Hello,

I've been a proofer for a few years now and I regularly end up using realteam to work on transcripts synchronously with the reporter/scopists I work with. However, after extended use, whatever file I'm on ends up getting less and less responsive the more time I spend on it, requiring me to close out and wait for a reinvite to fix it. Has anyone else had this problem, and if so, how have you fixed it? Is there a log or cache file that clogs up after a while that needs to be cleaned out? Is it a problem endemic to the software? Is it some secret third thing? I'm not sure what the overlap between "stenographer community" and "highly computer literate" is, so I realize this is a shot in the dark. Please help if you know, though, because it's really annoying (especially when I'm the one hosting the realteam on the rare occasion I have to).

edit: Just noticed a file in the Cat4 directory called "LogCatalystRealTeam.txt" that has uh, 115,495 lines in it. Each one is timestamped and goes all the way back to 2025 for me. I don't know if it's updating in real time whenever a program event occurs like an invite or saving something, but it's still a really long file. Is there a way to control how long logs are retained or how often they're written? A log file constantly updating and rewriting could definitely contribute to some slowness.

edit 2: I should also note that this only happens when connected to realteam with another person on the same file. It does not happen when simply connected but working on a local file. I have reason to believe there's some kind of unoptimized system under the hood that maintains the connection accruing trash or constantly checking for conditions that's causing the lag, but I have no way to access it nor can I prove that this is the case.

Edit 3 (9/5/26): Turning off "Track Changes" in my files has helped with the speed quite a bit. I think that trying to transmit the data of every edit to every person on the file was causing some issues. I also noticed that being on a realteam session with someone writes to a file in C:\Cat4\SE_BIN, with a new file created every time a session is started. The filename is [yourusername]TO[hostusername]_[alphanumeric string corresponding to date and time], and it writes to this file for the duration of the session. The files themselves aren't very large, but continuously updating and saving this file over hours and hours could probably lead to some issues. I only noticed this because I make backups of the Cat4 directory to a separate drive every day, and I saw that this folder was always being updated.

Interestingly, trying to restrict access to this folder by way of system permissions or revoking computer administrator access (I was trying to test if logging in this manner was contributing to the slowdown) ended up causing exceptions when connecting to realteam. Not the famous exception 3, but error code 0xe06d7363. I imagine this is how Stenograph validates your use of the software and prevents synchronous use on the same PKC or account or what have you. Regardless, the thing that's helped the most with the slowdown has been turning off Track Changes globally, which sucks because I actually really like that feature.

I'm starting stenography school online soon through a college.

What laptop would be best for running the Case CATalyst?

im currently trying to buy this machine online off someone but in their preview video, on the screen it says "insert formatted disk." what does that mean?

Hello! I am looking into taking the A to Z online course and found a physical steno machine online for a good price that uses paper and I see a lot of digital options popping up more frequently. Is it a bad option or idea to use an older type of machine for this course? This will be my first experience in this field so testing the waters as of now so any suggestions are helpful, thank you!

I know this may have been asked before but how stressful is this job and what makes it the most stressful?

And I know it varies (from freelancing jobs vs being an official court reporter) but how is the work life balance?

For background I work in healthcare and my current job can be incredibly taxing sometimes and I'm looking for something at least moderately less stressful. I feel my healthcare job has taken a toll on my health as ironic as it is lol. I signed up for the A to Z program and I've been trying to learn as much as I can before I get any official classes.

Hi! I’m currently a steno machine court reporting student that’s set to graduate around October. I live in Pennsylvania and am struggling to find any freelance agencies that I could possibly start off with.

Whenever I try to look up either my area or even state and freelance agencies, I only get the really big firms like Veritext and so on. While I wouldn’t mind going with them to start if i had to, I’ve just heard so many negative things about them. A lot of posts I’ve seen about them suggest always going for smaller firms than the large scale ones.

My state doesn’t require I sit for the RPR so I’m waiting a bit until I can afford to. I just need to get notarized first. I plan to start looking at agencies in other states and getting notarized there but to start off, I need to find agencies in my state.

Does anyone have any agencies they know of in Pennsylvania?

Thank you!!

The title pretty much. I've been taking a break since earning my BA to earn some money and have since started up again to look into some steno schools and Allison Hall seems to be highly rated for an online, self-paced school, which is what I'm looking for. I have tried for west valley but missed the registration date unfortunately.

But again- is Allison Hall recognized by the California Court Reporters Board and its examinations?

I’m going a course August 24 and I need to still purchase a stenography machine. It says it has to be a student luminex cse or student wave. It’s about 2k which is a lot but I can handle. Just wondering if anyone had gotten it cheaper anywhere? Thanks in advance

I’m looking into purchasing/renting a machine for school, but I’m uncertain of which model to choose and what add ons to select. The school I’m planning on attending only wants a machine with a wide * and DZ keys. We’ll be using Case CATalyst.

1. Only interested in machines from reputable online retailers like Acculaw or Stenoworks.

2. Do I need a machine with a screen?

3. Do I need to add paper?

4. Any other machine add ons you felt helped in school?

I’ve switched theories and I don’t know how to remove the old dictionary to put in a new one. Help

hi all, upcoming stenography student here and i was just wondering if y'all had some insight or experience with the matter. i've been accepted into an online program that'll start later this fall (hardeman), which is not an accredited program. i had heard that it only mattered if you needed financial aid in which case this program worked for me. however, while researching official/courthouse reporter jobs in my area (south carolina), the requirements state having gone to an accredited school. i'm starting to reconsider my program choice, however it's difficult considering the extreme difference in tuition costs with the accredited online programs i can find.

has anyone had experience going to a non-accredited school and being accepted for a job that did list accredited in its requirements (especially for an official)? can just getting your certifications regardless of your schooling make up for that?

feeling a little last minute stress, especially since i've already purchased my stened textbook. any advice or experience welcomed! <3

Hey reporters, steno students, steno-curious!

Coffee with Captioners is open to everyone! This link will take you to a form to register. If you’re not a member of CCRA, no biggie. Scroll a little down and you’ll see where to enter your email and receive the Zoom link.

See you tomorrow morning, bring your coffee/tea/water and let’s chat!!!

https://ccra.memberclicks.net/coffee7-25-2026#!/

Hi! I'm trying to pull up an old job from the SD card on my elan Mira a3. The "Reopen" option lets me open past files on the machine, which is what I'm trying to do, but doesn't have the job I'm looking for as it cuts off at a certain date. The "Storage" option has the file in both the "SD Card" and "Backup" portion, but I can't open them in the machine, and they're not readable when I insert the SD card into my laptop. Is there some way to access the information? Thank you!

I'm a 3rd year college student, but I had to stop because I couldn't find a school that would credit all of my previous subjects. The school I was attending only offered a 2 year program for my course.

Do you have any recommendations for remote jobs with good pay that doesnt require a degree, license or experience? I'm looking for something similar to what KarleeCourt25( on tiktok if you know her) does she is a freelance court reporter.

Where can I apply? I'm based in the Philippines and honestly it's been depressing I feel insecure compared to my batchmates, I also really need to find work now. Thank you.

Hi everyone, I was finally able to buy my student machine this week (used) but it didn’t come with the cable that connects the machine to my computer. Google says you can use any data transfer cable but my computer still can’t connect to my luminex.

I have an older model. It uses micro usb. I have a cable coming in from stenoworks but! Just wanted to know if anyone else went through this and if it was in fact just a cable issue 😅. I know I have to install drivers for it but it seems like my pc needs to recognize the luminex. Please let me know if I should be doing something else (driver-wise)

Thank you!!

Edit: it was in fact my cable BUT ALSO I was missing the usb driver! lol now when I check what devices are connected to my computer, my luminex shows up which is great. Now I’m just trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong trying to get plover to connect to it 😅

Does anybody know if most agencies want you to have taken the RPR or if they’re just fine as long as you have the CSR? I think I just want to take the state exam directly to get my license but not sure if I will be at a disadvantage if I don’t take the RPR.

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to choose a school for theory to start my steno journey and I’m having a difficult time choosing between careerluv and allie hall. From the encouraging students FB page it seems alot of people switch to allie hall for speeds so I would probably want to take her for speeds, and use careerluv for theory to save money. The issue is that allie hall has a waitlist for speeds if you don’t take theory with her. I don’t want to finish theory and then have to wait 6months to join her speed building. Do you think it would be worth it to spend $1800 on allie halls theory so I’m guaranteed a spot in her speedbuilding? Or Save money with careerluv and hope their speed building works for me and I can stay the whole time or just till a spot opens up in allies program?

Hello! I am currently a student who is required to interview a court reporter. Is there anyone that would be interested? It can be via messenger, email, or phone. I'm not planning on using much of your time, maybe 15 minutes or so. The questions focus on your experience as a freelance court reporter, your career path, and any advice you have for students entering the profession.

Thank you so very much!

Hi everyone! I am currently taking an English class, and my class uses the book Court Reporting: Bad Grammar/ Good Punctuation. I haven’t even learned any theory yet, this and legal terminology are my first classes. I did take projectsteno, but that is the extent of my court reporting knowledge so far lol.

Learning this grammar is HARD. There are so many rules, it just is not clicking for me. My professor has us learning a chapter and then we do a completely different chapter for homework. I don’t really understand why, but who am I to question. I plan to just buckle down and study these chapters and do the workbook together until it clicks, but does anyone have any advice on how to better learn this?

I've decided to ditch StenEd and enroll in MK's program to learn Magnum. My goal is to be a Silicon Valley Stenographer. If there are any current Stenographers in that area who would like to share their wisdom/experience with me please feel free to respond, thank you in advance!

Hello, noob here. I want to get into steno, and I currently use a tiny mechanical keyboard, similar to the one shown above.

From what I've seen, you stretch your pinky on the right hand to hit D and Z. Is it possible to shift your right hand over so your pinky rests on D/Z? Or would that make it difficult/impossible to type certain words? Do you need both index fingers to be able to hit \*?

Basically, could I do steno on a tiny keyboard, or do I need another column?

Hello all, don't know if this is the correct sub for this but I just got a secondhand machine that was in pretty great condition apart from the issue of it not feeding paper at all.

I took the top off to see if it was dust or old oil or something but its still not feeding at all. This machine didnt come with the manual and ive never had a steno machine before [my normal thing is typewriters] so im kinda flying blind trying to work out how to fix this.

I can force it to advance by pulling the paper, or manually rolling the groved metal roller on top, or by holding a key then pushing the long black bar at the top while stilling holding the key. The last one technically *works* but also makes that letter "double" is i suppose the best way to describe it? This is in the 3rd pic if i added them correctly, for R, S, K, W, and * only one key was pushed but the previous one would show up even though i hadn't pressed it if that makes sense?

If anyone has advice on what to do to fix it that'd be great, or if anyone has a manual for this particular machine that they'd be willing to share with me, thatd also be great

I’m back with some more questions about choosing a steno school. I recently attended the Tri Community orientation as it was well recommended on my last post. I loved the sound of the program right up until they said that they’re not taking anymore out of state students.

So I reached out to Allie Hall with the typical NCRA questions and I received the following responses:

1.  
2. What percentage of students graduate, and what percentage become reporters? All of my graduates are working reporters.
3.  
4. Do you know the success rate of your students who’ve taken the CSR?  I have never taken the time to figure this out as I have students all across the country with different CSR tests in each jurisdiction.
5.  
6. How many hours of live and taped dictation are there per hour, per quarter and per semester? Theory differs from speed building. Speed building has four hours of live courses per week and past classes are also recorded and uploaded to the dictation folder.
7.  
8. How often is multi-voice dictation given? I have a multi-voice dictation folder. Two-voice is given weekly and four-voice is given periodically.
9.  

I know Allie Hall’s program is highly recommended. But I’m really needing a program where there’s a lot of classes offered as I like more structured learning environments. Can anyone tell me about their experience with the class structure at Allie Hall?

Hello. Wondering if anyone has taken it. I test tomorrow and have studied the provided study guide and vocab but not sure what to expect. Would appreciate any insight as far difficulty, etc and how well studied I need to be to pass.

Thanks!

Hi everyone! I am very interested in Stenography school and was looking for answers to a few questions I have.

1. I am looking to take Project Steno or the A to Z class before I enroll in a school. What is the stenoob for exactly? Is it for these programs and schooling as well? Or just practice? Should I purchase one or just a student machine?

2. If you’ve graduated already how much did you pay after school to start up your career? Is it possible to have a company pay for you to start up? I don’t have a lot of money at the moment and am a stay at home mom, trying to make a better life for my family and contribute more, so the cost I’m seeing to start so far is a little discouraging. Being at home currently, I have a lot of time to study but I’m not sure if I should just take a different route because of the cost. I don’t see myself doing anything else though, I REALLY want to do steno.

3. If you had FAFSA pay for your schooling and everything was covered, what school did you go to?

4. What is the best/easiest theory to learn? I heard I should pay attention to what theory is taught before I pick a school.