Assignment checking is done primarily to double check lengths and due dates are correct and to see if any files are missing. A note is made after the initial check to keep track of all the info that it pulled up, and then that same note gets updated with any new info (if a length was updated, a file that was missing is now available, etc.). The typical format a job will have is:

1. Network, Program -> filename (length)

All of these elements need to be in place for it to work correctly. There are notes below that give further detail on this. If you run into any snags, get in contact with John or Amonte.

Setting up the checker:

Open up Thunderbird and open up the "Transcription for Copytalk" email(s) from Vitac. Copy/paste the assignment from Vitac’s email, starting from the due date and grabbing all jobs due that same day. Unless it’s a 1-day TAT assignment, there will almost always be two different TATs included in the email. Be sure to only grab one due date/Turnaround Time (TAT) at a time. There can be up to two sections for each TAT/due date in a single email (should copy/paste the “then POP” and “then ROLL” sections together, as long as the due date/TAT is the same).

Next, you’ll need to check that file names in the assignment match with what they actually uploaded. Sometimes it’s a word-for-word match, sometimes it looks completely different, and sometimes it’s right in the middle. You may have to play around a little bit with what you plug into the search bar before you find the right job. Looking at the day/time it was uploaded can also be a good indicator of whether you’ve found the correct job.

Ex:
In email: 5. Cartoon Summer Camp Island -> 24 - “Mop Forever” (11)
Real name: SummerCampIsland_024

If unsure whether the name is correct, it doesn’t hurt to go ahead and check anyway. Sometimes the file name may be cut off (ex. A Dow job ending with D vs. DTV), so by searching for it you can grab the full file name and plug that in to the checker.

Sometimes you may run into an assignment that has multiple files associated with what’s listed as one job. If that happens, copy/paste that single assignment/job as many time as necessary to account for each individual file, as though they had all been listed separately to begin with (no need to number each one). Then, copy/paste each file name over into the assignment checker

Sometimes you may have to adjust the text you’re searching with to find the correct file; some networks, like Cartoon, always need you to search for the full file name, while others, like Food Network, tend to have the correct name listed already – the more you do it the easier it’ll be to know when you should/shouldn’t check! **

Double check the TAT/date/day all line up. If it’s incorrect (says "Wednesday" when it should say "Thursday" based on the date listed), go ahead and make the adjustment based on what info you have. If unsure, contact someone. Oftentimes at the beginning of a new month/year, there will be a mistake in the date. The checker is going to put jobs into the queue based on the date listed, so if this isn’t correct BEFORE checking, you may end up with an error or a lot of incorrect due dates to go fix. Lastly, make sure there is a comma between the day and the date.

Checking the assignment:

Check the assignment by hitting “check”.

*** The checker is extremely touchy, so you may get an error message at this point in the top left corner, or weird errors underneath the “check” button. You may also get “there are no issues”. If that happens, check on the below items

• Make sure there’s a comma between the day of the week and the date
• Make sure the assignments are in a numbered list, and that list HAS to start with 1. If it starts with a number other than 1, it will act like it’s working fine but will almost definitely miss things, which can cause issues down the line.
• Make sure there is both a network and a program listed

Ex: Cartoon (network) Summer Camp Island (program)

• Sometimes a program isn’t listed; if so, add “unknown” in as a placeholder and that should help (comes up often with IRS jobs)
• Make sure there is an arrow -> between the program and episode. Will get “parse error” otherwise.
• Make sure there are parenthesis around the length. Checker will think there’s no length listed otherwise. Note that if a job has parenthesis in the file name, you’ll get a notice that the length should be updated to 0 minutes – this is normal to see.
• If you get a “missing job” notice above “check”, make sure that the correct file name was copy/pasted over (some of them are pretty different but should have enough similarities to be able to find it in the emails). However, it’s not uncommon for the Customer to have missed the job, so if you can’t find it, notify someone.

*** If you’re on the fence about whether a file is missing, count up how many jobs were assigned in the email and how many upload notifications we received within that time period. If the number is off, contact someone.

Make a note:
Tag “office, Gainesville” as the member, “Custom queue” as the note type, “Assignment check” as the sub-type. Copy/paste the assignment into the main body of the not, and copy/paste the info that showed up after hitting “check” in the extended note. Change the date to whatever the assignment’s due date is. If any files are missing, make sure to “open” the note after logging it as a reminder to go back later and make any updates after the file has gone into the queue.

Whenever Vitac gives us an assignment, the email almost always includes “treatments”, or Reference Sheets, that go with the individual jobs. The RSs get uploaded automatically so that scribes have access to them when scribing. If there are special instructions within the assignment email or specific RSs that aren’t very intuitive for the scribe, you’ll want to add a Job Notice to the job in the queue. Job notices have to be manually created/updated.

Matching the job to the RS:

RSs can be matched up to a file based on either the network OR the program, so be sure to check on both and go with whichever is most appropriate. RSs for the program take precedence over the network. Example:

1. Pillar Pillar - Ask This Old House Season 17 -> ATOH 1822 (30)

There’s an RS for both “Pillar to Post” (matches the network) and for “Ask This Old House” (matches the program). Since there’s an RS available for the program, that’s what would be used.
If a particular video has an RS that’s obvious, no need to attach a job notice (Ex. Guy’s Grocery Games). If the RS isn’t obvious (ex. any of the 3-5 NFL RSs we rotate through), you will need to attach a job notice by doing the following:

• Select the correct due date view in the queue and hit “refresh”.
• Copy/paste the file name into the search bar.
• Toggle the box on the left.
• Type “Use (insert RS name here) RS” into the “job notice” box near and then hit “update job notices”.

You’ll get a notification that the job notices were updated. If you don’t get this notice, make sure you’ve toggled the box(es) next to the job(s). Once you refresh the queue, you’ll be able to see your job notice in red text under the file name.

Special Instructions:

If there are special instructions the customer lists in the assignment email, these should be attached via job notice. These are usually found next to the individual assignment, often offset with brackets or a dash, or in red, and take precedence over anything attached along with the email (though sometimes they should be written out in conjunction with an attached RS). Occasionally the customer will type this at the top of the email to apply to a larger amount of jobs rather than including it next to each individual job, so be on the lookout!

Job notices can also be used to give instructions to scribes or QAs. For example, a job needs to be processed with the Pillar to Post RS. However, that job went into production over the weekend without a job notice attached to it. It’s not fair to assume the scribe would choose to use Pillar to Post, as it’s usually not very intuitive, but the job is now missing important SID. You can attach a job notice saying to use Pillar to Post RS, and also include “do not fault previous scribe for missing RS instructions”. This ensures the job is processed correctly, but the scribe doesn’t get penalized for something they wouldn’t have known in the first place.

A handful of file names will be listed under “Check” with the words “Billing discrepancy: Force update length to X”. This means the length listed in the parenthesis is different than the length listed on the file in the queue. You will have to manually verify the lengths of these individual files by looking them up in the Custom Shared Drive.

Calculating the Length:

Whenever verifying the length, just because the file is 26 minutes doesn’t mean that we should be billing at 26 minutes. Not everything in the file gets factored in to the final billed length.

Things we don't include:

• Dead space at the beginning (usually for 30-90 seconds)
• Anything after credits/fade to black

Things we do include:

• Built in time for commercial breaks (common in daytime TV programs)

Sometimes a title card at the beginning may give you a clue to the actual length by listing a "TRT" (total runtime). Note that this is not always accurate as it may or may not include commercial breaks. For example, Jude Judy is always listed at 22 minutes. TRT for the show itself is 22 minutes, however, there are spaces for commercial breaks included in the file. As a result, it typically comes out to 28 minutes and is billed as such.

Adjusting the Length:

Many shows, such as House Hunters or Food Network programs, will be accurate to the length listed by the Customer (ex. 22 minutes). If after opening the file you verify that it should be billed at the length listed by the customer, click on “force update length to X”. Nothing more needs to be done for the file at that point.

However, shows may be longer or shorter than the length listed by the customer. First, verify the actual file length by checking on the file in the shared drive. Then pull the file up in the queue. Verify that the length in the queue is accurate and make adjustments as needed. To change the file length, type in the new number in the box off to the right. CTScribes will ask if you want to update the length – if you’re sure it’s correct, hit “OK”. The length is now updated.

Splits:

If you're dealing with a file with splits, you'll see the file name plus _split_0, _split_1, etc., depending on how many splits there are. All splits except the final split will be 31:30 in length. When calculating the length of files with splits, it's important to take into consideration that for each 31:30 file, there will be approximately one minute of overlap across the splits (so the last bit of _split_0 will be the same as the beginning of _split_1). So if you have two 31:30 files, that would equal a 60:00 parent. The queue automatically takes this into consideration when it tries to calculate the length of the parent, but it's important to keep in mind if you end up having to make any manual updates to the length based on dead space, etc.

Sometimes, you'll end up with a short split, usually <1:00 (though sometimes it can be longer) that doesn't have any transcribable content. It could be that the final split is just a duplicate of the last minute or two of the previous split, or sometimes it's just a bunch of dead space that got added in. In this case, it may be appropriate to discard the final split from the queue to keep it from going into production unnecessarily. However, if the file has already been picked up by someone, no action should be taken. Note: Never discard an earlier split due to dead space (very rare). Discarding _split_0, for example, could cause problems due to the sequence being thrown out of whack vs. just chopping off the end of the file by discarding the final split.

Tracking Length Updates:

If you updated the file to be shorter than what it was being listed as, no further action is necessary. If the file is longer, however, you’ll need to copy the file name and paste it into the Update box on CTScribes next to your original assignment note. Use the following format:

• Updated X_File to XX minutes

If you have multiple files being updated to the same length (ex: lots of Judge Judy episodes all being billed at 28 minutes instead of 22), you can group them all together:

• Updated to 28 minutes:

JudgeJudy1
JudgeJudy2
JudgeJudy3

This just helps keep track of things in case there is ever question on why a particular job was billed at a higher rate. Sometimes a job will go into the queue with a length that is wildly off target due to the file name being too similar to another file/set of files, so it is important to always verify the lengths in the queue, just in case. To see all of your manually updated or “force update length to” files with their new lengths, refresh the queue.

Last Steps:

Now, recheck the assignment and copy/paste the new additional info into the same Update box as you placed any other info on updated lengths. If after rechecking the assignment nothing has changed (i.e., no changes were made to lengths or due dates), no need to copy/paste this info and update the note.

When Custom goes right, it's great. When it goes wrong, it usually goes really wrong. While it's impossible to predict every issue that may pop up, here are some common ones that may require manual intervention.

Incorrect Due Date:

Sometimes a job will go into the queue with the wrong due date, for whatever reason. You'll see a notification similar to a length mismatch, but instead it will give the current due date and the due date expected (based off of the assignment email), and an instruction that manual intervention is required. To fix this:

1. Look up the job in the queue by copy/pasting the file name into the "Job Name" field and refreshing the queue.
2. Under the "Due Date" column in the queue, you'll see a (+) and a (-). Clicking (+) will bring the job due date forward by 1 day, and clicking (-) will push the due date back by 1 day. Click however many times is necessary to adjust the due date.
   • If you have a job with splits, only adjust the due date for the parent file. The splits will automatically adjust to the parent.
3. Recheck the assignment. The due date mismatch should now disappear, which is an indicator that the job now has the correct due date based off of information from the assignment email.

Customer Mismatch:

You may get this error due to a number of reasons. One of those would be that the incorrect date is attached to the file. For instance, if a job is uploaded on 12/1 with a 2-day turnaround, it should be due 12/3. However, if Vitac mistakenly put "12/2" as the due date, the system will get confused thinking it's 1-day turnaround (which is technically a different customer). In this case, manual adjustment of the job due date could fix this, and rechecking the jobs with mismatch issues should be resolved. The "Update Customer Mismatch" button can also be used in the case where the date is right but the customer itself simply needs adjusting. This will affect the pricing of the work, so it needs to be totally accurate.

Occasionally, Vitac may send some files with extremely similar names but are in fact slightly unique and should be unique files. In the case Vitac mistakenly duplicates the name of a file on two different days' assignments, this could cause a false customer mismatch because the system is looking for the same job on two different days, and therefore the turnaround time isn't exactly matching the customer's request. In this case, Vitac would just need to provide a unique file name for the different file, or they may advise to discard the duplicate altogether.

Missing Jobs:

You run the assignment through the checker and get it with an "additional record info created for XXX job", and somewhere below that, that same job is listed as missing. There are a couple of reasons this could be happening, and some potentially easy solutions.

1. The job is listed incorrectly in the assignment.
   • Check first that the assignment has all the correct file names - no missing text, no extra characters afterwards (even just a period can cause issues). Verify that you have the correct names there, and then recheck the assignment.
2. The job was never uploaded.
   • Maybe the job really is missing! To verify whether or not it was uploaded, do a quick search through the upload notifications to see if there's anything that matches the missing job.
   • Another tip: Count up how many upload notifications there are for that time frame (can use Shift to highlight multiple emails and Thunderbird will tell you how many "conversations" you've highlighted). If the number of emails doesn't line up with the number of jobs assigned, you're missing a job.
     • In the case of a missed job, you'll need to notify Vitac via email. Reply to the sender of the original assignment email, then CC CTVideo and Copytalk@vitac, and Reply-to CTVideo. Copy/paste the missing file name and request that it be uploaded to the FTP. You'll have to check back on this later to make sure that it went into the queue properly.
3. The job uploader isn't working.
   • Sometimes there's a problem job that'll "clog the pipes", or sometimes there's a glitch with the uploader. In any case, if you see that we have all the necessary upload notifications, but jobs are still showing as "missing" in the queue, it may be that the jobs haven't yet made it into the queue. Check the Custom Drive to see if any jobs have been uploaded. If there are no new jobs, or only some of the new jobs and it's been a few hours since the last upload, contact Amonte and let him know.

Duplicate Jobs:

Sometimes you may search for a job only to find that it was already uploaded at a previous day/time. If this happens, you will need to contact Vitac and determine whether or not the job was uploaded in error, and ask if there's a replacement file available. Copy/paste the duplicate file name and include that in the email to Vitac, that way everyone is on the same page (it also may be helpful to point to the previous day it was assigned and what TAT it was assigned with).
NOTE: If the file they uploaded is an exact match, then the queue/job uploader will not pick it up. In other words, we shouldn't have to do anything further on this unless they claim the duplicate file "has different content". In that case, it will require manual intervention, usually taken care of by Amonte.

• If they respond that the file was uploaded in error and they don't have a replacement, and the file name was an exact match (aka, nothing new got uploaded to the queue), then delete that job from the assignment info that's been plugged into the checker. This way, when you hit "check", it won't give any errors and/or try to look for a job that we don't actually need to process. No further action is necessary.
• If they respond that the file was uploaded in error and they do have a replacement, simply replace the duplicate file in the assignment note with the corrected file and proceed as normal.

Invalid Information:

Sometimes you'll get "filename: Possible invalid information match on 12345". When this happens, you'll need to...

1. Copy/paste the job ID (string of numbers given at the end).
2. Click on the "additional info" tab.
3. Change the Start Date to that job's due date, and the End Date to the day after.
4. Search for the job ID using ctrl+F.
5. Click the "delete" link.
6. You must recheck the assignment after deleting any invalid info so that new information is created.

Not every issue that comes up will require communication with Vitac. Sometimes, though, it will be necessary. In all cases, when creating the email...

1. Hit "reply" (not "reply-all")
2. CC us
3. CC them
4. Reply-to us

With any of our customers, it's important to be professional, as well as clear and concise. If possible, avoid asking multiple questions in the same email and/or over-explaining things. Many of our emails to Vitac tend to be pretty canned responses, depending on the situation. Below are some situations that may require an email, with an example of a draft:

• Missing Job(s):

Good morning,
We seem to be missing a job. Could the following please be uploaded to the FTP?
jobnamehere (can copy/paste from the assignment email to make things easier)
Thank you

• Duplicate Job(s):

Good morning,
In the email, we were assigned jobnamehere, with 2-day TAT, due back tomorrow, 7/16/20.
However, we were given that same job in another assignment, 2-day TAT, due back 7/14/20.
Does a replacement need to be made? Please advise.

• Incorrect Job(s):

Good morning,
In the email, we were assigned:
jobnamehere
However, we were given:
incorrectjobnamehere (will have to copy/paste this from the upload notification email)
Is this the correct file, or does a replacement need to be made? Please advise.

• Unclear RS/treatment:

Good morning,
Both refsheetone and refsheettwo were attached, but it is unclear which one is required for jobnamehere. Please advise.

• Won't work without a comma in the date
• Won't work without -> separating the network/program from the file/show (will get "parse error")
• Parenthesis in the file name will result in a length discrepancy ("force update length to 0 minutes")
• Can't include quotation marks in the job notice - will end up getting &quot in VFMZ instead of the punctuation
• Won't properly assignment check if the assignment doesn't start with a 1 (no error shows up, but it will appear to skip over jobs and not give billing discrepancies, etc.)
• Won't work unless date is formatted x/x/xx