Although TypeEasy Version 2 has a word processor that is very similar to Microsoft Word, it isn’t the exact same program. There are some minor differences that may take some getting used to. Because of this, we’ve put together this brief tutorial of how to use important advanced formatting features so you can refer to it as needed. Check out each of the sections below to learn more about using this new program.
The Home Tab should be very familiar. It contains all the usual font and formatting options like you are used to with Microsoft Word. This is where you can do things like changing font style and size, adding bold/underline/italics, highlighting, etc. You can also insert bullet points or automatic numbering (when appropriate), adjust indentation, and more.
At the far right, you’ll also see the Find and Replace options. More on that in another section of this page.
You are able to customize your quick access toolbar in TypeEasy V2 (the menu across the top with shortcuts to common functions). A set of default functions are included in the toolbar upon first download. However, to add additional items, simply right click on the function in the main Word toolbar and select “Add to Quick Access Ribbon”.
On the Insert tab, the option for inserting a table is on the far left.
Click the down arrow under Table to select the number of rows and columns you need. The table will then automatically insert into the document.
Once you insert a table, you’ll notice the yellow Table Tools menu at the top of the screen. Table Tools are broken into two tabs – Design and Layout.
From the Design tab, you can adjust the appearance of the table as needed, including changing border settings, shading, etc.
From the Layout tab, you can add additional rows and columns, merge/split cells, and access Table Properties.
The Table Properties option on the Layout tab allows you to customize even more options for the table. If the client wants text in the table centered or right justified in each cell, you can make those changes here.
Removing/Adding Borders to a Table
Tables automatically display with all borders shown. To hide table borders, click in the first box of the table and drag your cursor down across the entire table to highlight it. Then under the Table Tools menu, select Borders and then No Border.
To add borders back to the table, do the same thing but select All Borders instead.
This program doesn’t have a zoom slider in the bottom right like you may be used to. To zoom in or out, just go to the View tab.
On this tab, you can also toggle on/off the Horizontal and Vertical Rulers, depending on your preference.
Show/Hide Formatting Marks is a tool that allows you to easily see what formatting is being used in your document. This is a tool we expect all typists to use to ensure they are properly formatting documents. (More info can be found here.)
To turn on Show/Hide Formatting Marks, click the paragraph symbol (¶). It is located in the quick access ribbon at the top, as well as on the Home tab.
Once activated, formatting marks will be displayed in your document to show things like spaces, tabs, section breaks, etc.
Auto Correct is a feature that allows you to type one thing and the word processor will automatically change it into something else. The auto correct feature is helpful on two levels:
Automatically correcting simple typos as you are typing
Custom shortcuts for typing common phrases in fewer keystrokes
Because this word processor is built into the program, rather than a personal copy of the software, you aren’t able to add or edit auto corrects the same way as in Word. However, we accounted for both of these use cases in TypeEasy V2!
Auto Correcting Simple Typos: A standard list of auto corrects are included in the software by default to address commonly mistyped words. If you should accidentally type “yuo” instead of “you”, the program will automatically correct it without any additional intervention from you.
Shortcuts for Common Phrases: Many typists use auto corrects to create shortcuts that will expand out into common words and phrases to help you type faster. For example, an auto correct can automatically change “atty” to “attorney”. Fewer keystrokes = faster typing = more money!
Create Your Custom Auto Corrects:
Go to the Settings tab in TypeEasy V2, then select Auto Correct.
In the autocorrect window, you can enter the shortcut in the Replace: box and the full term in the With: box, then click Add to save it.
You can also import your existing autocorrects from your personal version of Word. See instructions in the PDF below.
Auto Correct Tip:
Be sure the shortcuts you use for auto corrects aren’t full words or things you may commonly type.
As an example, you may be tempted to use a shortcut like “at” to expand out into “attention”. However, that will cause problems any time you want to use the word “at”.
A list of some example auto corrects are below to help you get started, but feel free to come up with your own to make sure they’re easy to remember.
Replace | With |
atty | attorney |
aa | applicant attorney |
def | defendant |
pl | plaintiff |
cw | caseworker |
sw | social worker |
cg | caregiver |
vty | Very truly yours, |
att: | Attention: |
yst | yesterday |
tmr | tomorrow |
plsdont | Please don’t hesitate to contact me. |
ifyh | If you have |
cnr | C&R |
candr | Compromise and Release |
ty | thank you |
atyec | at your earliest convenience |
The header/footer option in this word processor works very similar to Word, but with one main difference. In a document that doesn’t already have a header/footer, you will not be able to double click on the header or footer area of the document to start editing it. Instead, navigate to the Insert tab and click either Header or Footer here.
This will open the header/footer areas to allow you to edit them.
After a header or footer has been added to the document, you can return to editing the document by double clicking anywhere in the document outside of the header/footer area.
To continue editing an existing header or footer, you can then double click on the header or footer, or use the button shown above.
Page Numbers
You must click Header or Footer as demonstrated above before the option to insert a Page Number will be activated. The Page Number option will be grayed out until you have clicked Header or Footer.
Once you’ve inserted a page number, you can use the Page Number Format button to adjust it to the proper settings.
Header & Footer Tools:
You’ll notice a green menu at the top while you are editing headers and footers. This menu allows you to adjust the settings for these areas.
Go to Header / Go to Footer – This option will switch your cursor from Header to Footer or vice versa. You can also just click in the Header or Footer areas of the document to move between them.
Show Next / Show Previous – If your document contains multiple different sections separated by section breaks, this will take you to the next section’s header/footer, or the previous section’s header/footer.
Link to Previous – IMPORTANT! You must be aware of this option when working with multiple documents with headers/footers in a single job. If different sections of the job require different headers, you must be sure to unselect this option. Otherwise, all of the headers/footers in the document will be the same. If you unselect this option, you can edit the header/footer of a certain section without it impacting the previous section.
Different First Page – This option allows you to have a different header/footer on the first page than in the rest of the document.
Different Odd & Even Pages – This option will very rarely be used, if ever. It allows you to set different headers/footers for odd pages and even pages. This should only be used if specifically requested, but most likely, you will want to keep this option off.
The Page Layout tab will function and look very similar to what you are used to.
Margins
On the Page Layout tab, select the Margins option to adjust the document margins. Documents will be set by default with 1 inch margins all around, but if a client requests other margins, you can set them here. If the margin settings you need are not listed here, you can click Custom Margins at the bottom to set your own values for each margin.
Section Breaks
Between documents, typists should use the Section Break (Next Page) option. This can be found on the Page Layout tab under Breaks.
Line Numbering
If a client requests line numbering, you can either select default line numbering from the list here on the Page Layout tab, or you can select Line Numbering Options to customize more settings.
There is a Symbol menu under the Insert tab, similar to Word.
Clicking the Symbol option opens this pop-up, where you can scroll through the available symbols, click on the one you want, then click OK.
Notice you can change the font of the symbol if needed using the Font dropdown at the top left of this popup.
Pro-Tip:
The section symbol (§) is a common symbol used in SpeakWrite work. We recommend creating a custom autocorrect in TypeEasy V2 to insert it automatically without having to go into the symbol menu. To do this, you will need to first copy a section symbol (either from above or search “section symbol” online and copy one that comes up). Then go to the Settings tab and click Auto Correct.
In the Replace: box, type a short phrase you want to use to insert a section symbol. Then paste the symbol into the With: box. Click Add to save it.
Misspelled words that are not in the program’s dictionary will be underlined in red squiggles as usual. You can still right-click on an underlined word to see suggested alternate spellings or to ignore the spelling suggestions. You can also visit the Review tab and click Spelling to do a complete review of any misspellings in the document. This MUST be done before submitting all jobs.
NOTE: This program doesn’t have a grammar checker that checks for things like capitalization and punctuation. It is up to the typist to use these appropriately and proofread their own work for accuracy.
TypeEasy V2 comes pre-loaded with an English dictionary for spellcheck/proofing purposes. However, there is an option to add in a Spanish dictionary for Spanish transcriptionists. To do this, go to the Settings tab and click Preferences. Once there, select the option to Load Spanish Dictionary, and save. You must restart TypeEasy to get the changes.
