User manual SCANSOFT DRAGON NATURALLYSPEAKING 6

[. . . ] USER'S GUIDE By Dan Newman For details on ScanSoft Application Solutions Partners near you, please visit: www. ScanSoft. com/NaturallySpeaking/locator/ Learn more about speech recognition at: Training and Customization Professional training and customization services from a ScanSoft-certified Applications Solutions Partner can help you achieve the maximum return on your investment. If you would like to unleash the full potential of Dragon NaturallySpeaking software, please contact one of our Partners for training, customization, and more. ScanSoft Application Solution Partners are the best in the industry; distinguished by their expertise, experience, and commitment to providing top-level services for Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech recognition products. For details on ScanSoft Application Solutions Partners near you, please visit: www. ScanSoft. com/NaturallySpeaking/locator/ or call 800-443-7077 About the Author Dan Newman is president of Say I Can, Inc. , a leading reseller of speech-recognition products and training services. [. . . ] While much of the material in this chapter describes features and procedures available only in the Preferred edition, there are many helpful tips about workflow and correction that can be used in all editions. Dictate first, correct later (Preferred edition only) It's a natural tendency to watch the screen as you dictate and correct the computer's errors as they occur. Writing takes concentration and fixing errors as you go can throw you off track. The best way to work is to dictate anywhere from a few sentences to several paragraphs at once. Then, while your dictation is still fresh in your mind, go back and correct any errors the program has made. When dictating, you'll achieve higher accuracy and be less distracted if you don't watch the computer. Try dictating with your eyes closed or Dragon NaturallySpeaking User's Guide 133 CHAPTER 11 Workflow look at the ceiling, to the side, or down. Watching the computer constantly as you speak can make your speech rhythms less natural and may increase the likelihood of errors. Listening to your recorded voice (Preferred edition only) The primary obstacle to dictating first and correcting later is forgetting what you originally said. It's frustrating to discover one of the software's mistakes but not remember the words you used. The easiest way to remind yourself of what you said is to listen to your recorded voice. In most applications, Dragon NaturallySpeaking records what you say as you speak. In some applications, you can play back only the most recent phrase you said. NOTE Playback is available only in Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred. It works in Microsoft Word, Corel WordPerfect, the DragonPad and any other application that accepts formatting, such as WordPad. Please note that in Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred you cannot save a recording of your dictation along with the document--you must listen to your speech in the same computer session in which it was transcribed. Here are two ways to play back your recorded speech. s s Select the text for which you want to hear your original dictation and say "Play That Back. " Select the text for which you want to hear your original dictation and click on the blue triangle on the Extras toolbar on the DragonBar. Now that you've heard what you originally said, correct the error. Other playback commands are: s s s s s s "Play Back Line" "Play Back Paragraph" "Play Back Document" "Play Back Window" (plays just the text in view) "Play Back To Here" (from the top of the window to the insertion point) "Play Back From Here" (from the insertion point to the bottom of the window) 134 Dragon NaturallySpeaking User's Guide CHAPTER 11 Workflow NOTE The "Play Back Faster" command only works if you have a full-duplex sound card. However, the Fast Playback button on the Extras toolbar works with all sound cards. While your dictation is being played back, you can press the left arrow key to back up, the right arrow key to go faster, and the down arrow key When you save a document in Microsoft Word, Corel WordPerfect, or the DragonPad, you'll be asked if you want to save the audio recording of your speech. If you click Yes, Dragon NaturallySpeaking will create a file with the same name as your text document, but with the extension ". dra. " This . dra file contains the audio. To conserve hard disk space, be sure to delete them when they are no longer needed. NOTE Because of memory constraints, Dragon NaturallySpeaking can play back only your last 100 utterances (defined by the pauses in your speech). To increase the amount of transcribed text you can play back, try speaking in longer phrases without pausing for a breath or increase the "Pause between phrases" setting. (From the Tools menu on the DragonBar, choose Options and click the Miscellaneous tab. ) If playback is unavailable When Dragon NaturallySpeaking will not play back your recorded voice, you still need to figure out what you said so that you can correct your text. For example: s s The program types: ". . . make sure speech patterns. . . " Say it aloud to remember what you said: ". . . makes your speech patterns. . . " For complex or difficult dictation that would be hard to reconstruct, have a handheld recorder running on your desk as you speak. It's time-consuming to go back and listen to the whole recording, but it's reassuring to know it's there if needed. The most efficient and least frustrating solution for correcting your text is to have fewer mistakes to begin with. [. . . ] Enumerate all option (radio) buttons on the page and go to the first one. Enumerate all the boxes with a list of choices (drop-down lists) on the page and go to the first one. Deactivate a list of choices, leaving the most recent choice selected. Choose an entry from a list of choices, in this example, Thursday. Click Radio Button/ Radio Button Click List Box or List Box Show Choices Hide Choices Cancel Choices Choose Thursday or Thursday You can use standard editing commands to work with text that you enter in a Web form. [. . . ]