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20 MacSpeech DictateChapter 5 — Dictation
This chapter covers using MacSpeech Dictate for dictation.
We will explore how to dictate words and phrases, as
well as special cases such as punctuation, numbers, and
capitalization. This chapter also covers using the Recognition
window to review your dictation, correct your text and enable
Phrase Training to improve your profile’s accuracy. We will
also discuss basic options and advanced considerations for
editing your dictation.
Introducing Dictation
Dictation will likely be the task that you use MacSpeech
Dictate for most often, so it deserves a basic definition for
starters. Dictation is simply the process in which you speak,
then MacSpeech Dictate recognizes your words and phrases,
and outputs those words as text. There are also a set of
“dictation commands” that can be used to navigate and edit
the text that has been dictated.
Speak where you would type
You can dictate into almost any application that supports text
input. Most word processors and text document applications
(e.g. Mail, TextEdit) allow you to dictate a large amount of text
in a document instead of typing it. It is usually straightforward
to navigate and edit this dictated text by voice. MacSpeech
Dictate keeps track of the text you dictated, and follows your
voice commands to position the cursor and select text.
However, there is one main guideline to keep in mind...
Speak, or type...but not together
You will get the best results by following this guideline: Use
your voice, or use your keyboard and mouse, but not both
together.
Another good saying to remember this rule by is:
If You’re Talking, Talk. If You’re Typing, Type.
Here is a more detailed explanation:
Modern word processors and other applications are designed
to do more than just accept the input of text. They keep track
of changes, manage text markup and custom formatting,
help outline your thoughts, etc. In order to do this, these
applications keep track of text in their own ways.
Most applications also support custom commands for
controlling navigation, editing and other features. When you
use the mouse and keyboard to control these commands and
edit text, it is primarily the application itself that is aware of
what you are doing.
If you are dictating text at the same time as editing by mouse
and keyboard, you may eventually experience odd results in
the text. On the other hand, if you use only your voice to select
and edit misrecognized words that you have just dictated,
it is much less likely MacSpeech Dictate will lose its place.
Your dictated text will remain in sync with the rest of your
document. Also, correcting dictated text by voice will train
your speech profile toward maximum accuracy.
So, the following guideline is worth repeating: Use your voice,
or use your keyboard and mouse, but not both together.
The Built-in Note Pad
MacSpeech Dictate includes a built-in word processor called
Note Pad, which is designed for creating and editing text
through dictation. In fact, you should only use your voice to
add text while in Note Pad. Regular typing will not produce
a normal result (try it out!). This helps provide a consistent
result by not mixing dictating and typing.
You can still copy text from Note Pad, so text dictated there
can be moved to other applications. You also can use common
editing and formatting commands like cut, copy, and select all.
These commands are in the Edit and Format menus for Note
Pad.
When you are first starting out with MacSpeech Dictate, try
out the Note Pad. You may also find it handy for practicing or
testing dictation commands off to the side of other applications
for word processing.
Using Dictation Mode
When off, the microphone button in the Status window has
a red stop sign on top of it, as in Figure 5-1. (If the Status
window is not visible, select Show Status Window from the
Window menu.)
Figure 5-1
Chapter 5: Diation