How to perform a retroactive define

A “retroactive define” in the context of CAT software is when the user has written something, and then wishes to change the translation for the stroke throughout the document, hence “retroactive”.

Retroactive Define is located under the Steno Actions menu and also on the toolbar.

Gif of retroactive define in action

  1. Click and drag to select the text that should be defined. If no text is selected, nothing will be done.

  2. Click Retroactive Define.

  3. Review the Retroactive define dialog showing the steno underlying the selected text.

  4. Enter the new translation into the user-editable text box.

  5. Click OK to confirm.

This new outline is added to the transcript dictionary. The editor will search and replace all occurrences of the selected text in the document. The underlying steno is not changed.