SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANAGING TRANSCRIPTS AND EXHIBITS
The present invention provides a method for managing electronic transcripts and electronic exhibits. In particular, the present invention provides a system that allows a user defined association between an electronic transcript and at least one electronic exhibit.
1 . A method for managing electronic transcripts and electronic exhibits performed on at least one processor, the method comprising the steps of:
selecting an electronic transcript file to associate with at least one electronic exhibit;
displaying the association tool;
inputting a user defined association between the electronic transcript and the electronic exhibit;
identifying at least one electronic exhibit to be associated with the electronic transcript by the user defined association;
choosing a type of association between the electronic transcript and the at least one electronic exhibit; and
applying the association to the electronic transcript such that the electronic transcript and the at least one electronic exhibit are associated.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the type of association is a link from the electronic transcript to the at least one electronic exhibit.
3 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising the steps of:
activating the applied association; and
displaying the at least one electronic exhibit.
4 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising the steps of:
displaying the electronic transcript in a first window; and
displaying the at least one electronic exhibit in at least a second window.
5 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the step of displaying the at least one electronic exhibit comprises the step of displaying an image.
6 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the step of displaying the at least one electronic exhibit comprises playing an audio file.
7 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the step of displaying the at least one electronic exhibit comprises playing a video file.
8 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the step of displaying the at least one electronic exhibit comprises playing an audio/video file.
9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of:
synchronizing a media file with the electronic transcript;
and
appending the media file to the electronic transcript.
10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising the step of launching the media file in a media window.
11 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising the step of advancing the electronic transcript along with the media file.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the at least one electronic exhibit is displayed as the electronic transcript is advanced past the association.
13 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of recognizing the characters of the at least one electronic exhibit to provide character searching of the at least one electronic exhibit.
14 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of importing a file to a project, the file selected from a group of files consisting of electronic transcript files and electronic exhibit files.
15 . A system for managing electronic transcripts and electronic exhibits, comprising:
a transcript manager;
an organizational and control module connected to the transcript manager to provide tools;
a memory comprising at least one electronic transcript file and at least one electronic exhibit file connected to the transcript manager; and
a display connected to the transcript manager, the display providing at least a graphical user interface and at least one viewer, such that the transcript manager provides a graphical user interface and the organizational control module provides tools whereby a user can manage the at least one electronic transcript and the at least one exhibit.
16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the memory comprises a local memory connected to the transcript manager.
17 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the memory comprises at least a remote memory connected to the transcript manager through a network connection.
18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the network is selected from a group of networks consisting of a local area network, a wide area network, an optical network, a wireless network, a WiFi network, an Ethernet, Internet, and World Wide Web.
19 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the memory comprises a removable medium.
20 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the removable medium is selected from the group consisting of a magnetic disk, an optical disk, and a tape.
21 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the graphical user interface receives user input from an input device selected from a group consisting of a keyboard, a mouse, a track ball, a light pen, and a touch screen.
22 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the display provides a first display to display the at least one electronic transcript and a second display to display the at leas tone electronic exhibit.
23 . The system of claim 22 , further comprising a media player to display media selected from a group of media consisting of audio, video, and audio/video.
24 . The system of claim 15 , further comprising at least one dialog box in which a user can enter a user defined association between the at least one electronic transcript and the at least one electronic exhibit.