User manual NUANCE DRAGON NATURALLYSPEAKING 7

USER'S GUIDE March 2003. Version 7. Professional, Medical, and Legal, Solution Series, Preferred, Standard, and Essentials editions. This material may not include some last-minute technical changes and/or revisions to the software. Changes are periodically made to the information provided here. Future versions of this material will incorporate these changes. ScanSoft, Inc. has patents or pending patent applications covering the subject matter contained in this document. The furnishing of this document does not give you any license to such patents. This software is protected under the following patents, among others: 5,027,406; 5,168,548 5,202,952; 5,231,670; 5,388,183; 5,428,707; 5,465,318; 5,526,463; 5,680,511; 5,715,367; 5,754,972; 5,765,132; 5,794,189; 5,799,279; 5,818,423; 5,822,730; 5,850,627; 5,890,181; 5,909,666; 5,915,236; 5,920,836; 5,920,837; 5,949,886; 5,960,394; 5,970,448; 5,970,460; 5,983,179; 6,029,124; 6,058,366; 6,064,959; 6,073,097; 6,088,671; 6,092,043; 6,092,044; 6,101,468; 6,125,342; 6,125,347; 6,138,098; 6,151,575; 6,163,768; 6,167,377; 6,212,498; 6,260,013; 6,292,779; 6,349,282; 6,424,943; and 6,456,972. No part of this manual or software may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including, without limitation, electronic or mechanical, such as photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval systems, without the express written consent of ScanSoft, Inc. Specifications are subject to change without notice. Copyright © 2002-2003 ScanSoft, Inc. All rights reserved. ScanSoft, the ScanSoft logo, the Dragon logo, Dragon NaturallySpeaking, NaturallySpeaking, NaturallyMobile, RealSpeak, Nothing But Speech (NBS), Natural Language Technology, Select-and-Say, MouseGrid, and Vocabulary Editor are registered trademarks or trademarks of ScanSoft, Inc. in the United States or other countries. All other names and trademarks referenced herein are trademarks of ScanSoft or their respective owners. Designations used by third-party manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products may be claimed as trademarks by those third-parties. Pentium is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. Adobe and Acrobat are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated. Corel and WordPerfect are registered trademarks of Corel Corporation. Lotus and Lotus Notes are registered trademarks of Lotus Development Corporation. Microsoft, Outlook, Windows, Windows NT, Visual Basic, and PowerPoint are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Voice It, the Voice It logo, and Voice It Link are trademarks or registered trademarks of VXI Corporation. AMD is a trademark of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Sound Blaster is a registered trademark of Creative Technology Ltd. America Online is a registered trademark of America Online, Inc., a division of AOL Time Warner. Sony and Memory Stick are regitered trademarks of the Sony Corporation Panasonic is a registered trademark of the Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd iPAQ is a registered trademark of the Hewlett-Packard Company Dave Barry in Cyberspace, © Copyright 1996 by Dave Barry, published by Crown Publishers. 3001: The Final Odyssey, © Copyright 1997 by Arthur C. Clarke, published by HarperCollins Publishers. Dogbert's Top Secret Management Handbook, © Copyright 1996 by United Feature Syndicate, Inc., published by HarperBusiness, a division of HarperCollins Publishers. Success Is a Journey: 7 Steps to Achieving Success in the Business of Life, © Copyright 1999 by Jeffrey J. Mayer, published by McGraw Hill. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, © Copyright 1972 by Roald Dahl, published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., and Penguin Books. The Captain of Battery Park, © Copyright 1978 by Eugene Pool, published by Addison-Wesley. 50-A11A-10053 Contents CHAPTER 1 Introduction 1 About this guide 2 What's new in Version 7? 3 What should I expect from Dragon NaturallySpeaking? 4 Installation and Training 5 System requirements 5 Plugging in the microphone 6 Installing the software 7 Creating a new user 9 Setting up your microphone 11 Training a new user 13 Adapting to your writing style 15 Starting to Dictate 17 Starting Dragon NaturallySpeaking 17 Turning on the microphone 17 Starting to dictate 18 Getting Help 21 Troubleshooting 22 The DragonBar 23 Using QuickStart 25 Working on your Desktop 27 Programs, documents and folders 27 Switching between open windows 28 Opening and closing menus 28 Selecting buttons, tabs, and options 29 Selecting icons on the desktop 30 Resizing and closing windows 31 Scrolling in windows and list boxes 31 Opening lists and making selections 32 Pressing keyboard keys 32 Moving the mouse pointer and clicking the mouse CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 36 Dragon NaturallySpeaking User's Guide iii Contents CHAPTER 5 Correcting and Editing 41 Correcting mistakes 41 Selecting text by voice 45 Moving around in a document 48 Copying, cutting, and pasting text 50 Deleting text 50 Spelling as you dictate 52 Playing back your dictation (Preferred and higher) Using text-to-speech 57 Formatting 61 Capitalizing text 61 Formatting text 64 Working with Applications 67 Working with e-mail 67 Working with Microsoft Internet Explorer 70 Working with Microsoft Word 76 Working with Microsoft Excel (Preferred and higher) 53 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 80 CHAPTER 8 Dictating Names, Numbers, Punctuation & Special Characters 83 Dictating numbers 83 Punctuation 91 Dictating hyphenated words 93 Dictating compound words 94 Dictating names 95 Dictating abbreviations and acronyms 96 Dictating e-mail and Web addresses 96 Dictating special characters 97 Switching Recognition Modes 101 Using the Command Browser 103 Supported Applications 103 Starting the Command Browser 104 Finding specific commands 105 Training commands 108 Working with Custom Commands (Preferred and higher) Improving Accuracy 115 The Accuracy Center 115 Tools to improve your acoustics 116 Tools to Manage Commands 118 CHAPTER 9 109 CHAPTER 10 iv Dragon NaturallySpeaking User's Guide Contents Tools to improve your vocabulary 118 Training a word or command 129 Using the Performance Assistant 130 CHAPTER 11 Managing Users 131 Creating a new user 131 Opening a user 132 Renaming a user 133 Deleting a user 133 Backing up and restoring a user 134 Importing and exporting users 136 Using Portable Recorders (Preferred and higher) 137 Installing recorder software 138 Creating a user adapted to your recorded speech 140 Dictating into your recorder 144 Transcribing recorded dictation 145 Correcting mistakes 151 Using the Dragon NaturallyMobile recorder as a microphone 151 Automate Your Work (Preferred and higher) Viewing and editing commands 154 Creating new commands 154 Deleting custom commands 159 Importing and exporting commands 160 Changing the command group and availability 160 Customizing Dragon NaturallySpeaking 161 Correction options 161 Startup/Shutdown options 163 View options 165 Hot key options 166 Miscellaneous options 169 Formatting options 170 Commands List 173 207 153 CHAPTER 12 CHAPTER 13 CHAPTER 14 APPENDIX INDEX Dragon NaturallySpeaking User's Guide v CHAPTER 1 Introduction D ragon NaturallySpeaking lets you talk to your computer instead of typing. As you talk, your words are transcribed onto your screen and into your documents or e-mail messages. Talking to a computer while it types what you say is called dictating. You can dictate into Microsoft® Word, Corel® WordPerfect®, e-mail programs, personal information organizers, and virtually any other program in which you normally type. You can use Dragon NaturallySpeaking to: Compose letters, memos, and send e-mail messages. You can cut and paste inside your documents as well as revise and format text. Just think about what you want to say, and then say it into the microphone. Enter data into forms or spreadsheets. Most people can dictate numbers faster than they can type. Using Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional or higher editions, you can create custom voice commands to let you move from field to field on your form by voice. Work on the Web. You can search the Web, access information, and navigate Web pages by speaking URLs and links. Start programs and open menus. Use handheld recorders to dictate while you are away from your computer. Dragon NaturallySpeaking can then transcribe what you said. (Available in Preferred and higher editions.) Dragon NaturallySpeaking User's Guide 1 1 Introduction About this guide This guide covers all editions of Dragon NaturallySpeakingNaturallySpeaking. This includes: Essentials Standard Preferred Professional Professional Solution Series Most of the information presented in this guide is applicable to all the editions. Differences between the editions is noted in the text. Conventions used in this guide 1 This guide contains many examples of words and phrases you can say when using Dragon NaturallySpeaking. These examples appear in italics with quotation marks, for example: "Format That Bold." 2 Some procedures also include sample text for you to dictate. Sample text appears in a different typeface, with punctuation in square brackets. For example: US/Canada: When talking to a computer [comma] try to say every word clearly without trailing off at the end of a sentence [period] Other Dialects: When talking to a computer [comma] try to say every word clearly without trailing off at the end of a sentence [full stop] 3 This guide applies to the five English dialects that ship with Dragon NaturallySpeaking: US English UK English Australian English Indian English Southeast Asian English US English uses US spelling, punctuation, and time and currency formats. We recommend US English for Canadian users since this dialect formats numbers (including times, telephone numbers, and currency) in North American formats. All other dialects use UK spelling, punctuation, and time and currency formats (some number settings depend on your Windows Regional Settings). Where 2 Dragon NaturallySpeaking User's Guide 1 Introduction multiple dialects are used in dictation examples, those dialects appear in a different font style. For example: You can also correct a longer phrase by saying "Correct [text] Through [text]" (US/ Canada) or "Correct [text] To [text]" (Other Dialects). 4 5 This guide uses US spelling and punctuation for consistency. This guide also includes tips and notes to help you use the software more effectively. Tips and notes appear like this: TIP If you pause correctly, but Dragon NaturallySpeaking still types a command as dictation, you can force it to recognize what you say as a command by holding down the CTRL key. NOTE With Numbers Mode on, Dragon NaturallySpeaking tries to interpret everything you say as a number. If you dictate words, the results will be unpredictable. However, you can still navigate menus and switch between programs by voice when Numbers Mode is on. What's new in Version 7? Dragon NaturallySpeaking Version 7 includes the following new features: New Performance Center The Performance Center guides you through troubleshooting and performance optimization to be sure you're getting the most out of Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Improved Command Browser The new Command Browser gives you more flexibility when creating and managing your custom commands. The Command Browser is available in all editions, but functionality varies by edition. Improved Text and Graphics Commands (Available only in Professional and higher editions) Text and Graphics commands can now optionally match text to the font of the document you're creating or include special formatting and bitmaps, allowing you maximum flexibility. Support for Additional Input Devices Dragon NaturallySpeaking Version 7 now supports certified Pocket PC devices as well as additional digital handheld recorders, array microphones and cordless microphones. RealSpeak V2 (Available only in Preferred and higher editions) Dragon NaturallySpeaking Version 7 now includes ScanSoft's RealSpeak V2. Full Support for More Applications: Outlook Express: Dragon NaturallySpeaking automatically learns the contact names in your Outlook Express address book. (Available only in Standard and higher editions) 3 Dragon NaturallySpeaking User's Guide 1 Introduction AOL 6, 7 and 8: Full Natural Language Command support. WordPerfect 10: Full compatibility and Natural Language Command support (Available only in Standard and higher editions) Microsoft Excel (Available only in Preferred and higher editions) Microsoft Access (Available only in Preferred and higher editions) Natural Punctuation (Available only in Standard and higher editions) You can have Dragon NaturallySpeaking automatically insert periods and commas in dictated text. Support for network installations and maintenance (Available only in Professional and higher editions) Dragon NaturallySpeaking is available with an MSI file for network installations, and has been certified for SMS and Active Directory Services environments. (Available only in Professional and higher editions) Ability to automatically launch NaturallySpeaking at system startup time. Vocabulary Optimizer (Available only in Standard and higher editions) The Vocabulary Optimizer examines e-mail and documents to analyze sentence structure and word use frequency, and then adjusts the recognition engine to match your writing patterns. What should I expect from Dragon NaturallySpeaking? One reason to use Dragon NaturallySpeaking is to do your writing more quickly; creating letters, reports, and other documents by voice. Another is to reduce the stress associated with keyboarding. Or maybe you just like the idea of being able to lean back in your chair, put your feet up on the desk, and still get work done. Dragon NaturallySpeaking is good for all these reasons, but making it work well requires some effort from you. Dragon NaturallySpeaking learns about your voice and pronunciation as you use it. When you use words the program doesn't know, it will misrecognize them. By correcting your mistakes, you help Dragon NaturallySpeaking improve its ability to recognize your way of speaking. Do I still need my keyboard and mouse? Although you can use Dragon NaturallySpeaking to do almost everything on your computer by voice, some things are still easier to do by mouse or keyboard. If using a mouse and keyboard is an option for you, try experimenting with using your voice and using your hands for different tasks, to see what works best. If using a mouse and keyboard is not an option, see "Working on your Desktop" on page 27. 4 Dragon NaturallySpeaking User's Guide CHAPTER 2 Installation and Training T his chapter describes how to install, set up, and train Dragon Naturally Speaking. System requirements To run Dragon NaturallySpeaking, your system must meet the following requirements: Intel® Pentium® III 500MHz or greater (or equivalent AMDTM processor) NOTE Dragon NaturallySpeaking will not install on machine with a processor of less than 500MHz. 128 MB RAM for Essentials, Standard, and Preferred editions 256 MB RAM for Professional edition and Solution series. 300 MB free hard disk space for a typical installation; 700 MB for a full installation. Microsoft® Windows® ME, Windows® 98SE, Windows® NT 4.0 with Service Pack 6 or higher, Windows® 2000, or Windows® XP. 16-bit Creative® Labs Sound Blaster®, or compatible sound card capable of and set to 16bit, 11KHz for Audio Recording Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 5 or higher (free download available at www.microsoft.com. CD-ROM drive (8x or faster) required for installation. ScanSoft-approved noise-canceling headset microphone (included) Speakers - optional for playback of recorded speech and text-to-speech features. (Available only in Preferred and higher editions) Dragon NaturallySpeaking User's Guide 5 2 Installation and Training Multiple users on one computer Dragon NaturallySpeaking is licensed on a "per individual" basis. You are permitted to install the software on more than one computer (for example, on a desktop and a laptop computer, or on a work computer and a home computer), although you may not use the software concurrently on more than one computer, and you are permitted to create multiple voice profiles, so long as each voice profile is for you. If someone else desires to create or use another voice profile, however, that person must purchase a separate license for Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Volume license agreements are available. Plugging in the microphone To use Dragon NaturallySpeaking, you will need to plug in your microphone. 1 Insert the microphone plug into the MIC input jack of your sound card. Microphones and sound cards vary, but the microphone jack is usually red and has a picture of a microphone. If your sound card does not have a MIC jack, use the LINE IN jack. If you are not sure how to plug in your microphone, consult the documentation that came with your computer. Note the following: Also, if you have a USB or array microphone (supported in Preferred and higher editions), follow the instructions that came with it instead of this description. 2 Insert the headphone plug into the LINE OUT jack on your sound card. If your sound card does not have a LINE OUT jack, use the SPEAKER or HEADPHONE jack. NOTE If you already have speakers for your computer, you can also use these to playback recorded speech instead of your headphones. 6 Dragon NaturallySpeaking User's Guide 2 Installation and Training Installing the software Before installing Dragon NaturallySpeaking: Close all open applications. Turn off or disable any antivirus software; installation can sometimes trigger a false virus report. NOTE You must have Administrator rights to install or uninstall Dragon NaturallySpeaking on Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP. Administrator rights are not required to create a user or use the software after installation. This also applies for an upgrade installation. Upgrading from a previous version Upgrading from Version 5: You can upgrade your English users from any edition of Dragon NaturallySpeaking Version 5 to Version 7. The installation automatically migrates your english Version 5 user files and vocabularies to Version 7. If you upgraded from: Version 5 English, the Version 5 English software will no longer be functional. A non-English or multilingual Version 5, the software will remain fully functional, but the english Version 5 users will no longer be available in Version 5. Your non-English users files will not be upgraded and will still be available. Upgrading from Version 6: You can upgrade from any edition of Dragon NaturallySpeaking Version 6 to Version 7. When upgrading from Version 6, you can choose to automatically migrate your V6 user files and vocabularies to Version 7. Once V7 is installed, Version 6 will no longer be functional. To install Dragon NaturallySpeaking: 1 Insert the Dragon NaturallySpeaking CD into your CD-ROM drive. If the installation does not start automatically, use the Windows Explorer to find and double-click setup.exe on your CD-ROM drive. Follow the on-screen instructions during installation. 2 Provide your customer information, including the serial number supplied with your NaturallySpeaking installation information. Choose your destination location. If there are no previous version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking on your system, the default directory is: 7 3 Dragon NaturallySpeaking User's Guide 2 Installation and Training C:\Program Files\ScanSoft\NaturallySpeaking If you have Version 5 or 6 on your system, Version 7 will install to the previous version's directory. 4 Choose your Setup Type (Preferred and higher editions) Most users in the US should choose "Typical Installation" and click Next. This installs Dragon NaturallySpeaking with the US (American) English user files. To install non-US English user files, choose "Custom Installation" and follow the instructions below. Pick Custom Installation if you want to have more control over which components to install. NOTE If you decide not to install some Dragon NaturallySpeaking components by selecting a Custom installation, you can install them later by running the Setup program again and choosing Modify. Installing non-US user files (Preferred and higher) To install user files for UK (British) English, Australian English, Indian English, or Southeast Asian English, choose "Custom Installation" from the setup screen and click Next. Select the user file for the dialect you want and click Next to continue installation. The user files for each region contain both spellings and pronunciations specific to that region. All users who wish to dictate US English spellings--including users with accents--should install the US (American) English user files. 8 Dragon NaturallySpeaking User's Guide 2 Installation and Training 5 (Upgrade only) If you are upgrading from Version 5 or 6, the Version 7 installation prompts you to upgrade your users. You may be prompted later to re-train some of your existing users. Continue following the on-screen instructions. The setup program will copy the files for Dragon NaturallySpeaking to your computer. When prompted, make sure to register your copy of Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Once registered, we can notify you of product updates and other offers. At the end of the installation, you can enable the Dragon NaturallySpeaking QuickStart option. By enabling Quickstart, NaturallySpeaking launches at system startup time and adds the NaturallySpeaking Quickstart icon to the Windows task bar. For more information on the QuickStart option, see "Using QuickStart" on page 25. Click Finish to complete the installation. The program may ask you to reboot your computer. 6 7 8 9 Creating a new user When you launch the software for the first time, the New User Wizard starts and leads you through creating a new user. For example: NOTE If you upgraded a single user from a previous version, NaturallySpeaking loads that user. If you upgraded multiple users, NaturallySpeaking displays the Open User dialog box. Dragon NaturallySpeaking User's Guide 9 2 Installation and Training Creating a user 1 To create a user, you must type a name in the Your Name field. The software automatically picks the best speech model and vocabulary settings for your system. For more information, see "About vocabularies and languages" below. Select your dictation source. If you are using a USB microphone or another type of input device, choose the appropriate option from the "Dictation source" drop-down list. Click Next to continue. 2 3 About vocabularies and languages Languages Some editions of Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 7 let you to create and train users in multiple languages. If you have purchased an edition with support for more than one language, you can add additional languages by choosing "Custom Install" during Setup. For Professional and higher editions, if you didn't select additional languages during Setup, you can also select an additional language when you create a new user. In this instance, you will need the Dragon NaturallySpeaking CD to install the language files before you can create the user. Vocabulary Dragon NaturallySpeaking uses a vocabulary to recognize words correctly based not only on the sound of the words, but on their context. The Vocabulary list is available only if your edition and language let you choose among different types of vocabularies. Check the list to see the available choices. Vocabulary size When you create a set of user files, Dragon NaturallySpeaking recommends the vocabulary that best fits your computer's speed and memory. For most users, this recommendation should be followed. Depending on your edition, you may see an Advanced button. Experienced users may want to click the Advanced button to specify a different vocabulary size: Medium: for computers with 128 MB of RAM. Large: for computers with more than 256 MB of RAM. Empty Dictation: a vocabulary with a language model but without any words. Empty Dictation is designed for experienced users or re-sellers who want to create highly specialized vocabularies. (Professional and higher editions) 10 Dragon NaturallySpeaking User's Guide 2 Installation and Training Speech Model Dragon NaturallySpeaking uses the speech model to adapt to your voice during training. When you create a set of user files, Dragon NaturallySpeaking recommends the speech model that best fits your computer's speed and memory. Depending on your edition, you may see an Advanced button. Experienced users can use the Advanced dialog box to choose between different speech models. See the online help for more information. Setting up your microphone Click Next to have the New User Wizard lead you through setting up your microphone. Positioning your microphone The New User Wizard first explains how to position your microphone: Once you have correctly positioned the microphone, click Next to continue. Position the microphone Positioning the microphone is important. If the microphone is out of place, Dragon NaturallySpeaking may not be able to hear you clearly and may make more mistakes. Consistent position is also important. Make sure that you position the microphone the same way each time you use Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Dragon NaturallySpeaking User's Guide 11 2 Installation and Training Using a headset microphone Position the microphone about a half-inch (approximately the width of your thumb) from your mouth and a little off to the side. The microphone should not touch your mouth, but it can be almost touching your lips. If you need to move the microphone out of the way, you can lift the "boom" up and over your head, rather than bending it out of position or removing the headset. Using a handheld microphone (Preferred and higher) Hold the microphone one to three inches from your mouth and a little off to the side. If the volume display on the DragonBar turns red, try holding the microphone slightly farther from your mouth. Using an array microphone (Professional and higher) Position the array between 18 and 30 inches from and pointed at your mouth. Avoid blocking the path between your mouth and the array, for example by holding a book or paper in front of your face. Avoid having any source of noise or signal other than your voice directly facing the array within at least 15 feet. Check your volume When the "Adjust Your Microphone: Volume Check" screen appears, click the "Start Volume Check" button and then read aloud the text displayed in the box. When the program beeps to indicate it has finished checking the volume, click Next. Sound quality check When the "Adjust Your Microphone: Quality Check" screen appears, click "Start Quality Check" and then read aloud the text displayed in the box. The program beeps when it has finished evaluating the sound quality of your system. If Dragon NaturallySpeaking displays "PASSED," click the Next button to continue. 12 Dragon NaturallySpeaking User's Guide 2 Installation and Training Training a new user You must now train Dragon NaturallySpeaking to recognize your voice. NOTE For more information on training a mobile user, see "Using Portable Recorders (Preferred and higher)" on page 137. A yellow arrow shows you where to start reading. To take breaks while you're training the program, click Pause. To advance through the first two screens, you must say the sentences without pausing. For the rest of the screens, it's okay to pause in the middle of a sentence. When the words change color, it means the computer has heard and recognized them. If you keep reading the same words, and the computer still doesn't get it, just click Skip. Otherwise, click Next to continue. Dragon NaturallySpeaking User's Guide 13 2 Installation and Training Choose a text to read aloud and click OK. You only need to read for about five minutes to train NaturallySpeaking to recognize your voice. You can take breaks during this training by clicking Pause. Don't worry if you make mistakes or laugh. You should try to read exactly what you see on the screen, but it's okay if you read something incorrectly. The computer will either ignore the mistake or display the yellow arrow so you read the text again. The progress bar shows how much text you have left to dictate. NOTE During training, dictating punctuation is not necessary. When you've read enough, the New User Wizard displays a congratulations message. When you click OK, NaturallySpeaking starts adapting to your voice. 14 Dragon NaturallySpeaking User's Guide