Productivity Increase on Ebay with FastFox

These days it's impossible to go anywhere without running into someone who's bought or sold something on Ebay. At any given time there are over 100 million active auction listings and each one of those was added by a seller. That's a lot of hours of work if you have several items you are selling on Ebay. I have been a seller on Ebay, and the biggest annoyance and time waster for me was repeatedly typing similar Ebay listings. Or at least it was until I found FastFox.

FastFox is a text expander for Windows or Mac. A text expander, or textexpander, is a form of shorthand software that allows you to paste a chunk of text by typing in a predefined shortcut term. This is much more valuable than a normal copy and paste feature because it can hold many shortcuts each with it's own text value associated with it. How a typing expander works is you set your shortcut term, then set your expanded text in FastFox, and once you type the shortcut term in any browser or program you have instant text conversion to the expanded text.

Now you must be asking "How can this help me to be faster when listing on Ebay?" Well, if you're like me you've dealt with listing hundreds of similar products at one time. Repeatedly typing similar text into my listing software feels like a waste of time. What I like to do is create FastFox shortcuts for all of my auction elements that are the same or remain very similar, and then make small edits as needed. It has quadrupled my productivity while listing.

My example deals with selling baseball cards. I would list a couple hundred baseball cards on Ebay at one time. All of them were from the same year and all of them were similar quality of cards. An auction title read something like: "1961 Topps - Harmon Killebrew #80 - Excellent Condition." The only things that would change in each new auction was the player's name and the card number. With FastFox I could create a basic shortcut that said: "1961 Topps - # - Excellent Condition" and fill in the other information for each card. As soon as I typed in my shortcut, "TITLE," I had most of it finished.

Where this really picked things up was in the category and description of the auction. All of my auctions were in the same category, so filling that out was as simple as typing one shortcut. It really helped to not have to go through and find the correct category. It also eliminated me putting a few cards in the wrong category. Lastly and most important was the description. No more Description Builder! With FastFox I could create a description one time and simply enter the shortcut and add in the player's name and card number. This new way of listing products really sped up my Ebay auction listing process and ended in higher profits over a shorter timeframe.

Learn more about FastFox typing expander on the NCH Software website.

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Be Fast as a Fox with FastFox Text Expander Software

Hello! I'm Audrey. I just started working in the sales department at NCH Software about a month ago, and I already found my new best friend; it's FastFox Text Expander Software! You see, I send out a lot of emails answering sales inquiries, so instead of typing the same information over and over again, I assigned my email letter to a unique word in Fast Fox such as "salesinquiry". All I have to do is type my unique word/shortcut and BANG it expands to the five-paragraph email like magic. How brilliant is that? I wish I had known about this wonderful software earlier in my career. My tasks would have been a whole heck of a lot easier!

So take my advice and start using FastFox to be more efficient, like me! Simply download the free trial of FastFox Text Expander Software and you can immediately start creating your own shortcuts that will expand to a word, phrase, paragraph or more. Use your new shortcuts in emails, word documents web browsers and more to speed up all your typing tasks. Once you get started you won't want to ever type without it again.

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Software You Didn't Even Know You Needed

Technology has become a huge part of our daily lives, and I am sure you could pretty easily come up with a list of devices or applications that you simply couldn't live without. But with so much technology out there, I'll bet there are programs out there that can make your life easier or more efficient that you never even thought to go searching for. The software surprises listed below will quickly climb to you must have list once you give them a try.

Shorthand Text Expander Software

Ever find yourself typing the same words, phrases or paragraphs repeatedly? Stop typing things over and over again with text expansion software. You might not think much about what you type out all the time, but if you really stop to think about it, I'm sure you could find multiple ways to use keyboard shortcuts that would save you time. Anything from inserting signatures in emails, filling out online forms, and writing long responses to customer questions don't need to be more than a few keystrokes away, instantly improving your typing speed and productivity.

Invoicing Software

Managing invoices is a never-ending process, and if you're doing them all by hand or in Excel you might be spending more time on invoicing than you need to. Invoicing software like Express Invoice allows you to set up automatically recurring invoices, where invoices can be automatically generated and sent as e-mails or faxes from the program. Express Invoice has other time saving features including mobile access, reminders for payments past due and storing item information to eliminate repeat data entry.

Timesheet Software

Another way to make invoicing easier for freelancers and other businesses that charge by the hour is using timesheet software to not only create a timesheet but track the amount of time spent on individual projects or clients.

Automatic FTP Uploading Client

Every web designer already knows that an FTP client is a must, but not all FTP clients are created equal. I personally couldn't live without Fling Automatic FTP Software, which can be used to automatically detect and upload changed files to keep files synchronized. Fling can also be used to upload files from your right click menu, so you can upload a change live without needing to open and browse through your files in the FTP client separately.

File Converter Software

If you've ever had trouble opening up an audio or video file, then you already know how helpful it can be to have a file converter on hand. With Switch Audio Converter, you can convert and compress sound files within minutes of downloading. For video files there is Prism Video Converter, plus Pixillion Image Converter, for images and Doxillion Document Converter to convert document types. Combined these software converters can help you get out of just about any file format compatibility problem.

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Break Free From The Groundhog Day Typing Tedium

Most people are familiar with the movie Groundhog Day where Bill Murray gets trapped living the same day over and over again. While it is a funny film, I can't help but sympathize with his frustration and how hard he tries to break out of the routine and tedium of living the same thing over and over again. One thing I like about my job is that every day is different. It is nice to have different things to do to help keep things fresh, but even more dynamic jobs can have a hint of a repetitive undercurrent. On the bright side, using FastFox text expansion software helps reduce some of the monotony by helping you get through some of those tasks faster. By saving frequently used text such as answers to common questions, descriptions of the company or various products, or even phrases that you are bound to misspell or waste time correcting, you’ll get on to the next challenge quicker. And since Punxsutawney Phil forecast an early spring, using FastFox shorthand software also means you’ll get to enjoy spring sooner.

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7 Programs You Can't Live Without

Prism Video Converter If you've ever had trouble opening a video file, you need Prism. Prism will let you quickly convert any troublesome video files into a more manageable format. With more formats supported than any other video converter, you'll be hard pressed to come across a video file that Prism can't handle.

Switch Audio Converter There are a lot of different audio file formats out there, and a lot of places you might want to keep your favorite music, from CDs and iPods to your computer or online, just to name a few. Make sure you always have the right format for every song and every application with the Switch Audio Converter.

FastFox Typing Expander Ever find yourself typing the same things over and over? FastFox can be a huge helping hand at home or at work. Use keyboard shortcuts to expand to anything you commonly write, and save time inserting signatures in email, filling out online forms, and writing long responses to customer questions.

Debut Video Capture Whether you want to transfer the video from a camcorder to your computer, are trying to record a video from your webcam, or even recording your screen, Debut is your single software solution for capturing video.

Express Burn Disc Burning Software Burn pictures, home movies, resumes, portfolios, or back up your files to CDs, DVDs and even Blue-Ray discs in a variety of file formats with Express Burn. Simply drag, drop and burn.

PhotoStage Slideshow Creator Bring your digital photos to life and share your favorite memories with family and friends. Tell a compelling story, display your best images, or show off your proudest moments. PhotoStage lets you combine images, video clips, music and narration in a fun and dynamic fashion.

WavePad Audio Editor No list would be complete without one of our all-time favorites: WavePad. WavePad is the perfect application for any audio project in the sound studio or at home. The easy-to-use interface will have you up and running quickly with all the powerful tools you need at your fingertips.

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Stop Typing the Same Things Over and Over Again

Have you ever noticed that there are some things that you type all of the time? Some of the most common things that I find myself typing all of the time include the company description of NCH Software, a signature for when I leave comments on blogs or forums, and even a couple of answers to FAQs that seem to be constantly popping up in my email inbox, just to name a few. Being able to store these pieces of text with FastFox Text Expander is a huge help. Instead of looking up the information from the last time I answered a question, or wasting the time to write the whole thing I've typed a million times before all over again, I just need to type a couple characters and FastFox automatically expands that keyboard shortcut I chose into the complete answer/description/signature that I stored. Then I can quickly move on, or make minor edits to the text for the specific situation, and still be done in a fraction of the time.

Text Expansion Software is often sold to transcriptionists because of the boost it provides in typing efficiency. It really is an invaluable tool for helping medical and legal transcriptionists transcribe faster and reduce errors with long or complex terms and jargon, but truth be told, almost anyone can find things that they themselves type repeatedly and can benefit from having an application like FastFox to reduce this constant repetition in typing.

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Transcription Made Easy: an Express Scribe Tutorial

You've heard us say it before, and we'll continue to say it until everyone knows: Express Scribe makes transcription easy. Why is that? Is it because it has variable speed playback? Yes. What about efficient file management? Of course. Can you use it with a foot pedal? Absolutely. Will it do all the typing for you while you run to the grocery store? Well...not quite, but there are many time-saving features built in so you can get to those errands (or plow through that long list of files quickly).

Thankfully, Express Scribe users out there are sharing their knowledge of the ins and outs of efficient Express Scribe transcription. The most recent example is a post at makeuseof.com entitled How to Transcribe Audio & Video Files Into Text with the Help of Express Scribe. With this blog-style tutorial, you'll learn how to:

• use the basic features of Express Scribe such as loading and playing files
  
• use the variable speed playback feature
  
• set up hot-keys so you can use Express Scribe while in other programs
  
• configure a default word processor to work with Express Scribe
  
• and more

Download Express Scribe for free and use the tutorial to see how easy transcribing can be. You can practice using our free practice transcription files. Then, when you're ready to go pro, use our other typing utilities to save you even more time: FastFox text expander will insert frequently used words, phrases and paragraphs so you don't have to type them over and over; TexTally word counter will make billing and invoicing a breeze; and see our other Dictation and Trascription software for more valuable tools.

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Video File Transcription Support in Express Scribe is Ready for Primetime

I am happy to say Express Scribe version 5.00 has been released. Express Scribe now has full video file support so you can load both audio or video files for transcription. And best of all it is still completely free.

Lately, I've seen requests for transcription programs with video support on twitter, in transcription forums and other places. So I’m wondering what types of videos people are transcribing. Share the ways in which you are using, or would like to use, video in transcription tasks.

With Express Scribe transcription software installed on their computer, a typist can control audio and video playback using a transcription keyboard with 'hot' keys, or a foot pedal for hands free control. This computer transcriber application has long offered typists features such as variable speed playback, multi-channel control, file management and more. The main thing is that now video now works just as seamlessly as digital audio always has.

We are keeping Scribe free in the hopes that you will also try and recommend our digital dictation software to your transcription customers. Our entire dictation Suite is designed to work seamlessly with Express Scribe, improving efficiency of the entire transcription process.

Two other great utilities that NCH offers for typists and transcriptionists that complement Express Scribe are FastFox Typing Expander and TexTally Word and Line Counter. FastFox brings new meaning to the phrase speed-typing. FastFox is a dynamic text expansion program with shortcut keys that expand to phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or even entire documents. Then when it comes to billing, TexTally can be used to count lines, words, or characters, and you can enter a formula to calculate the billing amount of typing job for you.

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FastFox Word Expander - Complete Medical Transcription Quickly & Easily

One of our oldest and most popular applications is Express Scribe transcription playback software. This is a popular transcription software utility for typists but it is only of the applications we have that a transcriptionists should consider for their arsenal. Anyone who does large volumes of typing for anything from a legal office to medical transcription or customer support where you need to type out the same thing repeatedly will also find the FastFox Typing Expander a priceless typing utility.

If you are looking for a faster way to type out complex phrases or more efficiently download FastFox Typing Expander then create your own shortcut hot key commands for all the common phrases, words or responses you want to store. Add complex legal or medical terminology to reduce misspelling and mistakes for added efficiency.

1. Open FastFox and click on the green '+' icon, or press CTR+N (CMD+N on Mac) to create a new shortcut.
   
2. Enter the shorthand abbreviation for the shortcut in the "Keyword" field
   
3. If you need complex formatting such as color, font and weight (e.g. bold or italics) select "Rich Text" from the drop down menu.
   
4. Place your complex medical term or other text in the "Expansion" field
   
5. Save and repeat for all the terminology you want shorthand expanders for
   
6. Then with FastFox running in the background you can use your new shortcut in any word processor, your shorthand will automatically expand for you.
   

Tip: Avoid using common words for your shortcuts since every time you type one of your shortcuts FastFox will expand it with your linked text.

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Do we use our own software?

In one word... yes. 

NCH Software has two office locations, one in Denver Colorado and the other in Canberra, Australia. Both locations are set up with the Axon Virtual PBx and the IVM Call Attendant. In some cases employees have extensions on both PBx systems. This allows us to call between the offices on IP Phones for no cost at all. 

Someone in the Australian office can just pick up their phone and dial and extension allocated to me in the Denver office, the same if we were only located on different floors of the same building. 

If I need to make a call to another business in Australia I can pick up my phone, press my Australian extension and dial a number in Australia and the call we be charged at local call rates instead of international call rates.

FastFox Text Expander is an application that nearly all staff have installed on their PCs and Macs. Our support and marketing teams use it for common responses, signitures, URLs, phone numbers and addresses. 

FlexiStation is installed on all computers and we can track our work hours, log leave requests and generally see how our time is spent at work.

Our finance department works with Express Accounts to keep track of incoming and outgoing cash flow for the companies and our sales department uses Express Invoice to create quotes and invoices.

I personally use Debut Video Capture to record webcasts and KeyBlaze Typing Tutor typing tutor because sometimes two fingers for a keyboard just dosn't quite cut it. In one way or another we all use some of the software at home and in the office. Even though we have a testing department sometimes the best way to find a hidden problem, or the best suggestion, when it comes to software is to use it on a day to day level.

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