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Digital Signatures

Is it time to learn more about digital signatures? At the 2008 Convention and Exposition, the NCRA Technology Evaluation Committee sponsored a two-part seminar on digital signatures on transcripts. A panel of industry experts, including Patricia Hahn, Alex Kasperavivius, Michael Miller and Leigh Ann Orozco, discussed transcripts in digital format followed by a hands-on seminar. We were able to get permission to reproduce several of the hand-outs below. This topic is changing rapidly, so we will continue to update the how-tos as needed and add material as it comes in.

For more background on digital signatures,  you can read the article “Why You Need A Digital Signature Now”  (published in July/August 2008), and a more comprehensive look from the November/December 2006 article “Signatures in a Digital Age.”

If you have any questions regarding the below articles, please click here to post your concerns to the TechTracker blog.

How to Make the Most of these How-tos:

• Step 1:  Decide whether you want to use your CAT software or a transcript management software program (RealLegal, PDF-IT!, Adobe Pro, or Visionary V-Print) to digitally sign your transcripts.
  
  
• Step 2.  If you choose RealLegal, PDF-It! or Visionary V-Print, proceed to their instructions below.
  
  
  If you choose your CAT system, proceed to the "How to Purchase your Verisign Digital Signature.”
  
  If you are a Case CATalyst user, proceed to "Case CATalyst Is Digital-Signature Ready!” (Case CATalyst also allows you to import your imaged (electronic) signature into your transcript.  Instructions are found in "How to Insert an Electronic Signature (Image) into Your Case CATalyst transcript.")
  
  
• Step 3.  If you chose using your CAT system and are using a CAT system other than Case CATalyst, you will need to purchase a PDF converter program that applies your digital signature to the transcript during conversion. Please proceed to "How to Apply Your Digital Signature to CAT Transcript Using 'Print2PDF.'"
  

• How to Digitally Sign Text in Adobe Pro

• Case CATalyst is Digital-Signature Ready! – Presented by Judy Wolf, Stenograph

• PDF-It! and Digital Signatures
  
  
• How to Insert an Electronic Signature (Image) Into Your Case CATalyst Transcript 
  
  
• How to Apply Your Digital Signature to CAT Transcript Using “Print2PDF” – Presented by Dorothy McGrath 
  
• How to Purchase and Install Your Verisign Digital Signature – Presented by Morgan Babin, Reporting Solutions
  
  
• How to Apply RealLegal's Digital Signatures
  
  
• Visionary V-Print Instructions (coming soon)

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CTC9: A New Partnership
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NCRA and NCRF have exhibited on behalf of court reporters during the past eight Court Technology Conferences. This year, with new partners, they took another step in showing the benefits a technologically adept court reporter can bring to the courtroom.
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Ever wonder how to back up files on your Mira writer? Stenograph offers detailed instructions on their Web site.
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Which Backup Solution is Right for You?
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Working With Litigation-support Software: Summation

TranSendcr+ makes it easy to send transcripts and exhibits to your Summation clients using email and/or disk. The following guide is designed as an aid to instruct court reporters how to select transcripts, link exhibits to them by assigning aliases and email and/or send by disk to your clients.
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