Nuance ScanSoft Dragon Professional User's Guide
Nuance Dragon Professional Individual for Mac, v6
User’s guide
For v6 of:
GuideDragon speech recognition
Contents
Dragon Professional for Mac User Guide 1
Get started 25
Using the Dragon menu 25
Related topics: 26
The Status Window 26
To show or hide the Status Window 26
To set whether the Status Window should be visible when Dragon starts up 26
Microphone mode button 26
Recognition mode button 27
Window menu button 27
Related topics: 27
The Guidance window 28
Showing or hiding the Guidance window 28
Related topics: 28
Recognition modes 28
Using commands in Dictation mode 29
Example: 29
Example: 29
Related topics: 29
Preferences window 30
To show the Preferences window 30
General 30
Profiles 30
Dragon Anywhere 31
Shortcuts 31
To set a shortcut 31
To delete a shortcut 31
To revert to a previous shortcut 31
Updates 32
Advanced 32
Correction options: 32
MouseGrid options: 32
Data collection options: 32
License 33
2
Related topics: 33
Using profiles and dictation sources 33
About profiles and dictation sources 33
Switching profiles and dictation sources 33
Missing dictation sources 34
Working with profiles and dictation sources 34
To add a profile 34
To add a dictation source to an existing profile 35
To change the default dictation source 35
To change the Auto Formatting settings for a profile 35
To delete a profile and dictation sources 35
Related topics: 35
Using DragonPad 35
To dictate and transfer text 36
Closing DragonPad 36
Related topics: 36
FAQs 36
About Dragon Professional Individual for Mac 37
I just installed Dragon. Where did it go? 37
Do I need a unique profile for each user? 37
How can I tell what mode Dragon is in? 37
Why isn't there any punctuation in my dictated text? 37
Recognition 37
I'm not happy with the recognition. What can I do? 37
Dragon entered text into my document when I was trying to dictate a command. Why? 38
How can I make Dragon recognize my name correctly? 38
Accessibility 38
I have color blindness. How can I tell what mode the microphone is in? 38
I have difficulty using a mouse. How can Dragon help me navigate my Mac? 38
Related topics: 39
What's New? 39
Faster and more accurate than ever 39
Formatting and other recognition improvements, for minimal editing 39
Improved set up 40
Improved user interface and experience 40
3
Enhanced transcription 40
Transcription Batch Mode 40
Updated web and application support 40
Improved help 40
Related topics: 41
Upgrading from Dragon Dictate 4 or Dragon for Mac 5: FAQ 41
All Upgrades 41
I just finished upgrading – is there anything I can delete to save disk space? 41
My profile won't upgrade. What can I do? 41
What happened to Transcription sources? 42
Upgrading from Dragon for Mac 5 42
How has the Status Window changed? 42
Upgrading from Dragon Dictate version 4 42
I just upgraded from Dragon Dictate version 4 – what do I need to do now? 42
Where did Dragon go? 42
What happened to Text Macros? 42
Where is the Recognition Window? 43
How has the Status window changed? 43
Where is the Note Pad? 43
Where is the Express Editor? 43
Related topics: 43
Activate and Register 43
To activate your license 43
To register your copy of Dragon Professional Individual for Mac 44
To deactivate your Dragon Professional Individual for Mac license 44
Related topics: 44
Use the microphone 45
Microphone Setup 45
To open the Microphone Setup window 45
To complete Microphone Setup 45
To manually adjust gain 45
Related topics: 45
Microphone modes 46
Changing the microphone mode 46
Related topics: 46
4
Microphone placement 46
Using your Mac's built-in microphone 47
Positioning a headset microphone 47
Positioning a hand-held microphone 47
Related topics: 47
Dictate text 48
Getting started with dictation 48
Creating a new document 48
Dictation guidelines 49
How to dictate 49
Where to dictate 49
How to add punctuation 49
How to use commands 49
Related Topics: 49
Mixing dictation with typing 49
What applications are supported? 50
What does it mean if my application isn't supported? 50
About the cache 51
Related topics: 51
Dictation overview 51
Paragraph and line breaks 51
Example 51
Punctuation—General 52
Example 52
Quotes 52
To dictate quotes as you speak 52
To dictate quotes after dictating a word or phrase 52
Example 1 52
Example 2 52
Bullets 52
Example 52
Email and Web addresses 52
Example 1 52
Example 2 52
Example 3 53
5
Proper nouns 53
Example 1 53
Example 2 53
Hyphenated words 53
Example 1 53
Example 2 53
Compound words 53
Example 1 53
Example 2 53
Abbreviations 53
Example 53
Acronyms 53
Example 1 53
Example 2 54
Related topics: 54
Take it back 54
Example 1 54
Example 2 54
Example 3 55
Related topics: 55
Dictating punctuation and symbols 55
To place punctuation around text 55
Punctuation and symbols 55
Related topics: 57
Dictating letters 57
Recognition modes and spelling 57
Letters 57
Dictating Acronyms 58
Accents and other non-English letters 59
Diacritical Letters 59
Ligatures and Non-Latin Letters 59
Related topics: 60
Dictating numbers 60
Dictating numbers 60
Example 1—Numerals 60
6
Example 2—Decimals 60
Example 3—Fractions 60
Example 4—Phone numbers 60
Example 5—Postal codes 60
Example 6—Currency 61
Example 7—Dates 61
Example 8—Time 61
Example 9—Weight 61
Forcing numerals 61
Example 61
Superscripts 61
Example 61
Roman numerals 61
To dictate lowercase Roman numerals 61
Example 1 61
Example 2 61
Numbers mode 61
To dictate numbers in Numbers mode 61
Example 61
Related topics: 62
Correct mistakes 63
Correcting recognition errors 63
Correction vs. editing 63
Example 63
Use Correction if 63
Use select and replace if 63
Related topics: 63
Using Correction 63
Showing the Correction window 64
Making a correction 64
Smart Formatting 65
Related topics: 65
Edit text 66
Revising text 66
Making a selection 66
7
Replacing text 67
Inserting text 67
Deleting text 67
To delete the last thing you said 67
To delete a specific word or string of words 67
Copying, cutting and pasting text 67
To cut text 67
To copy text 67
To paste text 67
Related topics: 67
Hearing your text 68
Related topics 68
Format text 69
Auto Formatting 69
To open the Auto Formatting window: 69
Street Addresses 69
Example 69
UK and Canadian postcodes 70
Example 70
Web and email addresses 70
Example 1—Email 70
Example 2—Website 70
Phone numbers 70
Example 70
Abbreviated titles 70
Example 70
Dates 70
Example 70
Times 70
Example 70
Use numerals starting with 70
Example 1 70
Example 2 71
Partially format "-illion" numbers 71
Example 71
8
Prices and currencies 71
Example 71
ISO currency codes 71
Example 71
Units of measure 71
Example 1 71
Example 2 71
Social Security Numbers 71
Example 71
All other numbers 71
Example 1—Negative numbers 71
Example 2—Decimals 71
Example 3—Ordinals 71
Common abbreviations 71
Example 71
Expand contractions 72
Example 72
Insert two spaces after period 72
Allow pauses in formatted phrases 72
Example 72
Related topics: 72
Formatting 72
To toggle bold formatting 72
To toggle italic formatting 72
To toggle underlined formatting 72
Related topics: 73
Capitalization 73
Title Case 73
To capitalize a word as you dictate 73
To capitalize the next string of words as you dictate 73
To capitalize words you have already dictated 73
Lowercase 73
To lowercase a word as you dictate 73
To lowercase the next string of words as you dictate 73
To lowercase text you have already dictated 73
9
All Caps 74
To make a word ALL-CAPS as you dictate 74
To make the next string of words all-caps as you dictate 74
To make text you have already dictated all-caps 74
Related topics: 74
Spacing 74
To insert a space 74
To adjust spacing as you dictate 74
To delete a space before a word you already dictated 74
Related topics: 74
Aligning text 75
To align the current paragraph 75
To justify text 75
To align the whole document 75
Related topics: 75
Transcription 76
Transcribing recorded audio 76
Selecting an audio file for Transcription 76
Editing a transcribed file 77
Where are my transcriptions? 78
Deleting a Transcription speaker 78
Exiting Transcription mode 78
Related topics: 78
Transcription Training 78
Related topics: 79
Control your computer 80
Launching and quitting applications 80
Related topics: 80
Navigating application windows 81
To open a new file or window 81
To close the current file or window 81
To switch between windows or applications 81
To hide or show windows or applications 81
Related topics: 81
OS X controls 81
10
To put your computer in sleep mode 81
To restart your computer 81
To quit unresponsive applications 81
To toggle full screen mode 81
To capture images of your screen 81
Related topics: 82
Working with the Finder 82
Adjusting the window display 82
To show or hide bars in Finder windows 82
To show or hide the Dock 82
To toggle Zoom view 82
Adjusting the folder display 82
To change the way items are displayed 82
To arrange items in your view 82
To create a Sidebar shortcut to the selected item 82
Managing files and folders 83
To open the selected file or folder 83
To rename the currently selected item 83
To rename another item in the current folder 83
To view a Quick Look heads up display of the selected item 83
To view the original file associated with a selected alias 83
To deselect all items in the current folder 83
Creating and deleting items 83
To create a new folder 83
To create a copy of the selected item(s) 83
To create an alias of the selected item 83
To create a compressed Zip file of the selected folder 83
To delete the selected item(s) 83
To permanently delete all files in the Trash folder 83
Navigating windows 83
To go to the next or previous view in the active window 83
To go to the enclosing folder for the selected item 83
To go to a specific folder 83
To open the Go to Folder dialog in the Finder 84
To search the Finder 84
11
Navigating folders 84
To open the Connect to Server window 84
To cycle through the open Finder windows 84
To bring all Finder windows to the front 84
To close all Finder windows 84
Ejecting a drive or disc 84
Related topics: 84
Using dialog controls 84
Related topics: 85
Key commands 85
How to say a key command 85
Key names 85
Modifier keys 86
Related topics: 86
Menu Walking 86
Related topics: 86
Mouse commands 87
Moving the mouse 87
To make the cursor begin moving in a specified direction 87
To move the cursor a specified number of units in the specified direction 87
Clicking the mouse 87
Related topics: 87
MouseGrid 87
Opening the MouseGrid 88
Zooming in 88
Dismissing the MouseGrid 88
Changing MouseGrid settings 88
Related topics: 88
Create documents 89
Working with Microsoft Word 89
Creating a document 89
Navigating within your document 89
Selecting text 89
Editing your document 90
Formatting your document 90
12
To change the font size 90
To insert a page break 90
Saving your document 90
Printing your document 90
Closing your document 90
Related topics: 90
Working with TextEdit 90
Creating or open a document 91
Navigating within your document 91
Finding text in your document 91
Selecting text 91
Editing your document 91
To paste text using the font formatting of the paste location 91
Formating your document 91
To increase or decrease the font size 92
To apply text spacing, such as indenting and Tabs, from one part of the text to another 92
Saving your document 92
To undo all your changes since the last time you saved 92
Printing your document 92
Closing your document 92
Adjusting your view 92
To wrap text 92
To bring all TextEdit windows to the front 92
To toggle Zoom view for the current window 92
To close all TextEdit windows 92
Related topics: 92
Navigating within a document 92
To move the cursor to the first or last position in the current document 93
To move the cursor a specified number of words from its current position 93
To insert the cursor before a specified word or phrase 93
To move the cursor to its previous position 93
To move the cursor up, down, left or right 93
To move the cursor to a new text field 93
Related topics: 93
Use applications 94
13
Working with Mail 94
Creating a new message 95
To reply to the selected message 95
To forward the selected message 95
To resend the selected message 95
Navigating within your message 95
Selecting text 95
Editing your message 96
Formatting text 96
Sending your message 97
Navigating messages and threads 97
To scroll within a message or thread 97
To toggle viewing threads in the Mailbox pane 97
To move between messages 97
To view your selected message or thread in the Mailbox 97
To check for new messages 97
Printing a message 97
Managing your messages 97
To sort your messages 97
To label the selected message 97
To delete the selected message 97
To clear deleted or junk messages 98
Searching your messages 98
To search the text of the current message 98
To search your Mailbox 98
Navigating your mailboxes 98
To switch to the Viewer Window 98
To navigate between Mailboxes 98
Creating and deleting mailboxes 98
To create a new Mailbox 98
To rename the selected Mailbox 98
To delete the selected Mailbox: 98
Adjusting your view 98
Related topics: 99
Working with TextEdit 99
14
Creating or open a document 99
Navigating within your document 99
Finding text in your document 99
Selecting text 99
Editing your document 99
To paste text using the font formatting of the paste location 100
Formating your document 100
To increase or decrease the font size 100
To apply text spacing, such as indenting and Tabs, from one part of the text to another 100
Saving your document 100
To undo all your changes since the last time you saved 100
Printing your document 100
Closing your document 100
Adjusting your view 100
To wrap text 101
To bring all TextEdit windows to the front 101
To toggle Zoom view for the current window 101
To close all TextEdit windows 101
Related topics: 101
Working with Microsoft Word 101
Creating a document 101
Navigating within your document 101
Selecting text 101
Editing your document 102
Formatting your document 102
To change the font size 102
To insert a page break 102
Saving your document 102
Printing your document 102
Closing your document 102
Related topics: 102
Working with Safari 102
Opening a Web page 103
Entering text 103
Navigating between pages 103
15
To switch between tabs 103
Navigating within a page 103
To scroll 103
To scroll to the top or bottom of the current page 103
To jump to the selected text on the current page 103
To move between editable text fields 104
Searching a website 104
To find specific text on a page 104
To navigate between instances of the search term 104
Loading pages 104
Using tabs 104
To create a tab 104
To close tabs 104
To move a tab into a new window 104
Safari windows 104
To close all Safari windows 104
To reopen Safari windows 104
To bring all Safari windows to the front 104
To merge all current Safari windows 104
Adding or editing Bookmarks 104
To show or hide the Bookmarks Bar 104
To add a bookmark 104
To show or hide the Bookmark Manager 105
To create a shortcut in Dragon for the current page 105
Auto Fill 105
Sharing a Web page 105
Printing 105
Changing your view 105
History 105
Related topics: 105
Working with Firefox 105
Opening a Web page 105
Dictating text 106
Related topics: 106
Working with Calendar 106
16
To create a new event 106
To delete an event 106
To search Calendar 106
To refresh your calendars 106
To back up the selected calendar 107
Adjusting your calendar view 107
To change the time period shown 107
To move to a different date 107
To show or hide all-day events on your calendar 107
To show or hide events on a specific calendar 107
Showing and hiding windows 107
To show or hide Calendar panels 107
To toggle Zoom view for the current window 107
Related topics: 107
Working with Messages 107
Related topics: 108
Browse the web 109
Dragon Web Extensions 109
Installing Dragon Web Extensions 109
Upgrading Dragon Web Extensions 109
Setting up Dragon Web Extensions—Safari 110
To allow Dragon to run on all websites 110
Setting up Dragon Web Extensions—Firefox 111
To allow Dragon to run on all websites 111
Using Dragon Web Extensions to access links and other Web controls 112
To click a link or other website control 112
To show all controls 112
To hide the numbers 112
Disabling or Uninstalling Dragon Web Extensions—Firefox 112
To disable or uninstall Dragon Internet Extension 112
To disable Dragon Internet Plug-In 112
Disabling or Uninstalling Dragon Web Extensions—Safari 113
To uninstall Dragon Dictate Web Extensions (v4) 113
To disable or uninstall Dragon Web Extensions (v5 or later) 113
Related topics: 113
17
Working with Safari 113
Opening a Web page 113
Entering text 114
Navigating between pages 114
To switch between tabs 114
Navigating within a page 114
To scroll 114
To scroll to the top or bottom of the current page 114
To jump to the selected text on the current page 114
To move between editable text fields 114
Searching a website 114
To find specific text on a page 114
To navigate between instances of the search term 114
Loading pages 115
Using tabs 115
To create a tab 115
To close tabs 115
To move a tab into a new window 115
Safari windows 115
To close all Safari windows 115
To reopen Safari windows 115
To bring all Safari windows to the front 115
To merge all current Safari windows 115
Adding or editing Bookmarks 115
To show or hide the Bookmarks Bar 115
To add a bookmark 115
To show or hide the Bookmark Manager 115
To create a shortcut in Dragon for the current page 115
Auto Fill 116
Sharing a Web page 116
Printing 116
Changing your view 116
History 116
Related topics: 116
Working with Firefox 116
18
Opening a Web page 116
Dictating text 116
Related topics: 117
Posting to Facebook and Twitter 117
To post the last text you dictated or selected 117
To dictate text to post 117
Related topics: 118
Make Dragon more accurate 119
Editing Dragon's Vocabulary 119
To open the Vocabulary Editor window 119
The Vocabulary list 119
Searching for vocabulary 120
Adding a User vocabulary item 120
Editing a user vocabulary item 120
Training a vocabulary item 121
Deleting a user vocabulary item 121
Exporting vocabulary items 121
Importing vocabulary items 121
Related topics: 121
Voice Training 121
Related topics: 122
Vocabulary Training 122
To open the Vocabulary Training window 122
To select a file for Vocabulary Training 122
Related topics: 123
Use email 124
Working with email 124
Creating a new message from anywhere on your Mac 124
Working with email applications 124
Other email applications 125
Related topics: 125
Working with Mail 125
Creating a new message 125
To reply to the selected message 125
To forward the selected message 126
19
To resend the selected message 126
Navigating within your message 126
Selecting text 126
Editing your message 126
Formatting text 127
Sending your message 127
Navigating messages and threads 127
To scroll within a message or thread 127
To toggle viewing threads in the Mailbox pane 127
To move between messages 127
To view your selected message or thread in the Mailbox 127
To check for new messages 128
Printing a message 128
Managing your messages 128
To sort your messages 128
To label the selected message 128
To delete the selected message 128
To clear deleted or junk messages 128
Searching your messages 128
To search the text of the current message 128
To search your Mailbox 128
Navigating your mailboxes 129
To switch to the Viewer Window 129
To navigate between Mailboxes 129
Creating and deleting mailboxes 129
To create a new Mailbox 129
To rename the selected Mailbox 129
To delete the selected Mailbox: 129
Adjusting your view 129
Related topics: 129
Working with webmail 129
Using Gmail 130
Composing a new email 130
Opening an email 130
Replying to an email 130
20
Forwarding an email 130
Deleting an email 131
Navigating Gmail 131
Related topics: 131
AutoTexts 132
Auto-text commands 132
Why you should use Auto-text commands 132
Creating an Auto-text command 133
Editing an Auto-text command 133
Related topics: 133
Using fields with Auto-text commands 133
Setting up your fields 134
Navigating fields and specifying their values 134
To fill in the text fields 134
Related topics: 134
Manage Dragon Commands 135
The Commands window 135
Viewing the commands list 135
To return to the contexts list 136
To filter commands 136
Viewing command details 136
Creating a custom command 137
Editing a custom command 137
Deactivating a command 137
Deleting a custom command 137
Related topics: 137
Create a command 138
What are custom commands? 138
Creating a custom command 138
Menu Item 139
Keystroke 139
Bookmark 140
File or Folder 141
Application 142
Advanced commands 143
21
AppleScript 143
Automator Workflow 143
Shell Script 143
Related topics: 144
Import and export commands 144
Exporting commands 144
Importing commands 145
Related topics: 145
Troubleshooting 146
Troubleshooting overview 146
Recognition is poor 146
Have you gotten better results from Dragon in the past? 146
Yes: 146
No: 147
Are you having trouble with a specific word? 147
Cursor is jumping to the wrong place 147
Dragon is only responding to commands 147
No audio detected 147
Commands are not working 148
Are you using a custom command? 148
Yes: 148
No: 148
Correction is not working 148
Dragon is not working with my Web browser 148
Are you using Firefox or Safari? 148
No: 148
Yes: 148
Dragon menu is not showing in the menu bar 149
Auto Sleep is not working 149
Dragon is not responding 149
Related topics: 149
Troubleshooting audio and recognition 149
Supported Devices 149
No audio signal 150
Check your microphone mode 150
22
Check your connection 150
Check microphone settings 150
Restart 150
Poor audio quality 151
Check your microphone placement 151
Recalibrate your microphone or reset the gain 151
Reduce background noise 151
Listen to your audio 151
Poor recognition 151
Check your profile 151
Voice Training 152
Vocabulary Training 152
Re-create dictation source 152
Related topics: 154
Troubleshooting Dragon Web Extensions 154
Dictation is not working properly in my Web browser 155
Related topics: 155
Troubleshooting Commands 155
MouseGrid does not appear on my second display 156
New or duplicated commands do not work 156
Custom commands are missing 157
Commands from Dragon Dictate 4 do not work 158
Related topics: 158
Troubleshooting Vocabulary 158
I can't add documents to Vocabulary Training 158
My custom vocabulary words are missing 158
Related topics: 158
Issues with Upgraded Profiles 158
Profile upgrade failed 158
Option 1: 159
Option 2 159
Transcription profile is missing 159
Related topics: 160
Uninstall Dragon Professional Individual for Mac version 6 160
To uninstall Dragon 160
23
To remove Dragon's data from your hard drive 160
To remove Dragon Anywhere data 160
To remove the Dragon Web Plug-in 160
To remove the Dragon Web Extension for Safari 160
To remove the Dragon Web Extension for Firefox 161
Related topics: 161
24
Get started
Click: To learn:
Using the Dragon menu
l How do I access Dragon's features through the Dragon menu?
The Status Window
l What can I do with the Status Window?
l How do I show or hide the Status Window?
The Guidance window
l How do I show or hide the Guidance window?
l What information is offered in the Guidance window?
Recognition modes
l What are recognition modes?
l How can I tell what recognition mode I'm in?
l How do I switch modes?
Using profiles and dictation
sources
l What is a profile?
l What is a dictation source?
l How do I switch to a different profile or dictation source?
l How do I create a new profile or dictation source?
l How do I delete a profile or dictation source?
Using DragonPad
l What is DragonPad?
l How do I dictate with DragonPad?
Dragon Anywhere
l What is Dragon Anywhere?
l How do I link to my Dragon Anywhere account?
FAQs
l Frequently Asked Questions about Dragon Professional Individual for
Mac version 6
What's New?
l What's new in Dragon Professional Individual for Mac version 6?
New to Dragon? Read these topics to learn the basics about Dragon's features and user interface.
Using the Dragon menu
The Dragon menu gives you access to everything you need to use Dragon. To access the menu, click the icon in
your menu bar.
Select a feature in the Dragon menu to access it, or click a link below to find out more about each feature.
Turn Microphone On / Off—Toggle the microphone on or off
Switch to Transcription / Dictation…—Change to Transcription mode or back to Dictation mode
Show / Hide Status Window—Toggle the Status window
Show / Hide Commands…—Toggle the Commands window
Show / Hide Guidance—Toggle the Guidance window
Edit Vocabulary…—Access the Vocabulary Editor
Add New Auto-text…—Create an Auto-text command to insert frequently used text, such as an address.
Recent Profiles—Choose between recently used profiles and dictation sources. The currently selected
profile is shown with a check mark beside it.
Manage Profiles…—Opens the Profiles pane of the Preferences window
Improve Recognition >
25
l Voice Training…—Access the Voice Training window (available only in Dictation mode)
Microphone mode button
The microphone button's icon indicates the microphone mode:
l Transcription Training…—Access the Transcription Training window (available only in
Transcription mode)
l Vocabulary Training…—Access the Vocabulary Training window
l Microphone Setup…—Access the Microphone Setup window
Preferences...—Open the Preferences window
Help >
l About Dragon—See information about the version of Dragon Professional Individual for Mac that
you are running
l Dragon Help—Access Dragon Professional Individual for Mac online help.
l Tutorial—Open the Dragon tutorial.
l DragonPad—Access the DragonPad.
l Deactivate or Activate: Deactivate your license for Dragon Professional Individual for Mac, or
activate a license if you are using the free trial period.
l Register for Support: Register your copy of Dragon Professional Individual for Mac
Quit Dragon: Exit Dragon
Related topics:
l The Status Window
l The Guidance window
l Getting started with dictation
The Status Window
The Status Window gives you quick access to Dragon's most important
features, like the microphone and recognition mode, and offers access to the
Guidance, Commands, and Correction windows.
When the Status Window is showing, it floats over all applications.
To show or hide the Status Window
l Say "Show Status Window" or "Hide Status Window."
Or
l Click the icon in the menu bar, then select Show Status Window or Hide Status Window.
To set whether the Status Window should be visible when Dragon starts up
1. Click the icon in the menu bar and select Preferences…
The Preferences window opens.
2. In the General pane, check or uncheck Show Status Window at Startup.
26
Indicator
button
Mode What it means
On Dragon is listening to your speech.
Off Dragon is not listening. Click the button to turn the microphone on.
Sleep
mode
Dragon will only respond to the command "Wake up." All other speech is ignored.
Click the microphone button to toggle the microphone on or off.
See Microphone modes for more information.
Recognition mode button
The Recognition mode determines what you can say to Dragon. The mode button indicates the current recognition
mode:
Indicator button Mode What you can do
Dictation mode Dictate text to be typed and issue commands
Command mode Issue commands
Spelling mode Dictate letters, numbers, and punctuation
Numbers mode Dictate numbers and some punctuation
Click the Recognition mode button to open the Recognition mode menu.
See Recognition modes for more information.
Window menu button
Click the icon to view the Window menu. Here, you can show or hide the following Dragon windows:
l Commands: View and edit Dragon’s commands. See The Commands window for more information.
l Correction: While dictating text, you can view the Correction window to see corrections for the last
utterance spoken. See Using Correction for more information.
l Guidance: View Dragon’s current status and common command suggestions based on your current state.
See The Guidance window for more information.
Related topics:
l Using the Dragon menu
l Getting started with dictation
27
The Guidance window
The Guidance window offers information about Dragon's current status as well as suggested commands. When the
Guidance window is showing, it floats over all applications.
The Guidance window offers information about:
l Dragon’s current state, including:
l The most recent command you spoke,
transcribed into text.
l Special states such as Caps On.
l How Dragon works in the current
application.
For details on how Dragon works in
different applications, see Mixing
dictation with typing.
l Common next steps based on what you are
doing right now.
Click the Commands button to view and edit all of
Dragon's commands. For information, see The
Commands window.
Click the Help button to view the Dragon online help.
Showing or hiding the Guidance window
To show or hide the Guidance window, do one of the following:
l Say "Show Guidance" or "Hide Guidance."
l In the Status window, click the icon and choose Show Guidance or Hide Guidance.
l Click the icon in the menu bar and select Show Guidance or Hide Guidance.
Related topics:
l Mixing dictation with typing
l The Commands window
l The Status Window
Recognition modes
You use recognition modes to tell Dragon what to listen for. Your current mode is displayed in the Status window.
To select modes, do one of the following:
l Say "Switch to Dictation mode," "Switch to Command mode," "Switch to Spelling mode" or "Switch to
Numbers mode."
l Click the Recognition mode icon in the Status Window and select a mode from the menu.
l Press the keyboard shortcut (by default, ⌘ F10) for cycling between recognition modes. See Preferences
window: Shortcuts for more information on setting keyboard shortcuts.
28
Status window
icon
Mode What you can do:
Dictation
mode
In Dictation mode, you can:
l Dictate text to be typed, including punctuation, letters and numbers.
l Issue commands.
See Using commands in Dictation mode, below, for tips on getting the best results
in Dictation mode.
Command
mode
In Command mode, you can:
l Issue commands.
If you say something that Dragon can't interpret as a command, nothing happens.
Open the Guidance Window for suggested commands based on your recent
actions.
Spelling
mode
In Spelling mode, you can:
l Dictate letters, numbers, and punctuation.
l Issue commands.
No automatic spacing or capitalization will be applied.
Numbers
mode
In Numbers mode, you can:
l Dictate numbers and some punctuation.
l Issue commands.
All numbers are typed as numerals. You can also enter certain punctuation, such
as mathematical symbols.
Using commands in Dictation mode
Because Dictation mode allows you to dictate and use commands, Dragon uses pauses to determine whether a
phrase should be considered a command or dictated text. For best recognition when issuing a command, speak the
command smoothly and continuously, but pause before and after it.
If you speak smoothly and continuously, Dragon will interpret your words as dictation, even if they include words that
might be a command.
Example:
Say: "Select date and time."
Result: "Select date and time."
If you pause before and after a phrase, Dragon will consider that phrase as a possible command.
Example:
Say: "What is today's date" [pause] "Select date."
Result: "What is today's date."
Related topics:
l Recognition mode button
l Dictation overview
l Dictating letters
l Dictating numbers
l The Commands window
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Preferences window
General
In the General pane of the Preferences window, you can control basic aspects of Dragon's appearance
and behavior.
See more…
Startup options:
l Microphone in Sleep instead of Off at Startup—Select to change the default microphone mode when
Dragon launches to sleep. Otherwise, Dragon launches with the microphone turned off.
This allows you to turn the microphone on by saying "Wake up" rather than having to use your mouse.
l Show Status Window at Startup—Select to show the Status Window at launch time. Otherwise, you will
have to show the Status Window by saying "Wake up". For more information, see The Status Window.
l Launch Dragon at Startup—Select to allow Dragon to launch when you turn on your computer. This
means Dragon will always be available to you – just turn on your microphone and speak.
Command Generation options:
l Generate Application Launch Commands—Select to allow Dragon to create globally available
commands you can use to launch any application on your computer. See Launching and quitting
applications for details.
l Generate Email Commands—Select to allow Dragon to create globally available commands to create
and address an email message to anyone in your Contacts list. See Working with Mail for details on email
commands.
Restart Dragon to see changes to your generated command preferences.
Auto Sleep options:
Adjust the slider to change how long the microphone takes to go to sleep when you are not using it.
Allowing the microphone to go to sleep prevents Dragon from interpreting background noise as dictation
while you are not using it.
Profiles
In this topic, learn how to use the Preferences window to customize Dragon settings, including:
l General preferences
l Profiles and dictation sources
l Dragon Anywhere accounts
l Keyboard shortcuts
l Update Dragon
l Advanced preferences
l License keys or Dragon accounts
The Preferences window allows you to customize various Dragon settings.
To show the Preferences window
l Say "Access Dragon Preferences window."
Or
l Click the icon in the menu bar, then select Preferences…
There are six panes in the Preferences window:
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