PDFs

Text Messages

For PDFs which include screenshots of text messages, see Text Messages on the Document Formatting page.

PDF jobs do not include audio. Instead, the client uploads a PDF to be recreated in an editable document. Your job is to type what you see on the PDF into your document.

Never copy and paste from the PDF or use any conversion software. All SpeakWrite work must be typed by you.

A job that contains a PDF will never be submitted as a no audio/no fax job. Submitting a job as No Audio/No Fax is like rejecting the job, and sends a blank document back to the client. The system will erase your work (and consequently, your pay) if you submit it this way. When the job is complete, be sure to submit it as complete.

Formatting and Client Instructions

The general format of the PDF you receive should be followed in your transcription (with some exceptions noted below). The PDF is the equivalent of a client’s verbal instructions and takes precedence over SpeakWrite default formatting.

If a client writes in additional instructions by hand or adds specific Job Instructions, these would take priority over the formatting in the PDF itself and the client's regular written account instructions. Specific job instructions can also be contained within the document and may be handwritten or typed. Such instructions should be performed by typists and should not be transcribed in the document.

Help Ticket

Open a Help Ticket if the client provides any instructions that seem to be out of our scope of service.

Do not attempt to mirror a PDF’s margins, fonts, page endings, or apostrophe style.

Do not use hard returns to make your lines end in the same place as the PDF when word wrap should be used (e.g. narrative portions).
Do not force a new page to match the PDF unless it is obvious that a new page is required (e.g. new document).

Please see PDF Scope of Service to review our scope of service policies specific to faxes.

Typed PDF documents

Typed PDFs should be transcribed just as you see them.

Incorporate handwritten or typed changes that have been added by the client.
Transcribe misspellings, capitalization, punctuation, incorrectly numbered paragraphs, and other "mistakes" exactly as they appear in the document.
If the PDF contains headers/footers, these must be included and correctly formatted as headers or footers. Do not type these in the body of the document.

Handwritten PDFs

Do not make wording, content, spelling or grammar corrections to a handwritten PDF.
Type the client's punctuation exactly as shown.
Type the client's capitalization as it is written.
Abbreviations must be typed as written. Do not attempt to break out abbreviations/acronyms/shorthand, etc.
Try to follow the format of the handwritten document. If there is no consistent format, follow the client's written formatting instructions, if any, or use SpeakWrite's default paragraph formatting.

Inserting Symbols

Many clients use “symbols” to represent words in their handwritten notes (e.g. arrows). Use basic keyboard characters such as # or & where shown, but you do not need to use the “insert symbol” command to recreate special symbols (e.g. arrows, checkmarks, checkboxes, etc.) Use **** in place of these symbols. This applies to handwritten PDFs only.

See Also: PDFs for formatting guidelines specific to forms containing checkboxes.

Pleadings

If the PDF job is a pleading, please follow the policies in Legal Pleadings regarding font/size.

Note that general typists should not type pleadings, even PDFs. If you are a general typist and receive a PDF pleading, please open a ticket and request to have the job requeued and recategorized as legal.

Newspaper Style Columns

If you are working from a PDF document formatted with newspaper-type columns, please type the text as a regular single column document. The client can then format it into newspaper columns if they choose.

Tables

The same rules apply to PDF jobs as audio jobs when it comes to the use of tables. Even if the document does not appear to use a table, you must use one if required per Tabs, Tables, Columns.