End-User Workbook for Dragon NaturallySpeaking Version 12 Note: Closing all programs before installing is recommended. This also applies to software updates: after downloading an update, close all programs including Dragon itself before launching the update’s installation. (You may wish to start the Windows Task Manager and verify that natspeak.exe is not running; see the KnowledgeBase for details.) For the latest documentation, please see www.nuance.com.
End-User Workbook (March 2013) for Dragon NaturallySpeaking Version 12.0 and 12.5 Unless indicated otherwise, the material in this workbook applies to all editions of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, and the screenshots are from the Professional edition. This workbook assumes that Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 is now installed on your PC.
Goals and Prerequisites Dragon NaturallySpeaking lets you speak naturally to perform actions such as creating or editing documents, using e-mail, finding online maps, news, images, and more. By reducing keyboard and mouse usage, you can gain productivity AND avoid physical strain (on wrists, shoulders, neck, eyes…) “Speaking to” your computer may feel strange at first.
Table of Contents Goals and Prerequisites ......................................................................................................................................................... iii Efficiency and Hands-Free Usage........................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................................
The Microphone’s Commands and Sleep State ....................................................................................................44 The Importance of Hot Keys, including Microphone On/Off .............................................................................45 Starting to Dictate: Your First Dictation .............................................................................................................................47 Dictating Text and Punctuation Marks ........................
“Clicking” menus, buttons and other interface controls...................................................................................78 “Natural Language Commands” and the Command Browser ............................................................................81 “Voice-Pressing” Keys..............................................................................................................................................82 Using Dragon NaturallySpeaking with the Internet ..........................
Launching the Acoustic and/or Language Model Optimization.......................................................................118 Scheduling the Optimizations and Data Collection...........................................................................................119 Renaming, Deleting, Copying or Transferring a User Profile.........................................................................................122 Practice Exercise: Creating a Memo by Voice...........................................
Getting Started and Creating a User Profile Dragon NaturallySpeaking is speaker-dependent software. It relies on information specific to you, including what words and phrases you use often, how you sound, what audio device you use, and what software settings you have. It stores this data in a set of files, referred to collectively as your “user profile” or just “profile.” Each person who uses Dragon must have his or her own profile. Your profile is very important.
You may also wish to check the audio settings at the level of Windows: see the “Recording devices” section of the Control Panel. (In the example illustrated here, both Bluetooth and USB are available.) This is accessible by right-clicking the loudspeaker icon on the System Tray. Some PCs, after you connect a microphone, automatically bring up a small window associated with this “audio system event”. (Its window may be hidden behind other windows.
Dragon 12’s Upgrade Wizard can automatically detect such profiles present on your computer. (This wizard is available any time from the Windows Start menu, under Dragon NaturallySpeaking Tools.) The Upgrade Wizard will list all available profiles. Use its Remove button as needed so that only the desired one(s) appear. If a profile you want is not in the list (for example because it is on an external disk), use the Browse button to designate it.
The wizard will ask you to specify a “region”. Dragon will use that information to choose your profile’s underlying Auto-Formatting options and Vocabulary. For instance, this will affect whether Dragon uses the spelling “colour” instead of “color” as well as how it writes currencies or units such as lbs, $, USD and AUD (ISO currency codes). Note: Dragon 12 has no special Vocabulary for Canada. Picking “Canada” in the Region l ist results in the same spellings as picking “United States.
Step 3: On the next screen, indicate which type of audio source you are about to use. Note: even in editions that support transcribing recordings (editions Premium and higher), we suggest starting with a microphone source type.
Note: If your PC has only one audio socket (like on mobile phones), you must use a USB adapter (or USB microphone) or a Y-shaped adapter (“splitter”). In editions Home and higher, you can use as a microphone a supported iOS or Android smartphone (or other supported device) on which you have downloaded the Dragon Remote Microphone app (see our web page: www.nuance.com/dragon/remote-microphone). The lower editions of Dragon do not support all the source types.
The Hardware Compatibility List on the Nuance website contains specifics such as the recommended settings for a particular model of microphone or recorder. About the Dragon Remote Microphone app as source The smartphone (or other device on which you downloaded the app) must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the PC on which you use it with Dragon.
Dragon’s transcription feature (available in editions Premium and higher) can be particularly useful to exploit what you dictate while observing something (such as during a field inspection) or after an event (such as a meeting or a class). Once you have set up your profile for transcription use, you can use Dragon to transcribe your spoken recordings.
Remember that personalizing the Vocabulary is one of the keys to getting Dragon’s full benefits! Having multiple sources within a profile means that, no matter which audio input device you use, the same Vocabulary will be used — and refined — each time you use Dragon. For example, the phrases and capitalization properties you taught Dragon while using a smartphone as a source will also be available when you use a USB microphone.
Step 4: Click Start Volume Check and read the boxed text in a clear voice, the way you plan to speak when working with Dragon. Here, punctuation is recommended but not required. When Dragon lets you know it has heard enough, click Next. The next screen is similar. TIP: It’s best to read the boxed text exactly as it is written. However, if you cannot read it, feel free to speak some sentences of your choice until you hear a beep.
Step 5: If you do not choose to skip the initial training reading, Dragon then presents a short prompt; click Go, then read it aloud. When the “Select Text” box appears, choose one of the texts and click OK. (If later you wish to read another text to further train Dragon, you can do so from the DragonBar’s Audio menu, or from the Accuracy Center.) Note: We recommend the reading “What To Expect From Speech Recognition” but the list also offers readings for children.
(Later, you will be able to designate specific documents for analysis. You do NOT need to copy documents into your My Documents folder in order to have Dragon analyze them!) Feel free to skip this step, but as soon as possible after your profile is created, advantage of the powerful customization tools described in the following lessons. (For example, you can import lists of words -- with spoken forms as warranted.
After you exit this screen, Dragon 12 will automatically bring up its Interactive Tutorial, which contains short progressive simulations and allows you to restart any lesson. We recommend that all users take advantage of it. After you exit the Interactive Tutorial, the Sidebar and the Tip of the Day window will open. IMPORTANT By default, the Dragon Sidebar (a thin resizable window that presents commands and tips) is set to open automatically when a user profile opens.. In Dragon 12.
The Help provides more details, including suggestions for optimizing Dragon’s performance on your computer. For instance, in Dragon 12, you can choose to disable the ability to open items from the Start menu or the desktop at any time, even if they are not visible. You can also choose to disable the shortcut commands for Facebook and Twitter, and shortcut commands to create new emails, tasks or appointments. Copyright 2013 Nuance Communications, Inc.
IMPORTANT Now that your user profile is created, you could start dictating. Before you do, however, we recommend you take a look at the Help menu, which includes a like to User Guides and to Technical Support/Customer Service. Also, it’s a good idea to begin personalizing the Vocabulary as soon as possible, since this plays a crucial role in accuracy and efficiency. Note: If you’ve used a previous version of Dragon, we recommend you read the What’s New section of this workbook.
Note: If you are using a Bluetooth microphone, make sure that it is not only powered up, but also active (that is, in “call mode”). On the Plantronics Calisto microphone, this is achieved by pressing the headset’s button. Please see your microphone’s user guide for details, including how to charge the headset and how to pair it with the dongle if necessary. Copyright 2013 Nuance Communications, Inc.
Learning More and Getting Help Dragon NaturallySpeaking offers so many tools, commands, and features that it would be impossible to cover them all in detail in this workbook. This lesson presents several ways to find more information as you start using the software—be sure to take advantage of the available resources! Please see the card that comes in the Dragon NaturallySpeaking box.
You can also open the Help at any time by saying commands such as give me help. You can use the Help window’s Table of Contents, Index, and Search tabs. For instance, entering the word “punctuation” in the Search field brings up topics including “Dictating punctuation and symbols” and “Selecting characters and words.” Note: like in search engines, you can indicate phrases by putting quotation marks around them. From the Help window, you can also print articles of your choice or mark them as favorites.
The Dragon Sidebar: “What Can I Say” At any time, you can ask Dragon to display its Sidebar, a resizable vertical window meant to help users discover and remember important tips and commands. (It can be made very thin.) If a major application such as Microsoft Word is active, the Sidebar’s first tab will show commands for that application. Otherwise, it will show a list of commands that are not specific to one application (Global commands).
Step 1: Open the Dragon Sidebar. Voice commands for this include open Dragon Sidebar, show Dragon Sidebar, and what can I say. You can also use the DragonBar’s Help menu. Step 2: Explore the Sidebar and adjust it to suit your preferences. You can make its font size Small, Medium, or Large. By clicking on its border and dragging it horizontally, you can make the Sidebar very thin. (Note: doing so may hide some of its content, such as the top-right icons).
The Interactive Tutorial Available from the DragonBar’s Help menu, the Interactive Tutorial contains short progressive simulations and aims to make the user practice important habits for efficient dictating, correcting Dragon’s errors, and editing text. It includes important editing-related commands such as “go back,” Dictation Commands such as “cap,” “all caps,” and “numeral…” as well an example of modifying an entry in the Spelling Window and accepting a Smart Format Rule.
While going through the simulations, you must speak just the current prompt (the green bolded text) and do so in one breath (without pausing within it). Otherwise, If Dragon hears unsusable audio input, it presents the following information message: The Tutorial The regular Tutorial is available from the DragonBar’s Help menu. You can go through it from start to finish, using the Next link, or you can jump directly to the sections that interest you most. Copyright 2013 Nuance Communications, Inc.
The User's Guides The latest User's Guide is available as a PDF on the Nuance website alongside the Quick Start Guide, the Calisto Bluetooth User Guide, and other resources. The DragonBar’s Help menu gives direct access to the website’s User Documentation page. When viewing the PDF file, you can click chapter headings to jump to specific topics, and you can print out sections as well as the entire file. TIP: If you are using a Bluetooth microphone, be sure to read its User Guide.
Key points about learning more and getting help This workbook is meant to get you started efficiently and cover essential concepts and tips. Other resources include the Help, the Sidebar, the Accuracy Center and its Accuracy Assistant, the Performance Assistant, as well as the Nuance website, which includes tips, FAQs, video demonstrations and the Knowledge Base of “TechNotes”. Be sure to explore Dragon’s Help menu.
Why Personalizing the Vocabulary is Essential Transcribing a person’s speech presents acoustic challenges, such as accent and ambient noise. There is also a lexical challenge: for the transcription to be precisely accurate, familiarity with the terms used is necessary.
Customizing the Vocabulary—Using the Vocabulary Editor Dragon’s Vocabulary Editor lets you view what can be transcribed from the computer’s active memory; it also allows you to add new entries, as well as edit existing entries—including their Spoken Forms and Properties. Let’s explore the Vocabulary Editor’s interface: Step 1: Say Edit Vocabulary (you can also use the DragonBar’s Vocabulary menu or the Accuracy Center).
CAUTION When adding an entry to the Vocabulary, be sure to spell and capitalize it correctly! Otherwise, it will appear misspelled in your documents every time you dictate it. Some of the "words" in the Vocabulary Editor aren't single words. Of course is listed. So is as well as.
The importance of Spoken Forms Radio programs often tell their listeners “let us know how to pronounce your name” because some names could be pronounced in several ways and some are not pronounced “the way they are written” (due to silent letters, for instance). This is true for more than just names. Acronyms are often pronounced letter by letter, but not always: ASAP is pronounced "ay sap" by many people. These facts are addressed by an important Dragon feature: the Spoken Form.
Written Form: St. Clement's Hospital Spoken Form: Saint Clements Hospital Written Form: Soddy-Daisy, TN. Spoken Form: Soddy Daisy Tennessee Written Form: Trenton-Mercer Airport Spoken Form: Trenton Mercer Airport Adding Spoken Forms allows you to dictate in the way that is most natural, but also quickest for you.
Step 2 In the Spoken Form field, type what you will actually say. In some cases (as in our “cluss” example), you will enter one or more “made-up words” to represent the desired sound. Step 3: Say Add or press Enter. Note: If you entered a “made-up word” in the Spoken Form field, Dragon then brings up a dialog box to tell you that it doesn’t know that word and will therefore guess its pronunciation — this gives you a chance to catch any typo you may have made in the Spoken Form.
Deleting “Words” and Modifying Word Properties If you encounter a word or phrase that Dragon does not transcribe as you would like, remember that it might warrant a spoken form or longer entry in the Vocabulary and Dragon may need to learn about how and how frequently you use it therefore you want to have Dragon analyze relevant text and run Accuracy Tuning (see the Accuracy Center).
Note: Dragon’s active Vocabulary comes with literally thousands of entries. As you browse the Vocabulary Editor, you will see many you are very unlikely to ever about what you are dictate, but don’t spend time deleting them unless they actually cause a conflict! There’s more you can do in the Vocabulary Editor! For instance, by clicking its Properties button, you open the Word Properties dialog, where you can view or change the capitalization, spacing and numeral properties of an entry.
Another example of alternate written form is illustrated below: pre-employment instead of preemployment. Note: in the Vocabulary Editor, entries whose properties were modified are marked with a “P” icon. Copyright 2013 Nuance Communications, Inc.
Key points about the Vocabulary Editor and Properties You can access the Vocabulary Editor with a command like edit vocabulary, through the Accuracy Center, or through the Vocabulary menu of the DragonBar. In the Vocabulary Editor, custom-added entries are marked with a red plus sign; choosing Custom Words Only from the Display drop-down list allows you to see just the custom entries. You can locate an item by entering it in the Written Form field.
Importing Lists of Vocabulary Entries You now know how to add words and phrases one by one in the Vocabulary Editor. If you have many entries to add, this is not the most efficient method, particularly if you already have some relevant lists in electronic form. Dragon’s Word Import feature (available in editions Premium and above) allows adding many Vocabulary entries at once, even if they have Spoken Forms.
Step 3: Say import custom words, or use the DragonBar’s Vocabulary menu to pick “Import list of words or phrases.” Step 4: On the Add Words from Word Lists dialog, click the Add File button. The Add File window appears. Locate the file containing your list and click Open; the name of the file you designated is now displayed in the File List. If you have other lists to import, add their files in the same way. Step 5: Click Next. The software will import the listed items into the Vocabulary.
Customizing the Vocabulary from Existing Documents You now know about importing lists of entries into the Vocabulary. Another efficient way to boost your accuracy is to let Dragon analyze text that is similar to what you are likely to dictate: the Add Words From Documents tool use many documents at once to “harvest” potential words to add to the Vocabulary, as well as to “adapt to the writing style” (i.e., learn frequency information).
Step 4: On the Add Documents box, click Add Document. On the resulting window, locate and select the relevant document(s), then click Open. TIP You can select multiple files at once by holding down the Ctrl key or by pressing Ctrl A (the Windows keyboard shortcut for “select all”). Dragon will now analyze the text contained in the designated documents. This may take a moment—if there is a lot of text to analyze, you should run this tool when you do NOT need to use Dragon for something else.
Once you click Next, Dragon gives you the option to provide acoustic training for the selected words. Feel free to take this opportunity to pronounce them, but know that you can skip this step and provide training later just for those words that seem to need it, as explained in this workbook and the Help.
Customizing the Vocabulary from Your E-Mail As you learned, Dragon can adapt its Vocabulary based on designated documents. It also has the ability to quickly learn from your usage of several e-mail programs: Lotus Notes, Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, and Windows Mail. By “studying” the e-mails you sent as well as the recipient names, Dragon can identify potentially useful contact names to add to the Vocabulary, as well as adapt its statistical information on word usage (frequency and context).
Key points about customizing the Vocabulary from e-mail: Dragon can quickly adapt its Vocabulary from your use of certain email clients installed on your computer,thanks to a tool available in its Vocabulary menu and Accuracy Center. This tool performs two functions: it finds and lists potentially useful contact names to add, and it also analyzes your sent e-mails to “adapt to the writing style”, i.e. to refine the word usage information in the Vocabulary’s Language Model.
Starting to Dictate: Controlling the Microphone When ready to dictate, you must ensure that Dragon NaturallySpeaking is able to hear you. Your microphone must be connected and positioned correctly of course, but the software also needs to know whether to “listen”. This lesson shows several ways to turn Dragon’s microphone or on off, and introduces the DragonBar. Note: If you are using a Bluetooth microphone, make sure that it is not only powered up, but also active (that is, in “call mode”).
Note: If you set the DragonBar to "Always on top", it will cover secondary Dragon windows, such as the DragonPad and Help screens. For more details (including using voice commands to switch the DragonBar in and out of “Tray Icon only”), see the Help. Remember that you can quickly search Dragon’s Help by voice by naming one or more search words or phrases, as in, for instance: “search Dragon Help for DragonBar display.” Copyright 2013 Nuance Communications, Inc.
The DragonBar includes several menus, a message area, and a microphone icon which is horizontal when the microphone is off. If you click this icon, it becomes vertical: the microphone is on. You can now click the icon to turn the microphone off. This is just one way to control whether Dragon can listen or not. Below is a screenshot of the Floating DragonBar, with its titlebar off and the microphone turned on.
Putting the microphone to sleep is useful when you need to "put on hold" Dragon for a moment. However, leaving it in that state for a long time is not recommended, so do turn the microphone off if you will not be dictating for a while (and are physically able to turn on the microphone manually.) TIP You can set Dragon to have the microphone asleep when your profile opens, waiting for your command to “wake up”, so that no manual action is needed to turn the microphone on.
Key points about controlling whether Dragon “listens” Dragon “listens” whenever its microphone is on. Remember to turn the microphone off (or put it into its sleeping state if appropriate) when you are not dictating, like before answering the phone, speaking to someone, or clearing your throat; this is a simple but important habit you should develop quickly.
Starting to Dictate: Your First Dictation You can use Dragon NaturallySpeaking to dictate into virtually any Windows application. Further in this workbook, you will learn how to start programs by voice (but one doesn’t need to have started a program by voice in order to dictate into it.) What you dictate will be inserted wherever your insertion point (cursor) is located in your document.
only”. Once you’ve highlighted new line in the Vocabulary Editor, say or click Properties, then choose “capitalized” from the drop-down list “Format the next word”. The Results Display and its Options Exercise 2: Study the following text sample then dictate it in a blank document. (Ignore any errors for now.) The more I use it, the software will adapt to the way I sound and the words I use.
Did you forget to dictate punctuation in this paragraph? It can be harder to remember when we are “composing out loud” but, with practice, it will become second nature. TIP You can take advantage of Dragon’s option to automatically insert commas and periods as you dictate— see Auto-Formatting under the DragonBar’s Tools menu. The Help contains details about this “Natural Punctuation” option and the commands to turn it on and off.
it (check the “Anchor” checkbox, then close the Options dialog and drag the indicator to the desired place). You can also change how long it remains on the screen. Speaking in longer, continuous phrases provides contextual clues and thus helps Dragon choose between homophones like “right” and “write” or “to” and “two”. Punctuation is part of the dictation context—it has an impact on recognition accuracy.
Dictating Prices, Units, Dates, Times, Addresses… Dragon NaturallySpeaking follows spacing and capitalization rules: for example, it inserts a space after comma but none before, and it capitalizes at the beginning of sentences and paragraphs. In this lesson, you learn about contextual automatic formatting that allows you to naturally dictate prices, times, dates, abbreviations, contractions, units of measure, street addresses, e-mail addresses, URLs, ISO currency codes and other special text.
TIP By default, Dragon applies its automatic formatting rules even if you pause within the segment (the option “Allow pauses in formatted phrases” lets you turn this off.) If you need to dictate sequences of 7, 10 or 11 digits and do NOT want them formatted as phone numbers, one trick is to say “numeral” just before. Exercise 2: Dictate the following address.
Numbers Mode -- Dictating Numbers Exclusively When you are about to dictate a sequence of numeric data, consider switching to Numbers Mode. When in this mode, the software tries to recognize everything it hears as number-related (or as a command). Step 1: Say numbers mode on or choose Numbers Mode from the DragonBar’s Modes menu. (Notice the status message in the DragonBar.) Now that Dragon is in Numbers mode, you can: dictate numbers and punctuation (hyphen, dollar sign…).
This can also be useful in cases where you want to put on the screen a word that would normally be interpreted as a symbol or a command. For instance, if you wanted to be sure that Dragon types the word “comma” instead of the character comma, you could say “spell space C O M M A”. This is also useful for the word “cap” which is also a Dictation Command (to trigger capitalization of the following word): say “spell space C A P.
Correcting Dragon’s Errors in Your Dictated Text Human beings sometimes can’t recognize words correctly—especially if the speaker and the listener come from different regions, if the speaker is discussing an unfamiliar subject, or if the words are not well articulated. In addition, when we hear a word for the first time, we may not know how to spell it. Some people’s first or last names can be spelled different ways (like Gene/Jean, Hansen/Hanson).
IMPORTANT: In Dragon’s commands, represents the relevant segment on the screen (which could be more than one word and could include numbers or punctuation marks). When you give the ‘correct ’ command, be sure to say what appears on the screen, not what you had intended.
With this option set, saying commands that start with “correct” opens the Spelling Window. So does using the Correction button on the expanded DragonBar, or pressing the Correction hotkey (the numeric minus by default, as seen in the Options dialog). As you will see, there are many ways to indicate in the Spelling Window what should have been recognized—including typing, or spelling out individual characters, hence the name “Spelling Window.” Here is an example.
At its top is what was transcribed, and below is a list of alternate transcriptions, each preceded by a number. Here is what you can do: If what Dragon should have transcribed is listed: say choose n (the number of the correct line). You can also pick the correct choice by double-clicking it or using down arrow and Enter key. If no choice is quite correct but one is close, you can save time by modifying it instead of entering it yourself: click it, or say modify n or edit n.
Exercise 1: Look at the following sample, dictate it, then use the correct command to fix any errors. (This sample was designed to create errors! All the names here could be spelled in different ways.) Until further notice, the BHDP meeting will be held in room B31 (not B40). Special invitees this week: Stephen Hess, Anne Petersen, and Gene Wood. TIP If several consecutive words are incorrect, correct them together.
Exercise 3: Dictate a detailed paragraph about people you know. Then select it and play it back. If you find any misrecognitions, use the Correction button, hotkey, or commands to correct them. Note: As you use Dragon more, experiment with how to correct, and when to correct. (We recommend finishing at least your current paragraph before making a correction, so that you preserve your train of thought.) Notice what seems more convenient and efficient for you.
Key points about correcting recognition errors Refining your profile using the features gathered in the Accuracy Center can prevent many errors, because it helps Dragon become familiar with how you sound and what words and phrases you use often. Be sure to explore the Vocabulary Editor and add words and phrases (with Spoken Forms and/or Word Properties such as alternate written forms, as warranted).
Deferred Correction (editions Professional and above) As you have learned, correcting recognition errors helps Dragon NaturallySpeaking adapt your profile, which allows it to transcribe more accurately for you.
Step 3: When you are ready, start the application in which you dictated the document and open the document. You can now use Playback and correct as usual. Once you have finished correcting misrecognitions in your dictated document, you may delete the associated .DRA file. (You will no longer be able to use playback on this document but you will still be able to edit and format the text.) IMPORTANT When using a .dra file, it is best to proceed in order, from the top of the document.
the Spelling window and deletes the misspoken segment in the document before typing what was intended. If the correct alternate appears in the choice list, he clicks it with his mouse (or uses down arrow and Enter) then clicks OK. If the correct choice does not appear in the list, he types it in, then clicks OK or presses Enter. When he has finished checking the document (and made any additions and/or cosmetic modifications as warranted), Bob saves it.
Editing Text by Voice Dragon NaturallySpeaking lets you use your voice to move around within a document and edit the contents— whether or not that document was originally created by voice. As you learned, the software transcribes your dictation wherever the insertion point is. (The insertion point is usually shown as a blinking vertical bar some call the cursor.) This lesson presents some of the commands to select text and move the insertion point. Mouse and keyboard can still be used, of course.
select line, select next 3 paragraphs, select previous 5 words, select next character… as well as select rest of line. Note: You can use similar commands to delete (delete line, delete next three words…) and copy (copy line, copy rest of line…) You can also select the entire content of the field or document with the command select all. You can “unselect” a selection by saying unselect that or deselect that. (Another way is to move the insertion point with a move right command, for instance.
IMPORTANT: If these commands are enabled, Dragon will try to recognize as one of them any phrase starting with one of these verbs followed by a word (or words) present in the text: e.g. “bold measures” or “cut corners.
Even in “unknown” text fields, one can use Dragon efficiently—knowing the following: 1. If dictating short entries, you may want to just use what does work in all text fields: dictate normally (most applications allow this) and, if and when necessary, say ‘spacebar’ (or press the spacebar), say ‘cap’ before a word to force its capitalization (you can also address capitalization after the fact), say ‘move ’ commands or reposition the insertion point by hand, etc. 2.
TIP: You can have different settings for different applications. Also, you can have multiple Dictation Boxes open at one time. The Help contains more details. Replacing and Inserting Words The select commands are very useful when you wish to change some of the text on your screen. As you would with mouse or keyboard, you select the relevant segment then you overwrite it by dictating or typing.
Say six o’clock The sentence should now read “We could meet at your office at 6:00.” 3) Say select in through next The segment “in the Boston area for a few days the week after next” is highlighted. Say in your area on Tuesday July fifteenth Let’s say we now want to add a few words inside this paragraph. 4) Notice the insertion point’s current position. Say insert after dinner, then say if you have time. 5) Say insert before exclamation mark (observe the move), then say comma I hope.
starting to speak is recommended. If you paused mid-command, just say scratch that, pause, and give the complete command again.
Formatting Text by Voice Whether text was originally dictated or typed, Dragon NaturallySpeaking lets you use your voice to control font (Arial, Courier…), font style (bold, underline…), font size, alignment (center, right-align…), color, and more. Note: In order to preserve your train of thought, it’s a good idea to prioritize dictation over formatting: first dictate your document (or at least finish dictating your paragraph, list, or idea), then revise your words if needed, and only then apply formatting.
Note that Dragon also has two special commands for quotes and brackets: you can say "Empty Quotes," or "Empty Brackets" to have Dragon insert a pair of quotation marks or brackets so you can dictate something within them. TIP The Command Browser’s Keyword Filter lets you explore additional command wordings for the application(s) you frequently use, as seen in this screenshot.
format that bold italics format that caps bold format that bulleted and plain Exercise: Dictate the following to experiment with giving format commands as you dictate and afterwards. I’m pleased to say I finally read The Grapes of Wrath. It was TERRIFIC! Although it is quite long, I read it surprisingly quickly. TIP To undo the last action, say undo that. This is equivalent to Undo in the Edit menu, or the keyboard shortcut Ctrl z. Copyright 2013 Nuance Communications, Inc.
Key points about formatting documents The “X that” commands apply to the current selection or, if there is no selection, to the last utterance (what was dictated since the speaker last paused). Remember to pause briefly before and after saying these commands.
Controlling the Operating System and Applications Dragon NaturallySpeaking can do much more than type and format your dictated text: it lets you use your voice to find information, open a specific website, start programs, open desktop items, switch between open windows, maximize or minimize windows, choose menu and submenu items, navigate dialog boxes, click buttons, press keys, move or drag the mouse pointer, and more.
Note: These Desktop search shortcuts, like the Web search shortcuts, can be disabled or enabled on the Commands tab of Dragon’s Options dialog. Their option also controls the Help search shortcut (“search Dragon Help for…”) Opening and Closing Programs and Windows You can use your voice to open any item present on your desktop (including files, folders, and shortcuts): just say open followed by the item’s name. (You can also use the verbs start, launch or show.
If several windows are open on your computer, you can change which one is active and in the foreground in several ways: Say “switch to” followed immediately by the name of the desired application, folder, or document: e.g., switch to DragonPad, switch to Lotus Notes, switch to My Computer, switch to DragonBar, switch to winter projects. Say switch to next window as many times as necessary to cycle through all the open windows (this is equivalent to pressing Alt +Tab).
TIP To close an open menu, you can just say cancel or press Escape (equivalent to pressing the Esc key at the top left of your keyboard). If you use Office 2007, familiarize yourself with the “Ribbon” and its ScreenTips (revealing the item’s name), Quick Access Toolbar, and KeyTips (the new display of keyboard shortcuts). Note: to click the Office Button (the equivalent to the File menu of earlier Office versions) by voice, say "click Office button".
This workbook presents several of Dragon’s dialog boxes, which often contain controls labeled Cancel, Yes, No, or OK. As you follow the instructions and perform the exercises in each chapter, you may wish to take the opportunity to practice accessing the controls by voice. Exercise 1: Previous lessons introduced you to the Options dialog box; we will use this dialog box to practice accessing buttons, tabs, and other interface controls. 1. Open Dragon’s Options dialog, then its View tab. 2.
“Natural Language Commands” and the Command Browser Dragon comes with large sets of commands that let you order actions directly and in a natural manner, instead of going through menus, submenus, and dialog boxes: for instance, saying “Insert Page Break” in Microsoft Word 2003 instead of opening the “Insert” menu, then choosing the submenu “Break”, then the option “Page Break”. Dragon’s Sidebar contains a sampling of these commands when they are available (and if your edition supports them).
To see all the commands and their variations (optional words, alternate words, etc.), open the Command Browser and use its Context list and Keyword Filter box to display just the commands that contain a particular word or words and are active in a particular application.
How could you close this dialog box? Special considerations for Windows 8 In Windows 8, Microsoft introduced major changes for end-users compared to previous operating system releases (some of these changes may feel strange at least initially), but Windows 8 does offer an interface similar to the familiar desktop (minus its Start menu button). Applications such as Microsoft Word and Excel open in that “classic” interface.
TIP To see the expanded view of the Start screen, you can give commands including “show all applications.” On the Start screen, if you type some keys, the Search field automatically opens up, displaying the characters you typed; the same is true if you dictate. You can use this to search for or open items by voice.
Key points about controlling your computer by voice At any time, no matter what is visible, you can open a Start menu or desktop item by saying start, launch, show or open immediately followed by the name of the item. In version 12, these two powerful capabilities can each be disabled or enabled from the Options dialog. You can switch between windows with commands like switch to WordPad and list windows for Dragon.
Using Dragon NaturallySpeaking with the Internet What you can do on the Web with Dragon depends on what Web browser you are using. A key difference between Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox is that Dragon doesn’t have Full Text Control in Firefox. This lesson introduces commands for typical Web-related actions, including shortcut commands. The Command Browser lists many more. Be sure to see the Help for details about using your voice on the Web and about Webrelated Dragon options.
This Edit box* is controlled by an option, enabled by default for Web and Desktop shortcut commands. Note: If you turn this option off, you may not see any action right away after giving one of these commands; this is normal since the search engine itself needs a moment to complete the requested action. The Shortcut Commands for Social Media Dragon offers commands to quickly post to Facebook or Twitter.
o For Google Chrome, Dragon doesn’t have browser commands (such as “go to address bar”) or the ability to click links by saying their name. In this browser, you can only use global commands (press alt d, press enter, press Escape, press control t, press F5, page down, move mouse up, mouse click, etc.) Also (outside of Gmail and Hotmail/Outlook.com), there is no Full Text Control in Chrome: as you dictate in Chrome text fields, the checkmark icon on the DragonBar is grayed out.
Accessing a specific item on a Web page These commands require the setting "Enable commands in HTML windows," which is on by default and can be found on the Commands tab of the Options dialog. IMPORTANT: Dragon is always looking to match what it hears to possible commands. For HTML windows, you can choose to require ‘click’, because saying a word or phrase in isolation may activate a link instead of being transcribed—see the Commands tab of the Options dialog. This option is on by default.
Say click text field or edit box to move the insertion point to the first text field on the screen. If you want to dictate into the next text field, you can say next control. Say click image to click on an image. (Note: on the Web, some items may be designed to look like text but are actually images.) Say click check box to select (or unselect) a check box. Say click radio button to select a radio button (round option button).
Using Dragon NaturallySpeaking for E-mail “Voice-typing” in itself is a great benefit for e-mail usage, but for certain e-mail applications, Dragon lets you do much more. This lesson introduces important commands and tips for using Dragon with e-mail, including shortcut commands and two popular Rich Internet Applications: Gmail and Hotmail/Outlook.com.
To see more commands, you can explore the Command Browser’s “Context” list and take advantage of the Sidebar as well as the Help: for instance, you could say “search Dragon help for Outlook calendar.” Commands for your installed email program You can start your default e-mail program by saying Start mail.
When in a message, you can move between its fields by saying Tab or Tab key, or by saying the following commands naming the desired field: move to To [field] move to CC | BCC [field] move to Subject | Body [field] Note: In these commands, the word “field” is optional, and you can substitute “go” for “move.”) Dragon has hundreds of mail-related commands.
Web-based email and the Dragon plug-in IMPORTANT: Whenever you use Dragon on the Web (whether for email or for something else), your experience will depend on several factors, including: The design of the particular web page at that time The particular settings in your browser and in the Web-based application What browser (and what version of that browser) you use. Example: For Google Chrome, Dragon doesn’t have Full Text Control.
NOTE for Internet Explorer: If you installed Internet Explorer after installing Dragon 12, you must install Dragon files needed to use this feature in Internet Explorer. To do so, double-click the file setup.exe on your original Dragon 12 installation medium (for most people, this is the installation DVD). A wizard window will come up. On it, choose the Repair option, then click Next. Full Text Control and the Dictation Box In the web pages supported by the plug-in (Gmail and Hotmail/Outlook.
TIP: Regardless of this feature and Dragon, it’s prudent to leave the To field blank until you’re ready to send! (Also prudent is setting up some other protection, such as an automatic delay before the program actually sends.) See commands and information for the plug-in There are several ways to find commands and other details for this feature. Say “show site commands”. At the bottom of the resulting list is a link to details. (The screenshot here is for Hotmail.) Read the Help.
The capabilities the plug-in provides add to what functionality Dragon already has for the particular browser. Remember that Dragon’s existing capabilities differ significantly among browsers, both in terms of commands and in terms of text control. One is relevant to the Send button. In Firefox, you can activate buttons including the send button: independently of the plug-in, you can say “click Send”.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking and Microsoft Word In “Controlling the Operating System and Applications”, you learned about Natural Language Commands. Since Microsoft Word is an application many people use, this chapter lists built-in commands for this word processor. Corel WordPerfect has similar commands, so it shares the same Dragon Sidebar content. Remember that if your system resources are low, enabling Natural Language Commands could decrease Dragon’s speed.
Pictured below is an example of a Help topic listing commands for working in Word documents. Many of Dragon’s commands work for Word 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2013, such as: New file Save the file. Save file as. Create a 3 by 7 table Add page numbers [at bottom left| center | right] Delete next sentence Find a word. Find and replace. Set page orientation to Landscape Print pages 3 to 7. Print the selection. Print [this] page View page layout. Change view to print layout.
Microsoft Word 2007 and the Office Ribbon In addition to the Ribbon Interface (which organizes items by tabs instead of menus), Word 2007 introduced new capabilities for which Dragon now offers Natural Language Commands, including the ones below. Note: To click the Office Button (which replaces Word 2003’s File menu), you can say “click Office Button.
Microsoft Word 2010 and 2013 With Office 2010, Microsoft introduced some changes to the application interface – in particular, the File tab. The other tabs can be accessed by voice by just saying their name, but for the File tab you must say “file tab” (or “click file tab”.) For details on support for Office 2010 and 2013, please see Dragon’s Help and website resources. Note: For versions of WordPad that do not have a menu named “File”: you can say “click application menu”.
Dictating and editing in Microsoft Excel You can use Dragon to dictate and edit content into Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. Many Excel-specific commands are built into the higher editions; the Dragon Sidebar window shows some, and the Command Browser lets you discover the full set. In addition, the Help describes commands usable in Excel to fill or hide rows or columns, sort, sum or average values, widen columns, and more (see Help example below.
Full Text Control in Quick Edits You will want to practice entering data into a spreadsheet and navigate around the spreadsheet and within cells, as well as dictate and correct text using commands like “correct ” (see Full Text Control, called Select-and-Say in previous versions). For the exercise below, the content of the spreadsheet is not important. Step 1: Open Excel, say open document and locate the relevant .xls file – or use a blank file. Step 2: Say move to cell C7 (or Charlie seven.
Key points about editing cells in Excel You can navigate between cells using absolute commands such as move to cell A1 or relative movement commands such as move up one, move right two, etc. If you want to mention a cell in a command (such as move to cell D5 or select cell B3 through cell H3), be sure to say the word “cell”. You can speak the letters as alpha bravo Charlie, etc. instead of A B C.
Boosting Productivity with Custom Commands In previous lessons, you learned various built-in voice commands to perform actions such as formatting text, searching the Internet, creating a new e-mail, creating a new appointment… The higher editions of Dragon also allow the creation of custom commands. There are several types of custom commands; this workbook presents the “Text-and-Graphics” type, which allows you to define boilerplate for Dragon to paste wherever you utter the command.
Step 5: In the Content field, enter what you want Dragon to paste when you say your command. (You may find it helpful to enlarge or even maximize the Editor’s window so that a larger Content field is visible.) TIP If the text you want already exists in electronic form, you can save time: highlight the desired segment in the original document, then say “make that a command”. Dragon will automatically open the Editor and paste the selection in the Content field.
Step 6: Once the command is named, edited, described, grouped, and formatted as you want it, click Save. Let’s test your command. Say start DragonPad, then say your command’s name. (Commands you create yourself follow the usual rule: you must pause before and after, but not in the middle!) You may realize now that you could make your command even more convenient: for instance, by adding a blank line before the content so your pasted content automatically starts as a new paragraph.
After saying the command name, which pastes the “DragonTemplate”, you can: type or dictate a specific value in each placeholder —> The placeholder is overwritten, and delimiters are removed. accept the default value —> Delimiters are NOT automatically removed; you can say "clear variable delimiters". To navigate a DragonTemplate’s Fields, you can select the desired Field with the mouse, or use the voice commands "Next Field" or "Previous Field.
Step 6: With your command highlighted, click Edit in the Task pane (or use the Script menu). The MyCommands Editor will open, displaying the command’s attributes and content; you can now edit the command as desired. Remember: the Description field is useful for entering comments such as where and when the command should be used, or reminders like “make variations of this ASAP” or “change this after we move”.
Key points about custom commands In the higher editions, you can quickly create custom commands to insert blocks of text and/or graphics in your documents. This is done in the tool MyCommands Editor, which you can bring up by saying add new command. If the boilerplate text already exists in an electronic document, you can copy and paste it into the MyCommands Editor’s Content box, or say make that a shortcut.
Performing Audio Checks and Acoustic Training As described earlier, personalizing Dragon’s vocabulary is a small investment of time that makes a big difference in how accurately the software can work for you. In addition, when misrecognitions do happen, using proper correction technique allows Dragon to learn from its mistakes. In certain cases, you may also want to perform additional acoustic training to improve accuracy.
Step 1: In the Vocabulary Editor, locate the word you wish to train by entering it in the Written Form field. (If you have just added the word, this will not be necessary, as the word will already be displayed at the top of the list.) Step 2: Click the word in the list so it is highlighted, then say or click Train. The Train Words window opens.
Key points about acoustic training In general, the best thing you can do to make Dragon recognize your speech even better is to use the software regularly, personalizing the Vocabulary (editing Spoken Forms or Word Properties as warranted, designating specific documents for Dragon to analyze, running or scheduling the Accuracy Tuning process…) and correcting misrecognitions as warranted.
Using Multiple Vocabularies (editions Professional and up) Every Dragon NaturallySpeaking user automatically has at least one Vocabulary. Editions Professional and above, allow you to have several Vocabularies. The advantage of having several Vocabularies is being able to customize each one to perform best for very different topics or styles of dictation. (It is relatively rare for a person to need more than three or four.
Step 3: Dragon will then offer to perform a basic adaptation of this new vocabulary based on documents found on your computer, or sent emails (this is similar to what Dragon offers when you create a profile).. This automatic process may take a while, and is not as powerful and targeted as the other vocabulary tools. You can choose Cancel, then customize your new vocabulary using what you learned in previous lessons.
Opening a Particular Vocabulary (and Audio Source) During your dictation session, you will be able to switch to a different Vocabulary, by saying open recent vocabulary, for instance. If you have multiple Vocabularies for the same User profile, this will be reflected in the Open User Profile window, which will appear when you start Dragon. The Open User Profile window also shows the different dictation source(s) that may be available for the User profile(s) present on your computer.
Key points about multiple Vocabularies If you dictate on two or more very different topics, using different customized Vocabularies will maximize your recognition accuracy (in supported editions). Each Vocabulary can be customized using the tools in the Accuracy Center—adapting to documents you designate, for instance. If you have several Vocabularies, you will be prompted to choose one when you start Dragon.
Acoustic and Language Model Optimization Vocabulary customization and proper correction of recognition errors both help Dragon recognize your dictations more accurately. “Accuracy Tuning” is a functionality you can use to further “tune” your profile’s accuracy for your specific usage. It has two aspects: It can refine your User profile using the latest acoustic data archived from any corrections and acoustic training you performed.
Step 2: Check the checkbox for Acoustic Optimization and/or Language Model Optimization as desired, then click Go. Note: Language Model optimization is typically much faster than Acoustic Optimization. Scheduling the Optimizations and Data Collection For convenience, Dragon lets you schedule a specific time and frequency for these optimizations.
In addition to Accuracy Tuning, Dragon allows you to enable and schedule another periodic task: the automatic sending of anonymous data on your usage of Dragon (such as which optional settings you have, which commands you use often, how often you make corrections, which language you use, which processor is on your computer, what version and edition of Dragon you have), over the Internet.
The Data tab of the Options dialog. Note that it includes the setting for the frequency at which Dragon makes a backup of your profile (by default, Dragon does it every five times your profile is saved). Key points about Optimization Acoustic and Language Model Optimization can automatically “tune” your profile by “reviewing” the acoustic data and/or text data it has gathered from your usage of Dragon so far.
Renaming, Deleting, Copying or Transferring a User Profile As you learned, each person who uses Dragon NaturallySpeaking creates a User profile, which the software holds in a set of files that contains, among other things, acoustic and lexical data. When you add a personalization to the Vocabulary (spoken form, alternate written form, capitalization property…), correct a recognition error, read a training text, or change an option, Dragon can save these changes in the open profile.
The Manage User Profile dialog box also enables you to rename or delete a profile. Its Properties button also allows you to see a profile’s Properties (such as its source(s), backup location, and date of last backup). Copyright 2013 Nuance Communications, Inc.
Key points about exporting and copying a user profile In editions Premium and above, exporting and importing profiles is done through the Manage User Profiles dialog box—available through the DragonBar’s Profile menu or by saying manage user profiles. You must export the profile from the original computer, then import it to the recipient computer.
Practice Exercise: Creating a Memo by Voice Open DragonPad or another supported word processor. Using your new dictation and formatting skills, try to create the following document entirely by voice. After you have created the sample signature block shown in the sample below, replace it with your own signature information. Take this opportunity to practice looking up keywords in the Help to find out more ways to accomplish a particular task.
What’s New in Version 12.0? Here is a list of changes and additions compared to Dragon 11.5. If you are upgrading from a previous release, please see also What's New in Dragon 11 and What's new in Dragon 11.5.
Rich Internet Application support: enhanced experience for Gmail and Hotmail In addition to its existing functionality for Web browsers, Dragon 12 includes browser extensions—also known as plug-ins or add-ons—for two popular Web-based applications: Gmail and Hotmail. In these two Rich Internet Applications, the Dragon extensions give you Full Text Control in text fields and enable spoken commands for important tasks (excluding sending). In Dragon 12.
Disable command functionality: Dragon has many powerful command capabilities which you can choose to turn off if and when you don’t need them. (This can be particularly helpful for beginners or anyone who sometimes wishes to focus on producing text.) Turning off these options can help avoid unintended actions, such as clicking a button in your email program. To turn off the ability to open Start menu and Desktop items even when they are not visible: go to Tools > Options > Commands.
When you save your user profile, Dragon may offer to optimize the Language Model based on the text data of your recent dictations. The Save User Profile dialog box will contain a checkbox for performing “maintenance.” This process takes little time. Note: Language Model Optimization is much quicker than Acoustic Optimization because the data it processes is just text.
Tip of the Day: The Tip of the Day (which displays by default when you open a Dragon profile and is available from the Help menu) contains many new tips. Also, its redesigned window adds a Back button so that you can browse through the tips in either direction. Note that until you use the Next button, Dragon will present the same tip each time the window opens.
(Premium and above only) Enhanced Bluetooth wireless support: In this release you can gain accuracy if you have a certified wideband Bluetooth microphone (with USB dongle), such as the 16 kHz Plantronics Calisto II BT-300. You must plug the microphone’s dongle into your PC before you open Dragon. Then, Dragon’s source list will include “Enhanced Bluetooth.” Note: If you are upgrading a user profile for use with a 16 kHz Bluetooth microphone, you must add the microphone to the profile as a new audio source.
What’s New in Version 11.5? If upgrading from a version prior to Dragon 11, please also see What's New in Dragon 11, below. Reminder: The Feature Matrix, available on the Nuance website, lists the feature differences between the editions of Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Improved User Profile Upgrade wizard: The wizard makes it easier to see how many profiles will be updated.
Link to Support: The DragonBar's Help menu now includes a direct link to the Web page for Nuance Customer Service and Support. Updated application support: Internet Explorer 9 commands are added for using the One Box (which combines Web address entry and the search box) and for pinning shortcuts to Web pages to the Windows Start menu. After Dragon 11 introduced support for OpenOffice.org Writer 3.1 and 3.2, Dragon 11.5 extends that support to 3.3.
Modes Words Audio Sound Help (includes Accuracy Center) Help Note: To access the DragonBar menus by voice, say "Switch to DragonBar" then the menu name. Once a menu is open, you can open any of its items by saying its name. Dragon's control menu, accessible by clicking the Dragon logo to the left of the microphone icon, provides clearer choices (Docked to Bottom, Floating…) and direct access to the Dragon Options. The former "Close" choice is now labeled "Exit Dragon.
New Results Display, and the former Results Box When dictating, there’s no need to wait for Dragon to “catch up” with you — dictating in long phrases allows Dragon to transcribe more accurately than dictating slowly and with numerous hesitations. As you speak, Dragon 11 indicates that it is processing by displaying a small Dragon logo at your insertion point, and when you pause, your dictated words appear in your document.
Dragon 11 includes enhancements to the Command Browser that make it faster to use filter the display of commands by keywords. Also, to shorten the list of commands displayed for specific contexts, Global Commands are omitted by default. You can easily include them in the list by selecting the check box for "Include Global" on the Command Browser toolbar.
Index abbreviation, 22 Office 2007, 66 accents, 3, 16 Options, 38, 39, 40, 41, 49, 51, 56, 57, 60, 65, 67, 68, 73, 75, Accuracy Tuning, 7, 94, 98, 99, 100, 102 Options dialog, 9, 12, 32, 35, 40, 46, 49, 109 Acoustic Optimization, 7, 99 Outlook, 30, 31, 69, 75, 77 acronyms, iii, 16, 18 paren, 39 audio system event, 2 pause, 36, 37, 38, 42, 44, 50, 55, 58, 59, 61, 63, 66, 88 backup, 101, 109 phone number, 41, 42, 44 Boilerplate Commands, 86, 88 punctuation, 5, 6, 13, 19, 20, 24, 37, 39, 43, 44,
Copyright 2013 Nuance Communications, Inc.
