Nuance ScanSoft Dragon NaturallySpeaking - 14.0 End-User Workbook

Version 14

End-User Workbook

Note: Closing all programs before installing is recommended.

Posted on www.nuance.com are the latest:

 Quick Card (includes reference tables for punctuation and

other special characters, numeric data, and commands)

 Installation Guide

iii

End-User Workbook(August 2015)

Unless indicated otherwise, the material in this workbook applies to all editions of Dragon, and the screenshots are from the Professional edition.

This workbook assumes that Dragon 14 is now installed on your PC. For details on how to install, including installing over a previous version, please see the Installation Guide on the Nuance website.

The Quick Card that comes in the software’s box includes important notes about installing Dragon as well as reference tables for punctuation, numeric data and commands. (The latest electronic version is available on the Nuance website.)

We welcome comments or questions about this workbook and all aspects of the Help system (including Installation Guide, Help menu, Interactive Tutorial, and Accuracy Center).

This workbook reflects the information available at the time of publishing. Nuance’s online Knowledge Base contains the latest information written by Technical Support, the latest printable documents, details on microphones, recorders, and other hardware tested for use with Dragon.

The Nuance website (www.nuance.com/dragon as well as australia.nuance.com/dragon, newzealand.nuance.com/dragon, and www.nuance.co.uk/dragon) offers many other resources including tips, videos, Customer Service information, and a feature matrix of editions.

The website also lists Value-Added Resellers who provide support, training and customization services in person or remotely. These Nuance partners can address your environment, equipment, goals and needs. This is particularly efficient for busy people, for people new to computers, for children, and in case of issues with hearing, vision, mobility or dyslexia.

No part of this document may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval systems, without the express written consent of Nuance Communications, Inc.

Nuance, the Nuance logos, the Dragon logos, Dragon NaturallySpeaking, NaturallySpeaking, DragonBar and Select-and-Say are trademarks or registered trademarks of Nuance Communications, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other company names and product names referenced herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.

Goals and Prerequisites

Dragon is software for Windows computers that 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 PC may feel strange at first. Be patient with yourself! This workbook aims to efficiently present what an end-user should know: most importantly, how to “type by voice” efficiently. This includes:

 Dictating anything: punctuation marks, prices, dates, URLs, phone or plate numbers, abbreviations,

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 it was created by voice.

 Creating custom commands to insert boilerplate text and/or graphics.

In addition, you can learn how to command your 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.

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, copy or move items, browse

to folders, cut and paste, etc.

 Word-processing concepts such as bullets, font size and style, bolding and italicizing, right-aligning and

centering.

Efficiency and hands-free usage

We strongly recommend going through this workbook in order. (If you are familiar with Dragon, consider reading the What’s New 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 MouseGrid and commands for moving, clicking, and dragging the mouse.

IMPORTANT: Starting the Microphone Check or the Interactive 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 a helper with you when you create or upgrade a profile, use the Interactive Tutorial, or use the Microphone Check.

Table of Contents

Goals and Prerequisites....................................................................................................................................... v

Efficiency and hands-free usage..............................................................................................................................v

Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................................vi

Getting Started and Creating a Profile..................................................................................................................1

Positioning and connecting your microphone.........................................................................................................1

Upgrading one or more profiles................................................................................................................................2

Creating your profile—or adding an audio source .................................................................................................3

About the Dragon Remote Microphone app as source.........................................................................................4

About spoken recordings as source.........................................................................................................................5

Adding and managing sources .................................................................................................................................5

Important options........................................................................................................................................................6

Learning More and Getting Help .......................................................................................................................... 9

The Accuracy Center..................................................................................................................................................9

The Help.......................................................................................................................................................................9

The What Can I Say command.................................................................................................................................9

The Interactive Tutorial ............................................................................................................................................10

The printable guides.................................................................................................................................................10

Why Personalizing the Vocabulary is Essential .................................................................................................. 12

Customizing the Vocabulary—Using the Vocabulary Editor................................................................................ 13

Adding vocabulary entries.......................................................................................................................................13

The importance of spoken forms............................................................................................................................15

Deleting “words” and modifying word properties..................................................................................................16

Importing Lists of Vocabulary Entries ................................................................................................................. 19

Customizing the Vocabulary from Existing Documents....................................................................................... 21

Customizing the Vocabulary from Your E-Mail.................................................................................................... 24

Starting to Dictate: Controlling the Microphone................................................................................................... 26

The DragonBar and the microphone icon .............................................................................................................26

Microphone commands and sleep state ..............................................................................................................28

The Importance of Hot Keys, including Microphone On/Off...............................................................................28

Starting to Dictate: Your First Dictation............................................................................................................... 31

Dictating text and punctuation marks.....................................................................................................................31

New line and new paragraph ..................................................................................................................................31

The Results Display and its options.......................................................................................................................32

Dictating Prices, Units, Dates, Times, Addresses…............................................................................................ 34

Automatic text formatting during normal dictation................................................................................................34

Numbers Mode..........................................................................................................................................................36

Spell Mode.................................................................................................................................................................36

The Spell Command: characters within Normal Mode........................................................................................36

Correcting Dragon’s Errors in Your Dictated Text............................................................................................... 38

Handling multiple matches in your text..................................................................................................................38

The Correction Menu: the default interface ..........................................................................................................39

Correcting in the Spelling Window .........................................................................................................................39

Using playback to aid correction.............................................................................................................................42

Smart Format Rules .................................................................................................................................................43

Editing Text by Voice ......................................................................................................................................... 45

Navigation and selection..........................................................................................................................................45

Handling multiple matches in text...........................................................................................................................46

Full Text Control, “unknown” text fields and the Dictation Box ..........................................................................47

Replacing and inserting ...........................................................................................................................................49

Formatting Text by Voice ................................................................................................................................... 52

The "X that" convention...........................................................................................................................................52

The "Format That" commands................................................................................................................................53

Controlling the Operating System and Applications............................................................................................ 56

Searching the computer...........................................................................................................................................56

Controlling programs and windows........................................................................................................................57

Resizing and switching ............................................................................................................................................58

“Clicking” menus, buttons and other interface controls.......................................................................................59

“Natural Language Commands” and the Command Browser............................................................................60

“Voice-pressing” keys...............................................................................................................................................61

Using Dragon with the Internet........................................................................................................................... 64

The Web shortcuts....................................................................................................................................................64

Social Media..............................................................................................................................................................65

The browser extensions...........................................................................................................................................65

Navigating to and within a Web page (Internet Explorer)...................................................................................66

Accessing a specific item on a Web page ............................................................................................................67

vii

Using Dragon for E-mail..................................................................................................................................... 69

Shortcut commands..................................................................................................................................................69

Commands for your installed email program........................................................................................................70

Web-based email and the Dragon extension .......................................................................................................72

Microsoft Word and the Ribbon.......................................................................................................................... 74

The Ribbon interface................................................................................................................................................74

The File Tab...............................................................................................................................................................74

Read Mode ................................................................................................................................................................74

Commands specific to Microsoft Word..................................................................................................................74

“Voice Notations” in Word documents...................................................................................................................76

Dictating and editing in Microsoft Excel.............................................................................................................. 77

Boosting Productivity with Custom Commands................................................................................................... 80

Creating boilerplate commands..............................................................................................................................80

“Cloning” commands and adding variables ..........................................................................................................82

“DragonTemplates”: boilerplate commands with fields .......................................................................................82

Managing custom commands.................................................................................................................................83

Finding commands: the Keyword Filter.................................................................................................................84

Performing Audio Checks and Training.............................................................................................................. 86

The Microphone Check............................................................................................................................................86

Acoustic training in isolation....................................................................................................................................86

Reading text to train Dragon...................................................................................................................................87

Using Multiple Vocabularies (editions Professional and up)................................................................................ 89

Opening a Vocabulary..............................................................................................................................................91

Acoustic and Language Model Optimization....................................................................................................... 93

Launching the Acoustic and/or Language Model Optimization..........................................................................93

Scheduling optimization and Data Collection .......................................................................................................94

Renaming, Deleting, Copying or Transferring a Profile ....................................................................................... 98

Practice Exercise: Creating a Memo by Voice.................................................................................................. 100

What’s New in Version 13.0?........................................................................................................................... 101

Index ............................................................................................................................................................... 114

viii

Getting Started and Creating a Profile



Dragon 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. The more

personalized it is, the better your experience will be. To have the best possible start, it’s worth creating your profile carefully (or upgrading it from a previous version of Dragon). As you will see later, your profile can be refined over time.

This lesson will cover creating (or upgrading) a profile. But first, let’s address what Dragon needs in order to get good audio input from you.

Positioning and connecting your microphone

If using a headset, adjust it so that it feels stable and comfortable on your head (it should not press your temple or glasses). The microphone’s listening side must

face the side of your mouth, not the front. It must not touch hair or catch breathing sounds. (On standard headsets, bend the “boom” if needed.)

Most headsets can be rotated so you can place the microphone on either the left or the right side of your face.

Experiment a bit to find what works best for you then aim for consistency in your microphone position whenever you use Dragon.

IMPORTANT:

 Noise-canceling microphones only listen on one side. The listening side is often

marked by a dot or the word TALK, which may not be visible unless you lift the foam cover slightly. Check that this side is parallel to your face, not tilted.

 If you want to bypass your computer’s sound system, you can use a USB

microphone, or plug your regular microphone into a USB adapter.

If your computer has only one audio jack (socket) and you want to use a regular two-plug microphone, you must use a USB adapter or a Y-shaped adapter.

 When you plug a microphone or adapter into your PC, be sure to push all the way into the audio socket or

USB port.

 If you want to test your microphone independently of Dragon, you can use Sound Recorder, a Windows

accessory (accessible from the Windows Start menu or Start screen).

 You may also wish to check the audio settings at the level of

Windows: see the “Recording devices” section of the Control Panel. This is accessible by right-clicking the loudspeaker icon on the System Tray. (In the example illustrated here, both Bluetooth and USB are available.)

 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.) Before closing this window, verify that what is highlighted on it is the Microphone item (and not the Line In item).

 If your microphone model has a mute switch, make sure it is in the ON position!  If you use a Bluetooth microphone: whenever you use Dragon, make sure that it is not just 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 if necessary.

Upgrading one or more profiles

Dragon 14 can upgrade profiles from Version 12 or 13. If you have such a profile, you should upgrade it and use it in Dragon 14; this allows you to benefit from refinements you had previously made (in terms of acoustics, optional settings, plus custom commands if applicable).

Dragon’s Upgrade Wizard (available from the Windows Start menu or Start screen, under Dragon Tools) can automatically detect eligible profiles present on your computer. Use its Remove button as needed so that only the desired profiles appear.

If a profile you want to upgrade is not in the list (for example because it is on an external disk), use the Browse button to designate it.

Once the list contains only the profile(s) you wish to upgrade now, click Next.

IMPORTANT: After the upgrade completes, launch Accuracy Tuning to ensure that your profile can benefit

from all your previous acoustic data. (See the Audio menu and Help for details.)

Creating your profile—or adding an audio source

This step-by-step process includes indicating your microphone’s type and verifying your sound system. Note:

 If you already have a profile and just want to use another type of audio input device, add a source to your

profile instead of creating a separate profile. (Details below.)

 Unless you use a built-in microphone: Before you start Dragon, connect your microphone and, if you

wish, test it by making a sample recording in Windows Sound Recorder.

 Consistency matters! For best results, create your profile in your “normal” environment, with the same

background noise and equipment as you will usually have when you use Dragon.

 For Bluetooth wireless headsets, see the Help and the manufacturer’s documentation. See how to charge

your microphone, power it up, turn it on (put it in “call mode”), and ensure it is paired. Step 1: Launch Dragon (you can double-click its desktop icon or pick it from the Start menu). If Dragon has

never been used before on this PC, the Profile Creation Wizard will then open automatically. Otherwise,

choose New User Profile in the DragonBar’s Profile menu, then click New. Step 2: Answer the questions presented by the wizard’s screens.

The wizard will ask you to specify a “region” so Dragon can 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). .

TIP: Once your profile is created, you are free to customize it, including modifying Auto-Formatting

Options and Word Properties (as described in this workbook and the Help).

The wizard gives you an opportunity to choose from a number of broad accents. If unsure which accent to pick, see the Help. Note: Dragon will later adapt to the sound of your voice, as you dictate more and more and run the Accuracy Tuning process.

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, we suggest starting with a microphone source type. By dictating directly

to your PC, you get used to speaking in a way that gives best results and you can personalize the

vocabulary, which means that once you do begin to make recordings and have Dragon transcribe them

you will get better accuracy in those transcriptions.

The default type is a microphone plugged into the Mic-In jack (audio input socket). If you use a USB

adapter on a standard headset, be sure to pick the USB option here.

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 www.nuance.com/dragon/remote-microphone).

 The lower editions of Dragon do not support all the source types.

The Help and the Nuance website contain details for special audio sources such as Bluetooth wireless or the Dragon Remote Microphone app for iOS and Android devices.

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 tablet) must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the PC on which you use it with Dragon.

When you set up the Remote Microphone app on a supported Android or iOS device, Dragon offers a barcode (QR code), so you can just point your device’s camera at the computer screen to capture the information needed. (Later on, you can use the DragonBar’s Tools menu to bring up this screen.)

Note: In public locations such as coffeehouse chains which require that you logon or accept the terms of service, the typical security configuration does not allow the mobile device to communicate with the computer, therefore the Remote Microphone app feature is not supported.

For details about setting up and using the app, please see the KnowledgeBase article on the Support section of the Nuance website: http://nuance.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/6294 (this includes a link to Technote 6825: "Information on testing the connection between Dragon NaturallySpeaking and the Dragon Remote Microphone application".)

About spoken recordings as source

Please see our website (www.nuance.com/dragon/transcription-solutions) for illustrations and details,

including Nuance’s free Dragon Recorder app for smartphones and related devices.

Important: Dragon works with one voice at a time, so it cannot transcribe interviews or meetings directly.

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 recordings.

TIP: If your recording was very “rough” or if it contained voices other than yours, consider the practice of

“echoing” or “re-speaking” rather than (or in addition to) transcribing the recording: while listening to the

recording and pausing it as needed, you dictate to Dragon what you hear. Among other advantages, this

gives you the opportunity to improve upon the original words, or add to them, including adding

punctuation that had not been spoken.

Before recording files for Dragon to transcribe, note:

 We recommend first using Dragon for real-time transcription (dictating directly to your PC)

because this gives you a chance to practice speaking clearly, in long phrases, and with punctuation. From what you see Dragon transcribe as you dictate, you get feedback on how clearly you are dictating. You also get ideas as to how to personalize your profile’s vocabulary, for instance by noticing jargon or phrases you should add to the vocabulary so that Dragon will be able to write them with the spelling, capitalization, and spacing you desire. (In addition to adding words and phrases, be sure to designate to Dragon representative text documents so it can learn what words and phrases you often use.) As explained further in this workbook, vocabulary personalization is very important; it prevents many recognition errors!

 Learn the essential operations of your digital recorder or the recorder app on your smartphone

(starting and stopping recordings, for instance). Also, verify that the recorder is set to the correct time and date as well as optimal settings for speech recognition (see details on individual models tested by Nuance at http://support.nuance.com/compatibility).

 Some digital recording devices come with special software to manage recordings (including

transferring them to a computer and converting their format if necessary). Check your device’s documentation and take the steps required to set up your device, including installing the software it may require.

 Setting up a transcription source can be done using a sample of your own recorded voice, or

someone else’s (you must have a profile for that person).

Adding and managing sources

If you already have a Dragon profile and want to use another type of audio input device, add a source to

your profile instead of creating a separate profile: open the DragonBar’s Profile menu and choose

“Manage Dictation Sources.” This opens the dialog box where you can pick the desired source.

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.

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”). Please see your microphone’s user guide for details, including how to charge the

headset and how to pair it with its dongle if necessary.

Step 4: Next is the

microphone check. 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.

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 for about 30 seconds, in the same tone of voice you would use when

dictating to your PC.

Dragon then verifies that your sound system is acceptable for speech recognition. (For details, see Help and, if needed, the Knowledgebase at support.nuance.com.) Note:

 If you chose as source the Dragon Remote Mic app, Dragon’s wizard will present a screen to help

ensure that your Wi-Fi-enabled device “finds” your profile on your computer. Also, instead of the microphone check, it will present a short sentence to read aloud for calibration.

 Some computers offer several places for you to plug in your microphone. If you get poor results with

one, consider the other (front or back, or for laptop users a docking station).. Once you’ve identified which port works best, aim to always use that port for your microphone. (Considering marking it with a piece of tape.)

Step 5: The wizard gives you the opportunity to schedule periodic data collection, which helps improve

future update of Dragon by collecting usage data anonymously. After the wizard’s last screen, Dragon automatically brings up its Interactive Tutorial, short progressive

simulations on important aspects. We strongly recommend that all users take advantage of it. Now that your profile is created, we encourage you to explore Dragon’s options to suit your preferences,

including changing numeric keypad hotkeys. (This is particularly relevant to laptop users, and people who like to use their numeric keypad for data entry.) This workbook’s lessons will progressively introduce you to options that most users should consider. Below are two of them.

Important options

After you create your profile, Dragon presents a special message if it determined that your computer’s characteristics wouldn’t allow optimal performance. This message informs you that Dragon has adjusted the defaults for two of its options as follows:

 The Speed versus Accuracy slider was moved toward speed.  The Natural Language Commands for Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Corel WordPerfect

were disabled. (The lesson “Controlling your Desktop and Applications” addresses these large sets of

flexible commands. Note: not all editions and languages of Dragon contain these commands.)

Later, you can reverse these changes through Dragon’s Options dialog, depending on your particular needs: you can enable or disable the Natural Language Commands for an application individually, and experiment with the Speed-versus-Accuracy slider.

Note: Other options on the Miscellaneous tab include having Dragon start in its sleep state (useful for persons who cannot use their hands), as well as disabling the “tracking” of menus, buttons and other interface elements or disabling the automatic Dictation Box where Dragon does not have Full Text Control (for example in PowerPoint or Emacs). Details about these important concepts are in the Help..

The Help includes suggestions for optimizing Dragon’s speed on your computer. For instance, 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.

We recommend you take a look at the Help menu and begin personalizing the Vocabulary as soon as possible (this plays a crucial role in accuracy and efficiency).

Note: If you’ve used a previous version of Dragon, we suggest you read What’s New in the Help.

Key points about getting started with Dragon

 Each person who wants to use Dragon must have his or her own profile. Creating one is a short process

guided by a series of screens. Profiles from versions 12 and 13 can be upgraded to 14. (Important: After

upgrading, launch Accuracy Tuning from the Audio menu).

 Make sure your microphone is properly connected and positioned, and the appropriate audio source is

selected. See our website for details on special sources like recorders and wireless microphones, as well

as the use of the Dragon Remote Microphone app or the Dragon recorder app with Dragon.

 In editions Premium and up, you can add a source to an existing profile (for instance, if after using

Dragon with your USB microphone you wish to also dictate using your built-in microphone). Whatever

source is used, you will benefit from the same vocabulary and optional settings (as well as custom

commands, if applicable).

 Even if your edition supports the transcription of spoken recordings, we recommend starting out with a

microphone source.

 When reading a text for acoustic training, speak clearly but naturally using the same volume, pitch and

pace you are likely to use day-to-day. Try to read what is prompted as if you were dictating your own

words. Use the Pause button if you need to clear your throat or speak to someone.

 Dragon's scheduled tasks are designed to help improve accuracy over time. Be sure to schedule them

for a time when your computer will be on but Dragon will not be running.

Learning More and Getting Help

Dragon offers so many tools, commands, and features that it would be impossible to cover them all in this workbook. This lesson presents ways to find more information as you start using the software—take advantage of the available resources!

Please see the card that comes in the Dragon box. It includes important notes about installing Dragon as well as sample lists of commands and what you can say to dictate special characters, times, dates, postal codes and more. (The latest printable documentation is available for download on the Nuance website.)

The Accuracy Center

The most important features of Dragon are accessible directly from the DragonBar's menus. The Accuracy Center offers a central location to access many of them and get guidance on which one to use when.

Step 1: Say Open Accuracy Center. You can also click the Help menu, or say Switch to DragonBar then Click Help then Improve my Accuracy.

Step 2: Click the link that interests you. You can also say its name immediately preceded by the word "click”.

("Require 'click' for HTML" is an option enabled by default, to help prevent unintended recognitions. See the Commands tab of the Options dialog.)

TIP: You can activate links without saying their whole name: for instance, instead of “click add a list of words to

your vocabulary”, you could say just “click add a list”.

The Help

The DragonBar’s Help menu gives you access to the on-screen Help topics (articles). Another way to open the Help is saying open help. Note: like in search engines, you can indicate phrases by

putting quotation marks around them. To launch a Help search at any time (no matter what is active on your screen), you can use the shortcut

command “search Help for…” naming the word(s) to find. For instance, you could say “search Help for Firefox”. Note that the search keywords you name in this command will be considered individually unless you put them in quotes: for instance, “Search Help for open-quote Dictation box close-quote.”

Dragon also provides contextual help: from its dialog boxes, a Help button, question-mark, or link take you directly to the relevant article in the Help.

The What Can I Say command

At any time, you can say what can I say, and Dragon will display a list of 5 commands applicable to the current application. You can then say any of those, omitting the word “show” if you wish.

Note: you could say these 5 commands anytime, without first saying what can I say. Saying formatting commands, for instance, displays a short list of commands related to formatting text:

The Interactive Tutorial

Available from the Help menu, the Interactive Tutorial contains short progressive simulations and makes you practice important habits for efficient dictating, as well as correcting errors, formatting and revising text, using the Web and customizing your Dragon profile including options and vocabulary.

It includes important editing commands such as “go back,” Dictation Commands such as “cap,” “all caps,” and “numeral…” as well an example of correcting in the Spelling Window and accepting a Smart Format Rule. We recommend that all users take advantage of it.

Note:

 When the Interactive Tutorial opens, Dragon automatically turns off its microphone and in each lesson,

you practice an important habit: turning the microphone on and off.

 While going through the simulations, you must speak just the current prompt and do so in one breath

(without pausing within it).

The printable guides

The latest Installation Guide is available as a PDF on the Nuance website alongside the Quick Card and other resources. The 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.

Note: If you use a Bluetooth microphone, be sure to read its documentation, charge the headset, pair it if necessary, and make sure it is not only powered up, but also active (that is, in “call mode”—on the Plantronics Calisto, this is done by pressing the headset’s button).

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 Accuracy Center, and the Nuance website (includes tips, FAQs, short

videos and Support’s “Technotes”).

 Be sure to explore Dragon’s Help menu. You can open the Help at any time by saying a generic

command such as open help, or “shortcut” commands that include the word(s) to search for, such as

search Help for Roman numerals.

 At any time, you can bring up a short list of applicable commands by saying what can I say. This

replaces the Sidebar/Learning Center feature of previous versions. Beyond these resources, consulting an experienced Dragon trainer for specific guidance and customizations can

be particularly efficient for users who have special environments, workflows, equipment, or challenges (for instance, challenges related to motion, vision, or speech fluency.)

Now that you know how to access many resources, let’s learn the most important aspects of using Dragon, starting with an often-overlooked but crucial one: personalizing your profile’s Vocabulary.

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. For instance, even an experienced medical secretary would have trouble transcribing for an attorney’s office! And a newly-hired transcriptionist would have to not only get used to the voices of the various speakers, but also to learn what spellings and formatting they want, including acronyms, abbreviations, special phrases, names of people, places, products, etc.

An unusual name may seem commonplace to you because you use it frequently, but a person who hears it for the first time may not be able to spell it: that name is not yet a part of this person’s vocabulary. Similarly, if a word or phrase is not in Dragon’s active vocabulary, the software cannot transcribe it correctly without a little instruction.

When you created your User profile, you provided information which Dragon incorporated into its acoustic model. To get optimal accuracy, you should also help the software adapt its language model and Vocabulary. Lexical customization ensures that what you dictate is transcribed with the desired spelling, spacing, and even capitalization; Dragon provides many powerful tools for it, so this important investment need not take much time. The Help contains much information about personalizing the Vocabulary—including how you can even benefit from the customizations done by others.

Key points about Vocabulary customization

 As soon as you have created a profile, you can start dictating, but note that taking a moment to start

customizing the Vocabulary for you is a good investment to make right away, since it helps Dragon “get it

right the first time” (including spelling, capitalization, and spacing) and it needn’t take much of your time.

Personalizing the Vocabulary early and often is strongly recommended. The following pages will

show you how.

 Dragon offers many simple and powerful Vocabulary tools to allow you to make your dictations faster and

more convenient.

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). The

Vocabulary Editor opens; its scrollable window lists the entries currently in Dragon’s active Vocabulary.

Take a moment to scroll through the list. You will see names of people, places, institutions and products,

as well as common words, phrases, and abbreviations. Step 2: Open the Display drop-down list (located at the bottom) and choose Words Containing Spaces. Other

Vocabulary displays include Words Containing Digits, Words Containing Capitalization, and Words with Special Properties. By browsing these, you can learn more about what the software uses to transcribe your dictation. You also get ideas about what entries you might add or edit.

Adding vocabulary entries

You can quickly search for a particular Vocabulary entry by entering it in the Search field. If it appears in the scrollable list, it is already in the active layer of the Vocabulary. If not, click Add to bring it in.

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. There are also names of people, places, products, and institutions: Mother Teresa, Madison Square Garden, KitchenAid,

Brigham and Women's Hospital, Marine Corps, Library of Congress, Babe Ruth, Accounts Payable, George Washington, Johnson & Johnson, Division I, LAN Server…

These help the software resolve spelling and capitalization ambiguities: if the Vocabulary didn’t contain the phrase Mother Teresa, dictating it would probably produce the transcription "mother Theresa"—because the word mother is usually not capitalized and Theresa is the more common spelling of the name. Having the phrase in its Vocabulary helps Dragon know that the words “Mother” and “Teresa” are likely to occur together, and hence helps Dragon choose the desired capitalization and spelling.

Also, recognizing long sounds is easier than very short sounds. A and the are acoustically very similar, as are in and an. Longer words, like chrysanthemum, contain more acoustic information.

We strongly recommend adding personal phrases; this will later save you time since you will not have to adjust their spelling and capitalization after transcription.

Exercise 1: In the Vocabulary Editor, search for a few familiar names such as your own first and last names, your

town, company, colleagues or relatives; if necessary, add them using the Add button.

TIP: When adding names of people, consider nicknames and diminutives as well as formal names, particularly

for names that are very short or that can be spelled different ways: for instance, one might add Liz Jansen, Lizzie Jansen, Elizabeth McGee Jansen, Jennifer B. Wolff, Jennifer Wolff, Jenny Wolff, Jenn Wolff, Judge Wolff, Scooter Wolff…

This idea applies to more than just names. Whenever you add an item to the Vocabulary, think of its possible variations: singular/plural for nouns, conjugated forms for verbs… Remember, if something is not in the Vocabulary, the software cannot recognize it, so don’t hesitate to add items even if you think you will not dictate them very often!

Exercise 2: Open a word processor (such as DragonPad, available from the DragonBar’s Tools menu or from the

command “open DragonPad”) and start a list of Vocabulary entries relevant to you; some suggestions are

below. (Soon you will learn how to import these entries all at once.)

 jargon and phrases specific to your profession (such as distro, site visit and non-State)  names of places, facilities or organizations (such as Building 52, or County Adoption Center)  names of products (such as MicroPore tape or Latex Exterior Semi-Gloss)  acronyms, part numbers, codes (such as FICA, 501c(3) or RX-70y)  names of people (coworkers, clients, friends, relatives…) including full combinations for names

that could be spelled differently (Kristin, Gene, Steven, McGregor, Wolfe…) or are very short (Kip, Kit, Dee…) since this helps Dragon resolve acoustic ambiguities.

TIP: If you are using Dragon for work, your employer may be able to give you some lists that could save you

time, particularly if they are already in electronic form: lists of staff or clients, departments, units or divisions, products, trademarks, building names, as well as glossaries of terms and acronyms. Starting from such lists doesn’t just save time; it may also help add these items with their official, correct spelling!

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.

From the Display drop-down list of the Vocabulary Editor, choose “Words with spoken forms only.” Take a moment to scroll through and look at existing spoken forms; you will get ideas for what kinds of entries warrant them and how they can be written.

You may add spoken forms to custom entries as well as to existing entries, in order to be able to dictate them as comes naturally to you: for example, to enter the symbol ©, you might like to say “circle see” instead of the existing spoken form “copyright sign.”

Note that entries containing symbols, digits, or unusual spacing are particularly likely to warrant a Spoken Form. If the written form of a word contains any punctuation, consider providing a spoken form so that there is no doubt as to how the item will be pronounced.

If you add e-mail addresses to the Vocabulary, giving them a Spoken Form can make them quicker to dictate: for instance, “Amy and John at yahoo dot com” or even just “Amy and John at yahoo” for AmyT&JohnB@yahoo.com.

Note: Spoken forms must not include punctuation, abbreviations, or symbols. Below are a few examples.

Written Form: The Man from U.N.C.L.E

Spoken Form: the man from uncle

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. In addition to indicating pronunciation, Spoken Forms can be used for “vocal shorthand” and automatic substitution: you say something short and easy, and Dragon types something longer or “trickier” to say (or to remember). This capability can be used to give consistency and clarity to your writings; groups can take advantage of it to help everyone comply with recommendations like avoiding abbreviations and other confusable items.

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). Also, particularly if the pronunciation contains non-English sounds, you may want to provide some acoustic “training”—see "Training Words".

You may also run into cases where a word you need is consistently transcribed as another word. If that other word is not important to you, deleting it from your profile’s active Vocabulary will solve the conflict by removing your desired word’s “competition.” For instance: the names Schaeffer, Shaefer, Schaefer and Shafer all sound alike, so if you want Dragon to write “Schaefer” but it typically writes “Shafer” even though you have already corrected the error, you may want to delete “Shafer” from the Vocabulary.

You can do this by finding and deleting the word in the Vocabulary Editor, or you can do it by bringing up the Correction menu over the undesired word after Dragon transcribed it.

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.

IMPORTANT:Use the Word Properties dialog to modify the Dictation Command “new line” if you want it to

trigger capitalization of the following word. Similarly, you can set the ellipsis (dot dot dot) to NOT trigger capitalization of the next word.

In the Word Properties dialog box, you can also choose one or even two

alternate written forms.

For example, you may want:

the spelling “email” instead of the hyphenated “e-mail”,

the abbreviation “fig.” instead of the word “figure” just before numbers, as in “fig. 3”,

the title Professor instead of its abbreviation.

Note: in the Vocabulary Editor, entries whose properties were modified are marked with a “P” icon.

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.

 Custom-added entries are marked with a plus sign; choosing Custom Words Only from the Display

drop-down list allows you to see just them.

 You can locate an item by entering it in the Search field (enter either the Written form or the Spoken

form). By using the drop-down list, you can also browse subsets like “Custom words only” and “Words

containing punctuation.”

 Spoken Forms are an efficient way to help Dragon transcribe “special words.” You can view many

examples of Spoken Forms in the Vocabulary Editor. In addition to clarifying pronunciation (particularly

useful for items that contain digits, symbols, or silent letters), Spoken Forms can be used to allow the

speaker to say something quite different, shorter, or easier, than their written form: you say just “E O B

stat”, for instance, and Dragon types “Explanation of Benefit (EOB) statement.”

 If a Vocabulary entry you don’t need “competes” for recognition with something you do need to dictate,

you can delete that entry from the Vocabulary Editor (for instance, Cassidy and Cassity). To see the

words that have been deleted from the vocabulary, you can choose “Deleted words only” from the Display

drop-down list.

 You can view or change the special Properties of Vocabulary entries, including spacing and

capitalization. For instance, you may wish to change whether Dragon uses the spelling “travelled” or

“traveled”, whether the ellipsis (dot dot dot) and the Dictation Command “new line” trigger capitalization of

the next word.

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. If available in your edition, you can use the import feature to add many Vocabulary entries at once, even if they have Spoken Forms.

Observe the sample import list in the illustration below, and identify the motivation behind each entry. You can then make and import one or more lists of your own, as described below.

To create and import lists of “words”: Step 1: Create a document (or edit an existing document) listing entries you want to add to the Vocabulary. You

can do it in any word processor as long as you can save this document as plain text.

 Have each entry on a separate line.

 Make sure everything is spelled, capitalized and spaced correctly.

 To include a Spoken Form, follow the Written Form with a backslash character then the Spoken Form:

for example, Grb II\grab two.

Step 2: Save this document as a .txt file (from the File menu, choose Save As and, depending on the word

processor, choose Text Document, Text Only, or Plain Text), then close the file.

Repeat as necessary with other lists. (You may find it convenient to make several lists, such as a list of

friends and relatives, a list of professional contacts, a list of product names, a list of local landmarks, etc.)

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 resulting dialog box, 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.

The imported entries will be viewable in the Vocabulary Editor, where a red plus-sign appears next to them (like for entries that were added by means other than an import list).

From the Vocabulary menu, you can also export all custom-added words into one file. This is useful for safekeeping or for import in other user profiles.

Note:

 In Dragon’s edition Professional and above, you can choose .xml as an export format instead of .txt, so

that Word Properties will be captured.

 For files resulting from this export in Dragon version 11 or later, there are two items of note: the header

@Version=Plato is added automatically, and spoken forms, if any, are separated by two backslashes

instead of one. If you want to import such a file (as opposed to importing a file you made yourself), do not

remove the header line and do not replace “\\” with “\”.

 Exported word lists do not include trained pronunciations.

Key points about importing Vocabulary lists:

 If your edition allows it, you can add whole lists of Vocabulary entries at once. Prepare the list(s), then

open Dragon’s list import dialog (you can say import words, or choose from the Accuracy Center or the

DragonBar’s Vocabulary menu).

 Lists must be saved as plain text, and closed, before they can be imported.  Each entry must be on its own line.  To specify a spoken form in a word list, use a backslash (\) to separate it from the written form.  You can also export all custom-added words into one file (in .txt or .xml format). This is useful for safe-

keeping or for import in another profile.

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). The greater the amount of relevant text Dragon gets to analyze, the better it can adapt its Vocabulary to what you usually need to dictate. (This is similar to giving a just-hired transcriptionist many documents in which to observe the terms used, their spellings, the words that often appear before or after, etc.; doing so would help the transcriptionist get ready to transcribe your dictations most accurately, right from the start.)

Dragon can perform its text analysis on files of the following types: .txt (plain text), .rtf (Rich Text), .doc(x) (Microsoft Word), .wpd (Corel WordPerfect), and HTML formats.

TIP: If significant text exists only in an application that doesn’t normally produce files of these types

(PowerPoint is an example), see whether this application lets you copy text so you can paste it in the DragonPad and save it from there, or whether it offers a way to extract plain text (it could be called “export” or “save as outline” for instance.) Also, if essential text only exists as PDF or in paper form, consider using Optical Character Recognition software such as OmniPage to convert into one of the accepted formats.

Step 1: Locate some electronic documents you have written—think of reports, letters, memos, proposals... (As

long as they are similar to what you intend to dictate, you can also use documents written by someone

else.) The more closely these documents match the dictation you will usually be doing, the better. Step 2: Spell-check the documents if necessary (since Dragon would detect misspellings as unknown words.) In

addition, remove any foreign-language sections that might be present. Then, make sure the documents

are closed. The Help contains more details on this tool, including how to best prepare documents for

analysis.

Now that you have texts similar to your intended dictations, let’s designate them for analysis. (If you

obtain more documents later, you can designate them to Dragon at that time.) Step 3: Say "switch to DragonBar", then "vocabulary" to open the menu, then "learn from specific

documents."(There are other ways to do, by voice or by hand.)

Checking the box “Adapt to writing style” will make Dragon learn frequency information, which increases accuracy since it helps differentiate between homophones like “world” and “whirled”.

Leave this box checked unless you only want to “harvest” potential custom words—for instance, if the text is very different from your normal style, or contains a foreign language.

Step 4: On the Add Documents box, click Add Document. On the resulting window, locate and select the relevant

document(s), then click Open.

Note: 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 Dragon indicates that the analysis is complete, click Next.

Dragon will then present you with a list of the “unknown” words it found, with a checkbox next to each

one, and the number of times each word was encountered (the words found most frequently are

presented at the top since they are most likely to be relevant, unlike those that only occurred a few times.) Step 5: Uncheck items you do NOT wish to add. (If the list is long, using the Uncheck All button will save you

time.)

Note: this list may include capitalized forms of common words (such as ‘Trainer’); these are usually better

left out of the Vocabulary since you can always say “cap” before a word (or capitalize after the fact,

thanks to “capitalize <xyz>”), but you may want to add to the vocabulary phrases that contain them, such

as ‘Senior Technical Trainer’ (remember, it’s a good idea to add to the Vocabulary the phrases you

usually want capitalized). Step 6: Edit items as warranted: if you wish to modify an item (to make it lowercase, or expand on it, for

instance) or to give a spoken form to an item, make sure it’s highlighted then click Edit.

This opens the Edit Word window, which also presents a little context for the item.

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.

Finally, Dragon will adapt its word-frequency and context information based on the text analyzed (unless you unchecked the box “Adapt to writing style” on the first screen of this tool); this will allow it to better choose between words that sound alike.

Key points about customizing the Vocabulary from documents:

 The analysis of specific documents is accessible from the Vocabulary menu and the Accuracy Center.  This tool can analyze existing documents to learn about the “writing style” you plan to use—meaning,

which words are used with what frequency, and which words appear near each other. It’s OK to use as

input text written by someone else, if it’s reasonably similar to what you plan to dictate.

 To be used in this tool, files must be text files (see the type list in the Add Document window).  The tool can process many files at a time. You may wish to re-run it whenever you create or find suitable

text. The more (relevant) text is processed, the more refined your profile can become.

 When presented with the unknown words the tool found, you can choose which ones to add. Thanks to

the Edit button, you can modify their spelling as well as give them a Spoken Form if warranted.

 After adding to the Vocabulary items you are likely to dictate, letting Dragon analyze text that contains

them helps pre-empt recognition errors.

 Analyzing specific documents is only one of the ways Dragon can adapt; you can learn other ways in this

workbook as well as in 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, and Windows Mail, as well as Web-based email including Gmail, Outlook.com and Yahoo. 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). This will help it transcribe your dictations more accurately.

You should take advantage of this tool as soon as possible after creating your User profile. (If you want Dragon to analyze Web-based email, make sure your computer is connected to the Internet for the duration of the email analysis.)

Step 1: Say open Accuracy Center, then say or click the link Increase accuracy from e-mail. Step 2: The tool will detect supported e-mail programs installed on your computer and display their names (this

may take a moment). Check the checkbox of the program(s) you want Dragon to analyze.

Note: If you want to use as a source a Web-based email program that is not listed here, select the

checkbox labeled IMAP (you will then be asked to enter configuration information including server name

and port number). Step 3: Use the checkboxes to indicate whether you want Dragon to only look for contact names to potentially

add to the Vocabulary, or whether you also want Dragon to adapt its statistics based on your sent mail.

The checkbox option to “Improve

from my e-mail writing style” will

adapt the statistical language

model; it is recommended except if

what you sent in that email program

contains another language.

The analysis may keep Dragon

busy for a while, especially the first

time. Later on, it will go much faster

if you choose the option button

“Consider e-mail written since my

last scan.”

Note: When you start this process, your e-mail program may bring up a message box for you to allow

Dragon to access it. If you have several windows open, this message may be hidden under another

window. Note also that the process may take quite a while if there are many emails to analyze. Step 4: After its analysis, the tool will display what it identified as potentially useful additions.

The rest of the process is similar to the analysis of specific documents: you can uncheck items

(individually or all at once), edit items, and train items acoustically if you wish, then Dragon adds to the

Vocabulary the checked items -- plus it adapts its language model to the “writing style” (word frequencies

and word sequences observed), if you opted for that.

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