Is there a text editor that will record a time code for each line typed?

November 3, 2015 3:02 PM

I'm learning Japanese with a tutor via Skype and recording my calls. At the same time, I'm taking notes on a text editor. It'd be super handy if my written notes had time codes next to them, so I could use them to figure out when in the recording my tutor said a given sentence. Does this exist?
posted by sirion to Computers & Internet (13 answers total)

Or is there audio recording software that lets you take live notes on the audio, and then go back to those notes and see when in the audio file they were written?
posted by sirion at 3:04 PM on November 3, 2015

In many text editors there's usually a hotkey that inserts the current date and time—IIRC it's F5 in Notepad on Windows, for example. (So, you could use something like AutoIt to cause F5 to be pressed every time you type a period while using the program, or every x number of seconds.)
posted by XMLicious at 3:19 PM on November 3, 2015

Might a livescribe be the answer you seek? It's a digital recorder and pen in one. So you write and later can play back what was being recorded at the moment you wrote any particular bit. The plug connects to PC by USB, so you can upload your notes.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 3:19 PM on November 3, 2015

Relevant thing I forgot to add: I'm on a Mac, though PC solutions are also appreciated (I blog about this stuff and would love to have suggestions for my PC using readers, too)

@If only I had: Most of my text is cut/pasted from the Skype window
posted by sirion at 3:29 PM on November 3, 2015

This previous question on timestamping daily diary entries might have helpful comments.
posted by XMLicious at 3:29 PM on November 3, 2015

I do this in Emacs using org-mode, keystroke is "C-u C-c !".
posted by fantabulous timewaster at 3:36 PM on November 3, 2015

@XMLicious: Looks like Textexpander can easily let me write in timestamps. That's definitely a good start. I'm not sure if there's a way for it to do a running timer (e.g.: this was written 05:24 after you started the clock)
posted by sirion at 3:41 PM on November 3, 2015

I noticed that the Wikipedia entry for the Windows-only AutoIt automation tool I linked to above links to two Mac applications at the bottom.
posted by XMLicious at 3:44 PM on November 3, 2015

I don't have a specific app recommendation these days, but try looking for note-taking apps that are directed at students. A frequent use-case there is to record a lecture while taking notes, so it keeps some sort of record of the time relationship between the audio and notes. It's not a feature I've used myself, so I can't speak to specifics, but I know that at least at one time Circus Ponies Notebook did this, and I believe Microsoft OneNote does as well. Looking at the App Store, it looks like Notability might be an option as well.
posted by duien at 4:10 PM on November 3, 2015

Pear Note is great for this. No idea how well it would record Skype audio...
posted by advicepig at 4:42 PM on November 3, 2015

For iOS, Notability automatically timestamps as you write notes. And it's overall a pretty fantastic app. Say I'm recording a lecture and adding my own notes. If I go back and tap a word in my notes, it automatically goes to that point in the recording. There is a Mac version as well, but I have not tried it.
posted by xedrik at 5:36 PM on November 3, 2015

if you are using windows, then the regular Notepad has this "hidden" feature. just press F5 at a new line and you will get the time (hh:mm) and date (dd-mm-yyyy). For my regional setup it looks like: 09:06 04-11-2015.

hope this helps.
posted by alchemist at 12:09 AM on November 4, 2015

Pear Note apparently has Skype integration, so I'll try that one first!
posted by sirion at 12:31 PM on November 4, 2015