AI suggestions...
"The setting itself is simple: in Express Scribe, Auto Backstep on Stop is measured in milliseconds, and 5000 means 5 seconds; 0 turns it off, and the value can go up to 60000 ms.
What to try next
- Re-enter the value manually instead of relying on the spinner or preset, because the field accepts a direct millisecond number.
- After changing it, fully close Express Scribe and reopen it to confirm the new backstep value is actually being applied.
- Check whether the issue happens only when stopping with the foot pedal or also when stopping with the on-screen Stop button; the help text says the backstep is tied to stopping playback in both cases.
- Run the foot pedal/controller setup wizard again, even if you already swapped pedals and USB ports, because Express Scribe’s pedal mapping can affect stop behavior.
- Verify system-wide hotkeys or controller bindings are not intercepting the stop command, since Express Scribe documents separate controller and hotkey setups.
Likely cause
If reinstalling the app and changing pedals did nothing, the most likely issue is not the pedal hardware but either a corrupted control/hotkey mapping or a setting that is not being saved or applied correctly.
Practical workaround
Set Auto Backstep on Stop to a different value temporarily, such as 3000 or 1500, then change it back to 5000 and test again. The software treats these as milliseconds, so 1500 is about 1.5 seconds and 3000 is about 3 seconds.
If it still fails
At that point, the next best step is to contact NCH support through their Express Scribe support page, since they explicitly list “My foot pedal does not work with the software” and “How do I change the back-step time in Express Scribe?” as support topics"