Export Utility FAQ

1. What is the Export Utility and what does it do?
2. Where do I get the Export Utility?
3. How do I install, setup, and use the Export Utility?
4. During setup, I can see files on my Orator system, but no files appear in the Export Utility. What's wrong?
5. The system was working fine yesterday, but now I have New/Stat files on the Orator that are not showing up in the Export Utility. What happened?
6. After converting a file, I get the message "Error: error renaming output file." What's going on?
7. All the files from my system are converting, except files from/above a certain job type. How do I get them to convert?

1. What is the Export Utility and what does it do?

Bytescribe's Export Utility is a free utility that comes with the Orator system.  It is not sold as a stand-alone product, and is not supported for use other than with the Orator Digital Dictation System.

The main purpose of the Export Utility is to convert files from the large .vox formats used by the Orator to a smaller, more Internet-friendly format, such as TrueSpeech .wav.  This conversion reduces the size of the file from about 480 kB per minute to about 60 kB per minute.

The Export Utility also moves the converted files to anywhere on the local network the user requires, usually for uploading to an FTP site.

2. Where do I get the Export Utility?

In some cases, the Export Utility is usually already installed on pre-built Orator systems.  In most cases, the Export Utility is downloaded and installed on a second "management" computer that is networked to the Orator Dictation computer.

The Export Utility installation file may be downloaded from our Export Utility Support page at http://www.bytescribe.com/support/export.htm.  An Installation Password is required, and you will need to either call Bytescribe at 408-987-5628 or email info@bytescribe.com to get the password.

3. How do I install, setup, and use the Export Utility?

A brief set of instructions is given on the Export Utility Support page.  A longer, more detailed discussion, including information on mapping and sharing drives, can be found as a .pdf document, downloadable from the same page.

4. During setup, I can see files on my Orator system, but no files appear in the Export Utility.  What's wrong?

First, the Export Utility can only see New and Stat files.  If the files on the Orator system are marked as Complete, Pending, or Aborted, then they will not show up in the Export Utility window.

Second, if the files are marked New or Stat, go to the Export Utility window, click on the View menu and select Refresh.  If the files on the Orator have been recorded since the last time the Export Utility ran a conversion, then the Export Utility may just not see those files yet.  If this is the case, then refreshing the window will cause the files to appear.

Third, if refreshing does not work, then most likely the Input Directory path is incorrect.  In Export Utility, click on the View menu and select Directories.  This will bring up the Directories window, which has two columns.  The left column lists the Input Directories, which is where you tell the Export Utility where to look for new files.  The right column lists the Output Directories, which is where Export Utility saves the converted files.

To make sure that the Input Directory path is correct, please do the following:

1. In Directories window, click inside one of the path boxes in the Input Directories column

2. Select the entire path in that box, right-click, and choose Copy

3. Click on the Start menu and select Run to bring up the Run window

4. Right-click in the box there and select Paste to put the Input Directory path into the box

5. Click the OK button in the Run window

What should appear is a Windows Explorer window that shows the .vox files on the Orator.  If other folders or files appear, then the pathname is incorrect.  Check the Export Utility Support page for help in getting the path right, or else call Bytescribe Orator support at 408-987-5628.

If the .vox files do appear, then most likely the two computers were disconnected from each other.  In this case, the steps you just took have reconnected the two computers, and the Export Utility should work fine now.  Go back to the Export Utility window, click the View menu, and select Refresh.  The files should show up.

5. The system was working fine yesterday, but now I have New/Stat files on the Orator that are not showing up in the Export Utility.  What happened?

Most likely the connection was disconnected between the Orator system and the computer running Export Utility.  This can happen sometimes during power outages, restarts, or sometimes for no apparent reason at all.

To reconnect the two systems, please do the following:

1. In the Export Utility, click on the View menu and select Directories

2. In Directories window, click inside one of the path boxes in the Input Directories column

3. Select the entire path in that box, right-click, and choose Copy

4. Click on the Start menu and select Run to bring up the Run window

5. Right-click in the box there and select Paste to put the Input Directory path into the box

6. Click the OK button in the Run window

What should appear is a Windows Explorer window that shows the .vox files on the Orator.  If you get an error message, then there may be a networking issue between the two computers.  Please contact your local IT specialist for help in reconnecting the network.

If other files or folders appear, then the drive letter for your drive mapping may have changed.  Please contact your local IT specialist for help in resetting the drive letter.

6. After converting a file, I get the message "Error: error renaming output file." What's going on?

There are generally several things that will cause this error.

a. The Output Directory may not exist, or the connection to the directory may be broken.  To check for the proper Output Directory path, please do the following:

1. In the Export Utility, click on the View menu and select Directories

2. In Directories window, click inside the box in the Output Directories column that shows the path to the Output Directory for the job type that is having the error.

3. Select the entire path in that box, right-click, and choose Copy

4. Click on the Start menu and select Run to bring up the Run window

5. Right-click in the box there and select Paste to put the Output Directory path into the box

6. Click the OK button in the Run window

What should appear is a Windows Explorer window that shows the converted files.  If you get an error message, then there may be a networking issue between the two computers.  Please contact your local IT specialist for help in reconnecting the network.

b. If the files do appear, and if the Output Directory is on a different computer than the Export Utility program, then it may be that the connection between the two computers was disconnected.  Go back to Export Utility and try running the conversion again.

c. If you still get the error, then it there is probably already a file in the Output Directory with the same file name as the one that is trying to convert.  Check the file name of the file still on the Orator (the one that will not convert), and then look for another file in the Output Directory to see if there is a match.  If so, you can rename or delete the file that is already in the Output Directory, and that will allow the file on the Orator to go through.

7. All the files from my system are converting, except files from/above a certain job type.  How do I get them to convert? 

There are a number of possibilities.  Here they are in order of probability.

a. The Export Utility may not have an Input Directory for the types that are not converting.  In Export Utility, click on the View menu and select Directories to open the Directories window.  In that window, go down the list to make sure that all of the job types that are being used on your Orator system have both Input and Output Directory entries.

b. The Input Directory path may be incorrect for the non-converting job types.  Please see Question 4 above to check the path.

c. There may be a problem that is causing the Export Utility to give the "error renaming output file" error for all the files in that job type.  Please see Question 6 above for help with that error.