If you need to Transcribe Audio or Video Recordings into Text you will find out that you need to focus between a word processor or editor that you may be using to enter text, and the media player that you may be using to play the audio or video.

This problem can be solved without taking your fingers off the keyboard by switching back-and-forth via hotkeys, providing an efficient experience.

Step 1: Download and install “Listen n’ Write”

“Listen n’ Write” is a free program that is real easy to use which provides a text editing area below a player. You’ll be able to employ keyboard shortcuts to play, pause, jump forward or backwards for a number of seconds.

To download this program, go to “download.cnet.com/windows”. Then, type in the search bar: “Listen n’ Write”. You’ll see a list of programs. Scroll down and click on the “Download now“ button for “Listen n’ Write”.

A new window will open to download the program. Follow the steps and press the “Install now” button. Then choose the language and follow the steps to install the application.

Step 2: Open “Listen n’ Write”

Then open the program. By default you’ll see the player and a text editor. Load your audio or video in the player. As an example, we will open an audio track. To do this, go to the player menu. Click on “File” and then choose “Open multimedia file”. Choose the file and click “Open”.
The default keyboard shortcuts are: F5 (pause/play), F6 (back), and F7 (forward).

To change the setting, you can go to “Option” in the player menu and set different features. For example: “Playback time before pause” or “Time of Pause before playback”, among others.

One interesting feature is “Smart Pause N Play”, which you can activate from the options menu as well. This causes the player to play a few seconds of audio, stop for a few seconds, and then continue again.

Step # 3 – Option 2: Download and install PotPlayer

Another option is to use “PotPlayer”, a free media player for Windows that plays all type of media file formats and that can be controlled via global hotkeys. This means that users can control their media playback in any app, giving user control over playing, pausing and inching back or forward a few seconds, without having to switch focus from the other application being used.

Step 4: – Download and install PotPlayer

Download and install “PotPlayer”. Go to your browser and type “www.softpedia.com”. In the search bar of the website, write “potplayer”. Click on the result, and then on the “Download” button. Finally, click on the “Softpedia Secure Download” for Windows 32 bits or 64 bits, depending on your operating system. Then open the installer and follow the instructions to install it.

Step 5: Set up PotPlayer keyboard shortcuts

Launch the program; right click on the main interface of the program and choose “Preferences”. A new window will open. In the left sidebar, navigate to “General”; click on the ”Plus” icon and press ‘Keyboard’.

You will be able to add the shortcuts. Just click on the “Add” button. Now you can choose, for example, the hotkeys for playback. Simply pick the action and then choose the key you want to use. When you’re done, press the Ok button. Add as many shortcuts as you need and once you’re done, click OK.

Step 6: Use PotPlayer and a text processor

Finally, open a text processor and PotPlayer to work on your transcription. Click on Potplayer and choose Open file. Then you’ll be able to work on your transcription using your selected shortcuts.

Result: Congratulations! You’ve just learned how to Transcribe Audio or Video Recordings into Text.