11.5

iii

Goals and Prerequisites

Dragon NaturallySpeaking lets you speak naturally to perform actions such as creating or editing documents,

using e-mail, searching your computer, finding maps, news, images, and more. By reducing keyboard and

mouse usage, you can gain productivity AND avoid physical strain (on wrists, shoulders, neck, eyes…)

This workbook aims to efficiently present what an end-user should know — not every aspect of Dragon (the

resources in Dragon’s Help menu and on www.nuance.com contain many details). This includes how to:

“Type by voice” naturally and efficiently, which includes:

Dictating anything: prices, dates, URLs, punctuation, part numbers, acronyms, Roman numerals, etc.

Personalizing the Vocabulary with custom words and phrases, pronunciations, capitalization properties

and more, so that Dragon can transcribe exactly what you want even if what you said could be written

in different ways.

Correcting Dragon’s errors so that it can learn from them.

Formatting, editing, and revising text (whether or not the text was created by voice).

Creating custom commands to insert boilerplate text and/or graphics (in editions Premium and

higher).

“Command and control” your personal computer by voice, which includes:

Saying commands to use the Internet and e-mail, search your computer, open programs, click menus

and buttons, close or minimize windows, switch between windows, etc.

“Voice-pressing” a key (or key combination) on your keyboard.

Efficiency and Hands-Free Usage

We strongly recommend going through this workbook in order. (But if you used Dragon in the past, you may

wish to read the What’s New section first.)

When a lesson directs you to click an item (button, menu…), feel free to instead use your voice, or keyboard

shortcuts (underlined letters, Tab, spacebar…).

If hands-free usage is important to you, start by reading the lesson Controlling the Operating System and

Applications and see the Help about Dragon’s MouseGrid and commands for moving, clicking, and dragging

the mouse.

IMPORTANT: Starting the Microphone Check or the Tutorial automatically turns off Dragon’s

microphone, which means a manual action is then needed to resume using Dragon. If this is a concern for you,

we recommend having someone present when you create a profile or use the Tutorial.

To perform the exercises in this workbook, you should have basic familiarity with:

 Using Microsoft® Windows® to start or exit applications, open or save files, maximize windows, close

dialog boxes, copy or move items, browse to folders, cut and paste, etc.

 Simple word-processing concepts such as bullets, font size and font style, bolding and italicizing, right-

aligning and centering.