Transcription mode

Transcription Mode is a mode designed to increase the speed and efficiency of transcription work. The interface is keyboard-driven and minimizes UI actions. All annotations of a certain tier type are displayed in a vertical list for easy visual access. Transcription mode brings down the transcription work to the bare essentials: listen, type, listen, type, listen, type. To go open transcription mode, select Options > Transcription mode . If you go to Transcription mode for the first time, a Settings dialog will come up (see Figure 3.2, “Settings Dialog”) else transcription window is opened with the last used settings (see Figure 3.14, “Transcription Window” ).

Note

Transcription mode presupposes that the initial segmentation of the recording is already done. The rationale for this is that the most efficient work flow for transcribing large amounts of linguistic data is a two-step process: first segmenting the recording into turns —also attributing turns to the appropriate speaker— (this can be done in Annotation mode(see Annotation mode )or in the special purpose Segmentation mode(see Segmentation mode)), and then transcribing and translating these turns.

Selecting the tier types for transcription

If you go to Transcription mode for the first time, a Settings dialog will come up else click on the configure... button in the settings panel (see Figure 3.14, “Transcription Window”). Here you can select the tier types and the number of columns.

Figure 3.2. Settings Dialog

Settings Dialog

Options in this dialog :

  • Font size : Specifies the font size for the table in the Transcription window.
  • Number of columns : Specifies the number of columns table in the Transcription window Use the + to add a column and - to remove the last column.
  • Settings Table
    • Column : Specifies the column index in the transcription table
    • Select type for column : Specifies the selected tier type for that column. To select a type click on the <select a type> cell in the table to get the list for available types for that column. Click on the type to select it.
  • Select tiers... button see Selecting tiers for transcription.

Note

You select tier types, not individual tiers. This is because Transcription mode displays all annotations on all tiers of a certain type in a vertical column.

For the purposes of this description we will assume that the user is working with a file that has six main tier types:po (practical orthography), dt (detailed transcript), tl (literal translation), tf (free translation), tn (translation in lingua franca) and vb (visible behaviour). Our example file contains tiers of these types for two participants, and the overall tier structure looks like this :

Figure 3.3. Tier Structure

Tier Structure

In our example, we choose the type po (practical orthography) as the first column. We can leave it at that if we just want to work on the transcript. Or we can display any number of columns next to the primary one, the number of columns depends on the available linked tier types — for instance the free translations and/or a literal translations and/or detailed transcript and/or translations in lingua franca.

For the other columns we can only select tier types that are time-aligned with the first using the stereotype  “Symbolic Association” (see Table 2.2, “Tier type stereotypes” ). In our example, we can have maximum four columns with tier types dt (detailed transcript), tl (literal translation), tf (free translation) and tn (translation in lingua franca). We cannot choose the tier type vb (visible behaviour)here, because it is not time-aligned with our primary column. Thus the primary column type can be of any type, but the types for other columns should be somehow symbolic associated.

Having selected the tier types , click “Apply”. Now the chosen tier types are displayed in vertical columns (see Figure 3.14, “Transcription Window”), and the two largest differences from the default Annotation mode become visible: (i) all annotations are displayed vertically (top to bottom) rather than horizontally (left to right), and (ii) columns display all annotations of a certain type. For instance, the po (practical orthography) column displays turns from both speakers A and B.

Note

Transcription mode presupposes that you use tier types to differentiate the types of information in your tiers. Thus the tier type of your free translation tier should be different from the tier type of your main transcription.

Selecting tiers for transcription

Once you have selected the types for transcribing, it is possible to select the tiers if the transcription has more than one tier of a type which is selected for other columns. To select the tiers, click the select tiers... button in the Settings Dialog(see Figure 3.2, “Settings Dialog”. This dialog comes up.

Figure 3.4. Select Tiers Dialog

Select Tiers Dialog

Using this dialog you can choose which tiers should be used on which column in the transcription table. This dialog is also used to show or hide tiers from the transcription table. To hide tiers, uncheck the box in the first column.

Show or Hide tiers

To hide a group of linked tiers, any one of the following options could be done.

  1. If tier names are shown : right click on the tier name will popup this menu. Select hide all tiers linked with this tier from it.

    Figure 3.5. Context Menu

    Context Menu


  2. If tier names are not shown : right click on the row no in the "No" column. This will popup the same menu as before. Select hide all ties linked with this tier from it.

To hide or show more number of tiers,

Change color of tiers

To change the color of any tiers, do the following steps.

  1. If tier names are shown : right click on the tier name will popup this menu. Select change color for this tier.

    Figure 3.6. Context Menu

    Context Menu


  2. If tier names are not shown : right click on an annotation in the desired column. A similar context menu will be shown. Select change color for this tier from it.

From the context menu that shows up, you can set the tier background color, the tier highlight color and the font. To do so, click on one of the Browse buttons.

Figure 3.7. Context Menu Tier

Context Menu Tier

The next context menu will let you select the color. Click on one of the tabs: 'Swatches', 'HSB' or 'RGB' and choose a color. A preview is shown on the bottom of the dialog. When done, click OK or, if you want to add the color to your favorites, go to the tab Favorites and click the 'add' button. The color will be added to your favorites.

Figure 3.8. Context Menu Color

Context Menu Color

The Tier Attributes context dialog will now show the chosen color next to 'Tier Color'. If you are satisfied, click Apply. Alternatively, you can also set the tier highlight color in a similar way.

In the context dialog that pops up, you can select what attributes must get the specified color. Also you can select what kind of tiers should get the specified colors. When done, click Apply and the changes will be made.

Figure 3.9. Context Menu Apply

Context Menu Apply

Change color of tiers

To change the color of any tiers, do the following steps.

  1. If tier names are shown : right click on the tier name will popup this menu. Select change color for this tier.

    Figure 3.10. Context Menu

    Context Menu


  2. If tier names are not shown : right click on an annotation in the desired column. A similar context menu will be shown. Select change color for this tier from it.

From the context menu that shows up, you can set the tier background color, the tier highlight color and the font. To do so, click on one of the Browse buttons.

Figure 3.11. Context Menu Tier

Context Menu Tier

The next context menu will let you select the color. Click on one of the tabs: 'Swatches', 'HSB' or 'RGB' and choose a color. A preview is shown on the bottom of the dialog. When done, click OK or, if you want to add the color to your favorites, go to the tab Favorites and click the 'add' button. The color will be added to your favorites.

Figure 3.12. Context Menu Color

Context Menu Color

The Tier Attributes context dialog will now show the chosen color next to 'Tier Color'. If you are satisfied, click Apply. Alternatively, you can also set the tier highlight color in a similar way.

In the context dialog that pops up, you can select what attributes must get the specified color. Also you can select what kind of tiers should get the specified colors. When done, click Apply and the changes will be made.

Figure 3.13. Context Menu Apply

Context Menu Apply

Making tiers non-editable

Making a tier non-editable is to avoid putting that tier in edit mode while navigating through the table . For instance if some of the tiers of the same type are transcribed and few are not, to avoid the transcribed ones to get in to edit mode the tiers can be locked(made non-editable). To freeze/unfreeze the tiers, right click on the tier name (if shown) or right click on any of the locked or unlocked annotation of the tier will popup either this menu - see : Figure 3.5, “Context Menu ” or this menu - see :Figure 3.16, “Context Menu for a Annotation”. In the popup menu select make this tier non editable to freeze a tier or select make this tier editable to unfreeze the tier.

Entering text for a annotation

Transcription mode is built for high-speed transcription work. Once you have selected the tier types for the columns , the table is loaded with the tiers of the selected types. Clicking on Apply button in the settings dialog(see Figure 3.2, “Settings Dialog”) will bring this window:

Figure 3.14. Transcription Window

Transcription Window

Options available in this window :

  • : Press this button to toggle the video/settings panel from left to right and vice versa. The video can also be detached for viewing independent of the main window. Do to this, right click on the video and click Detach.
  • : Play/pause button for the media.

    Note

    The other media player options like, go to next of previous second/pixel/frame are only available as shortcut actions. To see the shortcuts used for this action, go to menu View -> Shortcuts... and select transcription mode.

  • : Play/pause the selection made.
  • : Clears the selection.
  • Loop mode : If checked, plays the media of the selected annotation constantly in a loop until a new annotation is selected. Default: unchecked.
  • Options in Settings Panel
    • Automatic playback of media : If checked, the annotation is automatically played when it enters into edit mode, else you can manually play the media using TAB or SHIFT+TAB (for details see Shortcut keys used in this mode). Default: checked.
    • Create missing annotations : If checked, you will be able to create new annotations by double-clicking an empty column. If unchecked, you can only alter the existing annotations.
    • Show tier names :If checked, the tier names are shown in the table and hovering over an annotation will give you the time interval of that (see Figure 3.14, “Transcription Window”). If unchecked, colour coding distinguishes different tiers/participants, and hovering over an annotation will give you the tier/participant name (see Figure 3.15, “Transcription Window without showing the tier names”). Default: checked.
    • Colors only on the "No" column : If the show tier names is unchecked, you can choose whether the color distinction should be displayed all over the table or only in the "No" column. If checked, color difference made only in the "No" column, else the whole table has the color differentiation. Default: unchecked.

      Figure 3.15. Transcription Window without showing the tier names

      Transcription Window without showing the tier names


    • Navigate across column : This controls the behaviour of the ENTER i.e. decides whether to move to the next annotation in the same column or to move across the columns. If checked, you move across columns (from left to right). If unchecked, you move only within a column (from top to bottom). Default: unchecked.
    • Scroll current annotation to center : If checked, this mode keeps your current annotation always in the middle of the screen. Default: unchecked.
    • Configure... : Press this button to get the settings dialog (see Figure 3.2, “Settings Dialog”) to select new types or to change the font size or to show/hide tiers.
  • : This is used to resize the video/settings panel and the transcription table. Click and drag to resize.

Each cell in the table is the representation of the annotation on a tier. The annotations are sorted/aligned based on the begin time of it. Clicking on any annotation(cell) activates it for editing. You can directly start typing the text for the annotation. After entering the text, press ENTERto save the changes made in the current annotation and to put the next annotation to edit mode. The Navigate across columns setting controls whether you go down within a column or you move across columns (from left to right). There are several ways to put a annotation to edit mode. A single mouse click on an annotation or a right click made on a annotation will put the annotation in edit mode and pops up the context menu below and for other keys see Shortcut keys used in this mode.

Other options available in this mode :

  • right clicking on annotation will popup this menu.

    Figure 3.16. Context Menu for a Annotation

    Context Menu for a Annotation


    • Commit Changes : Saves the changes made to the annotation
    • Cancel Changes : Cancels the changes made to the annotation
    • Edit in Annotation mode : see Modifying annotations
    • Merge with Annotation Before : see Merging annotations
    • Merge with Next Annotation : see Merging annotations
    • Delete Annotation : Deletes the current annotation from the tier
    • make this tier non editable : Freezes the tier in the table thus making it non editable
    • hide all tiers linked with this tier : Hides the group of tiers that are linked with the current editing tier
    • show/hide more tiers : see Show or Hide tiers
  • All the columns are resizeable: just mouse click and drag the boundaries to fit your desired widths.
  • You can re-order columns on the screen simply by dragging them to the desired location.
  • The video can also be detached for viewing independent of the main window. Do to this, right click on the video and click Detach.
  • The wav form can also be hidden if needed. You can do this by unchecking the Signal Viewer from View > Viewer > Signal Viewer. To show the wav form check the Signal Viewer option from the same menu.

Merging annotations

To merge two annotations, first make a right click on the annotation. This will pop up a context menu( see Figure 3.16, “Context Menu for a Annotation”). Then select either Merge with annotation before or Merge with next annotation . For detailed information see Merging annotations.

Modifying annotations

This mode only allows to edit the text of the annotation. In order to do some modifications on the annotation, i.e. to finely manipulate annotation boundaries or to split a annotation, right click on the annotation. This will popup a menu (see Figure 3.16, “Context Menu for a Annotation”) . Select edit in annotation mode to jump to this annotation in the annotation mode which allows you do modify the annotations. For detailed information on changes the annotation boundaries see Changing the boundaries of an existing selection and annotation and to split annotations see Split Annotations

Shortcut keys used in this mode

The following shortcut keys are the mainly used default shortcuts in this mode.

  • ENTER saves the current annotation, moves to the next annotation, and plays the new annotation if the Automatic playback option is selected. The Navigate across columns setting controls whether you go down within a column or you move across columns (from left to right).
  • ALT+UP arrow moves up to the next cell in the same column and works same as ENTER.
  • ALT+DOWN arrow moves down to the next cell in the same column and works same as ENTER.
  • ALT+LEFT and ALT+RIGHT arrows move left and right across columns and also behaves like the ENTER.
  • TAB plays the current annotation. It acts as a play/pause key, so press it again to pause playback, and press again to continue playing. If a selection is made in the waveform or in the timeline, then TAB will play/pause the selected interval.
  • SHIFT+TAB plays back the current annotation from the start.
  • CTRL+A merges the current annotation with the next annotation on tier.
  • CTRL+B merges the current annotation with the annotation before it on the tier.
  • SHIFT+DELETE deletes the current annotation.
  • ESCAPE cancel the changes before committing the annotation.

To see a full list of shortcuts used in this mode, go to View -> Shortcuts.... To edit/customize the shortcuts see Editing shortcuts