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I don’t have video. How do I get (add, register, import) the transcript into OnCue?
What files do I need to create clips from my deposition?
What type of transcript do I need to be able to sync the video I have?
Related article: Adding Synchronized Transcripts
OnCue can take a plain text file or an MS Word docx file. These files do not need to have page and line numbers to be able to create designations. OnCue will prompt you to set page and lines, naming convention and date. Creating designation run reports with non-synced transcripts is the perfect way to make a script for reading testimony into the court record.
This is also the way to add transcripts for surveillance videos, meetings, and lectures. If you want to manual sync or Prosync a video file this is where you add the .txt or the .docx with the words or script to the video.
Word Files must not have any formatting including page and line numbers. They need to have the least amount of formatting possible. ASCII text files can have page and line numbers.
NOTE: We recommend .txt files over .docx whenever possible due to the inconsistency in their format.
Sample text:
Sample word file
To import non-synchronized file, click on the + sign on the Transcripts tab of the Media Bar, which will allow you to browse to and select your file(s).
OnCue asks you for information. You decide how many lines per page, date, type of transcript, even the name.
Make your changes (or not) and hit Save Changes. Now you will see the transcript registered under the Transcripts tab of the Media Bar.
You can now begin making designations. It is important to know that the transcript will be gray and italicized in the transcript viewer because there is no sync file. Any reports created will not be italicized.
Report –
Common Issues When Importing Transcripts
Issues can cause an import to fail or result in incorrect timing, and may cause syncing in ProSync to fail. The most common issues are below.
Invalid or Unusual Characters
Some transcript files contain high-ASCII or nonstandard characters that can interfere with the import process. This can cause OnCue to omit or replace characters as ⍰. Some problematic items include smart quotes, stylized punctuation, special symbols copied from word processors and non-printable or control characters.
How to resolve: Prior to adding, open the file in a text editor (even notepad) and check for weird characters examples include ¶, §, or even an em-dash can cause problems. It could even show up like this ⍰
Cover Pages or Non-Transcript Content
Some transcripts include a cover page or administrative text before the actual transcript content begins. For example if there is a cover page but that is page 0 or doesn’t have a page number at all. OnCue believes this to be a page and therefore will give it a 1 which will cause all your pages to be off from the official transcript.
How to resolve: If possible, remove excessive text or pages prior to adding.
Time Code Issues – Transcript Text files
Often, you can receive a text file with timecodes prior to the line numbers. Currently OnCue cannot import these.
How to resolve: Prior to importing remove time codes that appear before the line numbers on your text file.
Page Breaks and Formatting Artifacts -
Excessive or unexpected page breaks and line breaks can disrupt how the transcript is parsed during import. Hard page breaks and double “returns” can cause OnCue to believe there are extra lines or pages where there are not.
How to resolve: Prior to adding, remove these things when possible.