Applies to: TRX Word Add-in, TRX TranscriptionPro™ (TPro), and Request Central · Provider (court reporters, transcribers, and proofreaders) and Request Central site administrators
The TRX Word Add-in, shown in Word as Transcription Tools, is the panel you use to finish a TheRecordXchange® (TRX) transcript in Microsoft Word. It finds the speaker IDs in your transcript, inserts them with a click or a shortcut, and inserts standard court wording called QuickText, some of it through a short fill-in form, so a TPro draft becomes a finished transcript with fewer keystrokes.
The add-in is for providers who produce transcripts and for site administrators. You download it from Resources on your Request Central site. Requesters who order transcripts don't need the add-in and don't see Resources.
The Word Add-in at a glance
Who it's for | Providers (court reporters, transcribers, and proofreaders) and Request Central site administrators. It isn't available to requesters. |
Where to get it | Resources in the top menu of your Request Central site, next to Orders, Projects, Reports, and Customers. |
Works in | Microsoft Word on Windows with a Microsoft 365 subscription. Word 2019 and earlier one-time-purchase versions are not supported. |
Where it appears in Word | The Transcription Tools button, with the TRX logo, in the TheRecordXchange group on the Word ribbon. It opens the panel beside your document. |
Speakers | Finds the speaker IDs in the transcript. Insert one with its button, or with Alt+C for THE COURT and Alt+1 to Alt+9 for the next nine speakers. |
QuickText | Standard wording and formatting, such as a witness being sworn, set by TRX for your jurisdiction. Some entries, such as New Witness Testimony, open a short form so the text goes in finished. |
Jurisdiction | Read from the TPro transcript and shown as a badge at the top of the panel, beside the TheRecordXchange logo. It can't be changed in the panel. |
Keyboard shortcuts | Built into the add-in, with no macros needed. They need Word version 2408 or later. Turn them on or off with Enable Shortcuts in the panel. |
Version | Shown in the panel footer, for example v1.0.11. Resources lists the latest version and the date it was posted. |
Installing the add-in
For: Provider, site administrator, or your IT team · Once per computer
Step 1: Download the add-in from Request Central
Sign in to your Request Central site, the same site where you claim and fulfill orders.
Select Resources in the menu at the top of the page.
Select TRX Transcription Tools Microsoft Word Add-in to download it. The version, file size, and date it was posted are shown on the right.
Save the zip file on the computer where you use Word and extract it. The folder contains Install-WordAddin.bat, Install-WordAddin.ps1, and transcription_tools.xml.
Signed in as a provider: Resources is in the top menu of Request Central.
Signed in as a site administrator: Resources is in the same menu.
The Resources page, with the Word Add-in download on the left and its file type, size, and date on the right. Select the image to enlarge it.
Resources is shown only to providers and site administrators. Site administrators may see more menu items than providers, but Resources is in the same place.
Step 2: Run the installer
Double-click Install-WordAddin.bat.
Select Yes when Windows asks for administrator permission.
When it finishes, copy the network path it shows, for example \\YOUR-PC-NAME\WordAddins.
Step 3: Add the trusted catalog in Word
Open Word and go to File, Options, Trust Center, Trust Center Settings.
Select Trusted Add-in Catalogs.
Paste the network path from Step 2 into Catalog URL and select Add catalog.
Check Show in Menu for the new entry, select OK twice, and restart Word.
Step 4: Load the add-in
In Word, go to the Home tab and select Add-ins.
Select Advanced at the bottom left. If you don't see it, select More Add-ins and then Shared Folder.
Select Transcription Tools and then Add.
The Transcription Tools button, with the TRX logo, now appears on your Word ribbon in the TheRecordXchange group. You only need to do this once.
Inserting speakers
For: Provider · While you edit a transcript
Find the speakers. The Speakers section opens first and shows how many speakers it found. Select Scan to look again after you make changes, or + to add a speaker by hand.
Insert a speaker. Select Insert on the speaker's row, or use the shortcut on the row. If your cursor is in a speaker ID, the name is replaced. If your cursor is in the text after a speaker ID, a new paragraph starts with the speaker ID in the correct style.
Shortcuts. THE COURT is always Alt+C. The next speakers are Alt+1 to Alt+9 in order. Speakers after that have no shortcut.
Change a speaker ID everywhere. Hover over a speaker and select the pencil. Your change is made throughout the transcript.
The add-in finds speaker IDs written in capitals at the start of a paragraph and followed by a colon, for example THE COURT: or MS. MITCHELL:. A speaker you add by hand that doesn't appear in the document is removed the next time you scan.
Inserting QuickText
For: Provider · When you need standard wording and formatting
Preview. Hover over a QuickText row to see what it will insert.
Insert. Select Insert on the row, or use the shortcut shown on the row.
Entries. TRX sets the QuickText entries and their wording for your jurisdiction, so the list varies by court. Examples include Witness Sworn, New Witness Testimony, and Convert to Q&A, which turns selected colloquy paragraphs into Q and A format. Missouri transcripts also have Exhibit Received.
QuickText entries are maintained by TRX so the wording stays correct for your court. You can't add or edit entries yourself.
Entries with a form
Some entries open a short form in the panel instead of inserting text right away. You fill in the details and the add-in inserts finished, correctly formatted text.
Open the form. Select Insert on the entry, or use its shortcut. If the panel is closed, the shortcut opens it first.
Fill it in. Names, exhibit numbers, and exhibit letters you type or paste appear in capitals. A preview shows the finished text as you go.
Leave a field blank if you need to. A blank field never stops you from inserting. It inserts an asterisk (*) for you to fill in later.
Insert or cancel. Select Insert, or press Enter from any field. Select Cancel, or press Esc, to close the form without inserting anything.
New Witness Testimony (Alt+Shift+N). Inserts the wording for a newly sworn witness and the examination heading, in the layout set for your jurisdiction. After you insert, the cursor sits at the end of the block so you can continue straight into testimony. In Missouri transcripts the form has four fields:
Witness name.
Called on behalf of the: STATE, DEFENSE, PETITIONER, RESPONDENT, PLAINTIFF, or DEFENDANT. This starts blank so a witness is never credited to the wrong party by accident.
Examination type: DIRECT, the default, or VOIR DIRE.
Examination by: the attorney conducting the examination.
Exhibit Received (Alt+Shift+E, Missouri transcripts only). Inserts one parenthetical in capitals recording that an exhibit was received. Choose who offered it (STATE, DEFENSE, PETITIONER, RESPONDENT, PLAINTIFF, or DEFENDANT) and enter the exhibit number or letter. For example, STATE and 1 insert:
(AT THIS TIME STATE'S EXHIBIT 1 WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE AND MADE A PART OF THIS RECORD.)
If you leave Offered by blank, the party is left out: (AT THIS TIME EXHIBIT 1 WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE AND MADE A PART OF THIS RECORD.)
Updating the add-in
For: Provider, site administrator, or your IT team · When a newer version is posted to Resources
Compare the version in the footer of the Transcription Tools panel with the version listed on Resources in Request Central. If Resources lists a newer version, download it as in Step 1.
Close Word completely.
Extract the zip and double-click Update-WordAddin.bat. Select Yes when Windows asks for administrator permission.
Open Word. The updated add-in loads automatically.
Troubleshooting the Word Add-in
You don't see Resources in Request Central. Resources is shown only to providers and site administrators. Make sure you're signed in to the Request Central site where you fulfill orders, with your provider account. If you still don't see it, contact TRX Support (see Still have questions below).
The installer or updater shows an error about Administrator. Right-click the .bat file and select Run as administrator.
Transcription Tools isn't listed in Step 4. Make sure you checked Show in Menu in Step 3 and restarted Word.
It's still not listed. The installer was probably run under a different Windows account from the one that uses Word, which is common when IT installs it. Sign in to Windows as the person who uses Word, run Install-WordAddin.bat again, and enter administrator credentials when asked without switching users. The installer's last line, Access granted to, should show that person's account.
The network path doesn't work. Turn on Windows File Sharing on the computer.
You still see the old version after an update. Compare the version in the panel footer with the version listed on Resources. Close Word completely and reopen it. If it still doesn't match, run Update-WordAddin.bat again as administrator.
The add-in won't load after an update. Go to Add-ins, Advanced, select Transcription Tools, select Remove, then add it again.
Keyboard shortcuts don't work. Shortcuts need Word version 2408 or later with Microsoft 365, and the add-in installed through the steps above. Check that Enable Shortcuts is turned on in the panel. The Insert buttons work either way.
Word asks what Alt+1, or another shortcut, should do. When a shortcut is also used by Word, Word asks which one you want the first time you press it. Choose the Transcription Tools option. Word remembers your choice.
Alt+Shift+N or Alt+Shift+E doesn't run Word's own command. While the add-in is loaded, Alt+Shift+N opens New Witness Testimony and, in Missouri transcripts, Alt+Shift+E opens Exhibit Received.
The Enable Shortcuts switch won't stay where you set it. Microsoft 365 stores add-in shortcut settings with your account, and sometimes stops saving changes to them. When that happens, the panel opens a window titled Word isn't saving your shortcut change. Follow the steps in Resetting your shortcut settings below.
A speaker is missing from the list. Make sure the speaker ID is in capitals at the start of a paragraph and followed by a colon, then select Scan.
Resetting your shortcut settings
Use these steps when the Enable Shortcuts switch won't stay where you set it. Some versions of Word don't show the reset command in Search, so you add it to the ribbon once.
In Word, right-click the ribbon and select Customize the Ribbon.
Under Choose commands from, select All Commands.
Find and select Reset Office Add-in Shortcut Preferences.
On the right, select a tab, select New Group, select Add, and then select OK.
Select the new button on the ribbon.
Close the Transcription Tools panel and open it again. The switch now stays where you set it.
The reset clears only the shortcut choices you've made for Office add-ins, so Word may ask again which command a shared shortcut should run. It doesn't change your Word macros, your own Word shortcuts, or your AutoCorrect entries.
Still have questions?
See How to Get Help with TRX for who to contact and what to include.