Mac-using attorneys who work with RealLegal’s .ptx files will find the following article by Todd Vachon very helpful:
Mar 29, 2021 You’re either dealing with a ProTools file, or a Pentax RAW image file. If it’s ProTools, you’ll need the ProTools application to open it, but if it’s a Pentax RAW image there are plenty of image editors that will unlock Pandora’s box for you.
Recently,
while doing some research on producing video depositions, I came across
RealLegal‘s .ptx files. Those in the legal profession will recognize
this format is the method not a few court reporters use to deliver
deposition transcripts. This can present a challenge for Mac users
because the .ptx file is a proprietary encrypted file, only readable
with RealLegal’s software which is not well supported for the Mac.
It’s true that RealLegal offers free readers for both the PC and
Mac, but if you look at the fine print you’ll realize that the Mac
version is written to run in ‘classic’ mode. Classic mode is not
supported under OS 10.5 ‘Leopard’ or on any Intel Mac. In other words,
RealLegal isn’t really interested in continuing to support the Mac
market. If you have a PowerPC Mac running OSX.4 or prior, this solution
may work for you for now. If not, read on…
- EDrawings Viewer is the simplest easiest solution for anyone who needs to view 3D model files for free. With its wide range of functionality and ability to open many file types, eDrawings Viewer enables professional, students, makers and casual users to interrogate 3D models.
- NVIDIA developed the PTX file extension, also know as a PageMaker Template File file, for the CUDA ToolKit software package. Our data shows that PTX files are frequently utilized by PC users in United States and popular on the Windows 10 platform.
- Download VNC® Viewer to the device you want to control from, below. Make sure you've installed VNC® Server on the computer you want to control.
- Download a CLT Viewer. After you receive your PTX file in CLT format using the directions in the above step, you’ll want to vew that CLT file on your Mac. There’s a few ways to do this. (a) Download the free Clarity Viewer for MacOS (b) Download the free Clarity Viewer for your iPad or iPhone (search the APP store) (c) Download the free DepoSmart for MacOS.
Since I was interested in producing synchronized video depositions,
I needed to find a way to easily access these files. Here are some of
my initial findings:
For producing synchronized video depositions, Clarity Legal Software
makes DepoSmart which it claims can read RealLegal e-Transcript XML
files. I haven’t tested it out yet, but it sounds promising. Clarity
also produces free cross platform viewer software. All Clarity’s is
available for either platform (and really supported by the look of it).
What if you just want to be able to read .ptx files on you mac? I use Codeweaver’s Crossover software
to run a PC only program that I need to use. Crossover is a commercial
application of the opensource Wine project, which is dedicated to
running Windows application on Intel chips without the need for Windows. If you have an Intel Mac this is your ticket. Crossover is available as a free 30-day trial version.
I found that the PC version of RealLegal’s free reader ran
perfectly well in Crossover. If you want to give Crossover a try,
here’s some details on how I set it up that should save you some time:
After installing Crossover for Mac and running it, click on the ‘manage
bottles’ link and create a new Windows 2000 ‘bottle’. When Crossover is
done setting up the bottle, click on the applications button and then
the install software button. Choose the ‘install unsupported software’
option – don’t panic, this just means it’s not on the limited list of
tested software – not surprising since there isn’t a big market for it
outside of the legal profession. Navigate to the envsetup.exe file you
downloaded from the RealLegal site
and choose it. Follow the installation directions. When it’s done you
should get a finder window with the viewer’s program icon. Open the
viewer application and use it like you would any other app.
What if you want to convert your transcript into a universal format
that anyone can read, like a potential expert witness? Select the
entire transcript (I found I needed to click and drag the whole
document to do this – see what I mean about junky proprietary
software?). Remember that it thinks it is running under windows, so the
copy command is Control-C instead of the Mac’s Command-C (Pasting on
the Mac side is still Command-V). Next I opened Pages [Apple’s word
processor] and pasted the text in. From there choose File>Print and
choose the ‘Save as PDF’ option and you’ll have a cross-platform
shareable PDF. [Note: other word processors, such as Word for Mac or
even TextEdit may work for this, but I haven’t tested them.]
If you own Adobe Acrobat Professional, you can take this a step
further. [Note: I found I couldn’t paste a transcript of 20 or more
pages directly into a blank Acrobat PDF. My test file was 50 pages
long. So I used Pages to create the initial PDF file, then opened it in
Acrobat to index it.] Acrobat will allow you to index the file so you
can search it for any word and quickly locate each usage. Open your PDf
in Acrobat and choose Advanced>Document Processing>Manage
Embedded Index. Click the ‘Embed Index’ button and Acrobat will index
the entire document. The nice thing about this is that the index can be
searched by anyone with the latest free Adobe Acrobat reader software.
Adobe by the way has a very good track record at maintaining cross
platform compatibility.
I hope this helps you if you’ve found yourself in the same boat. I’d
love to hear some feedback on these workarounds or other ideas if you
have them. Let me know of your experience with this issue.
Source: 'Working with RealLegal .ptx Files on the Mac' by Todd Vachon, published at his Todd Vachon Photography blog.
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Have questions about litigation software and apps? AWR is happy to help. Please contact info@scheduledepo.com or call 800-743-DEPO for assistance.
E-Transcript Viewer
Just like with the popular Adobe PDF Viewer, after you have downloaded the E-Transcript Viewer once, you can open any RealLegal E-Transcript file you receive.
Westlaw Case Notebook
Portable E- Transcript Professional grade application available for your iPad or iPhone. You can revise and annote E-Transcripts anytime, anywhere.
Case View Net
Live testimony immediately appears on your computer screen as the court reporter writes realtime into your CaseViewNet Client software.
Bridge
Mac Free Downloads
Free-and-Easy Realtime Viewing Software with Instant Auto-Refresh From Your Friends at Advantage Software.
Clarity Legal’s DepoSmart
Annotate transcripts on Mac OS X or Windows.When connected to Realtime depositions, DepoSmart allows users to hyperlink exhibits to pertinent words in a transcript, create issues, video clips, and more.
iCVNet (for iPad)
Stenograph’s iCVNet iPad app provides attorneys and judges instant viewing of realtime deposition and trial transcripts on an iPad.
DepoView (for iPad)
Ptx Viewer Mac Free Trial
DepoView for iPad is a simple, easy to use deposition review and management tool designed specifically for use with the iPad.
Adobe Reader
Download the latest version of Adobe Reader
Mac Free Antivirus
LiveNote Stream Manager
LiveNote Stream Manager enables reporters to transmit live deposition transcripts. LiveNote Stream Manager streams transcripts to Westlaw Case Notebook.