Dictum

Download

Dictum for the lab’s PC.

One installer for every PC in the lab. The iPad needs nothing from here — it is paired from the PC.

Windows

Earlier versions and release notes are on the releases page.

What it needs

  • Windows 11, 64-bit, on each PC that writes or registers cases.
  • A screen of 1280 × 720 or larger — the action that finishes a task always stays in view at that size.
  • A printer loaded with the lab’s pre-printed stationery, if it prints on letterhead.
  • For several PCs: the lab’s own local network. One PC keeps the register’s count; the others ask it for the next accession.
  • For backup and the iPad: a Google account the lab owns — a lab address, never a personal one. Dictum encrypts everything before it reaches it.

Setting up

  1. The lab’s name, its stationery and its accession format.
  2. The people: a login for the pathologist and for each technologist, each with an optional PIN.
  3. The pathologist’s macros and the template packs for the organ systems the lab reports.
  4. The lab’s Google account and passphrase, then the 24-word recovery key, printed for the safe.

Updates

Dictum checks for a new version by itself and installs it when the PC next restarts; if an update fails to start, it rolls back. An update never touches a signed report. About Dictum shows the version installed and checks on request.

iPad

There is nothing to download. The companion opens in Safari on iPadOS 17 or later and is added to the Home Screen.

  1. On the lab’s PC, open Settings → iPads and show the pairing code.
  2. On the iPad, open the address shown there in Safari, then Share → Add to Home Screen.
  3. Scan the code, enter the lab passphrase, choose who you are and set a PIN.

The iPad needs no Google sign-in of its own. It keeps the register and signed reports for reading offline, and writes back only private notes and tags.