Information and FAQs
Written by Administrator
How to use Dragon NaturallySpeaking®
Q. WHAT DO I NEED TO OPERATE A COMPUTER BY VOICE?
A. Checklist:
- Software
- Microphone
- USB pod (external soundcard)
- A suitable computer - see system requirements below
- Training
Q. WHERE CAN I FIND MORE INFORMATION ON HOW TO USE DRAGON NATURALLYSPEAKING®?
A. See the Training Resources on the Downloads page.
User Guides (manuals) can be downloaded from http://support.nuance.com/usersguides/.
The Nuance Customer Portal is an excellent source of information.
Q. HOW CAN I NAVIGATE THIS WEBSITE BY VOICE USING DRAGON NATURALLYSPEAKING®?
A.
| Say | To |
|---|---|
| "Start Internet Explorer" or “Open Desktop Shortcut" | To open Internet Explorer |
| “Favourites” then “Add to Favourites” | Add this website to Favourites menu |
| “Favourites” | Open the Favourites menu |
| "Start scrolling Up | Down |
Scroll in a web page |
| Say the name of a link | Go to a link |
| "Text Link", then "Choose 3" etc | Number links |
| "Page |
Navigate |
| "Go to |
Go to top or bottom of a webpage |
| “Search" or "Text Field" | To go to the Search box |
| "Print Page" | To print a web page |
| “Press Tab” | Move to the next field (e.g. in the Enquiries form) |
| “Press Shift Tab” | Move to the previous field (e.g. in the Enquiries form) |
For more information on navigating websites by voice, see the Training Resources on the Downloads page.
Q. HOW CAN I SET UP A DRAGON USER?
A. See the Downloads page.
Q. HOW CAN I IMPROVE RECOGNITION ACCURACY?
- Use a suitable microphone and soundcard.
- Check audio settings regularly. Say “Check Audio Settings” and follow the prompts.
- Be aware of correct microphone position.
- Speak clearly and in long phrases whenever possible.
- Pause before and after commands.
- Correct recognition errors. It is a good idea to correct in context. That is, correct one or two words either side of the misrecognised word/s. This gives Dragon more information about the context of word usage.
- Refine the vocabulary. Say “Edit Vocabulary”. It is particularly important to add frequently used phrases to the vocabulary.
- Create custom commands (macros) to produce frequently used text.
- Use the tools in the Accuracy Centre to scan your electronic documents (Say “Bring up Accuracy Centre", or go to Tools menu |Accuracy Centre | ‘Add Words from Your Documents to the Vocabulary’ and also ‘Increase Accuracy from E-Mail’). Dragon will pick up unfamiliar vocabulary and also information about the frequency and context of word usage.
For more information, see the Training Resources on the Downloads page.
Q. HOW CAN I BACK UP AND RESTORE A DRAGON USER?
A. Your Dragon user (sometimes referred to as Voice Files) contains all the customisations you have made including corrections, custom vocabulary and custom commands (macros).
There are two reasons why you might need to restore a backup of your Dragon User:
- Hard drive failure;
- Corruption of Dragon User
Although the Dragon user is automatically backed up (usually to the hard drive, unless you have directed it to back up elsewhere), this backup is usually overwritten every 5 times you save your Dragon user. The Dragon user is generally saved each time you close Dragon.
In the case of hard drive failure, a backup stored on your hard drive will obviously be of no use. For this reason, I recommend that you backup your Dragon user regularly to a network drive or other storage device - either burn to a CD or copy to a USB drive. If burning to a CD, zip files first using WinZip, otherwise all files will become read-only.
In the case of corrupt voice files, a backup that has been recently overwritten might not be useful to you. If your voice files have become corrupt, then it is possible that a recent backup will also be corrupt. For this reason, I recommend that you keep two backups, preferably on a network drive—an older backup that you know is 'clean' as well as a more recent backup.
How often to backup?
This is a matter of personal judgement. I suggest backing up once every two or three months but it would be wise to backup if you have recently done a lot of customisations. Each time you do a backup, delete the oldest one so you are only keeping two backups.
To copy/export Dragon User
Say “Manage Users” or go to Dragon bar | NaturallySpeaking | Manage Users |make sure the User you want to copy is highlighted | Advanced | Export | Say Yes if asked to save User before exporting | Browse to the location where you will keep your backup copy (I suggest you create a folder for this purpose); follow the prompts from here.
To restore/import Dragon User
Say “Manage Users” or go to Dragon bar | NaturallySpeaking | Manage Users | Advanced | Import| browse to the folder where you have stored your backup | follow the prompts from here | If the Dragon User you are importing has the same name as your current user, rename when prompted.
General product information
Q. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PROFESSIONAL AND PREMIUM EDITIONS?
A. The Professional edition has more features than the Premium edition, including an enhanced capacity for customisation. The Professional edition's powerful customisation (ie macro) facility increases the number of tasks that can be done by voice, reducing use of the keyboard and mouse. For this reason, the Professional edition is recommended for those with a health condition or disability who need to work as much as possible by voice.
For those able to do some tasks by hand and using the software mainly to dictate text, the Premium edition will be suitable. For more information, see the Edition Comparison.
Q. CAN I USE DRAGON NATURALLYSPEAKING® ON MORE THAN ONE COMPUTER?
A. A single licence is for one person. The License Agreement allows you to use Dragon NaturallySpeaking® software on more than one computer, providing you are the principal user. You could legitimately use Dragon NaturallySpeaking® on a work desktop, work notebook computer and also a home computer.
Please enquire for more information if you are interested in a Multi User Licence.
Q. HOW FAST IS IT POSSIBLE TO WORK BY VOICE?
A. Relative productivity when working by voice compared to working by hand will depend on a number of factors, including:
- The skill and experience of the operator;
- how long you have been using the software and how familiar it is with your vocabulary and writing style;
- The nature of the task e.g. transcribing or composing, dictating or navigating;
- What typing speed and accuracy is being compared;
- What proportion of tasks, and which tasks are done by voice. People with serious health conditions or disabilities will generally want to work as much as possible by voice. However, the most efficient strategy would be to use voice for those tasks that are most efficiently done by voice, and to do the rest by hand.
- How much you have customised the software for example by refining the vocabulary and creating macros;
- Having a fast processor and plenty of RAM will increase speed and accuracy. Once trained, most users are happy with the speed at which they can work by voice, providing there are no technical problems and recognition accuracy is high (95%+).
Q. WILL I BE ABLE TO OPERATE A COMPUTER ENTIRELY BY VOICE?
A. It is unrealistic to speak of 'hands-free' use, certainly when work involves using several applications and complex computing tasks. A greater degree of 'hands-free' use can be achieved when computing tasks are relatively simple, for instance dictating standard letters using a limited vocabulary.
System requirements and technical information
Q. WHAT ARE THE SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS FOR DRAGON NATURALLYSPEAKING®?
Generally speaking, the faster the processor and the more RAM, the better Dragon will work.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking Version 10.1 is required for 64-bit Windows XP/Vista operating systems. Existing version 10 owners can download Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10.1 from http://www.nuance.com/vista/naturallyspeaking/Dragon10.1/
Note that this is a full installation, not a patch. For more information on using Dragon on 64-bit operating systems, see: http://speechempoweredcomputing.co.uk/Newsletter/?p=441
Operating System Windows XP
| Level | Processor | Memory (RAM) |
|---|---|---|
| Recommended | Intel dual or quad core processor e.g. Intel Core 2 Duo or Quad with speed of 2 GHz or faster, or equivalent | 2 GB |
| Optimum — for best performance | Intel dual or quad core processor e.g. Intel Core 2 Duo or Quad with speed of 3 GHz or faster, or equivalent | 3 GB |
Operating System Windows Vista and Windows 7
| Level | Processor | Memory (RAM) |
|---|---|---|
| Recommended | Intel dual or quad core processor e.g. Intel Core 2 Duo or Quad with speed of 2 GHz or faster, or equivalent | 4 GB |
| Optimum — for best performance | Intel dual or quad core processor e.g. Intel Core 2 Duo or Quad with speed of 3 GHz or faster, or equivalent | 8 GB |
Dragon is resource hungry software and needs a fast processor and plenty of RAM. If you have the means to use a more powerful computer than recommended above, all the better.
You will also need a suitable soundcard and microphone, see details below.
Q. WHICH MICROPHONES ARE SUITABLE FOR USE WITH DRAGON NATURALLYSPEAKING®?
A. We recommend and sell VXI Parrott TalkPro Express headset microphones. To purchase this mic, see Product Categories / microphones. We recommend using a USB pod (external soundcard) with this microphone.
For other microphone options, including Dual microphones suitable for use with both Dragon and telephone, and wireless microphones, see the Product Categories / microphones menu.
Q. HOW DO I KNOW WHETHER MY COMPUTER’S SOUNDCARD IS SUITABLE FOR USE WITH NATURALLYSPEAKING®?
A. To check details of soundcard, go to control panel/sounds and audio devices/audio/check what is listed under Sound recording.
Then check the hardware compatibility list at http://support.nuance.com/compatibility/
Alternatively, or as an additional check, set up a Dragon user and see what results you get from the audio check. If you pass the audio check and get a Speech to Noise ratio (SNR) of 18 or more, this indicates that sound quality is adequate. If you fail the audio check, or SNR is less than 18, this indicates that either the microphone or soundcard or both are not adequate for use with speech recognition software.
A recognition accuracy check will also indicate whether the sound quality is adequate. Dictate a passage of text, around 200 to 300 words. Speak as clearly as you can. Don't correct any recognition errors. When you have finished, count the number of recognition errors and calculate as a percentage of the total number of words. For example, if you dictated 300 words and 15 were misrecognised, then 5% of words were misrecognised and the recognition accuracy rate is 95%. A recognition accuracy rate of 95% or higher indicates that the quality of sound input through your microphone and soundcard is adequate.
Q. HOW DO I INSTALL DRAGON NATURALLYSPEAKING®?
A. See Downloads page for instructions.
Q. WHAT ARE THE RECOMMENDED SETTINGS FOR DRAGON NATURALLYSPEAKING?
A. See Downloads page.
Q. WHICH VERSIONS OF DRAGON ARE COMPATIBLE WITH MICROSOFT VISTA AND MICROSOFT OFFICE 2007?
A. To use with Microsoft Vista and/or Microsoft Office 2007 you will need Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9.5 or 10. If you have version 9.0 or 9.1, a free upgrade to version 9.5 is available from the Nuance website. Note that this is a full installation, not a patch. For more information see
http://www.nuance.com/vista/naturallyspeaking/professional//
Q. WHICH VERSION OF DRAGON IS COMPATIBLE WITH MICROSOFT WINDOWS 7?
A. Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 10.1 is required for compatibility with Windows 7. If you have version 10.0, a free upgrade to version 10.1 is available from the Nuance website. Note that this is a full installation, not a patch. You will need to provide a V10 serial number, and be registered. For more information see
http://www.nuance.com/vista/naturallyspeaking/Dragon10.1//
Q. DOES DRAGON WORK ON MACINTOSH COMPUTERS?
A. It is possible if you have a Macintosh that can run Windows operating system. Please enquire for more information. An alternative is to use MacSpeech Dictate, speech recognition software designed for Macintosh, available from www.mac1.com.au.
For more information see the MacSpeech website and the MacSpeech Support Forums
Digital Recorders
Q. CAN I USE A DIGITAL RECORDER WITH DRAGON NATURALLYSPEAKING® TO TRANSCRIBE RECORDED SPEECH?
A. Dragon NaturallySpeaking preferred and professional editions can be used with suitable digital recorders to transcribe recorded speech. We recommend Sony and Olympus digital recorders for use with Dragon NaturallySpeaking to transcribe.
For further information, please enquire.
Q. CAN DRAGON NATURALLYSPEAKING® BE USED WITH A DIGITAL RECORDER TO TRANSCRIBE INTERVIEWS?
A. Recognition accuracy will be poor if interviews are recorded:
- with more than one speaker;
- where the speaker is not known to Dragon NaturallySpeaking®;
- when speech is not very clear;
- where there are high levels of background noise.