How to Read .PTX Transcripts on the iPad

Imagine never printing a transcript ever again.

That would have been nice during college, when I worked in the file room of a local law firm. We would literally stand in the middle of this mountain of paperwork to sort through various filings. It must have been a fire hazard – and not a very fun job. Now, you can store it all in the cloud and carry it everywhere on the iPad. And best of all, voluminous deposition transcripts are available in one of several e-tran formats: .txt, .pdf, or .ptx files.

Here’s how to use Westlaw E-Transcript (Free) to review .ptx transcripts on the iPad.

Download and open the app:

Go to the case file in GoodReader, if you have already stored the e-tran file via Dropbox on your iPad (you could also just send the file to your email and open it directly in your inbox):

Select the .ptx file:

Under Manage Files, select “Open-In” and choose Westlaw E-Transcript:

Now the file’s opened in the Westlaw E-Transcript app, which has a simple, straightforward design, allowing you to scroll through the transcript:

The text is indexed and searchable:

Press and hold a section of the text to highlight and add notes:

You can highlight key sections:

Or add notes in the margin:

When you finish reviewing the transcript, send an email with those notes and highlighted sections:

Finally – after all this time – there’s an app for reviewing .ptx transcripts on the iPad.

You might be aware of the other apps for reviewing depositions (TranscriptPad) and case documents (GoodReader), each of which include more sophisticated annotation features. But Westlaw E-Transcript is the only application that allows you to read and review .ptx files on the iPad.

There’s nothing complicated about using Westlaw E-Transcript – it’s easy to use, well designed, and cuts through the piles of paper as you prepare for trial.