet shows while the key is down and closes on release. Opened from the menu, it stays open until closed with the X, a click outside it or Esc. Choose its commands on Edit Cheat Sheet.

Chooses the commands on the cheat sheet.

• Search: finds a command in the list.
• The list: check a command to show it on the sheet. The preview is on the right.
• Print: prints the sheet.
• Clear My Picks: returns to the default list.
• Assign Ctrl+/: assigns the key to the cheat sheet. It shows when no key opens the sheet and Ctrl+/ is free.

Opens the Macros menu. A macro is several commands under one name, run in order from one key or one Steno entry. The menu builds, records, copies, saves to a file, and adds macros from a file.

See Run a macro and Build a macro.

• Find and Category: narrow the list.
• Play: closes the menu and runs the macro.
• New Macro: opens the builder.
• Record One: records a macro. See Record a macro.
• Add from a File and Save All to a File: see Share macros.
• Add the Ones We Ship: adds the shipped macros you do not have.
• Print the Macro List: makes a page of the macros to print.