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USER’S GUIDE

April 2002. Dragon NaturallySpeaking XP Edition.
This material may not include some last-minute technical changes and/or revisions to the program. Changes are
periodically made to the information described here. Future versions of this material will incorporate these changes.
ScanSoft, Inc. may have patents or pending patent applications covering subject matter in this document. The furnishing
of this document does not give you any license to such patents. The software is subject to one or more of the following
U.S. patents, among others: 5,027,406; 5,202,952; 5,428,707; 5,526,463; 5,680,511; 5,715,367; 5,754,972; 5,765,132;
5,794,189; 5,799,279; 5,809,453; 5,818,423; 5,822,730; 5,850,627; 5,903,864; 5,909,666; 5,915,236; 5,920,836; 5,920,837;
5,946,654; 5,949,886; 5,960,394; 5,983,179; 6,029,124; 6,052,657; 6,064,959; 6,073,097; 6,088,671; 6,092,043; 6,092,044.
Specifications subject to change without notice. Appearance of microphone may vary from that shown.
Copyright © 2002 ScanSoft, Inc. All rights reserved.
No part of this material or software may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including electronic or mechanical,
such as photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval systems, without the express written
consent of ScanSoft.
ScanSoft, Dragon Systems, L&H, NaturallySpeaking, NaturallyMobile, Select-and-Say, BestMatch, MouseGrid,
Vocabulary Builder, Vocabulary Editor, and the ScanSoft logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of ScanSoft in the
United States and/or other countries. All other names and trademarks referenced herein are trademarks of ScanSoft or
their respective owners.
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks.
Where those designations appear in this book, and where ScanSoft is aware of the trademark, the first occurrence of the
designation is printed with a trademark (™) or registered trademark (®) symbol.
Adobe and Acrobat are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated.
Corel and WordPerfect are trademarks of Corel Corporation.
Lotus and Lotus Notes are registered trademarks of Lotus Development Corporation.
Microsoft, Outlook, Windows, Windows NT, and Windows XP are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
Netscape and Netscape Navigator are trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation.
Voice It, the Voice It logo, and Voice It Link are trademarks of Voice It Worldwide, Inc.
Yahoo! is a trademark of Yahoo! Inc.
Dave Barry in Cyberspace, © Copyright 1996 by Dave Barry. Published by Crown Publishers.
2001: A Space Odyssey, © Copyright 1968 by Arthur C. Clarke. Published by New American Library.
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 Chocolate Factory, © Copyright 1964 by Roald Dahl. Published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., and Penguin
Books.
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, © Copyright 1972 by Roald Dahl. Published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., and Penguin
Books.
To Be a Man, © Copyright 1997 by Eugene and Miranda Pool.
Ghost Brother, © Copyright 1990 by C.S. Adler. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
The Captain of Battery Park, © Copyright 1978 by Eugene Pool. Published by Addison-Wesley.

Contents
About This Guide

CHAPTER 1

Introducing Dragon NaturallySpeaking 1
Features 2
What should I expect from Dragon NaturallySpeaking? 6
Do I still need my mouse and keyboard? 7

CHAPTER 2

Using Dragon NaturallySpeaking Successfully 9
How Dragon NaturallySpeaking works 10
Seven habits for success with Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11
Positioning your microphone correctly 11
Speaking properly to the computer 12
Correcting recognition mistakes 15
Playing back your dictation 23
Using text-to-speech 28

CHAPTER 3

Improving Your Speech Recognition 31
Working with the Dragon NaturallySpeaking vocabulary 31
Quick and easy ways to add new words 34
Advanced tools for building and editing vocabularies 41
Managing vocabularies 54
Training Dragon NaturallySpeaking to recognize problem words 59
Running General Training again 63

CHAPTER 4

Dictating Names, Numbers & Punctuation 65
Dictating names of people, places, and events 65
Dictating abbreviations and acronyms 67
Dictating hyphenated words 68
Dictating compound words 69
Dictating words that end with ’s 70
Dictating e-mail and Web addresses 72
Dictating special characters 73
Dictating foreign words 75
Dictating numbers 76

CHAPTER 5

Editing and Revising Text 87
Moving around in a document 87
Selecting text 90

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

iii

Contents
Copying, cutting, and pasting text 95
Capitalizing text 95
Formatting text 98
Deleting text 100
CHAPTER 6

Working With Your Desktop and Windows 103
Starting programs 104
Opening documents and folders 105
Switching between open windows 106
Copying text to other programs 106
Opening and closing menus 107
Selecting buttons, tabs, and options 108
Selecting icons on the desktop 109
Resizing and closing windows 110
Scrolling in windows and list boxes 110
Pressing keyboard keys 111
Moving the mouse pointer and clicking the mouse 115

CHAPTER 7

Working With E-Mail and the Web 119
Working with E-mail 119
Working with Internet Explorer 123

CHAPTER 8

Managing Users 131
Creating a new user 132
Opening a user 133
Renaming a user 133
Deleting a user 134
Backing up a user 135
Restoring a backup copy of a user
Multilingual users 137

136

CHAPTER 9

Creating Your Own Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands 139
About voice commands 140
Creating and editing voice commands 140
Importing and deleting command files 150
Troubleshooting commands 151

APPENDIX A

Using Dragon NaturallySpeaking With a Portable Recorder 153
Installing recorder software 154

APPENDIX B

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List 171

INDEX

207

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

About This Guide
W

elcome to Dragon NaturallySpeaking®, one of the world’s most
widely acclaimed speech-recognition products. Dragon
NaturallySpeaking lets you talk to your computer instead of typing. It
also lets you use your voice to control your computer in other ways.
This guide provides detailed information that will help you get the most
out of using the program. It also explains how to ensure that Dragon
NaturallySpeaking will recognize your speech accurately. Before using
this guide, we recommend that you read the Dragon NaturallySpeaking
Quick Start guide and view the online Tutorial.
This guide covers multiple editions of Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
Where information applies to certain editions only, this is clearly noted.

Conventions used in this guide

This user’s guide contains many examples of words and phrases you can
say when using Dragon NaturallySpeaking. These examples usually
appear in italics with quotation marks, for instance: “Scratch That.”

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]

This guide covers the five dialects of English that ship with Dragon
NaturallySpeaking:
■

US English

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

About This Guide

■

UK English

■

Australian English

■

Indian English

■

Southeast Asian English

US English uses US spelling, punctuation, times, and currency. ScanSoft
recommends 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, times, and currency
(some number settings depend on your Windows Regional Settings).
Dictation examples that differ among dialects appear in a different font,
as in this example:
■

You can also correct a longer phrase by saying “Correct [text] Through
[text]” (US/Canada) or “Correct [text] To [text]” (Other Dialects).

This user’s guide uses US spelling and punctuation for consistency.
4

This guide also includes helpful tips to improve your dictation, and
notes that require special attention. 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 The ability to create your own voice commands is available only in Dragon
NaturallySpeaking Professional and higher editions.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

CHAPTER

Introducing Dragon
NaturallySpeaking
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 for:

■

Composing letters, memos, and e-mail messages. Just think about
what you want to say, and then say it into the microphone.

■

Writing a report, article, or story. Brainstorm out loud and capture
your thoughts on screen. Then edit your work by voice or mouse
and keyboard.

■

“Typing up” notes from a meeting. When you get back to your desk,
simply read your notes into the microphone.

You can also use simple voice commands to revise and format text, move
around your document, and control your computer. Learn the basics in
your Quick Start guide.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking isn’t just for creating documents. You can also
use your voice to start programs, open menus, and click buttons. If you
use Internet Explorer, you can use Dragon NaturallySpeaking to browse
the Web by voice. Learn how in Chapter 7, “Working With E-Mail and
the Web.”

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

CHAPTER 1

Introducing Dragon NaturallySpeaking

If you share your computer with family members, friends, or colleagues,
they can also use Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Simply create a new set of
“user speech files” for each person who wants to talk to the computer.
Find out how in Chapter 8, “Managing Users.”
After you become comfortable talking to your computer, you may want
to take the convenience of dictating a step further by using a portable
recorder with Dragon NaturallySpeaking. This option is available if you
have Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred or a higher edition. For more
information, see Appendix A, “Using Dragon NaturallySpeaking With a
Portable Recorder.”
If you have Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional or a higher edition,
you can expand the power of using speech by creating your own voice
commands. Find out how in Chapter 9, “Creating Your Own Dragon
NaturallySpeaking Commands.”
Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional and higher editions also let you
create and customize additional vocabularies for dictating in different
subject areas. For more information, see “Managing vocabularies” on
page 54.

Features
Dragon NaturallySpeaking for XP has many features to make your
dictation easier and faster to use. Most of these features are available
through the DragonBar. When you see the DragonBar on your screen,
you can dictate into virtually any program.

Welcome to the DragonBar
Dragon icon

NaturallySpeaking menu

Microphone icon and volume display

Start DragonPad icon

Display Help icon

Show Extras icon

Users icon

The Dragon icon

Click the icon (or right-click anywhere on the DragonBar) to display a
menu that controls how the DragonBar looks and acts on your screen.
See the online Help for more information.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

CHAPTER 1

Introducing Dragon NaturallySpeaking

NaturallySpeaking menu

The NaturallySpeaking menu on the DragonBar contains all the menu
commands that you can use while working in Dragon
NaturallySpeaking. Some of these commands are also available from
other parts of the DragonBar, for example opening the online Help.
Microphone icon and volume display

Click the microphone icon to turn speech recognition on and off.
Microphone is off

Microphone is on and ready to dictate

The volume display shows how well the program is hearing your voice.
Start DragonPad icon

Click the icon to open the DragonPad, the built-in word processor for
Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
Display Help icon

Click the icon to open online Help for Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
Users icon

Click the Users icon to display a menu that contains a list of your users
and a command that opens the Manage Users dialog box.

Extras toolbar icon
Transcribe button Start playback button

Stop playback button

Playback speed button

Correction button

Skip Backward / Skip Forward

The Extras toolbar is available in Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred
and higher editions.
Click the double chevron icon
contains the following:

to display the Extras toolbar, which

Transcribe a recording button

Click this button to open the Transcribe dialog box, which you use to
transcribe recordings of dictation made on portable recorders.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

CHAPTER 1

Introducing Dragon NaturallySpeaking

Playback toolbar

Contains controls that control the playback of your dictation. For more
information, see “Playing back your dictation” on page 23, or see the
online Help.
Playback speed button

Click this button to speed up or slow down dictation playback.
Correction button

Click this button to open the Correction dialog box and correct a
mistake.

Features in Dragon NaturallySpeaking
Standard and higher editions
Dictate into virtually any application

Whenever you see the DragonBar on your screen, you can dictate into
any application and use many Dragon NaturallySpeaking commands.
See “Which commands work in which programs?” on page 171 for more
information.
Learn hands-on with the online Tutorial

The Dragon NaturallySpeaking Tutorial leads you through basic
dictation techniques. See your Quick Start guide and the online Help for
more information.
Get started promptly

All computers that meet the minimum system requirements of the
software now learn your voice in about 3 to 5 minutes. Your Quick Start
guide takes you step-by-step from installation through your first
dictation. See “Creating a new user” on page 132 of this user’s guide for
more information.
Dictate with improved accuracy

See “Improving Your Speech Recognition” on page 31 for more
information.
Choose quick and easy ways to correct mistakes

Proofread and correct your work as you dictate with the convenient
Quick Correct list. See “Correcting recognition mistakes” on page 15 for
more information.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

CHAPTER 1

Introducing Dragon NaturallySpeaking

Never forget a command again

Can’t remember a command? Voice commands are readily available with
helpful on-screen reminders, extensive online Help, a detachable
command reference card, and two Top 10 Commands stickers for your
keyboard and monitor. Say “View Command List” to see the Command
List in the online Help, or see the “Dragon NaturallySpeaking
Commands List” on page 171 for a complete list of voice commands.
Add words from your documents quickly and easily

The new Add Words From Documents feature scans your documents for
particular words you use and adds them to the Dragon
NaturallySpeaking vocabulary in a few simple steps. See “Add Words
from Documents” on page 35 for more information.
Manage your e-mail by voice

Dictate into popular e-mail programs with special built-in voice
commands. See “Working with E-mail” on page 119 for more
information.
Find ways to surf the Web

See “Working with Internet Explorer” on page 123 for more information.

Features in Dragon NaturallySpeaking
Preferred and higher editions
Enter commonly used text

Create dictation shortcuts to insert multiple lines of text, such as a letter
closing, with only a few words. See “Creating dictation shortcuts” on
page 38 for more information.
Dictate in more than one language

Install multiple languages in the same edition of Dragon
NaturallySpeaking (English-as-a-second-language editions only). See
“Multilingual users” on page 137 for more information.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

CHAPTER 1

Introducing Dragon NaturallySpeaking

Features in Dragon NaturallySpeaking
Professional and higher editions
Dictate now, correct later

Save a recording of your dictation session so that you or someone else
can proofread and revise your work later. See “Dictate now, correct later”
on page 26 for more information.
Work in Lotus® Notes®

Use built-in commands, including Select-and-Say™ editing, in Lotus
Notes. See the online Help for more information.
Organize and file your voice commands

Manage your macro scripts and specialized commands by placing them
into multiple files. See “Creating and editing voice commands” on page
140 for more information.
Customize your own Tutorial

Dragon NaturallySpeaking resellers can customize the online Tutorial to
include specific information about services that they provide.
All editions also feature many additional improvements and bug fixes.

What should I expect from
Dragon NaturallySpeaking?
One reason to use Dragon NaturallySpeaking is to do your writing more
quickly. 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
actually learns about your voice and pronunciation as you use it. When
you use words the program doesn’t know, it will make mistakes, and
you’ll have to stop and correct them.
It may take a while before you feel comfortable and productive using
Dragon NaturallySpeaking. You can find out more about how to make

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

CHAPTER 1

Introducing Dragon NaturallySpeaking

the program work well by reading Chapter 2, “Using Dragon
NaturallySpeaking Successfully.”

Do I still need my mouse and
keyboard?
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, read
Chapter 6, “Working With Your Desktop and Windows.”

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

CHAPTER

Using Dragon
NaturallySpeaking
Successfully
I

f you followed the exercises in your Quick Start guide, by now you’ve
had a chance to try dictating with Dragon NaturallySpeaking. So, are
you ready to throw away your keyboard? Probably not. Chances are there
are more mistakes in your document than you’d like to see.
Why does the program make mistakes, and what can be done so it makes
them less often? This chapter provides some background information to
help you understand how Dragon NaturallySpeaking works.
It then reveals the “Seven habits for success with Dragon
NaturallySpeaking,” a list of tips and procedures you can follow to make
the program recognize your speech accurately. This discussion is
continued in Chapter 3, “Improving Your Speech Recognition.”
The section on “Correcting recognition mistakes” discusses how to
correct misrecognized words, including ways to train the program to
reduce future errors.
The chapter concludes by introducing dictation playback and text-tospeech (available in Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred and higher
editions), and saving your dictation for later correction (available in
Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional and higher editions).

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

CHAPTER 2

Using Dragon NaturallySpeaking Successfully

How Dragon NaturallySpeaking
works
When you talk into the microphone, Dragon NaturallySpeaking doesn’t
hear words or phrases. The computer hears your speech as a continuous
stream of sounds. From this stream, Dragon NaturallySpeaking picks out
common sound patterns, known as phonemes.
To match these sound patterns to words, Dragon NaturallySpeaking
relies on two large sources of data: acoustic data and language data.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking uses acoustic data about the sound patterns
that make up different words to choose the words that most closely
match what it heard. Since no two people sound exactly alike, Dragon
NaturallySpeaking does a much better job of matching sounds to words
when it knows something about your pronunciation. When you first
trained the program, you provided acoustic data on top of what Dragon
NaturallySpeaking already knows about the sounds of English.
Sometimes it’s not possible for Dragon NaturallySpeaking to choose the
correct word based on sound alone. Consider these two phrases: “pizza
delivery boy” and “Pete’s a delivery boy.” When spoken, they sound
almost exactly alike. How would Dragon NaturallySpeaking know which
to choose?
Dragon NaturallySpeaking uses language data about the context and
frequency of word use to determine which words were most likely
spoken. The phrase “pizza delivery boy” is more common than “Pete’s a
delivery boy,” so the program would favor this phrase over the other.
Since people write differently, it helps if Dragon NaturallySpeaking
knows something about the frequency with which you use different
words. When you Add Words From Documents, run Vocabulary
Builder™, or make corrections to your dictation, you’re providing the
program with language data about how often you use different words.
Knowing that Dragon NaturallySpeaking uses acoustic data and
language data to recognize your speech can help you know what to do to
make the program work better.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

CHAPTER 2

Using Dragon NaturallySpeaking Successfully

Seven habits for success with
Dragon NaturallySpeaking
The rest of this chapter, and Chapter 3, describe seven habits you can
adopt to make Dragon NaturallySpeaking work well for you. If you make
the techniques and procedures in these chapters a habit, and continue to
use Dragon NaturallySpeaking regularly, you should be able to make the
program recognize your speech more accurately.

Seven habits for success with Dragon
NaturallySpeaking
Chapter 2
■

Position your microphone correctly

■

Speak properly to the computer

■

Correct recognition mistakes

■

Add words to the Dragon NaturallySpeaking vocabulary

■

Run Vocabulary Builder

■

Train Dragon NaturallySpeaking to recognize problem words

■

Run General Training again

Chapter 3

If you have Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional, you can also
create specialized vocabularies to enhance recognition accuracy. See
“Managing vocabularies” on page 54.

Positioning your microphone
correctly
You’ve already heard a lot about the importance of your microphone
position. If you followed the instructions on the screen when you first
started Dragon NaturallySpeaking, your microphone is probably in about
the right position. But you should continue to think about your

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

CHAPTER 2

Using Dragon NaturallySpeaking Successfully

microphone and check its position frequently to make sure it hasn’t
moved out of place.
If you find that Dragon NaturallySpeaking is making too many mistakes,
experiment with moving the microphone a little closer to or farther from
your mouth.
If extra words, such as “and” and “the,” are often inserted into your
document, Dragon NaturallySpeaking may be interpreting the sound of
your breath as speech. Try moving the microphone slightly to the side, so
it’s not directly in front of your mouth.
Keep in mind that it’s easy for the microphone to move slightly out of
the best position. You might not notice if this happens, because Dragon
NaturallySpeaking may still get most of your words right. But if the
microphone is even slightly out of place, the program may no longer be
able to tell the difference between similar-sounding words, such as “or”
and “all,” and will begin making subtle mistakes.
Make it a habit to check your microphone position regularly. If accuracy
ever seems lower than normal, always start by checking your microphone.
TIP You can double-check your microphone position at any time by running the Audio
Setup Wizard. On the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced, then click Check
Audio. Make sure your audio quality is “Passed.”

Speaking properly to the
computer
At times the computer will type something that sounds like what you
said but isn’t quite right. People sometimes misunderstand each other in
the same way. But the computer is not a person, so it won’t help to:
SHOUT
t a l k

s l o w l y

or. say. only. one. word. at. a. time.
This section provides some guidelines for talking to a computer.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

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Using Dragon NaturallySpeaking Successfully

Speak naturally and continuously, but
pronounce each word clearly
When you talk to another person, you can mumble and run your words
together and still be understood most of the time. For example, if you
say, “Innit cold?” a person will probably understand that you’re asking,
“Isn’t it cold?”
But Dragon NaturallySpeaking has trouble interpreting mumbled or
slurred speech. The computer recognizes speech most accurately when
it can hear each word distinctly.
To understand what it means to speak both clearly and naturally, listen to
the way newscasters read the news. If you copy this style when you use
Dragon NaturallySpeaking, you should see an improvement in how well
the program recognizes what you say.
Make it a habit to say each word clearly when you talk to the computer.

Avoid leaving out words and making extra
sounds (like “um”)
In conversation with another person, it’s okay if you leave out a word
here and there. People are good at filling in the blanks in a sentence.
Unfortunately, the computer is not very good at this. If you leave out
words, Dragon NaturallySpeaking also leaves them out.
Another thing people do well is ignore all those “ums” and “ers” that
show up in conversation. But the computer has no way of knowing which
words are unimportant, so it simply transcribes everything you say.
Make it a habit to avoid leaving out words or making extra sounds. It
may help to compose your thoughts before you speak.

Speak at your normal pace—don’t slow down
When another person is having trouble understanding you, speaking
more slowly usually helps. So it’s not surprising that people often slow
down and begin sounding out each syllable when Dragon
NaturallySpeaking makes mistakes.
It doesn’t help, however, to speak at an unnatural pace when you’re
talking to a computer. This is because the program listens for predictable

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

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Using Dragon NaturallySpeaking Successfully

sound patterns when matching sounds to words. If you speak in
syllables, Dragon NaturallySpeaking is likely to transcribe each syllable
as a separate word.
Make it a habit to speak at your normal pace, so Dragon
NaturallySpeaking can learn your normal pronunciation.

Speak in phrases, rather than one word at
a time
Along with the tendency to speak slowly, people often begin saying just
one or two words at a time when Dragon NaturallySpeaking makes
mistakes.
Surprisingly, speaking in very short phrases or individual words can
actually lessen accuracy. This is because Dragon NaturallySpeaking uses
the context of a phrase to help it decide what you said.
Consider the following phrase: “Dear Mr. Jones.” If you were to dictate
this phrase one word at a time (“dear” “mister” “jones”), Dragon
NaturallySpeaking might type “Deer” or “Gear” instead of “Dear.” But
if you were to dictate the whole phrase (“dear mister jones”), the program
can use context to determine that the word you want is most likely
“Dear.”
Make it a habit to dictate in phrases, so Dragon NaturallySpeaking can
use context to help determine what you said. It may help to compose
your thoughts before you speak.

Speak at your normal volume—don’t whisper
or speak too loudly
When you first started Dragon NaturallySpeaking and read the training
text aloud, the program adapted to the pitch and volume of your voice,
along with learning your pronunciation.
For this reason, you should continue to speak at a normal volume (or
slightly louder if this helps). If you shout or whisper, Dragon
NaturallySpeaking won’t understand you as well.
Make it a habit to speak at your normal volume, since Dragon
NaturallySpeaking has adjusted to this volume.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

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Using Dragon NaturallySpeaking Successfully

Prevent vocal strain
When you’re dictating for long periods you should think about
protecting your voice.
Here are some tips for preventing vocal strain:
■

Sit up straight or stand in front of your computer.

■

Don’t speak in a loud voice or in any way that is stressful for you.

■

Breathe deeply from your abdomen and not from the top of your
chest.

■

Loosen up and relax: stretch your arms, shoulders, neck, and jaw
muscles.

■

Take occasional breaks: get up, move around, and stretch.

■

Keep your vocal cords moist: take sips of water and use a straw so
you don’t have to move the microphone out of place.

Correcting recognition mistakes
When Dragon NaturallySpeaking types the wrong words, you should
correct these mistakes. By giving the program the right word, you
actually teach the program not to make the same mistakes again.
Correcting mistakes requires some extra effort, but it saves you time in
the long run by making Dragon NaturallySpeaking more accurate. You’ll
probably need to correct mistakes often when you first start dictating,
and then less frequently as the program learns from your corrections.
Make it a habit to correct mistakes to continue to improve the accuracy
of the program. Make sure you save your speech files when prompted, to
preserve the adjustments the program makes.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking offers two tools for correcting:
■

The Quick Correct list is the quickest and easiest way to make
corrections in the DragonPad.

■

The Correction dialog box is a more powerful tool that lets you
correct text and spell new words.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

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Using Dragon NaturallySpeaking Successfully

Correcting mistakes with Quick Correct
In the DragonPad, correcting a mistake is quick and easy. Just select the
mistake and choose the correct word or phrase from the Quick Correct
list.

To correct a mistake with Quick Correct:
1

Dictate until Dragon NaturallySpeaking misrecognizes a word. For
example, dictate this sentence:
US/Canada: The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog [period]
Other Dialects: The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog [full stop]
In the following example, Dragon NaturallySpeaking heard the word
“quick” as “dark.”

Quick Correct list
Say “Choose 1” to
replace “dark” with
“quick.”

Select the mistake. You can select the text you just dictated by saying
“Select That,” or you can select a specific word or phrase by saying
“Select” followed by the word(s) you see. The Quick Correct list appears.

You can also choose
to spell the word,
capitalize it, delete it,
cancel, or ignore the
Quick Correct list and
keep dictating.

In this example, when you say “select dark,” the word “dark” is
highlighted and the Quick Correct list shows you the most likely
matches for the misrecognized word.

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Using Dragon NaturallySpeaking Successfully

Choose the correct word from the Quick Correct list by saying “Choose”
and the number next to your choice. In this example, say “Choose 1,” and
“quick” will replace “dark.”
If the word you want does not appear in the list, say “Spell That” or
“Correct That.” The Correction dialog box will appear for you to spell or
type the correct word. See the next procedure for details.
When the Quick Correct list appears, you can also choose to:
■

spell the word (in this example, say “Spell That q-u-i-c-k”)

■

capitalize it (say “Cap That,” in this example, to get “Dark”)

■

delete it (say “Scratch That”)

■

say “Cancel” to dismiss the list

■

ignore the Quick Correct list and keep dictating (in this example,
just say “quick”)

If you ignore Quick Correct and dictate while text is selected, your new
dictation will replace the selected text: this is called Select-and-Say. This
method, however, does not teach Dragon NaturallySpeaking not to
make the same mistake again. For more information on Select-and-Say,
see “Select-and-Say vs. correction” on page 22.
TIP If you prefer not to see the Quick Correct list every time you select text, you can
turn it off. In the Options dialog box, select the Correction tab and clear the check box
“Select commands bring up Quick Correct.”

The Quick Correct list works in the DragonPad, but not in other
programs. If you select text by voice and the Quick Correct list does not
appear, just say “Spell That” or “Correct That” and continue with the
procedure below.

Using the Correction dialog box
The Correction dialog box is the most powerful and universal way to
correct a mistake so that Dragon NaturallySpeaking won’t misrecognize
the word again.
There are many ways to open the Correction dialog box. Use the method
that is most convenient for you, as described in the following list.

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To open the Correction dialog box:
■

When the Quick Correct list is open, say “Spell That” or “Correct
That.” This method works only in the DragonPad.

■

To correct a mistake immediately after it appears, say “Spell That” or
“Correct That.” This method works in any program.

■

Say “Correct” and then the word or phrase that you see on the
screen. This method works in Select-and-Say applications (see page
171).

■

You can also correct a longer phrase by saying “Correct [text] Through
[text]” (US/Canada) or “Correct [text] To [text]” (Other Dialects). For
[text], substitute the actual word or words at the beginning and the
end of the phrase you want (they must be visible on the screen). For
example, if you want to correct “it was a dark and stormy night,” you
can say “Correct it was through night” (US/Canada) or “Correct it was to
night” (Other Dialects). This method works in Select-and-Say
applications (see page 171).

■

Select text and say “Spell That” or “Correct That.” This method
works in Select-and-Say applications (see page 171).

■

Press the correction keyboard shortcut, the minus (-) key on the
numeric keypad. This opens the Correction dialog box with the last
thing you said, the selection, or the words preceding or following the
insertion point.

■

Say “Spell” to open the Correction dialog box with no text in it.
This allows you to spell a word for the first time. For more
information, see “Spelling as you dictate” on page 22.

NOTE If you’re correcting more than one word, the words must all be in sequence
(next to each other). You cannot use a single command to correct words that are in
different parts of your document.

Some people prefer to correct the mistakes in their documents by using
the mouse and keyboard. You can use your mouse to select the wrong
words (or simply place your insertion point somewhere in the mistake),
and then press the minus (-) key on the numeric keypad to open the
Correction dialog box.

To correct a word or phrase:
1

Open the Correction dialog box.

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When the Correction dialog box opens, if the correct word or phrase is in
the list of choices, you can simply choose it.

You can resize the
Correction dialog box by
dragging a corner or
side.

Text box

Note: The Play Back
button is only in Preferred
and higher editions.

There are several ways to choose the correct text:
■

Say “Choose” and then the number of the correct choice. For
example, say “Choose 9” (or “Choose Numeral 9”).

■

Click the correct choice, and then click or say “OK.”

■

Double-click the correct choice.

This closes the Correction dialog box and enters the text into your
document.
3

If none of the choices exactly matches what you said, you must enter the
correct text. There are two ways to enter the correct text:
■

Start spelling the correct word or phrase. Say the letters
continuously and quickly, not one at a time.

■

Start typing the correct word or phrase into the text box. As you
type, the list shows alternatives that match what you’ve typed so far.

When you see the correct choice, choose it by voice or mouse.

If the correct choice doesn’t appear, finish spelling or typing it and then
click or say “OK.”For example, try dictating the following text:
US/Canada: I liked your proposal period why don’t you webify it and have
the rest of the team take a look question mark
Other Dialects: I liked your proposal full stop why don’t you webify it and
have the rest of the team take a look question mark

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Dragon NaturallySpeaking types:
I liked your proposal. Why don’t you Web if I it and have the rest of the
team take a look?
To correct the text, say “Select Web if I,” then “Spell That w-e-b-i-f-y.”
Then click or say “OK.”

Spelling in the Correction dialog box
You can either spell text by voice or type it here. You cannot dictate
whole words into the Correction dialog box.
When you’re spelling, this is what you can say:
■

letters (a–z)

■

International Communications Alphabet (alpha, bravo, and so
on)

■

numbers (0–9)

■

punctuation

■

“Cap” (to capitalize the next letter)

■

“Double” (to enter the next letter twice, for example,
“Double a”)

■

“Space Bar” or “space” (to insert a space)

■

“Backspace”

■

“apostrophe ess”

■

special characters (such as @, *, £, ©, and é)

For a complete list of special characters and the International
Communications Alphabet, see “Correction dialog box commands”
on page 177 of Appendix B.
When one of the choices in the Correction dialog box is almost correct,
you can select it and use it as a starting point without entering the text
into your document. Just click it or say “Select” (not “Choose”) and then
the number of the choice. For example, say “Select 3” (or “Select Numeral
3”). Then edit the word or phrase.

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Editing in the Correction dialog box

When you’re working in the Correction dialog box, you can use your
voice to move the insertion point and to select and delete words and
characters.
Moving around in the Correction dialog box

You can move the insertion point right or left by words or characters. For
example, you can say “Move Right a Word” or “Move Left 4 Characters.”
See the complete list below:
SAY

TH E N (o n e)

Move

Right

a Word or 1 Word

Forward

2 Words

Left

2..20 Words

Back

a Character or 1 Character
2 Characters
2..20 Characters

Selecting text in the Correction dialog box

You can select all the text in the text box by saying “Select Line” or “Select
All.”
You can also select right or left by words or characters. For example, you
can say “Select Next Character” or “Select Previous 2 Words.” See the
complete list below:
SAY

TH E N ( on e)

T HE N ( o ne )

Select

Word

Forward

2 Words

2..20 Words

Back

Character

Last

4 Characters
2..20 Characters

Deleting text in the Correction dialog box

You can delete selected text in the Correction dialog box by saying
“Delete Selection.”

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You can also delete words or characters. For example, you can say “Delete
Next Word” or “Delete Previous Character.”
See the complete list below:
SAY

TH E N ( on e)

TH E N (o ne )

Delete

Word

Forward

2 Words

2..20 Words

Back

Character

Last

4 Characters
2..20 Characters

Spelling as you dictate
With the new Spell command in Dragon NaturallySpeaking, you can
easily spell a word or phrase you want to dictate into your document.
This can be useful if you are dictating a word that is not likely to be in
the Dragon NaturallySpeaking vocabulary, such as a proprietary term or
a foreign word.

To spell a word while dictating,
1

Spell the word. Say, for example, “Spell c-i-a-o.”
You must say “Cap” if the word contains a capital letter. For example,
say “Spell Cap m-a-c Cap-m-i-l-l-a-n” to type “MacMillan.”

The Correction dialog box opens and Dragon NaturallySpeaking types
the letters you spell. You can then continue spelling or correct any errors
in the word you spelled.
For more tips on spelling, see the online Help.

Select-and-Say vs. correction
You can always make corrections by selecting your text and dictating to
replace it. You learned about this method, called Select-and-Say, in the
online Tutorial and the Quick Start guide. See “Which commands work in
which programs?” on page 171 for a list of the programs that support
Select-and-Say.

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Selecting text and dictating over it, however, will not correct speechrecognition errors. Only by using the Quick Correct list or the Correction
dialog box can you teach Dragon NaturallySpeaking not to make the
same mistakes again.
For information on using Select-and-Say to revise your dictation, see
“Using Select-and-Say” on page 90.

Playing back your dictation
Dictation playback is available in Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred
and higher editions.
Playback commands work in the DragonPad, Microsoft Word 97, 2000
and 2002, Corel WordPerfect 8 and 9, and Lotus Notes.
Although Dragon NaturallySpeaking never makes a spelling mistake,
the mistakes it does make can be challenging to find and fix. Sometimes,
what the program types looks very different from what you actually said.
To make correcting mistakes easier, Dragon NaturallySpeaking records
your voice as you dictate. You can play back your voice whenever you
cannot tell by looking at your document what you originally said.
NOTE Unless you have Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional or a higher edition,
playback is available only until you close a document. After you close a document,
Dragon NaturallySpeaking deletes the recorded dictation for that document. See page 26
for information on saving dictation for later correction (Professional and higher editions).

Playing back dictation in the Correction
dialog box
When you’re working in the Correction dialog box, click the Play Back
button or say “Play Back” to play the dictation that goes with the words
you’re correcting. Then edit the text to match what you said.
You can set up Dragon NaturallySpeaking to play back dictation
automatically whenever you open the Correction dialog box. On the
NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced, click Options, and then
click the Correction tab. Select “Automatic playback on correction.”

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Sometimes, there’s no dictation to play back. For example, you cannot
play back text that wasn’t entered by voice, such as words you typed or
pasted into your document.
NOTE Even when you have entered text by voice, you cannot play it back after you
have cut it, copied it, pasted it, or otherwise moved it around in the document.

If you have Dragon Naturally Speaking Professional or a higher edition,
you can save your dictation with your document for later playback (see
“Dictate now, correct later” on page 26). Otherwise, you cannot play
back dictation after closing a document.
If dictation is not available, the Play Back button is dimmed (grayed
out). When playback is not available, you may find text-to-speech useful
for checking your work. See “Using text-to-speech” on page 28.

Playing back dictation in a document
To help you check your work for mistakes, you can play back a line, a
paragraph, a selection, or the whole document. After playback starts, you
can stop it as soon as you notice a mistake and automatically open the
Correction dialog box.
The Playback toolbar is an extra section of the DragonBar that is
normally hidden. To see the Playback toolbar, click the double chevron
icon
on the DragonBar to open the Extras toolbar (Preferred and
higher editions).

To play back dictation:
To play back dictation, do any of the following:
■

Select the text you want to play back, and say “Play That Back.”

■

Click the Start Playback button on the Playback toolbar.

Start Playback

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■

Move the insertion point to the text you want to play back and say
any of the following commands:
SA Y

Play Back Line

Play back dictation for the current line.

Play Back Paragraph

Play back dictation for the current paragraph.

Play Back Document

Play back dictation for the whole document.

Play Back Window

Play back dictation for the text in view.

Play Back to Here

Play back dictation from the top of the document
window to the insertion point.

Play Back from Here

Play back dictation from the insertion point to the
bottom of the document window.

To stop playback:
To stop playback, do any of the following:
■

Click the Stop Playback button on the Playback toolbar.

Stop Playback
■

Click anywhere in the document window.

■

Press the ESC key.

(It’s not possible to stop playback by voice, because the computer cannot
hear speech input when it’s playing back dictation.)

To skip backward or forward:
You can skip backward or forward in your document by a few words. To
skip backward or forward, do one of the following:
■

To skip backward a few words, click the Skip Backward button on
the Playback toolbar.

Skip Backward
■

Skip Forward

To skip forward a few words, click the Skip Forward button on the
Playback toolbar.

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To stop playback and correct a mistake:
To stop playback and correct a mistake, do any of the following:
■

Click the Correction button on the Playback toolbar.

Correction
■

Press the minus (-) key on the numeric keypad.

This stops playback and simultaneously opens the Correction dialog
box. There you can correct the text for the last phrase played back.
NOTE By default, Dragon NaturallySpeaking stores about 30 minutes of dictation
(40 MB). If you want to be able to store more dictation, you can change the amount of
disk space that’s set aside for storing it. On the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to
Advanced, click Options, and then click the Miscellaneous tab. Increase the number in the
“Disk space reserved for speech data” box.

Dictate now, correct later
When you dictate into the DragonPad, you can save your dictation with
your text so either you or someone else can correct it later. You must
create and edit your file in the DragonPad to be able to play back
dictation. This feature is available in Dragon NaturallySpeaking
Professional and higher editions.
You can save dictation with your document if you select the Prompt to
Save Dictation with Document box on the Startup/Shutdown tab of the
Options dialog. The first time you save a document in DragonPad during
an editing session, Dragon NaturallySpeaking asks you whether you
want to save your speech data. If you save your speech data, you can
reopen the document at a later time and play back your dictation. If you
do not save your speech data, your dictation is stored only during the
current editing session.
Correcting your own dictation

If you save your dictation, you can open your file later and play back and
correct the text as if you had just dictated it.

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Correcting someone else’s dictation

You can play back someone else’s dictation and correct the text to match
the dictation. You can do this in two ways:
■

You can correct the dictation using your user files.

■

You can correct the dictation using the document author’s user files.

Correcting with your user files

You should use this correction technique if you regularly correct another
person’s text by voice and it is not important to maximize the author’s
recognition accuracy.
When you use your user files, you can correct the dictation just as you
would correct your own dictation, using any combination of voice
commands and keyboard typing. Even though you are correcting
someone else’s dictation, your work won’t reduce recognition accuracy
for either you or the person who dictated the text. But your corrections
to the other person’s dictation won’t improve recognition either.
Correcting with the document author’s user files

You should use this correction technique if you do not need to correct by
voice and it is important to maximize the author’s recognition accuracy.
TIP This technique works if all work is done on a single computer. Consult your
Dragon NaturallySpeaking reseller about ways to dictate on one computer and correct
on another.

If you correct dictation using the author’s user files, you must not correct
by voice, or you may reduce that person’s recognition accuracy. You can,
however, improve the author’s recognition accuracy if you make
corrections by using the keyboard and mouse with the Quick Correct list
or Correction dialog box. See the following procedure for details.

To correct using someone else’s user files:
1

Make sure you are not wearing the microphone headset, or that the
microphone is not turned on or plugged in. This will ensure that you
don't accidentally reduce the accuracy of someone else's user files by
using your voice.

Make sure the DragonPad Extras toolbar is displayed so you can see the
playback command buttons.

Open the user files of the person whose text you will correct.

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In DragonPad, open the document to correct.

Use the buttons on the Extras toolbar to play back dictation.

Select the text you want to correct by mouse or keyboard.

Press the correction hot key (normally the minus [-] key on the numeric
key pad) or click the Correct button on the DragonBar Extras toolbar.
The Quick Correct list or Correction dialog box appears with the
selected text.

Use the keyboard to correct the text.

Save the text and the user’s speech files when you are done.

Using text-to-speech
Text-to-speech is available in Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred and
higher editions.
You can use text-to-speech to have text on your screen (not your current
dictation) read aloud in a computer voice. For example, you can have a
document that you (or someone else) dictated read back while you listen
for mistakes and sections you may want to revise.
Text-to-speech is available only in the DragonPad, Microsoft Word, and
Corel WordPerfect. You can, however, copy and paste text from other
programs and then use text-to-speech.

To start text-to-speech:
To start text-to-speech, do any of the following:

■

Select the text you want to hear (a line, a paragraph, and so on), and
then say “Read That.”

■

Select the text you want to hear, and then select Read That from the
Advanced submenu (or right-click in your document and click Read
That from the shortcut menu).

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■

Move the insertion point to the text you want to hear and say any of
the following commands:
SA Y

Read Line

Read back the current line.

Read Paragraph

Read back the current paragraph.

Read Document

Read back the whole document.

Read Window

Read back the text in view.

Read to Here

Read back from the top of the document window to the
insertion point.

Read from Here

Read back from the insertion point to the bottom of the
document window.

To stop text-to-speech:
To stop text-to-speech, do any of the following:
■

From the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced and click
Stop Playback/Reading.

■

Right-click in your document and click Stop Playback/Reading from
the shortcut menu.

■

Press the ESC key.

You can control the speed, pitch, volume, and other text-to-speech
settings. From the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced, click
Options, and then click the Text-to-speech tab.

Notes on correcting with another author’s user
files
This technique works if all work is done on a single computer. Consult
your Dragon NaturallySpeaking reseller about ways to dictate on one
computer and correct on another.
To display the DragonBar Extras toolbar, click the double chevron icon
on the DragonBar. You cannot display the Extras toolbar if the
DragonBar is in cling mode.
In the Quick Correct list, you can use the mouse or keyboard to select
any of the commands displayed below the correction choices. For

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example, you can click “Spell That” to open the Correction dialog box
and spell the word.
You may want to select the following on the Correction tab of the
Options dialog box:
■

“Correct” command brings up Correction dialog box

■

Automatic playback on correction box

With these settings, Dragon NaturallySpeaking will automatically play
back the author's dictation for each text selection you correct. The Quick
Correct list does not play back dictation.
When you correct someone else's dictation, make sure that the amount
of disk space you have reserved for storing dictation is at least as large as
the amount allocated for the user that created the text. You alllocate the
disk space on the Miscellaneous tab of the Options dialog box.
Saving dictation with documents can take up a lot of disk space, typically
more than a megabyte per minute of dictation. To save this space, delete
any dictation you no longer need. Dragon NaturallySpeaking saves
dictation in a file with the same name as the document, but with the
extension .dra. For example, if you dictate a document called MyDoc.rtf
and save your dictation, Dragon NaturallySpeaking saves your dictation
in a file called MyDoc.dra in the same directory as your document.

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Improving Your Speech
Recognition
Working with the Dragon
NaturallySpeaking vocabulary
If Dragon NaturallySpeaking gets a word wrong, it could be that the
word is not in the program’s vocabulary. When this is the case, you need
to teach Dragon NaturallySpeaking the new word so that it can
recognize it when you say it.
This chapter talks about the vocabulary used by Dragon
NaturallySpeaking, which contains both active words and backup words.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking has quick and easy ways to add new words to
your vocabulary. As well as adding words when correcting mistakes, you
can now:
■

add an individual word

■

add words from documents

■

create dictation shortcuts for frequently used text (Preferred and
higher editions)

Dragon NaturallySpeaking also offers more powerful tools for more
advanced vocabulary building. Vocabulary Builder™ (see page 44) and
Vocabulary Editor™ (see page 41) give you more control for customizing
your vocabulary. In Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional and higher
editions, you can create, import, and export multiple vocabularies. See
the section on “Managing vocabularies” on page 54 for details.
The next section discusses how to train Dragon NaturallySpeaking to
recognize problem words, including voice commands. Finally, the

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chapter concludes by explaining when and how to run General Training
again to improve your recognition accuracy.

About the vocabulary
The Dragon NaturallySpeaking vocabulary contains the words the
program can recognize when you say them. The vocabulary contains
thousands of words and their common pronunciations. It also contains
language data about how frequently words are used alone and in
combination with others.
When you first start Dragon NaturallySpeaking, it creates a standard
vocabulary on your computer. A vocabulary contains active words (the
active vocabulary) and backup words (the backup dictionary).
Active words

The most commonly used vocabulary words are kept active (stored in
computer memory). When you dictate these words, Dragon
NaturallySpeaking is likely to get them right on the first try (that is,
without requiring you to do anything extra, such as correcting the
words).
For example, all the words in the following sentence are active
(including “Mbeki”), so Dragon NaturallySpeaking should be able to
recognize them all correctly on the first try.
Today [comma] the Prime Minister met President Mbeki of South Africa
Don’t worry that the words you want to say won’t be active. The list of
active words is very long and continually changes (as you correct
mistakes) to always include words you’re likely to use.
Backup dictionary words

All the vocabulary words that are not currently active are kept in the
backup dictionary (stored on your computer’s hard disk, not in memory).
Dragon NaturallySpeaking can recognize words in the backup
dictionary, but not on the first try.
If Dragon NaturallySpeaking has trouble recognizing a word, it may
mean that this word is only in the backup dictionary. You can add a word
to the active vocabulary by correcting it (see “Correcting recognition
mistakes” on page 15).

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To add a word by correcting it:
1

Dictate the following sentence. The word “Punxsutawney”
(pronounced punks-ah-tawny) is in the backup dictionary, not the active
vocabulary, so Dragon NaturallySpeaking won’t recognize it correctly on
the first try.
Meet me in Punxsutawney [comma] Pennsylvania
When the program makes a mistake (for example, types “punk said
Tony” instead of “Punxsutawney”), correct the mistake.

(In the DragonPad) Select the mistake by saying “Select punk said Tony.”
The Quick Correct list will appear with the most likely choices for the
word you selected.

Quick Correct list

NOTE “Select” commands and the Quick Correct list are available in the DragonPad
(see page 16), but steps 1–3 may not work in all programs. To correct a word and make
it active in any program, you can always select the word by voice or mouse and then say
“Spell That” (steps 4 and 5).

If the word you want appears in the Quick Correct list, say (for example)
“Choose 2.” You can say any number that appears in the list.
If the word you want does not appear in the Quick Correct list, or if the
Quick Correct list does not appear at all, select the word by voice or
mouse and use steps 4 and 5 below.

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Say “Spell That” or “Correct That.” The Correction dialog box opens.

Type or spell the correction in the Correction dialog box.
Since “Punxsutawney” is in the backup dictionary, it should appear in
the list of alternatives before you finish entering it. (The list of
alternatives always displays possible endings for the text in the text box.)

Text box

Say, for example, ““Choose 2.” You can also select the correct word and
click or say “OK.”
The Correction dialog box closes and “Punxsutawney” becomes an
active word. The next time you dictate “Punxsutawney,” Dragon
NaturallySpeaking should get it right.

Save your speech files to add the word to your active vocabulary.

Quick and easy ways to add new
words
When Dragon NaturallySpeaking gets a word wrong, often it’s because
the word is not in the vocabulary at all. This is likely if the word is an
uncommon name or specialized term. You must teach Dragon
NaturallySpeaking these new words, so it can recognize them when you
say them.

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Dragon NaturallySpeaking has quick and easy ways to add new words to
your vocabulary. You can:
■

Add words when correcting mistakes (see previous procedure)

■

Add and train individual words

■

Add words from documents

This next section describe how to add and train an individual word, and
how to add words from documents. This section also tells you how to
create dictation shortcuts for commonly used words and phrases (see
page 38).
The section on “Advanced tools for building and editing vocabularies”
on page 41 discusses more powerful ways to work with vocabularies.
Make it a habit to teach Dragon NaturallySpeaking new words to
continue to improve the accuracy of the program. Make sure you save
your speech files, when prompted, to preserve these changes to your
vocabulary.

Adding an individual word
To add and train an individual word:
1

From the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Words and click Add
Individual Word. Spell or type the word you want to add to the
vocabulary. If you want to train the pronunciation of the word (usually a
good idea), leave the check box selected. Then click or say “Add.”

The Train Words dialog box will open with the word you have added.
Click or say “Record” to begin recording, then say the word as you
normally pronounce it. Click or say “Done” to close the dialog box and
add the word to your vocabulary.

Add Words from Documents
Add Words from Documents is a quick and easy way to add any new
words in a document or folder to the vocabulary. For example, if you
have an online address book or a list of employee names, you can use
Add Words from Documents to quickly identify all the words that are
not in the vocabulary and add them.

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This procedure will add:
■

Words that match backup dictionary words with the same
capitalization, for example, Punxsutawney or jackstraws

■

Unexpected capitalizations of words found in the active or backup
dictionaries, for example, ÒIÕll see you at the Meeting todayÓ

■

Words with at least one uppercase letter that are not in the backup
dictionary, for example, eBusiness and Brooklynese, or a name, such as
Rusinow

NOTE The program expects to find capitals at the beginning of sentences, or in a
sequence of words that are all capitalized or have initial caps, such as a book title. It
does not expect to find capitals in the middle of words or sentences.

This procedure will not add all-lowercase words that are not in the
backup dictionary.
You have more choices over which words are added when you run
Vocabulary Builder (see page 48), but Add Words from Documents is
quicker and designed more specifically to process proper names, such as
a company e-mail list.
TIP Before running Add Words from Documents, you may want to prepare your
documents as described on page 45 to make sure that they are in readable format and
free of spelling errors.

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To Add Words from Documents:
1

From the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Words and click Add Words
from Documents. The Add Words from Documents dialog box opens.

▲ The Add Words from Documents dialog box lets you add all the documents in a folder or
add documents one at a time. Select any document in the list to remove or view it.

Click or say “Add Document.” Navigate to the documents you want to add
and select them.

(optional) Click or say “Add Folder.” This will add all the documents in
the folder you select.
TIP You can often achieve very good results by skipping directly to Step 6.

(optional) To view any document in the list, select it and click or say
“View Document.”

(optional) Click or say “Preview Words” to see a checklist of words (from
all the documents in the list) that are not in your current vocabulary.
■

Add only words you think you’ll use frequently, not ones you’re
unlikely to need.

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■

Don’t add capitalized words unless you plan to dictate the
capitalized form of the word often (for example, a pet’s name
“Fluffy”).

To remove a word from the list of words to be added to your active
vocabulary, clear the check box for that word in the Preview Words
dialog box.

▲ The Preview Words dialog box in Add Words From Documents lets you select or remove
words from the list to be added. Clear any check box to remove a word from the list.

Click “Done” to scan the documents for the words you want to add to
the vocabulary. Your speech files will be updated and saved
automatically.

Creating dictation shortcuts
A dictation shortcut is a quick way to insert frequently used text into your
document. You can create dictation shortcuts for text that you use often
or text that is complicated to dictate. In Dragon NaturallySpeaking
(Preferred and higher editions), you can even create dictation shortcuts
for multiple lines of text.
For example, you could create a shortcut that types your name and
address whenever you say “My Signature.” In the example below, the

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written form for the dictation shortcut appears on the left, and the
spoken form is “My Signature.”
WR I TT E N FO R M

S PO KE N F OR M

Michael D. Bowman
25 Main Street
Wilmington, DE 12345

my signature

This message was dictated with
Dragon NaturallySpeaking
Professional on a Dragon
NaturallyMobile recorder.

my mobile signature

To create a dictation shortcut:
1

From the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Words and click Dictation
Shortcuts.

In the Spoken form box, type the phrase you want to say to insert the
written form text.

In the Written form box, type the text you want typed into your
document. Text can be up to 1,000 characters and may include line and
paragraph breaks.

Spoken form box

Written form box

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Here are some guidelines for selecting a spoken form:
■

Try to use unique phrases—don’t use a phrase you might want to
use in your writing.

■

Don’t use a single word as the spoken form.

■

Make the spoken form something easy to remember.

■

Use real words; otherwise, Dragon NaturallySpeaking may not know
how they are pronounced and will prompt you to train them.

■

If you use letters, put a space between them and a period (US/
Canada) or full stop (Other Dialects) after each one (for example,
J. V. O.).

■

(optional) For consistency with other Dragon NaturallySpeaking
commands, capitalize each word in the dictation shortcut name.

Click or say “OK.”
Dragon NaturallySpeaking adds the dictation shortcut to the vocabulary.
When you dictate the spoken form, the program now enters the written
form into your document. For more information on spoken vs. written
forms, see “More about spoken forms” on page 43.
TIP Dictation shortcuts are commands, so you must pause before and after saying
them. If you have a word or short phrase that fits on one line, and you want to be able to
dictate it differently from the way it’s spelled, you should enter a spoken form for the
word in Vocabulary Editor rather than creating a dictation shortcut. See “To create a
spoken form for a word:” on page 43.

With Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional and higher editions, you
can also create your own voice commands for inserting frequently used
text and controlling your computer by voice. See Chapter 9, “Creating
Your Own Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands” on page 139.
You may want to train Dragon NaturallySpeaking to recognize words you
add to your vocabulary by pronouncing them correctly. See “Training
Dragon NaturallySpeaking to recognize problem words” on page 59 for
information on the many ways to train words.

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Advanced tools for building and
editing vocabularies
The NaturallySpeaking Words submenu offers quick and easy ways to
add and train words. For more powerful tools to work with your
vocabulary, you can turn to the features of the NaturallySpeaking
Advanced submenu. You can use Advanced vocabulary tools to:
■

edit your vocabulary with Vocabulary Editor

■

build your vocabulary with Vocabulary Builder

■

manage vocabularies (if you have more than one, for Dragon
NaturallySpeaking Professional and higher editions)

The following sections describe each Advanced tool and how to use it.

Editing your vocabulary
The Vocabulary Editor shows you all the active words (the most
commonly used words) in the Dragon NaturallySpeaking vocabulary.
You can open Vocabulary Editor to find out whether a word is in the
active vocabulary. If it’s not there, you can add it. If it is, you can create a
different spoken form.
TIP Want to check to see if a word is already in the vocabulary? Type the first few
letters of the word into the Written form box. If the word is in the vocabulary, it will
appear on the screen.

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To edit your vocabulary:
1

On the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced, then click Edit
Vocabulary.

▲ Vocabulary Editor lists all the active words in the Dragon NaturallySpeaking vocabulary.

A word’s written form is what Dragon NaturallySpeaking types when
you say the word. The spoken form is how you say the word. For
example, the spoken form for “Sgt.” is “Sergeant.”
Words you have added are marked with a colored star
(not including
any words that were previously in the backup dictionary). To see only
the words you have added, click “Show custom words only.”
2

Type the new word or phrase into the Written form box. Leave the
Spoken form box empty, unless the word or phrase is not pronounced
the way it’s spelled (as in the example pictured). If so, see “To create a
spoken form for a word:” on page 43.
NOTE You can use the Dictation Shortcuts tool for phrases longer than 128
characters—even multiple lines—that you use frequently. You can learn about dictation
shortcuts on page 38.

Click Add.
Some special words (for example, “New Paragraph”) have a blank
written form. These words are built into Dragon NaturallySpeaking. You
cannot add your own words with a blank written form.

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More about spoken forms

Perhaps your vocabulary contains proprietary words with unusual
capitalization, or proper names with unusual spellings. Some phrases,
such as company names, have particular punctuation. Or, you might
want Dragon NaturallySpeaking to write out a person’s name when you
say their initials. You can teach the program to type the word or phrase
correctly when it recognizes the spoken form.
TIP You can also create a spoken form for a word you’re having trouble getting
Dragon NaturallySpeaking to recognize (for example, if the program often types “Lara”
when you say “Laura” and correcting and training the word doesn’t help). In the last
example in the table, the written form for the word would be “Laura” and the spoken
form should be a unique phrase, such as “Laura my office mate.”

For any word or short phrase that is less than 128 characters and fits on a
single line, you should create a spoken form rather than a dictation
shortcut (see page 38).
Here are some examples of words with different written and spoken
forms. Look in the Vocabulary Editor window for more examples.
W RI TT E N F OR M

SP OK EN FO R M

eBusiness

ee business

Daniell

Daniel with two ells

Niamh

Nev

CINCPAC

sink pack

mdbowman@company.com

my e-mail address

Robert F. Kennedy

R. F. K.

Waldron, Lichtin & Foust

Waldron Lichtin and Foust

(617) 965-5200

my phone number

To create a spoken form for a word:
1

On the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced, then click Edit
Vocabulary.

Find the word you want in the list by typing the first few letters in the
Written form box.

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NOTE If the word you want to edit doesn’t appear in Vocabulary Editor, it means the
word isn’t in the active vocabulary. You need to add it to the active vocabulary before
you can edit it. (See “Editing your vocabulary” on page 41.)

Select the word.

Type the new spoken form into the Spoken Form box. Make sure you
type it exactly as is it pronounced.

(optional) Make any changes, such as punctuation or capitalization, to
the Written Form box.

Click Add. This adds the word with your changes.

If the word was already in the active vocabulary before you edited it, you
should then delete the original word.

To delete a word from the vocabulary:
Normally, you don’t need to delete words from the vocabulary. But if a
word is regularly confused with another one that you never use, you
might want to delete the one you don’t use.
To delete a word, select it and click Delete. (You can select multiple
words by holding down the CTRL key while you click. Clicking while
holding the SHIFT key will select consecutive words.)
Some common words (like “the”) cannot be deleted, since Dragon
NaturallySpeaking wouldn’t understand you very well without them.

Building your vocabulary
Running Vocabulary Builder teaches Dragon NaturallySpeaking about
your vocabulary and writing style. If Dragon NaturallySpeaking knows
what words you use in your writing and how you put them together, it
can do a better job of recognizing what you say when you dictate.
Like Add Words from Documents, Vocabulary Builder works by
“reading” documents you’ve already written on the computer. It uses
these documents to gather language data about the frequency of words
you use and the order in which they typically appear. For example, if
Vocabulary Builder were analyzing this guide, it would learn that the
word “Dragon” is used frequently and the words “by voice” often

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appear together. Dragon NaturallySpeaking would then know to favor
these words over similar-sounding words.
Vocabulary Builder also gives you more control than Add Words from
Documents over how words are added to your vocabulary. By building
your vocabulary, you can:
■

add words from a predefined list

■

add words that are not in the backup dictionary

■

filter and sort words before you add them

■

choose whether to adapt to your document style

■

view a statistical summary of your Vocabulary Builder session

You may want to run Vocabulary Builder if Dragon NaturallySpeaking is
still making many mistakes, or any time you have documents you’d like
to analyze. You can run Vocabulary Builder as often as you like without
overwriting language data gathered previously.
To run Vocabulary Builder, you need to complete the following steps:
■

Prepare documents (see page 45)

■

Add words from a list (optional; see page 46)

■

Run Vocabulary Builder

■

Add words found in documents

The following section describes each step.
Preparing documents

Start by finding documents on your computer that are good examples of
the kind of text you’ll be dictating when you use Dragon
NaturallySpeaking.
For example, if you plan to dictate memos and e-mail messages, find
some correspondence you’ve already written. Your e-mail outbox is a
good source of text. Any documents you’re working on currently are also
good ones to use. The more documents you can use, the better.
NOTE It’s okay to process documents you didn’t write, but only if they are similar in
style to your own writing (for example, a report written by a colleague in the same
profession).

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To prepare documents:
1

Make sure documents are in the following formats:
■

.TXT (Text)

■

.RTF (Rich Text Format)

■

.DOC (Microsoft Word version 6.0 or later)

■

.WPD (Corel WordPerfect version 8 or 9)

■

.HTM or .HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)

■

.SHTM or .SHTML (Server-side include Hypertext Markup
Language)

TIP Dragon NaturallySpeaking can process.TXT (text) files faster than other formats.
Consider using text files whenever possible.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking can process Microsoft Word and Corel
WordPerfect files only if you have the corresponding word processor
installed on your computer. If it’s not installed, convert the documents to
another format, such as .TXT.
If you want to process your e-mail messages (a good idea if you’ll be
using Dragon NaturallySpeaking to write e-mail), you’ll need to either
export the text into one of the formats listed above, or copy and paste
messages into a new document.
NOTE E-mail headers may contain characters that Dragon NaturallySpeaking
cannot process. If the program cannot process your e-mail text, try deleting all the
header information from the file.

Use a spelling checker to correct any spelling mistakes in the
documents. This will prevent misspelled words from being identified as
new words to be added to the vocabulary.
Once you’ve prepared your documents, you’re ready to add them to your
vocabulary.
Adding words from a list

If you’re new to Dragon NaturallySpeaking, you can skip this step or do
it later. After you become familiar with adding words to your vocabulary,
you may find adding words from a list to be a helpful feature.
When Dragon NaturallySpeaking analyzes your documents, it starts by
displaying a list of all the new words found, so you can select the ones

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you want to add to the vocabulary. If the list is very long, selecting and
editing words can be time-consuming. Therefore, Dragon
NaturallySpeaking also gives you the option of adding a list of words
directly to the vocabulary. You can add this list as a document in Add
Words from Documents (see page 35), or by selecting “Add words from a
list” in Vocabulary Builder before processing documents.
Adding words from a list saves you time and also offers other advantages.
You can include frequently used phrases in your list to improve
recognition of these phrases. For example, if Dragon NaturallySpeaking
has trouble recognizing the name “Ellen Cohen” even though both
“Ellen” and “Cohen” are in the vocabulary, you can add the phrase
“Ellen Cohen” to the vocabulary.

To create a list of words:
Create a text (.TXT) file and enter each word or phrase you want to add
to the vocabulary on a separate line. Make sure words are spelled
correctly.
TIP To include a spoken form, type a backslash (\) and then the spoken form. The
spoken form will appear in the Spoken form box in Vocabulary Editor after the word is
added. See page 42 for an illustration of written and spoken forms.

Following is an example of a correctly formatted list:
Each line is added to
the vocabulary as a
single item. In this
example, the phrases
“Ellen Cohen,” “Fluffy
the Cat,” and so on,
will be added.

▲ You can use the DragonPad to create your text file.

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Running Vocabulary Builder

Prepare your documents and create a list of words to add (optional),
following the procedures described in the previous step. Once you have
one or more documents prepared, you’re ready to run Vocabulary
Builder.

To run Vocabulary Builder:
1

Open the user and vocabulary you want to personalize.
NOTE In Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional or higher editions, each user may
have more than one vocabulary. From the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced
and click Manage Vocabularies. Then select the vocabulary you want to personalize and
click Open.

From the Dragon NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced and click
Build Vocabulary. The Vocabulary Builder Wizard appears.

Follow the instructions on the screen.

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To add words from a list (optional):
1

In the Add Words from a List dialog box, specify a file containing words
you want to add to the vocabulary. (See “Adding words from a list” on
page 46 for more information about this step.)

If you specify a file, click Add Words from List and then click Next to
continue.
TIP You can add word lists from multiple files. The wizard tells you how.

To skip this step, just click Next.

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To analyze documents:
1

In the Analyze Documents dialog box, click Add.

Select a document
and click “Remove” to
remove it from the list
to be analyzed.

▲ Vocabulary Builder uses documents you’ve written to teach Dragon NaturallySpeaking
how you write.

In the Analyze Documents dialog box, find and select the documents
you want to process,* and then click Open.
NOTE You can select multiple documents in one folder by holding down the CTRL key
while you click. To select a range of documents, hold down the SHIFT key while you click.
To add documents from a different folder, click Add again.

Documents you select are added to the Analyze Documents dialog box.
If you need to remove a document, select it and click Remove.
3

To start processing the documents, click Analyze Documents.
NOTE If Vocabulary Builder displays an error message, it may mean that one or
more of your files is not in the correct format (see the list of acceptable formats on
page 46) or that the program used to create one of your files is not installed on your
computer.

* Although there’s no limit on the size or number of documents you can analyze, Vocabulary
Builder analyzes only the first 500,000 words each time you run it.

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After a document is processed, the word “Yes” appears in the Analyzed
column.
4

When you’re finished processing documents, click Next.
After Vocabulary Builder analyzes documents, it displays the Add New
Words dialog box with a list of the new words found.

Click
to select
words to add to the
vocabulary

If there are words on the list that you use frequently, you can add them
to the vocabulary to improve accuracy, but this step is not required. The
Add New Words dialog box displays all the words found that are not in
the Dragon NaturallySpeaking vocabulary (neither the active vocabulary
nor the backup dictionary).

To add new words found in documents (optional):
1

Use the Filter and Display options if you want to show or hide words in
the list.
■

Select “Show unknown words” to view words found that are not in
the vocabulary in any form (for example, “Anelka”). This option
filters out words such as “Fluffy,” where the lowercase form of the
word (“fluffy”) is already in the vocabulary.

■

Select “Show known words with capitalizations that do not exist in
the vocabulary” to view words that are in the vocabulary but were

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found with unusual capitalization (for example, “Fluffy” and
“joan”).
NOTE Any capitalized words found at the beginning of a sentence or in a title (such
as “War and Peace”) don’t appear in the list.
■

Clear the “Include words added in this session” box if you want to
hide any words that you have added since you began running
Vocabulary Builder this time.

Click to select the words you want to add to the vocabulary.
■

Add only words you think you’ll use frequently, not ones you’re
unlikely to need.

■

Don’t add capitalized words unless you plan to dictate the
capitalized form of the word often (for example, a pet’s name
“Fluffy”).

If a word you want to add contains a spelling or capitalization error, select
the word and click Edit (or double-click the word).
TIP There’s no need to edit a misspelled word and add it to the vocabulary if it’s
already in the vocabulary with correct spelling.

In the Edit Word dialog box, correct the written form of the word. Leave
the Spoken form box empty unless the word is not pronounced the way
it’s spelled. To remove capital letters automatically, click Lowercase.

▲ Use the Edit Word dialog box to correct spelling and capitalization errors before adding
words to the vocabulary.

When you have finished editing, click OK to return to the Add New
Words dialog box.

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After selecting and editing words you want to add, click Add Checked
Words to Vocabulary.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking will add the new words to your vocabulary
(marked with a star
in the list). A dialog box appears asking if you
want to train the new words now. You should train any words that are not
pronounced the way they are spelled.
To train the new words, click Yes and follow the instructions on the
screen. For more information, see “Training Dragon NaturallySpeaking
to recognize problem words” on page 59.
To skip this step, click No.

Click Next to continue.
The Adapt to document style dialog box opens.

To adapt to document style:
1

For the first option, select “Yes” to have Vocabulary Builder modify your
speech files based on the language data gathered in analyzing your
documents. If you select “No,” the data won’t be used. You could select
“No” if you were using Vocabulary Builder only to find new words (for

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example, if you were processing documents you didn’t write but which
contain words you use).
2

For the second option, select “Yes” to preserve previously gathered
language data. If you select “No,” this data will be lost. You could select
“No” if you wanted to overwrite data gathered previously (for example,
if you processed the wrong documents the last time you ran Vocabulary
Builder).
NOTE This option will be dimmed (grayed out) the first time you run Vocabulary
Builder, since there are not yet any previous sessions.

Make your selections and click Next to continue.

On the final dialog box of Vocabulary Builder, review the summary
information and click Finish to save your changes.
NOTE If you ever make unwanted changes to your speech files when running
Vocabulary Builder, you can restore a backup copy of your user. See “Restoring a
backup copy of a user” on page 136.

Managing vocabularies
If you have Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional or a higher edition,
you have the option of creating additional vocabularies with specialized
words.
An additional vocabulary can improve recognition accuracy if you have
different and distinct writing styles and if the writing you do requires a
large vocabulary of specialized terms. For example, a doctor who uses
Dragon NaturallySpeaking for dictating medical reports and also for
sending e-mail to friends and family may be able to enhance recognition
accuracy by having two different vocabularies: a vocabulary for
professional writing and one for informal correspondence.
Whether or not you need an additional vocabulary depends on how
many words you would need to add to your current vocabulary to make it
effective for all the writing you do. Unless this number is greater than
10,000 words (as it might be for a doctor), you should be able to add all
the specialized terms you use to your current vocabulary without
compromising the recognition accuracy of other words.

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Keep in mind that a single vocabulary is easier to maintain. If you have
different vocabularies, you may have to add and delete words in multiple
places.
Language data gathered when you run Vocabulary Builder is specific to a
single vocabulary. But acoustic data—information about how you
pronounce different words—applies across vocabularies. When you
correct a word in the Quick Correct list or the Correction dialog box, or
train it in the Train Words dialog box, Dragon NaturallySpeaking adjusts
the acoustic data for that word and all other words with similar sound
patterns.
The one case in which acoustic data isn’t shared across vocabularies is
when a spoken form is added for a word. For example, if you edit the
written form of “Laura” to add a spoken form of “Laura my officemate,”
as in the example on page 43, this pronunciation information is stored in
the vocabulary along with the word, so it’s specific to a single vocabulary.
You can create, open, delete, rename, import, and export vocabularies in
the Manage Vocabularies dialog box. See the next section for details.

Creating vocabularies
This procedure applies only to Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional
and higher editions.

To create a vocabulary:
1

On the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced and click Manage
Vocabularies. The Manage Vocabularies dialog box opens.

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Click New. Enter a name for the new vocabulary and select a vocabulary
on which to base it.

You can base the new vocabulary on one of the standard Dragon
NaturallySpeaking vocabularies (which begin with the word “Base”) or
on one of your current vocabularies.
3

Click OK to create the vocabulary.

To start using the new vocabulary, you need to open it first. See the
following section, “Opening vocabularies.”

Run Vocabulary Builder to customize the new vocabulary. See “Building
your vocabulary” on page 44.
NOTE Vocabularies are associated with specific users. If you create an additional
vocabulary, it’s available only to the current user. However, you can export and import
vocabularies to transfer them between users. See “Importing and exporting
vocabularies” on page 57.

Opening vocabularies
This procedure applies only to Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional
and higher editions.

To open a vocabulary:
1

On the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced and click Manage
Vocabularies.

Select a vocabulary and click Open.
TIP You can also open a vocabulary that was open recently. From the
NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced and click Open Recent Vocabularies.

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Deleting vocabularies
This procedure applies only to Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional
and higher editions.

To delete a vocabulary:
1

On the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced and click Manage
Vocabularies.

Select the vocabulary you want to delete and click Delete.
If you want to delete the open vocabulary, you must close it first by
opening a different one.
There must be at least one vocabulary for each user, so if you’ve got only
one, you cannot delete it.
NOTE Always use the Delete button to delete vocabularies; don’t remove folders
from the NatSpeak\…\Users folder on your hard disk. Using the Delete button is the
only way to properly remove all information about a vocabulary from your computer.

Renaming vocabularies
This procedure applies only to Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional
and higher editions.

To rename a vocabulary:
1

On the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced and click Manage
Vocabularies.

Select a vocabulary and click Rename.

In the Rename Vocabulary dialog box, type a new name for the
vocabulary and click OK.

Click Cancel to close the Open Vocabulary dialog box.

Importing and exporting vocabularies
These procedures apply only to Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional
and higher editions.

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Vocabularies are associated with specific users. You can, however, copy
vocabularies between users by importing and exporting them. For
example, if you create another user for use with a portable recorder, you
may want to copy your current vocabulary to the new user. You can do
this by exporting the vocabulary from your current first user and then
importing it to the new user. The following sections provide instructions.

To export a vocabulary:
1

(optional) Create a folder in which to store the exported vocabulary files.
(The folder can be anywhere on your hard disk.)

Open the user that has the vocabulary you want to export. Select it from
the list in the DragonBar Users menu. Or, point to Users, click Manage
Users (to open the dialog box), then select the user you want and click
Open.

On the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced and click Manage
Vocabularies.

Select the vocabulary you want to export and click Export. (You may be
prompted to save changes to your speech files.)

Open the folder you created for storing the exported vocabulary files.

Click Save.
The exported vocabulary is saved as five files, all with the same name
but with different extensions (.TOP, .TO1, .TO2, and so on). These five
files must remain in the same folder. When you later import the

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vocabulary, the file with the extension .TOP (for topic) is the one to
select.

To import a vocabulary:
1

Open the user to which you want to import the vocabulary. (On the
DragonBar Users menu, click Manage Users. From the Manage Users
dialog box, select the user you want and click Open.)

On the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced and click Manage
Vocabularies.

Click Import and then open the folder that contains the exported
vocabulary files. (You can only import vocabularies that have been
exported.)

Select the vocabulary you want to import by selecting the file with the
extension .TOP, and then click Open.

In the Import Vocabulary dialog box, enter a name for the imported
vocabulary.

Click OK to save the vocabulary.

Click Cancel to close the Open Vocabulary dialog box.

Training Dragon
NaturallySpeaking to recognize
problem words
If Dragon NaturallySpeaking continues to get the same word or phrase
wrong, it probably doesn’t recognize the way you pronounce it. When

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this happens, you should teach Dragon NaturallySpeaking how you say
it. This is known as training the word or phrase.

Training words
Typically, correcting a word is all you need to do for Dragon
NaturallySpeaking to get it right the next time. But if you find yourself
correcting the same word or phrase over and over, you need to train
Dragon NaturallySpeaking to understand it. Training is the most
effective way to teach the program your pronunciation.
You can train Dragon NaturallySpeaking after making corrections, after
adding a new word, or from Vocabulary Editor. The Train Words dialog
box opens when you:
■

click the Train... button in the Correction dialog box

■

add an individual word, if you select the check box “I want to train
the pronunciation of this word”

■

click the Train... button in Vocabulary Editor

TIP You can select more than one word to train in Vocabulary Editor by holding down
the CTRL key while you click.

To train a word:
1

Open the Train Words dialog box to display the word or phrase to train.

Text box

▲ Train Words helps you teach Dragon NaturallySpeaking your pronunciation for a word or
phrase it continues to get wrong.

Click or say “Record.”

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Pronounce the word or phrase.
The text disappears, and if Dragon NaturallySpeaking successfully
recognized the word, the dot below the text box lights up briefly. (You
may be prompted to say the word more than once.)
NOTE When you train a word after correcting it in the Correction dialog box, you’re
prompted to say both the correct and incorrect word. This helps Dragon
NaturallySpeaking learn the difference. If both words are pronounced exactly the same
(for example, “write” and “right”), there’s no need to train either one.

If you want to train the word or phrase again (if you misspoke, for
example), click the Record button again and repeat the word or phrase;
otherwise, click Done.
You can also train any voice command that Dragon NaturallySpeaking
consistently misunderstands.

Training a voice command
If Dragon NaturallySpeaking often gets a specific voice command wrong
(for example, it hears “Correct That” as “Correct the”), you can train it to
recognize your pronunciation for the command.
Before you spend time training a command, make sure the phrase you’re
saying is a real command. Consult the online Help, or check the
Command Quick Reference card or the Dragon NaturallySpeaking
Commands List on page 171.
If the command you want to train appears in the following list, you can
train it from Vocabulary Editor (these commands are stored as words in
the vocabulary):
■

New-Line

■

New-Paragraph

■

Next-Line

■

Next-Paragraph

■

Cap

■

Caps-On

■

Caps-Off

■

All-Caps

■

All-Caps-On

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■

All-Caps-Off

■

No-Caps

■

No-Caps-On

■

No-Caps-Off

■

No-Space

■

No-Space-On

■

No-Space-Off

To train a command in the previous list:
1

On the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced, and then click Edit
Vocabulary.

Scroll to the top of the list where the commands are listed. (To get there
quickly, click in the list and press the Home key.)

Click the command you want to train. The spoken form won’t become
highlighted, but the space in the Written form column will.

Click Train.
For further instructions, see steps 2–4 beginning on page 60.
TIP You can select multiple commands to train by holding down the CTRL key while
you click. It’s a good idea to train any similar-sounding commands at the same time. For
example, if you’re training “New Paragraph” also train “New Line.”

To train a command that doesn’t appear in the list on page 62, follow the
procedure below.

To train other commands:

On the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Words and click Train Words.

In the Train Words dialog box, type the command you want to train.

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Enter the command with the exact capitalization shown on your
Command Quick Reference card or in Appendix B of this guide. For
example, to train “Correct That,” capitalize the words exactly as shown.
3

Click OK.
For further instructions, follow steps 2–4 beginning on page 60.

Running General Training again
If you’ve been following the procedures in this chapter, but Dragon
NaturallySpeaking continues to make a lot of mistakes, you may need to
spend some more time teaching the program how you pronounce words.
You can do this by running General Training again and reading another
training text aloud.
Doing more General Training can also help if your speaking style has
changed since your first experience with Dragon NaturallySpeaking. If
you spend some more time training the program and make an effort to
speak the way you do when you dictate, you should see an improvement
in accuracy.
The first time you do additional training, you must read for at least 18
minutes; after that, there is no fixed time limit. You should read at least
one complete selection from the General Training texts, until you can
click the Finish button. If you click Cancel, your training will be lost.
Even if you’re getting good recognition accuracy, consider running
General Training again after you’ve been dictating long enough to have a
dictation style (a few weeks). Doing more training can further improve
accuracy if your speaking style has changed at all since your first
experience. Running General Training again is also a good idea if you
move to a noisier environment or change your microphone or sound card.

To run General Training:
1

From the Dragon NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced and click
Train User. The General Training dialog box appears.

Select the text you want to read (you can select a different text than the
one you read the first time) and click Train Now.

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Follow the instructions on the screen.
TIP As you read, speak clearly, as if you were dictating the text into a document. This
will allow the program to learn how you sound when you dictate.

When you’ve read as much as you want (or at least one complete text),
click Finish.

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Dictating Names,
Numbers & Punctuation
Y

our Quick Start guide explains the basics of dictating.

■

Names of people, places, and events

■

Abbreviations and acronyms

■

Hyphenated and compound words

■

Words that end with ’s

■

E-mail and Web addresses

■

Special characters (such as é and ¥)

■

Foreign words

■

Numbers (including telephone numbers and dates)

This chapter describes how to dictate:

Dictating names of people,
places, and events
Many names of people, places, and events are already in the Dragon
NaturallySpeaking vocabulary. For example, you can dictate “Martin
Luther King,” “Papua New Guinea,” and “Boston, Massachusetts.” Your first
step should always be to try dictating the name.

To dictate names:
US/Canada: Dictate your name and your town. For example, say “My
name is Carol Macintosh [period] I live in Chicago [comma] Illinois [period]”

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Other Dialects: Dictate your name and your town. For example, say “My
name is Harriet Timms [full stop] I live in Marlow [comma] Buckinghamshire
[full stop]”
NOTE All non-US/Canada dialects (UK, Australian, Indian, and Southeast Asian
English) use the same commands for punctuation, selection, number formatting, and so
on.

Say the words as clearly as possible. (Dragon NaturallySpeaking
automatically capitalizes the names it knows, so you don’t have to say
“Cap.”)
Did Dragon NaturallySpeaking get your name and town correct? If not,
it may mean that your name, town, or both aren’t in the vocabulary. Not
all proper names are in the vocabulary, but you can easily add them. See
“Quick and easy ways to add new words” on page 34.
When you dictate a name that can be spelled more than one way (for
example, “John” or “Jon”), Dragon NaturallySpeaking types the most
common spelling. If this isn’t the spelling you want, just correct the word
(as described in “Correcting recognition mistakes” on page 15). The
Correction dialog box displays any alternative spellings that are already
in the vocabulary. If none of the choices are what you want, type or spell
the name the way you want it to appear.
If the name is a popular one, Dragon NaturallySpeaking may continue to
use the more common spelling. If this is a problem, you can create a new
spoken form in your vocabulary for entering the spelling you want (see
“Editing your vocabulary” on page 41). Or, if you never use a particular
spelling, you can delete it from the vocabulary.

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Dictating abbreviations and
acronyms
Dragon NaturallySpeaking knows many common abbreviations (such as
NYC and BBC) and acronyms (such as NATO). To dictate an
abbreviation or acronym, just say it as you normally would.
TO E N TE R

SA Y

US/Canada: Dr.
Other Dialects: Dr

Doctor

U K (say each letter)

RSVP

R S V P (say each letter)

HTML

H T M L (say each letter)

8 cm

eight centimeters

US/Canada: pp. 27–33
Other Dialects: pp 27–33

pages 27 hyphen 33

NATO

NATO (say as one word)

NASDAQ

NASDAQ (say as one word)

If Dragon NaturallySpeaking types the full word instead of the
abbreviation or acronym or enters the wrong word, just correct it (as
described in “Correcting recognition mistakes” on page 15). The
Correction dialog box should display the abbreviation or acronym on the
list of alternatives. If none of the choices are correct, type it or spell it by
voice.
If you want to include periods or full stops in an abbreviation (for
example, U. K. instead of UK), just correct it. When the Quick Correct
list or Correction dialog box opens, you may see a version that includes
periods or full stops. If not, edit the corrected text to include them.
NOTE If Dragon NaturallySpeaking continues to misrecognize an abbreviation or
acronym, it may not be in the vocabulary. If you use it often, you should add it to the
vocabulary (as described in “Quick and easy ways to add new words” on page 34).

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Dictating hyphenated words
Many hyphenated words and phrases are already in the Dragon
NaturallySpeaking vocabulary. To dictate a word or phrase that’s
hyphenated based on standard usage, just say it as you normally would.
TO E N TE R

SA Y

long-lasting

long lasting

up-to-date schedule

up to date schedule

Tokyo-based company

Tokyo based company

nine-year-old boy

nine year old boy

Including hyphens as you dictate
To hyphenate words that Dragon NaturallySpeaking doesn’t hyphenate
automatically, just say “hyphen” wherever you want a hyphen.
TO E N TE R

SA Y

speech-recognition software

speech [hyphen] recognition software

power-sharing agreement

power [hyphen] sharing agreement

Elizabeth Walker-Smith

Elizabeth Walker [hyphen] Smith

Adding hyphens later
You can hyphenate the last words you said or hyphenate selected words
by saying “Hyphenate That.
NOTE Commands that act on the last thing you said or on selected text work in the
DragonPad, Microsoft Word, and Corel WordPerfect, but not work in all programs. See
the online Help Command List, or “Which commands work in which programs?” on
page 171.

To add a hyphen:
1

Select the words you want to hyphenate.
For example, if you want to hyphenate “speech recognition” in the
following sentence, say “Select speech recognition.”
I’m using speech recognition software

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Say “Hyphenate That.”
This command adds a hyphen between the selected words. To move
back to the end of the line, you can say “Go to End of Line.”

Removing hyphens
You can remove a hyphen by selecting it and replacing it with a space.

To remove a hyphen:
1

Say “Select hyphen.”

Say “Space Bar.”

Preventing hyphens
You can prevent Dragon NaturallySpeaking from entering a hyphen by
pausing where the hyphen would normally be.
For example, to type “long lasting” (normally hyphenated) say “long,”
then pause for a moment, and then say “lasting.” Or you can say “long
space-bar lasting” without pausing, to insert a space in place of the
hyphen.

Dictating compound words
Dragon NaturallySpeaking joins compound words (such as “notebook”)
automatically based on standard usage. To dictate a compound word, just
say it as you normally would.

Compounding words as you dictate
To compound words that Dragon NaturallySpeaking doesn’t join
automatically, just say “No Space” between the words.
TO E N TE R

SA Y

dragonsystems

[No Caps] dragon [No Space] systems

WorldWide Web

[Cap] world [No Space] [Cap] wide [Cap] web

You can also dictate consecutive words without spaces by turning “no
spaces” on and then turning them off when you’ve finished.

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To dictate consecutive words without spaces:
1

Say “No Space On” to turn no spaces on.

Dictate the words you want to appear without spaces.

Say “No Space Off” to turn no spaces off.

Compounding words later
You can compound the last words you said or compound selected words
by saying “Compound That.”*

To compound words:
1

Select the text you want to join. For example, if you want to join the
words “Web TV,” say “Select Web TV.”

Say “Compound That.”
This command removes all spaces between selected words. (Any tabs or
line breaks are also removed.)
TIP If the command doesn’t work (for example, if the words “compound that” are
typed into your document), you may need to say the command more clearly. Say “Undo
That” (or press CTRL+Z) to undo the last action, and then try the command again. Or
you can press the CTRL key while dictating to force Dragon NaturallySpeaking to
recognize what you say as a command.

Dictating words that end with ’s
When you dictate a word that should end with ’s (apostrophe ess),
Dragon NaturallySpeaking adds it if it can hear the “ess” sound and if
the ending makes sense in the context.

* This command works in the DragonPad, Microsoft Word, and Corel WordPerfect, but it
doesn’t work in all programs. See the online Help Command List, or “Which commands work
in which programs?” on page 171.

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To dictate a word ending with ’s, just say it as you normally would. (For
some words, you may need to emphasize the “ess” sound.) If Dragon
NaturallySpeaking doesn’t include the ’s, you can add it later.
TO E N TE R

SA Y

We took Mary’s car

that’s enough

it’s time to go

Including ’s as you dictate
When you want to make sure that Dragon NaturallySpeaking types a
word with ’s, just say “apostrophe ess” (or “apostrophe” for words that
already end in s) after saying the word.
TO E N TE R

S AY

We took my brother’s car

We took my brother [apostrophe ess] car

I met my friends’ children

I met my friends [apostrophe] children

Lois’s car

Lois [apostrophe ess] car

Adding ’s later
You can add ’s to a word by selecting it and then saying it again with
“apostrophe ess.”

To add ’s later:
1

Select the text to which you want to add ’s. For example, say “Select
brothers.”

Say the word followed by “apostrophe ess” (for example, say “brother
apostrophe ess”).
This changes “brothers” to “brother’s.”
Or, you can use the “Insert After” command (see page 88). For example,
say “Insert after brother,” pause, and then say ““apostrophe ess.”

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Dictating e-mail and Web
addresses
You can dictate e-mail and Web addresses as you would normally say
them. Dragon NaturallySpeaking formats them for you automatically.
TO E N TE R

SA Y

Virginia@aol.com

[Cap] virginia at a o l dot com

info@scansoft.com

[No Caps On] info at scansoft dot com
[No Caps Off]

http://www.scansoft.com

[No Caps On] h t t p w w w dot
scansoft dot com [No Caps Off]

NOTE To be able to dictate e-mail and Web addresses as described in this section,
you must keep the “Format Web and E-mail addresses automatically” option selected in
the Dragon NaturallySpeaking Options dialog box (Formatting tab).

Here are some guidelines for dictating e-mail and Web addresses:
■

When you say “h t t p,” “w w w,” or “web,” Dragon
NaturallySpeaking knows to format the next words you say as a Web
address.

■

Say the following abbreviations by pronouncing them as words:
“co,” “com,” “edu,” “gov,” “mil,” “net,” and “org.”

■

Say the following abbreviations by saying each letter:
“a c,” “b n, “c a,” “c o,” “e d u,” “h k,” “i d,” “i n,” “j p,” “m y,” “p h,”
“s g,” “t h,” and “u k.”

■

Use the “No Caps On” and “No Caps Off” commands to enter an
e-mail or Web address in all lowercase letters. For more information
about controlling capitalization, see “Dictating consecutive words in
all lowercase letters” on page 97.

If the address you’re dictating contains an unusual word (for example,
“tiac” or “juno”), Dragon NaturallySpeaking will make mistakes. You
should correct the mistake (as described in “Correcting recognition
mistakes” on page 15) and train the program to recognize the address (as

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described in “Training Dragon NaturallySpeaking to recognize problem
words” on page 59).
TIP You can create dictation shortcuts for e-mail and Web addresses you use often.
See “Creating dictation shortcuts” on page 38.

Dictating special characters
Dictating common special characters
The following special characters are in the Dragon NaturallySpeaking
vocabulary. To dictate these characters, just say their names.
TO E NT E R

SA Y

ampersand or and-sign

asterisk

at sign

‘

backquote

caret

degree sign

dollar sign or dollar*
euros or euro-sign*

percent sign

registered sign

section sign

™

trademark sign

plus sign

minus sign

open euro quote

close euro quote

All Dialects: hash sign or sharp sign
US/Canada: number sign or pound sign

US/Canada: pound sterling sign*
Other Dialects: pound sign or pound

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TO E NT E R

SA Y

:-)

smiley face

:-(

frowny face

;-)

winky face

* For more information about dictating currency in different dialects, see “Currency and coin”
on page 81.

For more complete lists of special characters, see “Entering punctuation
and special characters” on page 194 or the online Help.

Dictating uncommon special characters
If you use uncommon special characters in your writing (for example, the
yen sign ¥), you can also enter them by voice. You must, however, use
the Correction dialog box the first time you dictate them, to add them to
your vocabulary.
For example, if you want to enter the Japanese currency symbol for yen
(¥) into your document, you could dictate “yen sign” and then correct the
result to be ¥ instead of the words “yen sign.” The next time you say “yen
sign,” Dragon NaturallySpeaking should enter the symbol, not the
words.
For the complete list of special characters you can enter by using the
Correction dialog box, see the following sections in Appendix B:
■

“Publishing symbols” on page 178

■

“Currency symbols” on page 179

■

“Accented and international characters” on page 179

■

“Mathematical symbols” on page 181

To dictate an uncommon special character:
1

In a document, dictate the phrase you want to use to enter the special
character (for example, say “yen sign”). (Make a note of the phrase you
use.)
Dragon NaturallySpeaking enters the words into your document. In this
example, it would enter “yen sign.”

Say “Correct That” to open the Correction dialog box.

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Say the name of the special character (for example, say “yen sign” to enter
¥).

For the complete list of special characters, see page 194 in Appendix B,
or the online Help.
4

Click or say “OK.”
Dragon NaturallySpeaking enters the special character (for example, ¥)
and also adds it to the vocabulary. Now when you dictate the phrase (in
this example, “yen sign”), Dragon NaturallySpeaking should enter the
special character, not the words. If the program enters words instead, just
correct the mistake (as described in “Correcting recognition mistakes”
on page 15). The Correction dialog box should display the special
character in the list of alternatives.

Dictating foreign words
Some foreign words that are regularly used in English (such as
“laissez-faire”) are in the Dragon NaturallySpeaking vocabulary.
If you dictate a foreign word, and Dragon NaturallySpeaking doesn’t
recognize it, try correcting it. The Correction dialog box may display the
word you want on the list of alternatives.
If the foreign word contains an accented character, add it to the
vocabulary with the accented character in the written form. See “Adding
an individual word” on page 35.

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Dictating numbers
You can dictate most numbers as you would normally say them. Many
number formats in DragonNaturallySpeaking are controlled by your
Windows Regional Settings. To view these settings, point to Settings
from the Windows Start menu, click Control Panel, and double-click the
Regional Settings icon.
NOTE If you are having problems dictating numbers, currency, times, or dates, make
sure that your Regional Settings match the language (dialect) you selected when you
created your user. For more information on choosing a dialect, see your Quick Start
guide.

US/Canada: You can enter $250.95 by saying “two hundred and fifty
dollars and ninety five cents,” and you can enter 4:05 PM by saying “four oh
five p m.”
Other Dialects: You can enter £250.95 by saying “two hundred and fifty
pounds and ninety five pence,” and you can enter 4.05 PM by saying “four
oh five p m.”
If you ever have trouble getting Dragon NaturallySpeaking to type a
numeral rather than a word (for example, “4” instead of “four”), just say
“numeral” before saying the number. For example, say “numeral four.”
This forces the program to enter the number as a numeral.
NOTE To be able to dictate numbers as described in the following sections, you must
keep the “Automatically format telephone numbers, currency, times, and other numbers”
option selected in the Formatting tab of the Options dialog box.

Numerals
You can dictate most numerals, including ZIP codes and other numeric
postal codes, as you would normally say them.

TO E N TE R

SAY

one or numeral one

five or numeral five

seventeen

twenty three

179

one hundred seventy nine or one seventy nine

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TO E N TE R

SAY

5423

five thousand four hundred and twenty three

5,423

five [comma] four twenty three

12,537

twelve thousand five hundred and thirty seven

142,015

one hundred and forty two thousand and fifteen

35.23

thirty five [point] two three

0.03

All Dialects: zero [point] zero three
Outside US/Canada: nought [point] nought three

43.28%

forty three [point] twenty eight [percent sign]

02460

oh two four six zero

02460-1458

oh two four six zero [hyphen] one four five eight

Dragon NaturallySpeaking automatically includes a numeric comma (a
comma without a trailing space) in numbers with five or more digits (for
example, 12,537). To include a comma in a four-digit number, you must
say “comma.”
NOTE Dragon NaturallySpeaking uses the decimal separator (dot or comma) and the
digit grouping symbol specified in your Regional Settings in the Windows Control Panel.

Changing the format of a number

If Dragon NaturallySpeaking enters a number in a format you don’t
want, you can use voice commands to convert it to a numeral or to spell it
out.
For example, you can change “seven dollars” to “$7” (US/Canada) or
“seven pounds” to “£ 7” (Other Dialects) by saying “Format That Number.”
And you can change “$7” to “seven dollars” (US/Canada) or “£ 7” to
“seven pounds” (Other Dialects) by saying “Format That Spelled Out.”

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These commands change the last number dictated or a selected number.
SA Y

TO C H AN G E

Format That Number

one to 1
first to 1st
twenty-fifth to 25th
5 million to 5,000,000
five million to 5,000,000
US/Canada: eight dollars to $8
Other Dialects: seven pounds to £7

Format That Spelled Out

4th to fourth
27 to twenty-seven
5,000,000 to five million

Start Numbers Mode/
Numbers Mode On

Tell Dragon NaturallySpeaking to recognize all
your dictation as numbers, typed as numerals.

Stop Numbers Mode/
Numbers Mode Off

Resume normal dictation of text and numbers.

NOTE The “Format That Number” and “Format That Spelled Out” commands work
for numerals and currency, but not for dates, times of day, telephone numbers, and most
fractions.

Using Numbers Mode
Any time you need to dictate a series of numbers and do not want
Dragon NaturallySpeaking to recognize them as words, you can turn on
Numbers Mode. This could be useful, for example, if you are dictating
in a speadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel®.

To turn Numbers Mode on and off:
1

From the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Words and then click
Numbers Mode. You can also say “Start Numbers Mode” or “Numbers Mode
On.”
A check appears beside the menu command to indicate that Numbers
Mode is on.

Click Numbers Mode again. You can also say “Stop Numbers Mode” or
“Numbers Mode Off.”
The check disappears, indicating that Numbers Mode is off.

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NOTE With Numbers Mode on, Dragon NaturallySpeaking tries to interpret
everything 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.

Dates
You can dictate most dates the way you would normally say them. Say
“oh” or “zero” to enter 0. In dialects outside US/Canada, you can also say
“nought.”
TO E N TE R

SA Y

22 January 1999

Twenty two January nineteen ninety nine

April 9, 2001

April 9 [comma] two thousand and one

14/07/85

fourteen [slash] oh seven [slash] eighty five

3/11/02

three [slash] eleven [slash] zero two

3/11/2002

three [slash] eleven [slash] two thousand and two

April 1st

April first

March 22nd

March twenty second

The 1980s

The nineteen eighties

If Dragon NaturallySpeaking types the date in the wrong format, just
correct it (as described in “Correcting recognition mistakes” on page 15).
When the Correction dialog box opens, the format you want may be on
the list of alternatives.

Times of day
US/Canada: Usually, you can dictate the time of day the way you would
normally say it. Say “o’clock” to enter :00. Dragon NaturallySpeaking
automatically types the colon (:) if you say “a m,” “p m,” or “o’clock”
when dictating the time. Otherwise, say “colon zero zero” to enter :00.
TO E N TE R

SA Y

8:30

eight [colon] thirty

4:45 AM

four forty five a m

10:22 PM

ten twenty two p m

3:00

three o’clock

5:00 PM

five o’clock p m

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Other Dialects: Usually, you can dictate the time of day the way you
would normally say it. Say “o’clock” to enter .00. Dragon
NaturallySpeaking automatically types the point (.) if you say “a m,”
“p m,” or “o’clock” when dictating the time. Otherwise, say “point zero
zero” to enter .00.
TO E N TE R

SA Y

8.30

eight [colon] thirty

4.45 AM

four forty five a m

10.22 PM

ten twenty two p m

3.00

three o’clock

5.00 PM

five o’clock p m

NOTE Dragon NaturallySpeaking uses the time separator (dot or colon) and the AM/
PM symbol specified in your Regional Settings in the Windows Control Panel.

Telephone numbers
North American phone numbers

You can say U.S. and Canadian phone numbers (of 7, 10, or 11 digits)
naturally, by pausing briefly between each group of numbers. You don’t
need to dictate hyphens between groups of of 7, 10, or 11 digits.
However, when dictating eight-digit numbers starting with 0 or 1 (for
example, 1-965-5200), you must say all the punctuation, including the
hyphens, spaces, and brackets.
TO E N TE R

SA Y

965-5200

nine six five fifty two hundred

617-965-5200

six one seven nine six five fifty two hundred

1-800-555-1212

one eight hundred five five five one two one two

(617) 965-5200

[open parenthesis] six one seven [close
parenthesis] nine six five five two hundred

1-212-555-1212

one two one two five five five one two one two

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Telephone numbers outside North America

To dictate other phone numbers, including European phone numbers,
you must say all the punctuation, including the hyphens, spaces, and
parentheses.
TO E N TE R

SA Y

(01628) 894150

[open parenthesis] oh one six two eight [close
parenthesis] space bar eight nine four one five
oh

027 629 8944

oh two seven [space bar] six two nine [space
bar] eight nine four four

61-7-4695-2055

six one [hyphen] seven [hyphen] four six nine
five [hyphen] two zero five five

(65) 2778590

[open parenthesis] six five [close parenthesis]
two seven seven eight five nine zero

TIP In dialects outside US/Canada, you can say “bracket” instead of “parenthesis.”

Currency and coin
You can dictate your own currency as you would normally say it.

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Currency in US/Canada (US English dialect)
TO E N TE R

S AY

$58.00

fifty eight dollars and zero cents

$1.75

one dollar and seventy five cents

$5.25

five dollars and twenty five cents

$3.9 billion

three point nine billion dollars

£ 45

pound sterling sign forty five

£ 99.50

pound sterling sign ninety-nine point five oh

£ 2.20

pound sterling sign two point two oh

£ 5 million

pound sterling sign five million

Currency in Other Dialects (UK, Australian, Indian, and Southeast Asian
English)
TO E N TE R

S AY

$58.00

fifty eight dollars

$1.75

one dollar and seventy five cents

$4.25

four dollars twenty five

$3.9 billion

three point nine billion dollars

£ 45

forty five pounds

£ 99.50

ninety nine pounds and fifty pence

£ 2.20

two pounds twenty

£ 5 million

five million pounds

NOTE Dragon NaturallySpeaking uses the currency symbol ($, £, and so on)
specified in your Windows Regional Settings as your default currency.

Dictate other currencies by first saying the currency symbol followed by
the digits.
US/Canada: If your Regional Settings are set to the United States or
Canada, your default currency is $ (dollar). If you want to dictate a dollar
currency amount, dictate it the way you normally do. If you want to
dictate a pound sterling currency amount, say, for example, “pound
sterling sign fifty eight” (to enter £ 58), and so on.
TIP In US/Canada, you must say “pound sterling sign” to enter £, since “pound sign”
means # in the U.S. vocabulary. In all other dialects, you can say “pound sign” to type £.

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Other Dialects: If your Regional Settings are set to the United Kingdom,
your default currency is £ (pound sterling). If you want to dictate a
pound sterling currency amount, dictate it the way you normally do. If
you want to dictate a dollar currency amount, say, for example, “dollar
sign fifty eight” (to enter $58) and so on.
NOTE Australian users can say “fifty eight dollars” to dictate $58, since the
Australian default currency is $ in Windows Regional Settings.

Fractions
You can dictate most common fractions the way you would normally say
them. To dictate 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6, 1/7, 1/8, 1/9, 1/10, and 1/16 or a
multiple of these fractions, just say the fraction normally.
TO E N TE R

SA Y

1/2

one half

1/4

one fourth or one quarter

15/16

fifteen sixteenths or fifteen over sixteen

3 7/8

three and seven eighths or three and seven over eight

If Dragon NaturallySpeaking types the fraction as a word (for example,
“one-third”), you can correct it as described in “Correcting recognition
mistakes” on page 15.
If the denominator is greater than 10, you can enter the fraction by
saying “slash” or “over” between the two numbers.
TO E N TE R

SA Y

9/12

nine [slash] twelve or nine over twelve

5 3/56

five [space bar] three [slash] fifty six

130/70

one thirty over seventy

For information about dictating fraction characters (¼, ½, ¾), see
“Dictating uncommon special characters” on page 74.

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Roman numerals
You can dictate Roman numerals by saying “Roman” and the number.
For large numbers, say the number in small combinations (as in the last
three examples).
TO E N TE R

SA Y

Roman one

Roman four

Roman five

Roman ten

Roman fifty

Roman one hundred

Roman five hundred

Roman one thousand

XXIV

Roman twenty Roman four

XXXI

Roman thirty Roman one

MCMXCVII

Roman one thousand
Roman nine hundred
Roman ninety
Roman seven

TIP Don’t pause after the word “Roman” when you’re dictating a Roman numeral. If
you pause, Dragon NaturallySpeaking may enter “Roman three” instead of “III” (for
example).

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Postal and Zip Codes
US Zip Codes

You can dictate US five-digit ZIP codes just as you dictate any group of
numbers. You must say the hyphen when dictating nine-digit ZIP codes.
UK and Canadian Postal Codes

You can dictate UK postcodes by saying “Postcode” followed by the
letters and numbers that make up the postcode. For Canadian postal
codes, say “Postal code” followed by the letters and numbers that make
up the postal code. Spacing and formatting will happen automatically.
TO E N TE R

SA Y

NG3 2HX

Postcode n g three two h x

E10 7BD

Postcode e ten seven b d

EC2Y 4LK

Postcode e c two y four l k

K1A 0M5

Postal code k one a zero m five

X0A 0H0

Postal code x oh a oh h o

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

CHAPTER

Editing and Revising Text
I

f you followed the online Tutorial and the Quick Start guide, you
learned a few useful commands for editing a document by voice.

You learned how to use Select-and-Say to revise text, move to the top and
bottom of your document, capitalize a word, and apply bold, italics, and
underlining.
This chapter describes other ways to edit and revise text in a document
by voice. It explains how to:
■

Move around in a document

■

Select text

■

Copy, cut, and paste text

■

Capitalize text

■

Format text

■

Delete text

Selection, capitalization, and formatting commands may work differently
in different programs, or be unavailable in some programs. All the
commands listed here work in the DragonPad, Microsoft Word, Corel
WordPerfect, and WordPad. For more information, see “Which
commands work in which programs?” on page 171 of Appendix B.
TIP If a command doesn’t seem to be working, check the DragonBar for a helpful tip
or view the Command List of the online Help.

Moving around in a document
When you’re editing a document, you can move around the page by
voice. After you place the insertion point where you want it, you can
dictate more text, select text, copy and paste, or apply formatting.

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Going to the top or bottom of a page or
document
You can move to the top or bottom of the current page by saying “Page
Up” (equivalent to pressing the PAGE UP key) or “Page Down”
(equivalent to pressing the PAGE DOWN key).
You can move to the top or bottom of your document by saying “Go to
Top” or “Go to Bottom.”
You can use any command from the list below:
SAY

TH E N ( on e)

Go to

Top

Move to

Bottom
Top of Document
Beginning of Document
Start of Document
Bottom of Document

Going to the beginning or end of a line
You can move to the beginning or end of the current line by saying “Go to
Beginning of Line” or “Go to End of Line.”
You can use any command from the list below:
SAY

T H E N ( o n e)

Go to

Beginning of Line

Move to

Start of Line
End of Line

Placing the insertion point before or after a
specific word
You can place the insertion point before a specific word by saying “Insert
Before” and then the word or words. You can place the insertion point
after a word by saying “Insert After” and then the word or words.
After you move the insertion point where you want it, you can dictate
more text, paste text, add punctuation, and so on.

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To place the insertion point before a specific word:
To move the insertion point before the word “lets” in the sentence
below, say “Insert Before lets” (or “Insert Before lets me talk”). Remember
not to pause between any of the words.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking lets me talk instead of type.

To place the insertion point after a specific word:
To move the insertion point after the word “talk” in the sentence below,
say “Insert After talk” (or “Insert After lets me talk”).
Dragon NaturallySpeaking lets me talk instead of type.

Moving up or down a paragraph or line
You can move up or down a paragraph by saying “Move Up a Paragraph”
or “Move Down a Paragraph.” You can also move up and down a number
of paragraphs (up to 20). For example, you can say “Move Up 3
Paragraphs.”
You can move up or down a line by saying “Move Up a Line” or “Move
Down a Line.” You can also move up and down a number of lines (up to
20). For example, you can say “Move Down 3 Lines.”
See the complete list below:
SAY

T HE N ( o n e )

Move

a Paragraph or 1 Paragraph

Back

2 Paragraphs

Down

3 Paragraphs

Forward

2...20 Paragraphs
a Line or 1 Line
2 Lines
3 Lines
2...20 Lines

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Moving right or left a word or character
You can move right or left a word by saying “Move Right a Word” or “Move
Left a Word.” You can also move right or left a number of words (up to 20).
For example, you can say “Move Right 3 Words.”
You can move to the next or previous character by saying “Move Right a
Character” or “Move Left a Character.” You can also move forward and
backward a number of characters (up to 20). For example, you can say
“Move Left 4 Characters.”
See the complete list below:
SAY

TH E N (o n e)

T HE N ( o n e )

Move

Right

a Word or 1 Word

Forward

2 Words

Left

4 Words

Back

2...20 Words
a Character or 1 Character
2 Characters
4 Characters
2...20 Characters

Selecting text
Using Select-and-Say
You can revise your dictation without correcting it by selecting the text
using the “Select” command and then saying new words to replace the
selected text.

Important!
When text is selected, be careful not to breathe loudly, clear your
throat, or make other sounds. Dragon NaturallySpeaking may
interpret such noises as speech and replace the selection with new
text. If this happens, say “Undo That” right away to reverse the
action.

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To Select-and-Say:
1

Dictate the sentence below:
US/Canada: Let’s meet for lunch on Tuesday [period]
Other Dialects: Let’s meet for lunch on Tuesday [full stop]

Say “Select lunch on Tuesday.” The words “lunch on Tuesday” should be
highlighted on the screen.

Say “dinner on Wednesday.” These words should replace “lunch on
Tuesday.”
You can also select punctuation marks.

Say: “Select period” (US/Canada) or “Select full stop” (Other Dialects). If
there’s more than one period or full stop, you can say “Select Again” to
select a different one.

To replace the period or full stop with an exclamation mark, say
“exclamation mark.”
TIP It is often easier for Dragon NaturallySpeaking to find the matching text if you
select a short phrase rather than selecting individual words. If you select some words that
are already correct, just say them again along with the ones you want to change.

Selecting the same text again
If the words you’re trying to select appear more than once on the screen,
and Dragon NaturallySpeaking selects the wrong ones, just say “Select
Again.”
The program then looks for another instance of the same word or words.
It always searches backward from where you are. If the program reaches
the top of the document while searching backward, it will wrap to the
bottom of the document and continue searching backward for the next
instance of the text.
TIP If you want the program to always search forward, you can change this setting.
On the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced, click Options, and then click the
Correction tab. Clear the “Select searches backwards” check box.

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You can also say “Select Again” if Dragon NaturallySpeaking selects a
word that sounds like but is not the word you want (for example, “two”
instead of “too”).

Unselecting words
If the wrong text is selected, say “Unselect That.”
You can also “unselect” words by moving your insertion point (by mouse
or voice) to another part of your document. For example, say “Go to End
of Line” or click somewhere else in your document.
A third way to unselect words is to use the “Select” command to select
different text.

Selecting a longer phrase
You can select a longer phrase for correction by saying “Select [text]
Through [text]” (US/Canada) or “Select [text] To [text]” (Other Dialects). For
[text], substitute the actual word or words at the beginning and the end
of the range of wrong words. If the phrase was the last thing you said,
you can just say “Select That.”

Is “That” Too Much?
Saying “Select That,” “Spell That,” or “Correct That” to correct your
last phrase is practical only when the phrase contains up to 5 words
or 50 characters. A much longer phrase may not fit completely in the
Quick Correct list, or even in the Correction dialog box, and it’s
more difficult to find a correct alternative in the vocabulary lists for a
long phrase.
To fix mistakes in a long phrase or sentence, it is best to correct just
the specific wrong words using the techniques discussed in this
section.
Once the phrase is selected, you can edit and correct it in the Correction
dialog box.
NOTE If you’re correcting more than one word, the words must all be in sequence
(next to each other). You can’t use a single command to correct words that are in different
parts of your document.

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To correct a longer phrase:
1

Select the phrase by saying “Select [text] Through [text]” (US/Canada) or
“Select [text] To [text]” (Other Dialects). For [text], substitute the actual
word or words at the beginning and the end of the range of wrong words
(they must be visible on the screen).
For example, you could correct the underlined words in the following
sentence...
With a little practice, who will develop a habit of dictating an unclear,
steady voice, and the computer will understand you better.
...by saying:
(US/Canada) “Select who Through unclear” or “Select who will Through an
unclear”
(Other Dialects) “Select who To unclear” or “Select who will To an unclear”

(in the DragonPad) If the Quick Correct list appears, look to see if it
contains the word or phrase you want. If you see the right word or
phrase, choose it from the list as described on page 16, “Correcting
mistakes with Quick Correct.”

If you don’t see what you want in the list, or if you don’t see the Quick
Correct list at all, say “Spell That” or “Correct That.” The Correction
dialog box will open.

In the Correction dialog box, spell or type the correct words (in this
example, “you will develop the habit of dictating in a clear”).

When you’re finished, click or say “OK.”
The Correction dialog box closes and the text is entered into your
document. The insertion point returns to where it was before you made
the correction.

Selecting your whole document
You can select all the text in your document by saying “Select Document”
or “Select All.” This command is useful when you want to change the
font or the way text is aligned.

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When you want to copy all the text in a document to another window,
the easiest way to do it is with the “Copy All to Clipboard” command. (See
“Copying text to other programs” on page 106.)
NOTE The “Scratch That” and “Cut That” commands don’t work, nor can you dictate,
when a lot of text is selected. This prevents you from accidentally deleting a large part of
your document. To remove a large selection, you can say “Delete That” instead.

Selecting an entire paragraph or line
You can select the current paragraph by saying “Select Paragraph.” To
select the current line, say “Select Line.”
You can also select a number of paragraphs or lines (up to 20). For
example, you can say “Select Previous 5 Paragraphs.” See the complete
list below:
SAY

Select

T HE N ( o n e )

TH E N (o n e )

Paragraph

2 Paragraphs

Forward

2...20 Paragraphs

Back

Line

Last

2 Lines
2...20 Lines

Selecting a word or character
You can select the current word by saying “Select Word.” To select a
character, say “Select Next Character” or “Select Previous Character.”
You can also select a number of words or characters (up to 20). For
example, say “Select Previous 2 Words.” See the complete list below:
SAY

T HE N ( o n e )

TH E N (o n e )

Select

Word

Character

Forward

2 Words

Back

4 Characters

Last

2...20 Words
2...20 Characters

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Copying, cutting, and pasting
text
You can move text from one place to another by using the “Copy That,”
“Cut That,” and “Paste That” commands.

To copy, cut, or paste text:
1

Select the text you want to copy or cut.

Say “Copy That” or “Cut That.”

Move the insertion point to where you want to paste the text.

Say “Paste That.”
NOTE You can copy your entire document to the Clipboard by saying “Copy All to
Clipboard.” This is useful when you want to copy text to another window. (See “Copying
text to other programs” on page 106.)

Capitalizing text
Capitalizing the first letter of the next word you
dictate
Dragon NaturallySpeaking capitalizes many words automatically. It
capitalizes the first word in a sentence (following a period, question
mark, or exclamation mark). It capitalizes the first word after you say
“New Paragraph” (though not when you say “New Line”), and it
capitalizes proper names (when these words are already in the Dragon
NaturallySpeaking vocabulary in capitalized form).
When you’re dictating, you can capitalize words that aren’t automatically
capitalized by saying “Cap” and then the word. For example, say “Cap
fluffy” to get “Fluffy.”

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If you need to dictate the word “cap” in a sentence (as in, “The
company is putting a cap on salary increases”), just pause after saying
“cap.”
NOTE Dragon NaturallySpeaking should capitalize correctly whenever you’re
dictating in the DragonPad or any of the programs listed on page 171. In other
programs, it may not always capitalize the first word you say automatically; you may
need to capitalize as you dictate.

Capitalizing consecutive words
When you want to capitalize consecutive words (for example, if you’re
dictating a book title), you can turn capitals on and then turn them off
when you’re finished. This is usually easier than saying “Cap” before
each word.

To capitalize consecutive words:
1

Say “Caps On” to turn capitals on.
NOTE When “Caps On” is active, Dragon NaturallySpeaking uses title case. This
means it capitalizes all words except for articles and prepositions (such as “the” and
“to”).

Dictate the words you want capitalized. For example, say “success is a
journey [colon] seven steps to achieving success in the business of life.”
Dragon NaturallySpeaking types: “Success Is a Journey: Seven Steps to
Achieving Success in the Business of Life.”

Say “Caps Off” to turn capitals off.

Dictating the next word in all capital letters
When you’re dictating, you can enter a word in all capital letters by
saying “All Caps” and then the word.
For example, say “All Caps please” to get “PLEASE.”

Dictating consecutive words in all capital letters
When you want to dictate consecutive words in all capitals, you can turn
all capitals on and then turn them off when you’ve finished.

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To dictate consecutive words in all capitals:
1

Say “All Caps On” to turn all capitals on (like pressing the CAPS LOCK
key).

Dictate the words you want to appear in all caps.

Say “All Caps Off” to turn all capitals off.

Dictating the next word in all lowercase letters
When you’re dictating, you can enter a word in all lowercase letters by
saying “No Caps” and then the word.
For example, say “No Caps jack” to get “jack.” (Dragon
NaturallySpeaking normally capitalizes this and other proper names.)

Dictating consecutive words in all lowercase
letters
When you want to dictate consecutive words in lowercase letters (for
example, names of computer files or e-mail addresses), you can turn the
“no-capitals” feature on and then turn it off when you are finished. This
is usually easier than saying “No Caps” before each word.

To dictate consecutive words in all lowercase letters:
1

Say “No Caps On” to turn no capitals on.

Dictate the words you want to appear in all lowercase.

Say “No Caps Off” to turn no capitals off.

Capitalizing (or uncapitalizing) text already in
your document
You can change the capitalization of text already in your document by
selecting it and then saying “Cap That,” “All Caps That,” or “No Caps
That.”

To capitalize or uncapitalize text:
1

Select the text you want to change.

Say “Cap That,” “All Caps That,” or “No Caps That.”

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Formatting text
In the DragonPad, Microsoft Word, Corel WordPerfect and WordPad,
you can use commands to specify any combination of font name, size,
and style, in that order. These commands change text you dictate from
then on, or text you have selected.
To set a new style for text you are about to dictate, use the “Set Font”
and “Set Size” commands. To change text you have already dictated, or
text you select, use the “Format That” command. You can also select text
and apply (or remove) bold, italics, underline, or strikeout formats, or
change the alignment of text.

Changing the font as you dictate
When you’re dictating, you can change the font face, size, and style by
saying “Set Font” followed by the font attributes you want.
For example, you can say “Set Font Times” or “Set Font Arial 12 Bold.”
When you continue dictating, the new text appears with the font
attributes you set.
Changing font face
SAY

TH E N ( o n e )

Set Font

Times
Times New Roman
Arial
Courier
Courier New

Changing font size

Say “Set Size” and then a size from 4 to 100 points (or 120 points). For
example, say “Set Size 18.” Then, continue dictating.

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Changing font style
SAY

Set Font

TH E N ( o n e )

Bold
Italics
Underline
Strikeout
Plain or Plain Text or Normal or Regular

Changing a combination of font face, size, and style

Say “Set Font” and then the attributes you want (listed in the previous
sections). You can specify any combination of face, size, and style, but
you must specify these attributes in that order (face, then size, then
style). See the list of examples below:
■

“Set Font Arial”

■

“Set Font Arial 12” or “Set Font Arial 12 Point”

■

“Set Size 12 Bold”

■

“Set Font Arial Bold”

■

“Set Font Bold”

NOTE If you’re changing only the font size, use the “Set Size” commands, not the
“Set Font” command.

Changing the font later
You can go back and change the font face, size, or style of text by
selecting it and then using the “Format That” commands. “Format That”
works on selected text, or the last thing you said, with the same
combinations of font face, size, and style as the “Set Font” commands in
the tables from the previous section.

To change the font:
1

Select the text you want to change.

Say “Format That” and then the font attributes you want to apply as
described in the previous section.

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Adding (or removing) bold, italics, and
underlining
You can apply formatting to text in your document by selecting it and
then saying “Bold That,” “Italicize That,” or “Underline That.” You can also
say “Strikeout That.”

To add bold, italics, and underlining:
1

Select the text you want to change.

Say “Bold That,” “Italicize That,” Underline That,” or “Strikeout That.”

To remove formatting:
1

Select the text you want to change.

Say “Restore That” to remove formatting.

Aligning text
You can change how text is aligned by placing your insertion point in the
text and saying “Center That,” “Left Align That,” or “Right Align That.”

To align text:
1

Move the insertion point to the text you want to align.

Say “Center That,” “Left Align That,” or “Right Align That.”
You can also use the following commands on the last thing you said or on
selected text: “Format That Centered,” “Format That Left Aligned,” and
“ Format That Right Aligned.”

Deleting text
Deleting the last words you dictated
You can erase the last words you dictated by saying “Scratch That” or
“Delete That.” When you say either command, Dragon
NaturallySpeaking erases the last thing it typed into your document.
This may be a full sentence, a phrase, or just one word, if that’s all you
said before pausing.

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You can say “Scratch That” (but not “Delete That”) up to ten times to
delete the last few things you said. If you repeat the command, you must
pause before saying it again. You can also say, for example, “Scratch That 5
Times.”

Backing up as you dictate
When you’re dictating, sometimes you may hesitate or think of a better
way to say something right after you’ve said it. When this happens, you
can use the “Resume With” command to back up to where you were
before the mistake.
Just say “Resume With” immediately followed by the word or words you
want to back up to. Then, continue dictating. Any text after the new
insertion point will be replaced with your new dictation.
NOTE When using the “Resume With” command, remember not to pause in the
middle. Say “Resume With” and then immediately say the words you want to back up to.
These words must be in the last three or four sentences (100 characters) you said; you
can’t use “Resume With” to back up to an earlier part of your document.

To back up as you dictate:
1

Suppose you dictate this sentence: “I have a deadline this week, but we could
meet for lunch… um… er… next Wednesday.”

To correct the sentence, back up to the last correct words you remember
dictating. For example, say “Resume With meet for lunch.” (Remember not
to pause in the middle.)

Then, dictate the rest of the sentence. For example, say “next Wednesday
at noon.”

Deleting specific words
You can delete text by selecting it and saying “Delete That.”

To delete text:
1

Select the text you want to delete.

Say “Delete That.”
You can also say “Scratch That” to do the same thing.

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Deleting the next or previous paragraph or line
You can delete the next or previous paragraph by saying “Delete Next
Paragraph” or “Delete Previous Paragraph.” You can delete the next or
previous line by saying “Delete Next Line” or“Delete Previous Line.”
You can also delete a number of paragraphs or lines (up to 20). For
example, you can say “Delete Previous 5 Paragraphs.” See the complete
list below:
SAY

T HE N ( o n e )

Delete

Paragraph

2 Paragraphs

Forward

2...20 Paragraphs

Back

Line

Last

2 Lines
2...20 Lines

Deleting the next or previous word or character
You can delete the next or previous word by saying “Delete Next Word”
or“Delete Previous Word.” You can delete the next or previous character by
saying “Delete Next Character” or“Delete Previous Character.”
You can also delete a number of words or characters (up to 20). For
example, you can say “Delete Previous 5 Words.” See the complete list
below:
SAY

T HE N ( o n e )

Delete

Word

Forward

2 Words

2...20 Words

Back

Character

Last

4 Characters
2...20 Characters

NOTE Another way to delete the previous character is by saying “Backspace.” This is
equivalent to pressing the BACKSPACE key. You can “press” it multiple times (up to 20) by
saying, for example, “Backspace 5.”

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Working With Your
Desktop and Windows
I

n the previous chapters, you learned how to use Dragon
NaturallySpeaking to enter text.

You can also use Dragon NaturallySpeaking to control your computer.
For example, you can start programs, open menus, and click buttons by
using your voice rather than the mouse and keyboard.
This chapter describes how to:
■

Start programs

■

Open documents and folders

■

Switch between open windows

■

Copy text to other programs

■

Open and close menus

■

Select buttons, tabs, and options

■

Select icons on the desktop

■

Resize and close windows

■

Scroll in windows and list boxes

■

Press keyboard keys

■

Move the mouse pointer and click the mouse

You can start and control most programs by voice. (If you can’t control a
particular program by voice, it’s probably not designed for “hands-free”
use.) If you’re using Windows NT®, you will need Service Pack 6 or later
to use the voice commands described in this chapter.
Active Accessibility is required to control Microsoft Office 97, Office
2000, and Office 2002 (including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint,

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Outlook, and Microsoft Access), Windows Explorer, and Internet
Explorer. From the NaturallySpeaking menu, select Advanced, then
click Options. Click the Miscellaneous tab and make sure that “Active
Accessibility for menu and dialog control” is selected.

Starting programs
You can use voice commands to start a program that appears anywhere on
your Windows Start menu or desktop. You can’t start Dragon
NaturallySpeaking by voice, because the program has to be running
before it can hear you.

Starting a program from the Start menu
To start a program from the Start menu, say “Start” and then the name of
the program exactly as it appears on the menu or submenu (it doesn’t
have to be visible). For example, to start Internet Explorer, say “Start
Internet Explorer.”

To start a program:
1

Make sure Dragon NaturallySpeaking is running and the microphone is
on.

Say “Start” and then the name of the program. For example, say “Start
WordPad.”
NOTE To start certain Windows utilities, you must open and navigate the Start menu
(see “Opening and closing menus” on page 107). These utilities are Shut Down, Log Off,
Help, Run, Favorites, Find, and Settings.

Starting a program from the Windows desktop
To start a program on your Windows desktop, just say “Start” and then
the name below the icon. For example, to start Internet Explorer, say
“Start Internet Explorer.”

Say “Start Internet Explorer”

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TIP You can also open other desktop items with the “Start” command. For example,
you can say “Start My Computer.”

Opening documents and folders
You can use voice commands to open a document or folder that appears
on your Windows Start menu or desktop.

Opening documents and folders from the
Start menu
To open a document or folder from the Start menu, say “Start” and then
the name of the document or folder exactly as it appears on the menu.
For example, to open a document named SALES.DOC, you could say
“Start Sales dot doc.” To open a document named JOURNAL.WPD, you
could say “Start journal dot w p d.”
If the document doesn’t open, but the Results box shows that your
command was recognized correctly, make sure the file you’re trying to
open is still on your computer.

Opening documents and folders from the
Windows desktop
To open a document or folder from your Windows desktop, just say
“Start” and then the name below the icon. For example, to open a folder
named “Projects,” say “Start Projects.”

Say “Start Projects”

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Switching between open
windows
You can switch between the windows you have open by saying “Switch
to” and then say the name of the program or document window exactly
as it appears in the title bar.
For example, if Lotus Notes is running, you can switch to it by saying
“Switch to Lotus Notes.”
Say “Switch to Lotus
Notes”

You can also switch between open windows by saying “Switch to Previous
Window” (same as pressing ALT +TAB ) and “Switch to Next Window” (same
as pressing ALT +SHIFT +TAB ).
You can switch to the DragonPad by saying “Switch to NaturallySpeaking”
or “Switch to DragonPad.”

Copying text to other programs
When you’ve finished dictating, you can copy your text to another
window. For example, if you dictate a message in Microsoft Word, you
can then copy it to Microsoft Outlook.

To copy text to another program:
1

106

Say “Copy All to Clipboard” to copy your entire document.

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Switch to another program, such as Microsoft Outlook (as described in
the previous section, “Switching between open windows”).

Say “Paste That.”

To return to Microsoft Word, say“Switch to Microsoft Word” or “Switch to
Previous Window” as described in the previous section.

Opening and closing menus
When Dragon NaturallySpeaking is running, you can activate any menu
by saying its name.

To open a menu:
1

Open a program window (for example, Microsoft Word) and make it
active.
Say the name of the menu you want to open (for example, say “File”). If
the command does not work, try saying “Click” and then the name of the
menu you want to open (for example, say “Click File”).

Say “File or
“Click File”
Say “Save”

In this example, the File menu should open. If the command doesn’t
work (for example, if the word “click” is typed into your document), you
may have paused in the middle of the command.

Say the name of a menu item to activate it (for example, say “Save”).
You must say any punctuation mark or special character included in the
menu. For example, to open a menu named Undo/Redo, say “Click Undo
Slash Redo.” If Dragon NaturallySpeaking does not respond, try saying

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only the words before the special character. For example, say “Click
Undo.”
TIP To open the Start menu, say “Click Start.”

To close a menu:
Say “Cancel” or press the ESC key.

Selecting buttons, tabs, and
options
When Dragon NaturallySpeaking is running, you can select any button,
check box, text box, or other dialog box option you see by saying its
name. If that doesn’t work, say “Click” and then its name.
For example, to select a check box labeled “Toolbar,” say “Toolbar” or
“Click Toolbar.” To clear the check box (unselect it), say its name again.

Say “Wrap to Window” or
“Click Wrap to Window”

Say
“Toolbar” or
“Click
Toolbar”

You can select tabs by saying the name of the tab, alone or preceded
by“Click.” In the dialog box pictured, you could say “Options” or “Click
Options” to select the Options tab. You can also move between tabs by
saying “Go to Next Tab” and “Go to Previous Tab.”
NOTE In some programs, you may not be able to select dialog box items by saying
their names. If this happens, try selecting the items by saying “Tab Key.”

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Selecting icons on the desktop
You can use voice commands to select icons on the Windows desktop.

To select an icon on the desktop:
1

Switch to the Windows desktop. (You can’t do this by voice.) Say “Mouse
Click” to make the desktop active.

Say the name of the icon (for example, My Computer). Dragon
NaturallySpeaking types the icon name and Windows selects it.

To select another icon, say “Move” and then the direction (up, down, left,
right) and number of icons (up to 20).
For example, say “Move Right 1,” “Move Down 2,” or “Move Up 3.”

Say “My Computer”
to select My
Computer
Say “Move Right 1”
to select My
Briefcase

Say “Move Down 2”
to select Recycle Bin

After you select an icon, you can click it by voice. Just say “Mouse Click,”
“Mouse Double-Click,” “Mouse Left-Click,” or “Mouse Right-Click.”
You can also use voice commands to drag the selected object. See
“Marking and dragging objects” on page 117.

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Resizing and closing windows
To resize and close windows, say “Click” and then a window command,
such as “Maximize.” These commands appear on the window’s Control
menu, but you don’t need to open this menu to say them.
NOTE “Click” is NOT optional for the following Control menu commands.

To maximize a window:
1

Activate the window you want to maximize.

Say “Click Maximize.”

To minimize a window:
1

Activate the window you want to minimize.

Say “Click Minimize.”

To restore a window to its previous size:
1

Activate the window you want to resize.

Say “Click Restore.”

To close a window:
1

Activate the window you want to close.

Say “Click Close.”
NOTE If you have trouble getting Dragon NaturallySpeaking to recognize any of the
window commands, you can open the Control menu by saying “Click Control Menu” and
then say them.

Scrolling in windows and
list boxes
You can scroll vertically in a window (for example, an online Help
window) or list box by saying “Move Down” and “Move Up” and then a

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number of scroll bar arrow clicks (up to 20). For example, say “Move
Down 4” or “Move Up 10.”
You can scroll horizontally by saying “Move Left” and “Move Right” and
then a number of scroll bar arrow clicks (up to 20). For example, say
“Move Left 10” or “Move Right 5.”

Pressing keyboard keys
With Dragon NaturallySpeaking, you can “press” any key on your
keyboard by voice. You can press letters, numbers, modifier keys (SHIFT,
CTRL, and ALT ), and so on.
TIP Dragon NaturallySpeaking offers this feature in all editions.

For example, you can say “Press a” and Dragon NaturallySpeaking will
type the letter “a” in your document. Or, you can say “Press Control S” to
press CTRL +S ( the keyboard shortcut for saving a document).
TIP You can say “Press Key” or “Type” instead of “Press.”

You can press keyboard keys when you want to:
■

Enter complex text, such as alphanumeric strings (for example,
“FD-6389”).

■

Use keyboard shortcuts without touching the keyboard.

NOTE “Scratch That” will not erase keystrokes dictated with the Press Key
commands. You must select the text and delete it by voice or mouse.

Pressing letters
You can press any letter on your keyboard by saying “Press” and then the
letter. When you’re pressing letters, you must say “Press” before each
one. For example, to enter “txt,” say “Press t,” “Press x,” “Press t.”
pausing between letters.
For similar-sounding letters (such as b, d, and v), you can say “Press b as
in Bill,” “Press d as in David,” and so on (you can also say “Press b for
Bill,” “Press d for David,” and so on) as you would if you were spelling
something over the phone. See the complete list below.

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TIP You can use any word in the International Communications Alphabet (page 178)
to “spell” the letter keys, for example, Albert/Alice/alpha.
SAY

TH E N ( o ne )

Press

(you can also say “for” instead of “as in”)
a
b
(any letter a–z)
a as in Albert/Alice/alpha
b as in Bill/Buffalo/bravo
c as in Cathy/Carl/Charlie
d as in David/daughter/delta
e as in Edgar/enter/echo
f as in Frank/fancy/foxtrot
g as in George/golf/gopher
h as in Henry/hotel/helmet
i as in Iris/Ireland/India
j as in John/justice/Juliet
k as in Karen/kitchen/kilo
l as in Larry/lemon/lima
m as in Mickey/Mike/magic
n as in Nancy/November/nobody
o as in Oscar/Otto/over
p as in Paul/papa/people
q as in Quentin/Quebec/question
r as in Robert/Rachel/Romeo
s as in Sam/Singapore/sierra
t as in Terry/Tyler/teflon/tango
u as in Ursula/unit/usual
v as in Victor/Valerie/visit
w as in Wendy/whiskey/wake
x as in Xavier/Xerxes/x-ray
y as in Yolanda/Yvonne/yankee
z as in Zachary/zookeeper/zulu

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Capitalizing a letter
You can capitalize a letter by saying “Press Cap” and then the letter.
For example, to enter “28K” say “twenty eight” and then “Press Cap K” (or
“Press Cap K for Karen”).

Pressing numbers
You can press numbers (0 to 9) by saying “Press” and then the number.
For example, say “Press 8.”

Pressing key combinations
When you’re pressing keys, you can press any combination of the
modifier keys (SHIFT, CTRL, and ALT ) at the same time as another key,
such as a letter. For example, you can say:
■

“Press Control Z” (undo)

■

“Press Alt F” (opens File menu)

■

“Press Shift Tab” (moves backward through dialog box options)

NOTE Dragon NaturallySpeaking ignores the command “Press Control Alt Delete”
(the keyboard shortcut for restarting a computer).

Pressing function and numeric keypad keys
To press a function key (F1 to F12 ), say “Press Function” and then the
name of the key. For example, say “Press Function 1” to bring up the
online Help.
To press numeric keypad keys, say “Press Keypad” and then the name of
the key. For example, you can say “Press Keypad minus” to press the
keyboard shortcut for correction. See the complete list below:
SAY

Press

T HE N ( o ne )

Keypad 1
Keypad 9 (you can say any number 0 to 9)
All Dialects: Keypad point (.)
US/Canada: Keypad period (.)
Other Dialects: Keypad full stop (.)
Keypad slash (/)
Keypad asterisk (*)

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SAY

T HE N ( o ne )

Keypad minus (-) (opens the Correction dialog box or Quick
Correct list, depending on your Correction Options setting)
Keypad plus (+) (turns the microphone on or off)
Keypad star (*) (opens the NaturallySpeaking menu on the
DragonBar)
Keypad Enter
NOTE Num Lock must be on for the “Press Keypad” commands to work. You can say
“Press Num Lock” to turn Num Lock on.

Pressing other keys
Here’s a list of other keys you can press by voice:
SAY

TH E N ( on e)

Press

Up arrow
Down arrow
Right arrow
Left arrow
Home key
End key
Page Up
Page Down
Insert key
Delete key
Control key
Shift key
Alt key
Print Screen
Scroll Lock
Pause key
Num Lock
Caps Lock

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Moving the mouse pointer and
clicking the mouse
Dragon NaturallySpeaking provides hands-free mouse control with
MouseGrid™ and the mouse pointer voice commands. You can use these
features to position the pointer anywhere on the screen, click the mouse
buttons, and drag objects—all by voice.

Moving the mouse pointer with MouseGrid
You can position the mouse pointer anywhere on the screen by using
MouseGrid. You can move the pointer relative to the full screen or the
active window.

To use MouseGrid:
1

Say “MouseGrid” to place the MouseGrid over the full screen (as in this
example) or “MouseGrid Window” to place it over the active window.

Say “MouseGrid”
to place a grid
over the full screen

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Say a grid number from 1 to 9 to position the pointer in that numbered
area. In this example, to position the pointer over My Briefcase, say “7.”
A smaller MouseGrid will appear in the chosen grid square.

To position it again, say another grid number. In this example, say “4” to
place the pointer directly over the My Briefcase icon.

When the pointer is over an icon or other object, you can use voice
commands to click the mouse or mark and drag the object. See the
following sections for instructions.

Say “7” to place
a smaller
MouseGrid over
grid square
number 7.

TIP You can undo the last MouseGrid action by saying “Undo That.”

To close MouseGrid, say “Cancel.”

Moving the pointer with the “Mouse”
command
You can move the mouse pointer up, down, left, or right a short distance
(a few millimeters) by using the mouse pointer commands.

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You can combine moving the mouse pointer and clicking the mouse in a
single voice command. For example, you can say “Mouse Up 3 Click” or
“Mouse Right 2 Double-Click.”

To move the pointer:
1

Say “Mouse” followed by the direction and number of times to move it
(up to 10). For example, say “Mouse Up 5” or “Mouse Left 10.”

When the pointer is over an icon or other object, you can use voice
commands to click the mouse or mark and drag the object.
NOTE It’s not possible to start the mouse moving without specifying a number of
units. For example, saying just “Mouse Down” doesn’t work.

Clicking the mouse
You can click, double-click, left-click, and right-click the mouse button
by voice.

To click the mouse:
1

Position the mouse pointer over the object you want to select (for
example, say “MouseGrid 9 1” or “Mouse 2”).

Say “Mouse Click,” “Mouse Double-Click,” “Mouse Left-Click,” or “Mouse
Right-Click.”
When an object is selected, you can mark and drag the object (as
described in the next section).

Marking and dragging objects
You can mark an object and drag it to a different location by voice.

To mark and drag an object:
1

Position the mouse over the icon or object you want to drag, and then say
“Mark” (for example, say “MouseGrid 9 1 Mark”).

Move the mouse pointer to where you want to drag the object, and then
say “Drag” (for example, say “MouseGrid 6 3 Drag”).
TIP Instead of “Drag,” you can also say “Control-Drag” and “Shift-Drag” to drag
while holding down the CTRL or SHIFT key.

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Working With E-Mail
and the Web
I

magine answering your e-mail as easily as you answer the telephone:
by voice. Dragon NaturallySpeaking works with most popular e-mail
applications and with Lotus Notes (Professional and higher editions). If
you use Internet Explorer® to browse the Web, you can also use Dragon
NaturallySpeaking to follow links and go to your favorite sites.
This chapter describes how to:

■

Work with popular e-mail applications

■

Work with Internet Explorer 4 or 5

You can start and control most programs by voice. (If voice commands
don’t work in a particular program, that program is probably not designed
for “hands-free” use.)

Working with E-mail
Now you can dictate outgoing e-mail messages and have your computer
read incoming messages to you. Dragon NaturallySpeaking works with
these and other popular e-mail applications:
■

America OnLine® 4.0 or 5.0

■

QUALCOMM® Eudora® Pro 4.3

■

Lotus Notes 5.0 (Professional and higher editions; see online Help)

■

Microsoft Outlook® 97, 98, 2000, or 2002

■

Microsoft Outlook Express 5

■

Netscape® Messenger® in Netscape Communicator® 4.73

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When Dragon NaturallySpeaking and your e-mail application are
running, you can use voice commands to:
■

Check for new mail

■

Open and close incoming mail

■

Compose mail by dictating

■

Transfer dictation into your e-mail

■

Forward and reply to mail

■

Send and print mail messages

■

Delete mail messages

Checking for new mail
You must be connected to the Internet to check your e-mail. Your e-mail
program must also be open. For more information on starting programs
and controlling your computer by voice, see Chapter 6, “Working With
Your Desktop and Windows.”
To check for new mail, say “Check For New Mail” or “Check For E-Mail.”
This command checks your Inbox for new messages.
TIP You can say “Mail,” “Message,” “Memo,” or “E-Mail” interchangeably in any of
the e-mail commands.

Opening and closing mail
To open a mail message, select it and say “Open Mail.” Once a message is
selected, you can also say “Open That.” To close an open message, say
“Close Mail.”
TIP You can move to the message and select it by “pressing” function and arrow keys
by voice (see “Pressing keyboard keys,” page 111) or using the Move commands (see
page 89).

Composing mail
To compose a new message, say “New Mail” or “New Message.” Once the
new blank message appears, you can navigate to any field by voice and
start dictating.

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To navigate e-mail fields:
SAY

TH E N ( on e)

Go to

To Field

Move to

CC Field
BCC Field
Body Field
First Field
Last Field

Here’s an example of how to dictate a simple e-mail message.

To dictate an e-mail message:
1

Say “New Mail.” The new message opens on your screen.

Say “Go to To Field.” Pause (to make sure you are in the correct field),
then dictate the recipient’s e-mail address, for example “harriet at scansoft
dot com.” If you are entering more than one address, separate each one by
saying “comma.”

(optional) Say “Go to CC Field” or “Go to BCC Field,” pause, and dictate
the addresses of the people who should receive copies, or blind copies,
of your message.
TIP In many e-mail programs, you can also say just “Subject” or “BCC” to move to the
field by that name.

Say “Go to Subject Field,” pause, and dictate the subject of your message,
for example “Planning A Trip To See You.”

Say “Go to Body Field,” pause, and begin dictating the body of your
message.
See the online Tutorial and your Quick Start guide for more detailed
information on dictating and formatting e-mail.

Transferring dictation into your e-mail
If you have dictated text into another program such as the DragonPad, or
have transcribed text from a mobile recorder, you can transfer it into an
e-mail message.

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To transfer dictation from the DragonPad into e-mail:
1

Say “Switch to DragonPad.” Dictate your message, or open a previously
transcribed document.

Say “Copy All to Clipboard.” The entire document is selected and
transferred to the clipboard.

Say “Switch To” followed by the name of your e-mail program. For
example, say “Switch to Eudora.”

Say “Go to Body Field” to move the insertion point to the message body.

Say “Paste That” to transfer your text into your e-mail message.

Sending and printing mail
Once your message is ready to send, you can simply say “Send Mail” to
send your e-mail on its way. To print a message, say “Print Mail” and the
message will be sent to your printer.

Forwarding and replying to mail
To forward a message selected in your Inbox, simply say “Forward
Mail,” then dictate the recipient’s address in the To Field of the new
message.
Select a message and say “Reply to Mail” to create a new message
addressed to the sender. To reply to everyone on the mailing list, say
“Reply To All.” Then move to the Body Field and dictate your reply.

Deleting mail
You can delete the currently selected message by saying “Delete Mail.”
This command will work on all selected messages, so make sure you
have selected only those you want to delete.
NOTE You cannot use e-mail commands when editing mail in the Word editor started
by Outlook. In Outlook 2000/2002, you select the Word editor on the Mail Format tab of
the Options dialog box, which you open using the the Options command on the Tools
menu. Outlook uses the Word editor for messages if you select Use Microsoft Word to
edit email messages and you set the message format to HTML or plain text. Also, make
sure the option to Allow Natural Language Commands in Microsoft Word (on the
Startup/Shutdown tab of the Options dialog box) is not selected.

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Working with Internet Explorer
You can use Dragon NaturallySpeaking to control Internet Explorer and
browse the Web by voice. To use this feature, you must have Internet
Explorer version 4.0 or later installed.
When Dragon NaturallySpeaking and Internet Explorer are running,
you can use voice commands to:
■

Go to any Web page on the Favorites menu

■

Enter a Web address (URL) in the Address bar

■

Go back to the previous Web page or forward to the next

■

Click links, words, buttons, and images

■

Scroll in a Web page

■

Select check boxes and other options

■

Enter text in a text box (such as a Search box)

Follow these steps whenever you want to use Dragon NaturallySpeaking
with Internet Explorer.

To use Internet Explorer by voice:
1

Start Dragon NaturallySpeaking. If Internet Explorer is running, close it
first.
NOTE Always start Dragon NaturallySpeaking before you start Internet Explorer.

Start Internet Explorer. You can say “Start Internet Explorer.”
NOTE If you cannot control Internet Explorer 4.0 by voice, it may mean that an
Internet Explorer option required for voice control is not selected. From the Internet
Explorer View menu, select Internet Options, and then click the Advanced tab. Make sure
the “Browse in a new process” box is checked.

Going to favorite Web pages
You can use voice commands to go to any Web site saved in your list of
Favorites. You can also use voice commands to add a Web page to the
Favorites menu.

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To go to a Favorites page:
Say “Go to Favorite” and then the name of the favorite page exactly as it
appears in the Favorites menu.
For example, say “Go to Favorite Yahoo” or “Go to Favorite ScanSoft.” You
cannot use voice commands to go to the Channels folder.
TIP If Dragon NaturallySpeaking misunderstands your command and opens the
wrong page, you can return to where you were by saying “Go Back.”

To add a page to the Favorites menu:
1

Go to the page you want to add to the Favorites menu.

Say “Click Favorites” to open the Favorites menu.

Say “Add to Favorites” to open the Add Favorites dialog box.

Type a name for the page (you cannot dictate text into this box). Select a
short name, so it will be easy to open the page by voice.

Save the page anywhere on the Favorites menu.

Click or say “OK” to close the Add Favorites dialog box.

Entering a Web address in the Address bar
You can dictate Web addresses (URLs) in the Internet Explorer Address
bar.

To enter a Web address:
1

Say “Go to Address” to move to the Address bar.

Dictate the Web address (for example, say “w w w dot scansoft dot com”).
Most URLs are not case-sensitive, but you may need to say “Cap” if
your web address contains capital letters.

Address bar

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For more information about dictating Web addresses, see “Dictating
e-mail and Web addresses” on page 72.
3

Say “Go There” to open the page (same as pressing the ENTER key).
TIP You can also say “Click Go” instead of “Go There.”

Going back to the previous Web page or
forward to the next
You can go back to the previous Web page by saying “Go Back” (same as
clicking the Back button on the Internet Explorer toolbar).
To go forward to the next Web page, say “Go Forward” (same as clicking
the Forward button on the Internet Explorer toolbar).
Here’s a list of the voice commands you can use to control the Internet
Explorer toolbar:
SA Y

Go To Address

Move the insertion point to the Address box.

Click Go or Go
There

Go to the Web address in the Address box.

Go To Favorite
Scansoft

Load a page that is on your Favorites list, in this
example, ScanSoft.

Go Back

Go back to the previous Web page (same as clicking
the Back button).

Go Forward

Go forward to the previous Web page (same as clicking
the Forward button).

Stop Loading

Stop a Web page from loading (same as clicking the
Stop button).

Refresh or
Reload

Refresh the current Web page (same as clicking the
Refresh button).

Go Home

Go to your home page (same as clicking the Home
button).

Entering text in a text box
When Dragon NaturallySpeaking is running, you can dictate text into
text boxes on a Web page (for example, into Search boxes).

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To enter text in a text box:
1

Say “Type Text” to move to the first text box on the page.
TIP You can also say “Edit Box” or “Text Field” instead of “Type Text.”

If the page has more than one text box, they will be numbered like this
. (See the following procedures for examples.) Choose the number
you want, or move to the next or previous text box by saying “Next” or
“Previous.”

When the insertion point is in a text box, you can dictate text.
In text boxes, you can also correct recognition mistakes and use
Select-and-Say for revisions, just as you do when you’re dictating into a
document.

Clicking links, words, buttons, and images
You can click the text links and buttons on a Web page simply by saying
the link (for example, the underlined words) or button name.
If the text link or button name is long, you don’t need to say all of it. Just
say enough to distinguish it from other links on the page.

To click a text link:
1

Say the text link (must be visible on the screen). For example, to click
Stock Quotes on the page pictured below, say “Stock Quotes.”

An arrow appears briefly to indicate which link was selected, and then
the page opens.
TIP You can also say “Click” and then the link text. For example, you could say “Click
News and events.” Sometimes saying “Click” first, then pausing, is more reliable than
just saying the link text alone.

126

If more than one link matches what you said (for example, if there are
two links on the page named “Auctions”), Dragon NaturallySpeaking
numbers all the links on the page like this
.

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If this is not the link you want, you can move to the next or previous
matching link by saying another number, or by saying “Next” or
“Previous.”

Say “Stock
Quotes” to open
this unique link.

Say “Choose 1”
to move to the
first “Auctions.”

Say “Choose 2”
or “Next” to
move to the
second
“Auctions.”

NOTE On secure Web pages this feature is disabled. You cannot select links on
secure pages by voice.

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To click an image:
1

When you say “Image” (or “Click Image”), Dragon NaturallySpeaking
numbers all the images on the page like this
.

Move to the image you want by saying, for example, “Choose 3.”

If this is not the image you want, you can choose another number or
move to the next or previous one by saying “Next” or “Previous.”

Say “Choose 3”
to move to “News
and Events”

TIP If Dragon NaturallySpeaking misunderstands your command and opens the
wrong page, you can return to where you were by saying “Go Back.”

To click a button:
Say the button name. For example, to click the button pictured below,
say “Search.”
Speech recognition

You can also say “Click” and then the button name. For example, you
could say “Click Search” (or “Click Search Button”).
To unselect the button, you must select a different one.

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To click a check box, list box, or radio (option) button:
1

Say “Check Box,” “List Box,” or “Radio Button” to number the buttons
like this
. Then choose the number you want as in the previous
procedure.
Here is a table of commands you can use for clicking links, images,
check boxes, and buttons.
SA Y

Type Text or Edit Box

Go to the first place on a Web page where you
can enter text.

Click Check Box or
Check Box

Number all check boxes on the page, and go to
the first one.

Click Image or Image

Number all images with links on the page, and
go to the first one.

Choose 2

Select the image, option, button, and so on
from the numbered list of choices. You can say
any number that appears in the list.

Click Radio Button/
Radio Button

Number all option (radio) buttons on the page,
and go to the first one.

Click List Box or List Box

Number all boxes with a list of choices (dropdown lists) on the page, and go to the first one.

Show Choices

Open a list of choices.

Hide Choices

Close a list of choices.

Choose Thursday or
Thursday

Choose an entry from a list of choices, in this
example, Thursday.

Scrolling in a Web page
When Dragon NaturallySpeaking is running, you can scroll in a Web
page by voice. You can use voice commands to go to the top or bottom of
a page, or to move up or down a screen or line at a time.
You can also start automatic scrolling by saying “Start Scrolling Down” or
“Start Scrolling Up.” Automatic scrolling is convenient when you want to

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read a Web page without using the mouse or keyboard. See the complete
list of commands below:
SA Y

Go to Bottom

Scroll to the end of the Web page.

Go to Top

Scroll to the beginning of the Web page.

Page Down

Scroll down one screen (same as pressing the
Page Down key).

Page Up

Scroll up one screen (same as pressing the Page
Up key).

Line Down

Scroll down one line (same as clicking the down
arrow in the scroll bar once).

Line Up

Scroll up one line (same as clicking the up arrow
in the scroll bar once).

Start Scrolling Down

Start automatic scrolling toward the end of the
page.

Start Scrolling Up

Start automatic scrolling toward the beginning of
the page.

Speed Up

Increase scrolling speed. (Say it again to speed
up more.)

Slow Down

Decrease scrolling speed. (Say it again to slow
down more.)

Stop Scrolling

Stop automatic scrolling.

While a Web page is scrolling, you can click the text links and buttons
you see by voice if the page is moving slowly enough.

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Managing Users
M

ore than one person can use Dragon NaturallySpeaking on the
same computer. You can even dictate in different languages or
dialects (Preferred and higher editions).
Each person who wants to use the program needs to create a new set of
user speech files and train Dragon NaturallySpeaking to understand his
or her voice. A single person might want to have more than one set of
user speech files (called a user) if, for example, you dictate into a mobile
recorder or in more than one language.

What are user speech files?
Your user speech files contain all the information that Dragon
NaturallySpeaking gathers about you: your pronunciation, your
vocabulary, how often you use certain words, and your preferences
(whether you want one or two spaces after a period or a full stop, for
example).
The Users menu on the right side of the DragonBar lists all available
users.

When you share Dragon NaturallySpeaking with others, you’re
prompted to choose your user name from a list whenever you start the
program. This lets Dragon NaturallySpeaking know which user speech
files to load. If the program is already running, make sure your own user
is open before you start dictating.

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This chapter explains how to set up Dragon NaturallySpeaking so that
more than one person can use it, and describes how to open, rename,
delete, back up, and restore users.

Creating a new user
When someone new wants to use Dragon NaturallySpeaking, that
person needs to follow the steps described in this section to create a new
user.

To create a new user:
1

On the far right of the DragonBar, click Users and then click Manage
Users.
Or, from the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced, and then
click Manage Users.

Click “New” to
create a new
user.

▲ The Manage Users dialog box lists the names of all users.

In the Manage Users dialog box, click New.

Follow the steps in the New User Wizard.
TIP As you complete the steps in the New User Wizard, you can find step-by-step
instructions on creating a user in your Quick Start guide.

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Opening a user
When someone else has been using Dragon NaturallySpeaking, you
need to open your own user before you start using the program. Or, if
you have more than one user of your own (for example, you have a
separate user for your portable recorder), always remember to switch to
the appropriate user before you start.

To open a user:
1

On the far right of the DragonBar, select Users and then click Manage
Users.

Select a user and click Open.
This loads your speech files. These files include information about your
pronunciation that Dragon NaturallySpeaking needs to recognize your
voice.
TIP You can also open a user from the Manage Users dialog box by clicking Open.

Renaming a user
You can change the name of a user at any time.

To rename a user:
1

On the far right of the DragonBar, click Users and then click Manage
Users. The Manage Users dialog box opens.

Select a user and click Rename.

Type a new name and click OK.
The name can contain up to 128 characters, including spaces. Special
characters are not allowed in user names.

To close the Manage Users dialog box, click Cancel.

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Deleting a user
If you know you will not need a user that you have created, you can
delete it and free up hard-disk space. Removing a user can’t be undone,
so make sure you don’t need it before you remove it.

To delete a user:
1

On the far right of the DragonBar, select Users and then click Manage
Users.

In the Manage Users dialog box, select the user you want to delete and
click Delete.

Click “Delete” to
delete a user.

A dialog box will appear asking if you really want to permanently remove
this user. To confirm, click “Yes.” To cancel, click “No.”

Click “Yes” to delete the user permanently.

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If you want to delete the current user, you must close it first by opening
a different user.
There must be at least one user on the computer, so if you’ve got only
one, you can’t delete it.
NOTE Always use the Delete button to delete users. Don’t remove folders from the
\...NaturallySpeaking\Users folder on your hard disk. Using the Delete button is the only
way to completely remove all information about a user from your computer.

Backing up a user
When you make changes to your user (for example, by adding words to
the vocabulary), Dragon NaturallySpeaking prompts you to save your
user speech files. The program automatically makes a backup copy every
fifth time you save your speech files.
You can change the frequency of automatic backups or turn this feature
off. On the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced, click Options,
and then click the Miscellaneous tab.

Change this number to set how
often you want to back up your
speech files automatically.

To back up your current user manually, follow these steps.

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NOTE You can only back up the current user. You cannot back up a user simply by
selecting it in the Manage Users dialog box; you must open the user first.

To back up a user:
1

Open the user you want to back up.

From the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced and click Backup
User.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking makes a backup copy in a default location on
your computer.
NOTE It’s not possible to create a backup in a different place or on removable media.

If you made recent changes to your user (for example, added words to
the vocabulary), Dragon NaturallySpeaking prompts you to save these
changes before it makes the backup.

Restoring a backup copy of a user
If you make unwanted changes to your speech files (for example, you
process the wrong documents in Vocabulary Builder), you can restore the
last backup copy of your user. Again, you can only restore the current
user.

To restore a user:
1

Open the user you want to restore, for example, “Elmo.”

From the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced and click Restore
User.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking restores the last backup that was made and
saves it with a different name, for example, “Elmo - Restored1.”

Open the restored user to begin working with it. Select it from the Users
menu on the DragonBar, or click Manage Users, select the user name,
and click Open.
Delete the older version (in this example, the user named “Elmo”) and
rename the one you just restored.

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Multilingual users
Dragon NaturallySpeaking allows you to create and train users in
multiple languages. If you have purchased a product with support for
more than one language, you can add additional languages by choosing
“Custom Install” during Setup. If you didn't select additional languages
during Setup, you will still be able to select them when you create a new
user. You will need to insert the CD to install the new language files. See
your Quick Start guide for more information about installation.
Once you have installed a new language (for example, Spanish), follow
the instructions in this chapter to create and train a user in that language.
Once that user is open, you will see the Dragon NaturallySpeaking
menus and dialog boxes switch to the new language (in this example,
Spanish), and all commands and dictation will work in the language of
that user.
To change between languages, open a user in the language you want to
switch to (for example, English). After that user loads, the menus and
commands will be restored to that language (in this example, English),
and you can resume dictating in that language.
TIP If two English speakers share a computer but dictate in different dialects (for
example, US English and UK English), just create a user for each one and make sure to
switch your Windows Regional Settings accordingly. You may need to do a Custom Install
to add the appropriate dialect (language) files; follow the instructions on the screen.

Tips for multilingual users
■

When you switch between users with different languages, only the
DragonBar and DragonPad change the language of their menus and
dialog boxes. The language of other programs you use (for example,
Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, and Lotus Notes) will not change. You
will still be able to dictate in the new language, but you may find it
difficult to navigate through menus using voice commands.

■

The Dragon NaturallySpeaking Tutorial will be available only for
the first language you installed. In order to run the Tutorial in
languages you add later, you must install the Tutorial from the CD
for each additional language.

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■

In Lotus Notes, you will only be able to use e-mail commands if the
language of the Lotus Notes mail file matches the language of your
user.

■

If you switch users to dictate text in multiple languages in the same
document, you will be able to correct and change text in both
languages. Multilingual correction works best with the mouse.

■

When you select text in a language different from your current user,
the Quick Correct list and Correction dialog box will display choices
in the language of the text you select. Whatever you choose from the
list will be typed into your document in the correct language, but
Dragon NaturallySpeaking will not adapt your current user’s speech
files with changes you make in the other language.

■

If you have recognition problems when revising text transcribed in a
different language, switch back to the user whose language matches
the dictated text.

■

To protect your recognition accuracy, run Vocabulary Builder only on
documents in the language of your current user. If you combine
languages in one document, or add many foreign language words to
a user’s vocabulary (especially without training their pronunciation),
Dragon NaturallySpeaking could have problems recognizing words
in the user’s original language, leading to recognition mistakes.

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Creating Your Own
Dragon
NaturallySpeaking
Commands
ith Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional and higher editions,
you can expand the power of the program by creating your own
voice commands for tasks you do frequently.

Commands can insert multiple lines of text into the current document,
send keystrokes to the current program, or run complex scripts. For
example, you could create commands to do the following:
■

Insert your mailing address when you say “Type My Address.”

■

Automatically set margins and change font styles when you say
“Format My Letter.”

■

Open a new e-mail message and address it to one of a list of people
when you say “Send Mail to Pat,” “Send Mail to Steve,” and so on.

This chapter provides general information about commands, explains
how to create and edit your own commands (including a step-by-step
example of creating a voice command to insert a closing remark into a
Microsoft Word document), discusses how to import and export
command files, and offers troubleshooting tips for custom commands.
This chapter does not cover use of the Dragon NaturallySpeaking
scripting language for creating complex commands. See the Dragon
NaturallySpeaking: Creating Voice Commands guide or the online Help for
more information.

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About voice commands
You can create your own voice commands only with Dragon
NaturallySpeaking Professional and higher editions.
In Chapter 4, “Dictating Names, Numbers & Punctuation,” you learned
how to create dictation shortcuts for entering words or blocks of text that
you use frequently. Commands are similar to dictation shortcuts, but are
much more powerful.
You can use custom commands to “press” any sequence of keys on the
keyboard (including special characters), or run complex scripts (a series
of computer instructions).
Commands are stored in special data files (usually ending in the
extension .dvc, for Dragon voice commands). You don’t work directly
with these command files. Instead, you create your own commands by
using the New Command Wizard described in the next section.
Commands can be active everywhere (global commands) or only in
certain programs or windows (application-specific commands). The next
section describes how to specify where a command is active.

Creating and editing voice
commands
When you want to create a new voice command, you use the New
Command Wizard. (To edit a command with the Edit Command Wizard,
see page 148.)

To create a new command:
From the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Custom Commands and
click Create. The New Command Wizard guides you through the steps.
To create the new command, you’ll need to:

140

■

Specify where the command will be active

■

Create a file to store the command

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■

Name the command

■

Specify what the command will do

After creating a command, if you need to make changes to it (for
example, change its name or what it does), you can edit it by using the
Edit Command Wizard. See “Editing a command” on page 148 for more
information.

Specifying where a command will be active
When creating a new command, the first step is to decide whether you
want the command to be active in all programs (global command) or only
in a specific program (application-specific command).
If the command would be useful in different programs, you should make
it global. For example, if you’re creating a command for printing a
document, make it global so that you can use it in your word processor,
e-mail program, and so on.
If the command applies to only one program, you should make it
application-specific. For example, if you’re creating a command for
automatically formatting a Corel WordPerfect document, make it
application-specific to Corel WordPerfect.
The New Command Wizard prompts you to select the specific program.
In order to see the program listed in the New Command Wizard, you will
need to start the program if it is not already running.

Creating a command file
After specifying where the command will be active, the next step is to
name the file where the command will be stored.
You should usually avoid creating new commands in the command files
that came with Dragon NaturallySpeaking. These are the ones that do
not have a star
next to them in the list of available command files.
Putting custom commands in their own command files not only makes it
easier to distinguish your own commands from the standard built-in
commands, but also makes upgrading easier in the future. Dragon
NaturallySpeaking cannot upgrade command files that you have
modified.

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Application-specific commands

If the command is application-specific, you will then be asked to select
the title of the target window or dialog box for the command. The
command will work only in the specified window or dialog box of the
program you select. For example, you could specify that a command
“Resize Table” should work only when that program’s Table dialog box is
open.
You will usually want to store application-specific commands in a
separate file for each program, though you might want to make an
exception if you have several programs that work closely together. One
advantage to using separate files is that Dragon NaturallySpeaking only
loads the command files as needed, so you will save time and memory by
loading only the commands you will be using.

Naming a command
After storing the command in a file, the next step is to give the command
a name. The command name is the phrase you say to execute the
command, for example, “Type My Address.”
Here are some guidelines for naming commands:
■

Choose a short phrase that you’re unlikely to need in your writing.
Phrases of two to five words are best, because they’re easier for
Dragon NaturallySpeaking to recognize.

■

Don’t start a command with a common word, such as “the” or “a.”

■

Avoid using punctuation. If a command name contains punctuation,
you must say it to use the command.

■

(optional) For consistency with other Dragon NaturallySpeaking
commands, capitalize each word in the command name.

Specifying what a command will do
After naming the command, the next step is to specify what the
command will do. The command can either type text and “press” keys
(for example, press CTRL +P to open the Print dialog box) or run a script.
After you select the type of command action, the New Command Wizard
prompts you to enter the text and keystrokes or write the script. For
information about writing scripts, see the online Help or consult your
Dragon NaturallySpeaking: Creating Voice Commands guide.

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Example: Creating a command “Type Closing
Remark”
Suppose you want to create a command named “Type Closing Remark”
that moves to the bottom of your Microsoft Word document and types
“Dictated with Dragon NaturallySpeaking.”
On the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Custom Commands and then
click Create.
Then follow these steps to create the command:

To create “Type Closing Remark”:
1

Select the type of command you want to create.
For this example, select Application-specific.

To continue, click Next.
2

Select the program in which you want the command to be active.
TIP If you don’t see the program in the New Command Wizard window, that means
it’s not already active, so you should start the program and then return to the New
Command Wizard.

For this example, select Microsoft Word.

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You can drag the crosshair pointer to a program window to select it.

Drag the
crosshair pointer
to the target
window to
select it.

To continue, click Next.

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Select the file where you want the command to be active, or enter a new
file name.

Choose a custom
command file you
have already
created...

...or enter a
new file name
here.

By default, the computer chooses the command file associated with the
program for which you create the command (in this example,
WINWORD). For global commands, the default file is the global.dvc
file. You should not accept this choice unless you want to modify the
command file that came with Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
It is better to enter a unique file name in this step, especially if you want
to share this command with other users. Command files you’ve already
modified appear in the list with a star .
To continue, click Next.
4

Select the specific window or dialog box in which you want the
command to be active.

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Your command will work whenever the window title you specify in this
step matches the window title of the active window or dialog box.

To continue, click Next.
5

Enter the command name.
For this example, enter “Type Closing Remark.”

To continue, click Next.
6

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Select the type of command action.

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For this example, select Type text or keystrokes.

To continue, click Next.
7

In the Keystrokes box, type the text and keystrokes you want the
command to type or send.
For this example, type the text string “{Ctrl+End},” then “{Ctrl+b},”
followed by the text “Dictated with Dragon NaturallySpeaking” and
“{Ctrl+b}” again.
This instructs the program to send the keystrokes CTRL +END (the
keyboard shortcut for moving to the end of the page), turn Bold
formatting on (by typing CTRL +b), type your closing remark, and apply
the Bold formatting to the entire phrase.

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To continue, click Next.
8

Check your selections.

To close the wizard and create the command, click Finish. If you need to
make changes, click Back.
9

Try your new command.
The command is application-specific, so you must first switch to the
window where it’s active (in this example, Microsoft Word).
Say “Type Closing Remark.” Remember to pause briefly before saying the
command, but not in the middle of the command phrase.
If you have trouble getting your command to work, see the online Help.

Editing a command
You can use the Edit Command wizard to rename and delete commands,
edit command actions, and change the target window for application-

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specific commands. You can edit not only commands you create but also
most standard Dragon NaturallySpeaking commands.

Edit standard commands with caution
If you modify standard Dragon NaturallySpeaking commands, do so
cautiously; these commands were selected to be easily distinguished
from dictation words.
You cannot modify correction commands, such as “Scratch That”
and “Correct That,” or dictation commands, such as “New
Paragraph” and “All Caps On.”

To edit a command:
1

From the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Custom Commands, and
then click Edit.

When the Edit Command wizard appears, follow the instructions in the
wizard. If you need additional instructions, click the wizard Help button.

When you have finished editing the command, click Finish in the Edit
Command wizard.
You may want to make a backup copy of your custom command files
(.dvc files) in your Users folder before modifying or deleting commands.
NOTE If you are using an Enterprise (network) edition of Dragon NaturallySpeaking,
contact your Dragon NaturallySpeaking administrator to make backup copies of your
custom command files found in your user’s current directory on the network.

Renaming a command
You can use the Edit Command wizard to rename any custom command
you have created for the current user. Follow the procedure in the
previous section on how to edit a command.
TIP Instead of renaming a command, you can create a new command that performs
the same action but has a different name. For example, you could create a command
named “Erase That” that performs the same action as “Scratch That.”

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Importing and deleting command
files
Dragon NaturallySpeaking can only import and export command files,
not individual commands. If you want to share a groups of commands
with other people, it makes sense to put all the commands you might be
sharing together in a single file. You may also choose to organize groups
of commands into separate files according to what the commands do.

Importing command files
The Import Commands dialog box allows you to import custom voice
commands created by other Dragon NaturallySpeaking users. After
importing a voice command file, you can use all the custom voice
commands it contains, in addition to any custom voice commands that
were already in your voice command file. You can also edit commands
that are contained in the imported file.

To import command files:
1

On the Custom Commands submenu, click Import.

Use the Look In box to navigate to the location of the voice command
file (for example, Mycommands.dvc) that you want to import.
Voice command files are located in the users\\current
directory, where is the name of the user who created the
voice command.

Click Import. The status of the import process and any error messages
appear in the Import Status dialog box.
You can also delete command files you have imported.

Deleting command files
Use the following procedure to delete a file containing a set of voice
commands that you have imported from another Dragon
NaturallySpeaking user.

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To delete a command file:
1

On the Custom Commands menu, click Delete.

Select the command file you want to delete in the Command File to
Delete list.

Click Delete.
Deleting a command cannot be undone. You may want to make a backup
copy of your custom command files (.dvc files) in your Users folder
before modifying or deleting command files.
NOTE If you are using an Enterprise (network) edition of Dragon NaturallySpeaking,
contact your Dragon NaturallySpeaking administrator to make backup copies of your
custom command files found in your user’s current directory on the network.

Troubleshooting commands
Custom commands may not run properly in every situation. If a
command cannot run, it displays an error message.
If a command you have created produces an error or does nothing, use
the Edit Command wizard to open the command and check the
following information:
■

If the command is application-specific, is the correct window or
dialog box active when you say the command?

■

If so, does the title of the active window match the title specified?

■

If the command includes keystrokes, are curly brackets included
around keystrokes (for example, {CTRL +b} for bold)? Are the key
codes correct?

■

If the command name contains punctuation (for example, “What
Time Is It?”), did you include the punctuation in the command
name, as in the example below?
what time is it question mark

■

If the command includes a list, do the list values match what you
said?

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APPENDIX

Using Dragon
NaturallySpeaking With
a Portable Recorder
I

f you have Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred or a higher edition,
you can dictate into a portable recorder and then use Dragon
NaturallySpeaking to transcribe your recorded speech.
This appendix describes how you can use Dragon NaturallySpeaking
with the Dragon NaturallyMobile™ recorder, the Sony® Memory Stick™
IC Recorder ICD-MS1, the Sony ICD-R100 recorder, or with other
recorders that have been certified by ScanSoft. A current list of certified
recorders is available at www.scansoft.com/natuallyspeaking/support/.
To prepare Dragon NaturallySpeaking for use with a recorder, follow
these steps:

■

Install the recorder software (required only for certain recorders)

■

Create a user specifically adapted to the sound of your recorded
speech

Once you have created a user, follow these steps whenever you want to
use your recorder with Dragon NaturallySpeaking:
■

Dictate into your recorder

■

Transcribe the recorded dictation

■

Correct mistakes

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APPENDIX A

Using Dragon NaturallySpeaking With a Portable Recorder

Installing recorder software
The Sony Memory Stick IC Recorder ICD-MS1 and the Sony ICDR100 recorder require additional software to work with Dragon
NaturallySpeaking.
■

If you are using the Sony Memory Stick IC Recorder ICD-MS1, you
must install the Sony Memory Stick Voice Editor.

■

If you are using the Sony ICD-R100 recorder, you must install the
ICD-PCLINK software.

■

If you are using the Dragon NaturallyMobile recorder, you can
install the Voice It® Link™ software, which is not required, but can
enhance the recorder’s usability.

This software is available on your Dragon NaturallySpeaking CD but it
is not automatically installed when you install Dragon
NaturallySpeaking. To install the recorder software, use the appropriate
procedure from among the following:

To install Sony Memory Stick Voice Editor (for the
Sony Memory Stick IC recorder ICD-MS1):
1

Put the Dragon NaturallySpeaking CD in the CD-ROM reader of your
computer.

Using Windows Explorer, go to the MSVE folder of the Dragon
NaturallySpeaking CD. The folder is on the top level directory of the
Dragon NaturallySpeaking CD.

Double-click Setup and follow the instructions of the Setup wizard.

To install ICD-PCLINK (for the Sony ICD-R100
recorder):

154

Put the Dragon NaturallySpeaking CD in the CD-ROM reader of your
computer.

Using Windows Explorer, go to the PCLINK folder of the Dragon
NaturallySpeaking CD. The folder is on the top level directory of the
Dragon NaturallySpeaking CD.

Double-click Setup and follow the instructions of the Setup wizard.

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Use the Voice It Link software to perform functions for your Dragon
NaturallyMobile recorder that you can’t perform from the Dragon
NaturallySpeaking Transcribe dialog box. Note that for normal
transcription from the Dragon NaturallyMobile recorder, you don’t need
to have this software installed.

To install Voice It Link (for the Dragon
NaturallyMobile recorder):
1

Put the Dragon NaturallySpeaking CD in the CD-ROM reader of your
computer.

Using Windows Explorer, go to the VOICEIT folder of the Dragon
NaturallySpeaking CD. The folder is on the top level directory of the
Dragon NaturallySpeaking CD.

Double-click Setup and follow the instructions of the Setup wizard.

Creating a user adapted to your
recorded speech
Before you can use Dragon NaturallySpeaking with a portable recorder,
you must create a user specifically adapted to the sound of your recorded
speech. You do this by running the New User Wizard and selecting one
of the recorder options as the dictation source.
NOTE Steps 1 and 2 assume that you have already created a headset microphone
user (see “Creating a new user” on page 132). If you have not previously created a user
for Dragon NaturallySpeaking, then the New User Wizard will appear when you first
start the program, and you can skip to step 3.

To create a user:
1

From the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced, and click
Manage Users. You can also click the Users button on the DragonBar,
and then click Manage Users.

In the Manage Users dialog box, click New.
The New User wizard guides you through the steps of creating a user. As
you complete the steps, click Next whenever you are ready to continue.

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On the Create User screen, enter a unique name for the user. Make sure
that the language and vocabulary are correct for your system (see your
Quick Start guide for details). Then select the appropriate recorder type
from the dictation source list.

Use the following table as a guide for selecting a dictation source and
deciding what to do next.

156

D IC T AT IO N S OU R C E

HO W TO PR OC E E D

Dragon NaturallyMobile
recorder connected to
serial port

Use the recorder as a microphone
attached to your computer with the
supplied serial cable. Do not proceed
any further with the training
instructions in this chapter. Instead, use
the instructions on page 132. Training
time will be approximately 18 minutes.

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D IC T AT IO N S OU R C E

HO W TO PR OC E E D

Sony Memory Stick IC
Recorder ICD-MS1

Skip to step 5.

Recording device plugged
into Line-In Jack

Be sure the recorder is connected to your
computer with a cable plugged into your
sound card, and proceed to step 4.

Digital recorder using
sound files (.wav) on disk
(includes the Sony ICDR100)

Skip to step 5.

Follow the instructions in the Adjust Your Volume screens to adjust your
analog recorder’s volume and check the recorder’s audio quality.

On the Recording your speech screen, select the text you would like to
read from the list of choices. Click View if you want to read the text from
the screen. Click Print if you want to send the text to your printer so you
can read it while away from your computer.

After you have recorded approximately 18 minutes of your voice reading
the text selection, click Next.

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The screen that appears and what you do next depends on the recorder
type you have selected.
R E C OR D E R TY PE

HO W TO PR OC E E D

Sony Memory Stick IC
Recorder ICD-MS1

Click the “Sony Memory Stick Voice Editor”
button and follow the instructions on the
screen.

Recording device plugged
into Line-In Jack

Be sure that the recorder is connected to the
line-in jack on your computer and
(optionally) select the Detect end of
recording and automatically adapt user files
box. If you do this, choose the number of
seconds of silence before the wizard
assumes that the recording is finished. Then
click Start Recording and start your recorder
to play back your dictation.

Digital recorder using
sound Files (.wav) on Disk

Transfer the .wav file to your computer’s
hard disk and then use the Browse button to
locate the file. If you are not sure how to
transfer recorded data to your computer, see
the documentation for your recorder. Finally,
click Next and follow the instructions on the
screen.

Depending on your system, it can take up to 20 minutes to adapt your
user for mobile recording. You do not have to sit at your computer while
the program is adapting to your recorded voice.

Dictating into your recorder
After you train Dragon NaturallySpeaking to recognize your recorded
speech, you are ready to record some dictation.
When you dictate into your recorder, you should follow the same
guidelines you use when talking directly to the computer. (See
“Speaking properly to the computer” on page 12.)
Here are some additional tips for getting good results:
■

158

If you talk directly into a built-in microphone, always hold your
recorder at the same distance from your mouth. Some users report
that it is easier to rest the recorder on their jaw for the most

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consistent results. Be sure to hold the recorder at the same distance
you used when you dictated the training text.
■

Don’t change the recording volume setting on your recorder (if it has
one). Keep the same setting you used during training. If the setting
changes, check the audio volume and quality again. From the
NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced and click Check
Audio.

■

Consider connecting your headset microphone to your recorder,
rather than talking into the built-in microphone. Using the headset
microphone is likely to produce better quality recordings.

The restricted command set
When you are dictating into a recorder, most of the Dragon
NaturallySpeaking voice commands cannot be used effectively because
they require that you see the results on a computer screen. The
restricted command set, however, can be used without visual feedback
when you are dictating into your recorder. The following is a list of the
commands in the restricted command set:
■

New Paragraph

■

New Line

■

Tab Key

■

Cap [word]

■

All Caps [word]

■

No Caps [word]

■

No Space [word]

■

Caps On/Caps Off

■

All Caps On/All Caps Off

■

No Caps On/No Caps Off

■

No Space On/No Space Off

■

Scratch That

■

Resume With

TIP “Resume With” is particularly useful when you are using a recorder. It lets you
back up if you misspeak or change your mind after dictating a phrase. For more
information, see “Backing up as you dictate” on page 101.

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Later, when you transcribe your recorded dictation, you can choose to
make Dragon NaturallySpeaking ignore all but the commands in the
previous list (or a subset of the list). This prevents potentially damaging
recognition errors (for example, a phrase being incorrectly interpreted as
the command “Delete Previous 5 Paragraphs,” which would actually
delete the previous five paragraphs from your transcription). For more
information on how to do this, see the section on “The Advanced
Settings dialog box” on page 165.

Transcribing recorded dictation
Connecting a recorder to your computer
Before Dragon NaturallySpeaking can transcribe your recorded
dictation, you must establish the connection between your recorder or
your recorder’s memory, and your computer. Use the connection method
you used when you created the user adapted to your recorded speech.
The following procedures describe the different methods you use for
transcription, depending on the type of recorder you are using. Use the
method that is appropriate for your recorder.

Transcribing from the Dragon NaturallyMobile
recorder or the Sony Memory Stick IC Recorder
ICD-MS1
Dragon NaturallySpeaking has features specifically adapted to work
with the Dragon NaturallyMobile recorder and the Sony Memory Stick
IC Recorder ICD-MS1. To transfer files from these recorders, use the
following procedure.
NOTE If you are transcribing from a recorder other than the Dragon NaturallyMobile
recorder or the Sony Memory Stick IC Recorder ICD-MS1, see “Transcribing dictation
from other recorders” on page 163 for instructions.

To transcribe recorded dictation:
1

160

Start Dragon NaturallySpeaking. (You don’t need to turn the
microphone on.)

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Open the user adapted for your recorded speech. (Click the Users button
on the DragonBar, and then click the user name.)

From the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced, and click
Transcribe Recording. (If the Extras toolbar is displayed, you can also
click the Transcribe button.)
The Transcribe a Recording dialog box opens. (The text next to the
large button on the left depends on which recorder you are using. The
illustration shows the text for the Sony Memory Stick IC Recorder ICDMS1.)

Click the large button on the left.
If you want to change the target (or destination) window of the
transcription, specify which commands Dragon NaturallySpeaking will
understand, or the communications port, and click the Advanced button.
For a more detailed description of the options see the section “The
Advanced Settings dialog box” on page 165.

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162

If you are using the Dragon NaturallyMobile recorder, the Select Files
for Transcription dialog box opens.

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If you are using the Sony Memory Stick IC Recorder ICD-MS1, the
Sony Memory Stick Voice Editor dialog box opens.

If you are using the Dragon NaturallyMobile recorder, select the file or
files you want to transcribe, and click the Transcribe button. If you are
using the Sony Memory Stick IC Recorder ICD-MS1, select the file or
files on the Memory Stick Voice Editor screen and, from the File menu,
click Voice Recognition (you can also click the Voice Recognition tool
on the toolbar).

Transcribing dictation from other recorders
To transcribe recorded dictation from recorders other than the Dragon
NaturallyMobile recorder and the Sony Memory Stick IC Recorder
ICD-MS1, use the following procedure.

To transcribe recorded dictation:
1

Start Dragon NaturallySpeaking. (You don’t need to turn the
microphone on.)

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Open the user adapted for your recorded speech. (Click the Users button
on the DragonBar and then click the user name.)
From the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced, and click
Transcribe Recording. (If the Extras toolbar is displayed, you can also
click the Transcribe button.)
The Transcribe from dialog box opens.

NOTE You can also open the Transcribe from dialog box by clicking the Other Source
button on the Transcribe a Recording dialog box when using either the Sony Memory
Stick IC Recorder ICD-MS1 or the Dragon NaturallyMobile recorder.

164

Use the Transcribe from dialog box in the following manner to select the
source of the dictation you want Dragon NaturallySpeaking to
transcribe, as well as other options that control the transcription:
■

If the dictation source is a wave file, click Browse to locate the file.

■

If you are playing back recorded dictation through the Line In jack,
transcription stops automatically by default as soon as the computer
hears ten seconds of silence.

■

If you want to change the final destination of the transcription,
specify which commands Dragon NaturallySpeaking will
understand, or increase or decrease the number of seconds after
which the transcription automatically stops (Line In recorders only),
click the Advanced button. For a more detailed description of the
options see the section “The Advanced Settings dialog box” on page
165.

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To begin transcription, click Transcribe.

If your dictation source is “Recording device plugged into Line-In
Jack,” press the Play button on your recorder.
Your recorded speech should appear on the screen. If text doesn’t
appear, see the section, “Troubleshooting” on page 167.
TIP When you are transcribing into the DragonPad, you can use your computer for
other purposes while you wait for Dragon NaturallySpeaking to finish.

The Advanced Settings dialog box
The Advanced Settings dialog box allows you to change how Dragon
NaturallySpeaking transcribes the dictation from your recorder. The
options you see when you open the dialog box depend on the type of
recorder you are using. The illustration shows the Advanced Settings
dialog box that appears when you are transcribing from the Dragon
NaturallyMobile recorder.

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The following sections describe the options on the Advanced Settings
dialog box:
Destination

You can choose to specify that the recording should be transcribed into
the DragonPad window or into a selected window you click in after
closing the Transcribe Recording dialog box. Make sure the window you
select accepts text.
Commands

You can choose either the All Commands, Restricted Commands, or
Dictation Only option.
■

“All Commands” enables all Dragon NaturallySpeaking commands
during transcription. Any command recognized in the recording is
carried out.

■

“Restricted Commands” disables all but the restricted command set
during transcription. If other commands are recognized, they are
entered as text. This prevents potentially damaging misrecognitions
(for example, a phrase being misrecognized as “Delete Previous
Paragraph”). For more information about the restricted command
set, see page 159.

■

“Dictation Only” disables all commands during transcription,
except for dictation commands. If the recording contains commands,
they are entered as text in the document.

Communication Options (for the Dragon NaturallyMobile recorder only)

166

■

“Select the Baud Rate to connect to the Dragon NaturallyMobile
recorder” specifies the communication speed between your
computer and your recorder. Generally, the speed should be set to
the highest number (115,200). If you are having communication
errors, try selecting a lower number.

■

“Dragon NaturallyMobile recorder is on ”
specifies the serial communications (COM) port that corresponds to
the connector where you plugged in your recorder. If you have a
problem connecting with your recorder, try selecting a different
COM port. The default COM port is COM1.

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Miscellaneous Options (for Line Input recorders only)

“When using a Line Input recorder, stop transcribing after seconds
of silence” instructs Dragon NaturallySpeaking to finish transcribing a
recording after it detects a certain number of seconds of silence. You can
enter any value between 1 and 99 seconds, but it should be long enough
that Dragon NaturallySpeaking will not think you have finished when
you are only pausing. Then, when you are dictating, be sure not to pause
for more than the number of seconds you choose. At the end of your
dictation, be sure that you record silence for at least that number of
seconds.

Troubleshooting
If text doesn’t appear on the screen, check the following:
■

If you are using the Transcribe Recording dialog box, did you click
in a window after closing it? If you aren’t transcribing in the
DragonPad window, you must click in the window in which you
want the text to appear.

■

If you selected Through the Line-In Jack as your source, did you
remember to press the play button on your recorder? Is your
recorder properly connected to the computer?

■

Are you playing the right part of the recording? Listen to the source
file to make sure it contains dictation.

■

If you are using an analog recorder, have you changed the volume
setting on your recorder since running training? If so, check the
audio volume and quality again. From the NaturallySpeaking menu,
point to Advanced, and click Check Audio.

■

Is your recorder working properly? Check the power source. If you
are using a battery, make sure it is fully charged.

■

If you are transcribing a wave file, make sure the file is in the
following format: PCM, 11,025 Hz, 16 Bit, Mono.

■

If you are having difficulties transcribing text from the Dragon
recorder, consult the troubleshooting section of the online Help files
for the Voice It® Link® software. See the procedure “To install Voice
It Link (for the Dragon NaturallyMobile recorder)” on page 155 for
information on installing Voice It Link.

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Correcting mistakes
After Dragon NaturallySpeaking transcribes your dictation, make sure
you correct any mistakes. To help you check for mistakes, you can play
back your recorded voice as you read what Dragon NaturallySpeaking
transcribed. Listening to your dictation as you read the transcription will
help you identify misrecognized words or phrases.

To start playback:
Select the text you want to play back and click the button on the Extras
toolbar of the DragonBar (or press CTRL +SHIFT +S ).

Start Playback

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
NaturallySpeaking menu, point to Advanced, and click Options. In the Options dialog
box, click the Miscellaneous tab.)

To stop playback:
To stop playback, do any of the following:
■

Click the Stop Playback

button on the Extras toolbar.

■

Click anywhere in the document window.

■

Press the ESC key.

To skip words or go faster or slower:
■

To skip forward a few words, click the Skip Forward button

■

To skip backward a few words, click the Skip Backward button

■

To go faster or slower, click the Faster/Slower button
the right or left arrow keys.

or press

To correct a mistake:
To correct a word or phrase, select it and then click the Correct
button
or press the minus (-) key on the numeric keypad.

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TIP One of the most effective ways to proof and correct a transcription is simply to
select the entire transcription and play it back. During playback, you can press the right
arrow key to speed up the playback and the left arrow key to slow it down. When you
see a mistake, just press the down arrow key to open the Correction dialog box.

When you are working in the Correction dialog box, click Play Back to
play the dictation that goes with the words in the Correction dialog box.
Then edit the text to match what you said.
TIP You can set up Dragon NaturallySpeaking to play back dictation automatically
whenever you open the Correction dialog box. From the NaturallySpeaking menu, point
to Advanced, and click Options. In the Options dialog box, click the Correction tab and
select “Automatic playback on correction.”

Using the Dragon
NaturallyMobile recorder as a
microphone
If you have a Dragon NaturallyMobile recorder, you can use it as a
microphone when it is connected to a computer with the supplied serial
cable.

To use the recorder as a microphone:
1

Open the user you created for the Dragon NaturallyMobile recorder, if it
is not already open. (On the DragonBar click the Users button and click
the name of the user.)

Make sure the recorder is connected to the serial port of your computer.

Click the Microphone button on the DragonBar so the microphone is on
(
).

Wait until the recorder display reads “Mic On.” This takes about two or
three seconds after you click on the Microphone button.

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Begin speaking, holding the built-in microphone of the recorder almost
touching the corner of your mouth and a bit to the side. Do not hold the
recorder so that the microphone is directly in front of your mouth.

Hold the recorder so that the
built-in microphone is at the
side of your mouth, not in
front of it.

When you have finished, click the Microphone button again so the
microphone is off.
NOTE Turning off the microphone in this way does not turn off the recorder. To
conserve your batteries, turn off the recorder by pressing the Power button.

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APPENDIX

Dragon
NaturallySpeaking
Commands List
his appendix lists the Dragon NaturallySpeaking commands. Most
of the commands listed here are described in detail elsewhere in
this guide. For more information about commands, follow the page
references provided throughout the appendix.

Which commands work in which
programs?
Some commands work only in certain types of programs. For example,
“Set Font Bold” works only in programs where you can make text bold.
Special symbols in this appendix and in the online Help indicate where
you can expect a command to work.

● A circle means that the command works in most applications.
■ A square means that the command works in the following (word
processing) programs:
■

DragonPad

■

Lotus Notes 5

■

Microsoft Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002 (including the Word
editor in Outlook)

■

WordPad

■

WordPerfect 8 or 9

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▲ A triangle means that in most programs, the command works on what
you just said. For example, you can say “Scratch That” to erase what you
just said.
Commands marked with a triangle also work on selected text in
programs that support Select-and-Say (listed below). In these programs,
for example, you can say “Cap That” to capitalize the first letter of
selected text.

◆ A diamond means that the command works only in the Select-and-Say
programs listed below. For more information on Select-and-Say, see
“Using Select-and-Say” on page 90.
PR OG R A M S T HAT SU PPO RT S E LE CT -A ND - SA Y

DragonPad

Microsoft Word 97, Word 2000,
Word 2002

WordPerfect 8 or 9

Lotus Notes 5.0

Microsoft Chat 2.1 or 2.5

GoldMine 4.0

Internet Explorer 4 or 5

Microsoft Outlook Express 5

WordPad

Notepad

Microsoft Outlook 97, 98, 2000, or 2002 with plain text or Outlook Rich
Text selected, or using Microsoft Word 2000/2002 as the editor
TIP If you say a command that does not work in the program you are using, the
DragonBar may show a message: for example, “Formatting commands cannot be used
here.”

Commands listed in the sections on e-mail, Lotus Notes, and Internet
Explorer do not have symbols, because they are designed to work only in
those applications.

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Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

Controlling the microphone
SAY

● Go to Sleep

Make the microphone stop listening temporarily.

● Wake Up

Reactivate the microphone when it’s sleeping.

● Microphone Off

Turn the microphone off. (You cannot turn it back on by
voice.)

Controlling the DragonBar
SAY

● Click

NaturallySpeaking
or
NaturallySpeaking
● Start

Open the NaturallySpeaking main menu on the
DragonBar (or on the DragonPad if it is active).

Start the DragonPad word processor.

DragonPad
● Click Users or

Open the NaturallySpeaking Users menu.

Users
● Give Me Help

Display Dragon NaturallySpeaking online Help.

● What Can I Say

Display the Command List in online Help.

or Spoken
Commands

Adding paragraphs, lines, and spaces
SAY

● New Line

Press the ENTER key once.

● New

Press the ENTER key twice. (Capitalizes the next word
automatically.)

Paragraph
● Tab Key

Press the TAB key.

● Space Bar

Press the space bar.

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Selecting text
Selecting specific words
SA Y

◆ Select glass

Select a specific word or words that are
visible on screen. In this example, select glass.

◆ Select Again

Select the same text again but in a different
place, which is also visible on screen.

◆ US/Canada: Select It

Select a range of words visible on screen. In
this example, select It was a dark and stormy
night.

was Through night
◆ Other Dialects: Select It
was To night
◆ Select That

Select the last thing you said.

◆ Unselect That

Unselect selected text.

For more information about these commands, see “Selecting text” on
page 90.
Selecting an entire line or paragraph
SAY

● Select

TH E N (o ne )

TH E N ( on e)

Line

Forward

2...20 Lines

Paragraph

Back

2 Paragraphs

Last

2...20 Paragraphs

For more information about these commands, see “Selecting an entire
paragraph or line” on page 94.

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Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

Selecting a word or character
SAY

● Select

TH E N ( on e)

T HE N ( o ne )

Word

Forward

2 Words

2...20 Words

Back

Character

Last

4 Characters
2...20 Characters

TIP You can also say “Select Word,” “Select Line,” or “Select Character.”

For more information about these commands, see “Selecting a word or
character” on page 94.
Selecting a document
SA Y

● Select Document/

Select all the text in your document.

Select All

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Correcting text
SA Y

▲ Select That

Select the last thing you said and display the
Quick Correct list (by default; you can choose to
display the Correction dialog box instead).

▲ Correct That

Correct either the last thing you said or selected
text.

◆ Correct carefully

Correct a specific word or words that are visible
on screen. In this example, correct the word
carefully.

◆ US/Canada: Correct

Correct a range of words that are visible on
screen. In this example, correct It was a dark and
stormy night.

It was Through night
◆ Other Dialects:
Correct It was To
night
● Spell

Spell a word (brings up the Correction dialog
box).

● Spell g-l-a-s-s

Spell the next word, in this example, glass.

▲ Spell That g-l-a-s-s

Correct either the last thing you said or selected
text by spelling the correction, in this example,
glass. See the list in the next section, “Correction
dialog box commands,” for spelling tips.

For more information about these commands, see “Correcting
recognition mistakes” on page 15.

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Correction dialog box commands
SA Y

Choose 2

Select an alternative from the numbered list and
enter it in your document. You can say any number
that appears in the list.

Select 4

Select an alternative from the numbered list for
editing. You can say any number that appears in the
list.

Scratch That

Erase the dictated text in the Correction dialog box.

The standard commands for moving the insertion point and selecting
text will also work here. For more information about these commands,
see “Correcting recognition mistakes” on page 15.

Spelling in the Correction dialog box
When you are spelling in the Correction dialog box, this is what you
can say:
■

letters (a–z)

■

International Communications Alphabet (alpha, bravo, and so
on)

■

numbers (0–9)

■

punctuation

■

“Cap” (to capitalize the next letter)

■

“Double” (to enter the next letter twice, for example, “Double
a”)

■

“Space Bar” or “space” (to insert a space)

■

“Backspace”

■

“apostrophe ess”

■

See the following sections for the International Communications
Alphabet and lists of special characters.

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International Communications Alphabet

When spelling in the Correction dialog box, you can use the
International Communications Alphabet to enter letters. For a complete
list of alphabet choices, see the online Help.
FOR

SA Y

FOR

S AY

Alpha

November

Bravo

Oscar

Charlie

Papa

Delta

Quebec

Echo

Romeo

Foxtrot

Sierra

Golf

Tango

Hotel

Uniform

India

Victor

Juliet

Whiskey

Kilo

X-ray

Lima

Yankee

Mike

Zulu

Publishing symbols

When spelling in the Correction dialog box, you can enter the following
special characters by voice. (If the program has trouble recognizing a
character, try using the longest available spoken form.)

178

TO E N TE R

SA Y

™

trademark sign or trademark

registered trademark sign or registered trademark or
registered sign or registered

†

dagger

‡

double dagger

paragraph sign or paragraph

section sign or section

—

em dash

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TO E N TE R

SA Y

–

en dash

soft hyphen

(Nonbreaking
space)

nonbreaking space or nonbreakable space or no break
space or unbreakable space

Currency symbols

When spelling in the Correction dialog box, you can enter the following
special characters by voice. (If the program has trouble recognizing a
character, try using the longest available spoken form.)
TO E N TE R

SA Y

dollar sign or dollar

cent sign/cent

US/Canada: pound sterling sign
Other Dialects: pound sign or pound

yen sign or yen
(or EUR)*

euro sign or euro

guilder sign or guilder

general currency or general currency sign
international currency or international currency sign

* Dragon NaturallySpeaking uses EUR as the default for the euro symbol. For the program to
recognize “euro” in symbol form, you must change the Euro option in the Dragon
NaturallySpeaking Options dialog box. From the NaturallySpeaking menu, point to
Advanced, click Options, and then click the Formatting tab. Type the euro symbol in the “Euro
symbol or abbreviation” box.

Accented and international characters

SA Y

´ (acute)

accent acute or acute

` (grave)

accent grave or grave or backquote

˜ (tilde)

centered tilde or accent tilde or tilde

¨ (umlaut)

accent umlaut or dieresis

ˆ (circumflex)

accent circumflex or circumflex

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APPENDIX B

180

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

TO E N TE R

SA Y

¸ (cedilla)

cedilla or accent cedilla

á, Á, é, É, í, Í, ó, Ó,
ú, Ú, ý, Ý

a accent acute (or “a acute”)
Cap e accent acute (or “Cap e acute”)
and so on

à, À, È, è, ì, Ì, ò, Ò,
ù, Ù

a accent grave (or “a grave”)
Cap e accent grave (or “Cap e grave”)
and so on

ã, Ã, ñ, Ñ, õ, Õ

a accent tilde (or “a tilde”)
Cap n accent tilde (or “Cap n tilde”)
and so on

ä, Ä, ë, Ë, ï, Ï, ö, Ö,
ü, Ü, ÿ, Ÿ

a accent umlaut (or “a umlaut”)
Cap e accent umlaut (or “Cap e umlaut”)
and so on

â, Â, ê, Ê, î, Î, ô, Ô,
û, Û

a accent circumflex (or “a circumflex”)
Cap o accent circumflex (or “Cap o circumflex”)
and so on

ç, Ç

c accent cedilla (or “c cedilla”)
Cap c accent cedilla (or “Cap c cedilla”)

å, Å

a angstrom
Cap a angstrom

inverted exclamation point or inverted
exclamation mark

inverted question mark

open-angle-quotes or begin-angle-quotes

close-angle-quotes or end-angle-quotes

eszet or German sharp or German sharp s or
sharp s

oe ligature or ligature oe or oe diphthong

ae ligature or ae diphthong or ligature ae

Icelandic eth or eth

Icelandic thorn or thorn

masculine ordinal

feminine ordinal

s wedge

„

double comma

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

APPENDIX B

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

Mathematical symbols

SA Y

one quarter sign or one quarter or quarter sign or quarter

one half sign or one half or half sign or half

three quarters sign or three quarters

multiply sign or multiply or times sign or times or
multiplication sign

divide sign or divide

plus or minus sign or plus or minus or plus minus sign or
plus minus

‰

per thousand or per mille

broken vertical bar

logical not sign or logical not or not sign or not

macron sign or macron

degree sign or degree

superscript 1

superscript 2 or squared or square

superscript 3 or cubed or cube

Greek mu or micro

o slash

centered-dot or middle-dot or center-dot

‚

alternate-comma

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APPENDIX B

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

Erasing and undoing
SA Y

● Delete That

Delete selected text. (For more information, see
“Deleting specific words” on page 101.)

● Backspace

Press the BACKSPACE key. To press it more than
once, say Backspace 2, Backspace 3, and so on (up to
20).

● Undo That or

Undo the last action.

Undo Last Action
▲ Scratch That

Erase the last thing you said or selected text. You can
say “Scratch That” up to 10 times to keep erasing
previous words or phrases. (For more information, see
“Deleting the last words you dictated” on page 100.)

◆ Resume With

Search backward to find a specific word or words, so
you can continue dictating from that point. In this
example, resume dictating with Dear Susan. (For more
information, see “Backing up as you dictate” on page
101.)

Dear Susan

Deleting the next or previous line or paragraph
SAY

● Delete

TH E N (o n e)

T HE N ( o ne )

Paragraph

Forward

2 Paragraphs

2...20 Paragraphs

Back

Line

Last

2...20 Lines

For more information about these commands, see “Deleting the next or
previous paragraph or line” on page 102.

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Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

Deleting the next or previous word or character
SAY

● Delete

T HE N ( o ne )

Word

Forward

Character

2 Words

Back

3 Characters

Last

2...20 Words
2...20 Characters

For more information about these commands, see “Deleting the next or
previous word or character” on page 102.

Moving around in a document
Going to the top or bottom of a document
SAY

T HE N ( o ne )

● Go to

Top

● Move to

Top of Document
Beginning of Document
Start of Document
Bottom
Bottom of Document
End of Document

Going to the top or bottom of a page
SAY

Page
Up

Move up one page (equivalent to pressing the PAGE UP
key).

Page
Down

Move down one page (equivalent to pressing the PAGE
DOWN key).

For more information about these commands, see “Going to the top or
bottom of a page or document” on page 88.

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APPENDIX B

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

Going to the beginning or end of a line
SAY

TH E N (o ne )

● Go to

Beginning of Line

● Move to

Start of Line
End of Line

For more information about these commands, see “Going to the
beginning or end of a line” on page 88.
Placing the insertion point before or after a specific word
SA Y

◆ Insert Before

Place the insertion point before a specific word or
words that are visible on screen. In this example,
select glass.

glass
◆ Insert After glass

Place the insertion point after a specific word or
words that are visible on screen. In this example,
select glass.

◆ Insert Before That

Place the insertion point before selected text that is
visible on screen.

◆ Insert After That

Place the insertion point after selected text that is
visible on screen.

For more information about these commands, see “Placing the insertion
point before or after a specific word” on page 88.
Moving up or down a paragraph
SAY

● Move

TH E N ( on e)

T HE N ( on e)

a Paragraph (or “1 Paragraph”)

Back

2 Paragraphs

Down

3 Paragraphs

Forward

2...20 Paragraphs

For example, you can say “Move Up a Paragraph” or “Move Down Six
Paragraphs.” For more information about these commands, see “Moving
up or down a paragraph or line” on page 89.

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Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

Moving up or down a line
SAY

● Move

T HE N ( o ne )

T HE N ( o ne)

a Line (or 1 Line)

Back

2 Lines

Down

3 Lines

Forward

2...20 Lines

For example, you can say “Move Up a Line” or “Move Down Six Lines.”
For more information about these commands, see “Moving right or left a
word or character” on page 90.
Moving right or left a word
SAY

● Move

T HE N ( o ne)

Right

a Word (or 1 Word)

Forward

2 Words

Left

4 Words

Back

2...20 Words

For example, you can say “Move Right a Word” or “Move Forward Six
Words.” For more information about these commands, see “Moving right
or left a word or character” on page 90.
Moving right or left a character
SAY

● Move

T HE N ( o ne)

TH E N ( on e)

Right

a Character (or 1 Character)

Forward

2 Characters

Left

4 Characters

Back

2...20 Characters
2...20
2...20

For example, you can say “Move Right a Character” or “Move Left Six.” For
more information about these commands, see “Moving right or left a
word or character” on page 90.

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APPENDIX B

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

Copying, cutting, and pasting text
SA Y

● Copy Selection

Copy selected text to the Clipboard.

● Cut Selection

Cut selected text.

▲ Copy That

Copy the last thing you said or selected text to the
Clipboard.

▲ Cut That

Cut the last thing you said or selected text.

● Paste That

Paste the contents of the Clipboard.

● Copy All to

Copy all the text in your document to the
Clipboard.

Clipboard

For more information about these commands, see “Copying, cutting,
and pasting text” on page 95.

Capitalizing text
Capitalizing or uncapitalizing text already in your document
SA Y

▲ Cap That or Capitalize

That or
▲ Format That Capitals or
Format That Initial Caps
or Format That Cap or
Format That Caps
▲ All Caps That or Format

That All Caps or Format
That Uppercase
▲ No Caps That or Format

That No Caps or Format
That Lowercase

Capitalize either the last thing you said or
selected text.

Make either the last thing you said or selected
text all capitals.
Make either the last thing you said or selected
text all lowercase.

For more information about these commands, see “Capitalizing (or
uncapitalizing) text already in your document” on page 97.

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Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

Capitalizing or uncapitalizing the next word you say
SA Y

● Cap glass

Start the next word with a capital, in this example,
Glass.

● All Caps glass

Type the next word in all capitals, in this example,
GLASS.

● No Caps Jack

Type the next word in all lowercase, in this example,
jack.

● No Space glass

Type the next word without a space before it; for
example, window No Space glass = windowglass.

For more information about these commands, see “Capitalizing text” on
page 95.
Capitalizing or uncapitalizing consecutive words
SA Y

● Caps On

Turn initial caps on.

● Caps Off

Turn initial caps off.

● All Caps On

Turn all capitals on.

● All Caps Off

Turn all capitals off.

● No Caps On

Turn all lowercase on.

● No Caps Off

Turn all lowercase off.

● No Space On

Turn no spaces on.

● No Space Off

Turn no spaces off.

For more information about these commands, see “Capitalizing text” on
page 95 and “Compounding words as you dictate” on page 69.

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APPENDIX B

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

Hyphenating or compounding text
SAY

▲ Hyphenate That or Format

That With Hyphens
▲ Compound That or Format

That Without Spaces

Hyphenate either the last thing you said or
selected text.
Compound either the last thing you said or
selected text.

For more information about these commands, see “Adding hyphens
later” on page 68 and “Compounding words later” on page 70.

Formatting text
Adding or removing bold, italics, and underlining
SA Y

■ Bold That

Apply bold to either the last thing you said or
selected text.

■ Italicize That

Apply italics to either the last thing you said or
selected text.

■ Underline That

Apply underlining to either the last thing you said
or selected text.

■ Restore That or

Remove formatting from selected text.

Format That Plain or
Format That Normal
or Format That
Regular

For more information about these commands, see “Adding (or removing)
bold, italics, and underlining” on page 100.

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Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

Changing font face
S A Y (o ne )

T HE N ( o ne )

■ Set Font

Times

■ Format That

Times New Roman
Arial
Courier
Courier New

For more information about these commands, see “Changing font face”
on page 98.
Changing font size
S A Y ( o ne )

TH E N ( o ne )

■ Set Size

■ Format That Size

10 point

■ Set Font Size

12
any point size from 4 to 100, as well as 120

For more information about these commands, see “Changing font size”
on page 98.
Changing font style
S A Y (o ne )

T H E N ( o ne )

■ Set Font

Bold

■ Format That

Italics
Underline
Strikeout
Plain or Plain Text or Normal or Regular

For more information about these commands, see “Changing font style”
on page 99.

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APPENDIX B

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

Changing a combination of font face, size, and style
S A Y (o ne )

T HE N ( on e)

T HE N ( o ne)

TH E N (o n e)

■ Set Font

Times

Bold

■ Format That

Times New
Roman

10 point

Italics

Arial

Underline

Courier

any point size
from 4 to 100,
as well as 120

Plain or Plain
Text or
Normal or
Regular

For more information about these commands, see “Changing a
combination of font face, size, and style” on page 99.
Aligning text
SA Y

■ Center That or Format

Center the current paragraph.

That Centered
■ Left Align That or Format

Left align the current paragraph.

That Left Aligned
■ Right Align That or

Right align the current paragraph.

Format That Right
Aligned

For more information about these commands, see “Aligning text” on
page 100.

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Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

Entering numbers
TO E N TE R

S AY

five or numeral five

twenty three

179

one hundred seventy nine or one seventy nine

5423

five thousand four hundred and twenty three

5,423

five [comma] four twenty three

12,537

twelve thousand five hundred and thirty seven

142,015

one hundred and forty two thousand and fifteen

35.23

thirty five [point] two three

0.03

All Dialects: zero [point] zero three
Outside US/Canada: nought [point] nought three

43.28%

forty three [point] twenty eight [percent sign]

22 January 1999

twenty two January nineteen ninety nine

April 9, 2001

April nine comma two thousand and one

14/07/85

fourteen [slash] oh seven [slash] eighty five

6/12/00

six [slash] twelve [slash] double oh or six [slash] twelve
[slash] double zero
NOTE: If you say “oh oh,” you must then say “Format
That Number” to remove the extra space.

1/22/2000

one [slash] twenty-two [slash] two thousand

8:30

eight [colon] thirty

4:45 am

four forty five a m

10:22 pm

ten twenty two p m

5:00 PM

five o’clock p m

£ 45

US/Canada: pound sterling sign forty five
Other Dialects: forty five pounds

$99.50

ninety nine dollars and fifty cents

£ 5 million

US/Canada: pound sterling sign five million
Other Dialects: five million pounds

$3.9 billion

US/Canada: three point nine billion dollars
Other Dialects: dollar sign three point nine billion

1/2

one half

1/4

one fourth or one quarter

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APPENDIX B

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

TO E N TE R

S AY

15/16

fifteen sixteenths or fifteen over sixteen

3 7/8

three and seven eighths or three and seven over eight

9/12

nine [slash] twelve or nine over twelve

5 3/56

five [space bar] three [slash] fifty six

130/70

one thirty over seventy

Roman five

XXIV

Roman twenty Roman four

Telephone numbers
TO E N TE R

SAY

617-965-5200

six one seven nine six five fifty two hundred

1-800-555-1212

one eight hundred five five five one two one two

(617) 965-5200

[open parenthesis] six one seven [close
parenthesis] nine six five five two hundred

1-212-555-1212

one two one two five five five one two one two

(01628) 894150

open parenthesis oh one six two eight close
parenthesis space bar eight nine four one five oh

027 629 8944

oh two seven space bar six two nine space bar
eight nine four four

61-7-4695-2055

six one hyphen seven hyphen four six nine five
hyphen two zero five five

(65) 2778590

open parenthesis six five close parenthesis two
seven seven eight five nine zero

NOTE You can say North American phone numbers (of 7, 10, or 11 digits) without
hyphens by pausing briefly between each group of numbers. To dictate other phone
numbers, including European phone numbers, you must say all the punctuation,
including the hyphens. This also applies to eight-digit numbers starting with 0 or 1 (for
example, 1-965-5200). For more information, see "Telephone numbers” on page 80.

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Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

Postal and ZIP codes
TO E N TE R

S AY

02460

oh two four six zero

02460-1458

oh two four six zero [hyphen] one four five eight
NOTE: the hyphen is not optional.

K1A 0M5

Postal Code k one a oh m five or
Postal Code kilo one alpha zero mike five

X0A 0H0

Postal code x oh a oh h o or
Postal code x-ray zero alpha zero hotel zero

SL7 1LW

Post Code s l seven one l w or
Post Code sierra lima seven one lima whiskey

NOTE You can say U.S. five- or nine-digit ZIP codes naturally, as a group of
numbers; you must dictate the hyphen for nine-digit ZIP+4 codes. To dictate Canadian or
U.K. postal codes, you must say “Postal Code” or Post Code” followed by the numbers
and letters (you don’t have to dictate the space or capitalization).

For more information about entering numbers, see “Dictating numbers”
on page 76.
Changing number format
SA Y

▲ Format That Number

Convert a number from text to numeric format
(for example, convert one hundred to 100).

▲ Format That Spelled

Convert a number from numeric to text format
(for example, convert 100 to one hundred).

Out
● Start Numbers Mode/

Numbers Mode On

Tell Dragon NaturallySpeaking to recognize all
your dictation as numbers, typed as numerals.

● Stop Numbers Mode/

Resume normal dictation of text and numbers.

Numbers Mode Off

For more information about these commands, see “Dictating numbers”
on page 76.

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APPENDIX B

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

Entering punctuation and special characters

194

TO E N TE R

S AY

TO E N TE R

SA Y

ampersand or and
sign

asterisk

’

apostrophe

’s

apostrophe s

at sign

backquote

‘

open single quote
or begin single
quote

’

close single quote
or end single quote

“

open quote
open quotes or
begin quote or
begin quotes

”

close quote or
close quotes or
end quote or
end quotes

backslash

slash or
forward slash

:(space)

colon

numeric colon

,(space)

comma

numeric comma

caret

—

dash

dot or point

US/Canada: period
Other Dialects: full stop

dollar sign

...

ellipsis

equal sign

exclamation point
or exclamation
mark

euro sign/euro
hyphen or numeric
hyphen

{

open curly bracket
or left curly bracket
US/Canada:
open brace or left
brace

}

close curly bracket
or right curly
bracket
US/Canada:
close brace or right
brace

[

open square
bracket or left
square bracket
US/Canada:
open bracket or left
bracket

]

close square
bracket or right
square bracket
US/Canada:
close bracket or
right bracket

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

APPENDIX B

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

TO E N TE R

S AY

TO E N TE R

SA Y

(

All Dialects:
open parenthesis or
left parenthesis
US/Canada:
open paren or left
paren
Other Dialects:
open bracket or left
bracket

)

All Dialects:
close parenthesis
or right parenthesis
US/Canada:
close paren or right
paren
Other Dialects:
close bracket or
right bracket

open angle bracket

less than

close angle bracket

greater than

minus sign

number sign or
hash sign or sharp
sign
US/Canada:
number sign or
pound or pound
sign

percent sign

plus sign

US/Canada:
pound sterling sign
Other Dialects:
pound sign or
pound

question mark

section sign

;

semicolon

(space)

space bar

(tab)

tab key

tilde

underscore

vertical bar

:-(

frowny face

:-)

smiley face

;-)

winky face

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APPENDIX B

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

Playing back and reading text
Playing back dictation
SA Y

■ Play That Back or Play

Play back the last thing you said or selected
text.

That or Play Selection
■ Play Back Line

Play back dictation for the current line.

■ Play Back Paragraph

Play back dictation for the current paragraph.

■ Play Back Document

Play back dictation for the whole document.

■ Play Back Screen

Play back dictation for the text in view.

■ Play Back to Here or Play

Play back dictation from the top of the
document window to the insertion point.

Back Up to Here
■ Play Back from Here or

Play back dictation from the insertion point
to the bottom of the document window.

Play Back Down from
Here

Dictation playback is available for Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred
and higher editions. For more information about these commands, see
“Playing back your dictation” on page 23.
Using Text-to-Speech
SA Y

■ Read Line

Read back the current line.

■ Read Paragraph

Read back the current paragraph.

■ Read Document

Read back the whole document.

■ Read Screen

Read back the text in view.

■ Read to Here or Read

Read back from the top of the document window
to the insertion point.

Up to Here
■ Read from Here or

Read Down from
Here

Read back from the insertion point to the bottom
of the document window.

Text-to-speech is available for Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred and
higher editions. For more information about these commands, see
“Using text-to-speech” on page 28.

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Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

Working with your desktop and windows
Starting programs and opening documents and folders
SA Y

● Start Calculator

Start a program on your Windows Start menu or
desktop, in this example, Calculator.

● Start Mail

Start your default e-mail program.

● Start proposal.doc

Open a document on your Windows Start menu or
desktop, in this example, proposal.doc.

● Start My

Open a folder on your Windows Start menu or
desktop, in this example, My Documents.

Documents
● Click Start or Click

Open a menu, in this example, the Start menu.

Start Menu
● Give Me Help

Open Dragon NaturallySpeaking online Help.

● What Can I Say

Open Dragon NaturallySpeaking online Help to the
Command List.

For more information about these commands, see “Starting programs”
on page 104 and “Opening documents and folders” on page 105.
Switching windows
SA Y

● Switch to Internet Explorer

Switch to a different program window, in
this example, Internet Explorer.

● Switch to Previous Window

Switch to the previous window (equivalent
to pressing ALT+TAB).

● Switch to Next Window

Switch to the next window (equivalent to
pressing ALT+SHIFT+TAB).

● Switch to DragonPad

Switch to the DragonPad window.

For more information about these commands, see “Switching between
open windows” on page 106.

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APPENDIX B

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

Opening and closing menus
SA Y

● Click File or

File
● Cancel

Open a menu or activate a menu command, in this
example, the File menu.
Close an open menu.

For more information about these commands, see “Opening and closing
menus” on page 107.
Selecting buttons, tabs, and options
SA Y

● Click OK or OK

Activate a button or option, in this example, OK.

● Click Properties or

Activate a tab in a tabbed dialog box, in this
example, the Properties tab.

Properties
● Go to Next Tab or

Switch to the next tab in a tabbed dialog box.

Move to Next Tab or
Click Next Tab or
Next Tab
● Go to Previous Tab or

Move to Previous Tab
or Click Previous Tab
or Previous Tab

Switch to the previous tab in a tabbed dialog
box.

For more information about these commands, see “Selecting buttons,
tabs, and options” on page 108.

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Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

Resizing and closing windows
SA Y

● Click Maximize

Maximize the active window.

● Click Minimize

Minimize the active window.

● Click Restore

Restore the active window to its previous size.

● Click Close

Close the active window.

● Click Control Menu

Open the Control menu for the active window.

● Click System Menu

Open the System menu for the active window.

For more information about these commands, see “Resizing and closing
windows” on page 110.

E-mail commands
The following commands work only when you are in a supported e-mail
program. For more information, see “Working with E-mail” on page 119.
Mailbox commands
SA Y

Check For New Mail or
Check For Mail or
Check For E-mail or
Check Mail or
Refresh Mail

Check the Inbox for new messages.

Create Mail or
Create New Mail or
New Mail or
New E-mail or
New Message

Create a new e-mail message.

Open Mail or
Open E-mail or
Open That

Open the selected e-mail message.

Close Mail or
Close E-mail or
Close That

Close the selected e-mail message window. This
command does not close your main e-mail
program. It does not work in Netscape Messenger.

TIP You can say “Mail,” “E-mail,” “Message,” or “Memo” in any of the commands
specific to e-mail.

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APPENDIX B

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

The following commands work if you have a message selected in your
Inbox, or if you are currently in an e-mail message.
Sending, replying to, forwarding, and printing e-mail
SA Y

Reply Mail or
Reply Message or
Reply To E-Mail or
Reply To Message

Reply to the sender of the current message.

Reply to All

Reply to all recipients of the current message.

Forward Mail or
Forward E-Mail or
Forward Message

Forward the current message.

Send Mail or
Send E-Mail or
Send Message

Sends the current message.

Send Now or
Send Mail Now

In AOL only, sends the current message
immediately.

Send Later or
Send Mail Later

In AOL only, sends the current message later.

Print Mail or
Print E-Mail or
Print Message

Prints the current message.

Delete Mail or
Delete E-Mail or
Delete Message

Deletes the current message.

The following commands let you move around when editing e-mail. You
can also use the regular text editing commands to compose your
messages.
NOTE You cannot use e-mail commands when editing mail in the Word editor started
by Outlook. In Outlook 2000/2002, you select the Word editor on the Mail Format tab of
the Options dialog box, which you open using the the Options command on the Tools
menu. Outlook uses the Word editor for messages if you select Use Microsoft Word to
edit email messages and you set the message format to HTML or plain text. Also, make
sure the option to Allow Natural Language Commands in Microsoft Word (on the
Startup/Shutdown tab of the Options dialog box) is not selected.

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Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

Editing a message
SA Y

Go to To Field or To

Move to the To field. In AOL only, you can say
“Send To.”

Go to CC Field or CC

Move to the CC field. In AOL only, you can say
“Copy To.”

Go to BCC Field or
BCC

Move to the BCC field.

Go to Subject Field
Subject

Move to the Subject field.

Go to Body Field or
Body

Move to the Body field.

Go To First Field or
First

Move to the first field of the view.

Go To Next Field or
Next

Move to the next field of the view.

Go To Previous Field
or Previous

Move to the previous field of the view.

Go To Last Field or
Last

Move to the last field of the view.

TIP You can also say “Move To” instead of “Go To” in any of the commands above.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

201

APPENDIX B

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

Using Lotus Notes
Lotus Notes commands are available only in Dragon NaturallySpeaking
Professional and higher editions. These commands let you control and
navigate using Lotus Notes.
Basic commands
SA Y

Move to Tab 1..10

Move to the selected Lotus Notes tab.

Next Message

Open the next message in the list.

Previous Message

Open the previous message in the list.

Next Unread

Open the next unread message.

Open Document

Open the selected document.

Close Document

Close the selected document.

Open By Category

Open the view named By Category.

Show Me My Calendar

Open the view named Calendar.

Click Move to Folder

Click the toolbar button named Move to Folder.

What Field Is This

Display the Notes Field ID.

Format That

Display the text properties dialog for selected text
in a Notes document.

Refresh View

Update the view.

TIP You can say “Move To” or “Go To” the name of any Notes field, such as “Move To
Home Phone” in your address book to go to the Home Phone field.

You can also use Dragon NaturallySpeaking e-mail commands when
composing e-mail in Lotus Notes. Use the standard Dragon
NaturallySpeaking editing commands to work with text that you enter.
NOTE You cannot select paragraphs in Lotus Notes, or format text using the Set Font
and Format That commands described in the section on “Formatting text” on page 98.

For more information about Lotus Notes, see the online Help.

Using Internet Explorer
These commands are fully supported in Internet Explorer 5, though
most are available in Internet Explorer 4.

202

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

APPENDIX B

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

Navigating the Web
SA Y

Go to Address

Move to the Address box.

Click Go or Go There

Go to the Web page specified in the Address
box (same as pressing the ENTER key).

Go to Favorite ScanSoft

Go to a Web page on your Favorites list, in this
example, ScanSoft.

Refresh or Reload

Refresh the current Web page (same as clicking
the Refresh button).

Click Help on
Searching or Help on
Searching

Follow the link or click the button, in this
example, Help on Searching.

Click About Dragon or
About Dragon

Follow the link that appears in an image when
the mouse moves over it, in this example, About
Dragon.

Choose 2

Select an alternative from the numbered list and
enter it in your document. You can say any
number that appears in the list.

Next Match or Next

Select the next matching link or object on the
page.

Previous Match or
Previous

Select the previous matching link or object on
the page.

Click That or That One

Click the selected link, edit box, and so on.

Stop Loading

Stop loading a Web page (same as clicking the
Stop button).

Go Back

Load the previous Web page in your history list
(same as clicking the Back button).

Go Forward

Load the next Web page in your history list
(same as clicking the Forward button).

Go Home

Go to your home page (same as clicking the
Home button).

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

203

APPENDIX B

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

Moving around a Web page
SA Y

Page Down

Scroll down one screen (same as pressing the
PAGE DOWN key).

Page Up

Scroll up one screen (same as pressing the
PAGE UP key).

Line Down

Scroll down one line (same as clicking the down
arrow in the scroll bar once).

Line Up

Scroll up one line (same as clicking the up
arrow in the scroll bar once).

Go to Top

Scroll to the beginning of the Web page.

Go to Bottom

Scroll to the end of the Web page.

Start Scrolling Down

Start automatic scrolling toward the end of the
page.

Start Scrolling Up

Start automatic scrolling toward the beginning
of the page.

Stop Scrolling

Stop automatic scrolling.

Speed Up

Increase scrolling speed. (Say it again to speed
up more.)

Slow Down

Decrease scrolling speed. (Say it again to slow
down more.)

Next Frame

Go to the next frame in a multiframe page.

Previous Frame

Go to the previous frame in a multiframe page.

Working with forms

204

SA Y

Type Text or Edit Box

Go to the first place on a Web page you can
enter text.

Click Check Box or
Check Box

Enumerate all check boxes on the page, and go
to the first one.

Click Image or Image

Enumerate all images with links on the page,
and go to the first one.

Choose 2

Select the image, option, button, and so on
from the enumerated list of choices. You can say
any number that appears in the list.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

APPENDIX B

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Commands List

SA Y

Click Radio Button/
Radio Button

Enumerate all option (radio) buttons on the
page, and go to the first one.

Click List Box or List Box

Enumerate all the boxes with a list of choices
(drop-down lists) on the page, and go to the
first one.

Show Choices

Open a list of choices.

Hide Choices

Close a list of choices.

Cancel Choices

Deactivates a list of choices, leaving the most
recent choice selected.

Choose Thursday or
Thursday

Chooses an entry from a list of choices, in this
example, Thursday.

You can use standard editing commands to work with text that you enter
in a Web form.
For more information about Internet Explorer commands, see “Working
with Internet Explorer” on page 123.

Working hands-free
Pressing keyboard keys

For lists of commands you can use to press keyboard keys, see “Pressing
keyboard keys” on page 111.
Moving the mouse pointer and clicking the mouse

For lists of commands you can use to move the mouse pointer and click
the mouse, see “Moving the mouse pointer and clicking the mouse” on
page 115.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

205

Index
A

abbreviations 67
acoustic data 10, 55
acronyms 67
Active Accessibility 103
active vocabulary 32, 41
adapting to document style 53
Add Words from Documents 35
Adding paragraphs, lines, and spaces 173
adding words 34
adding an individual word 35
advanced tools 41
filter and display 51
from a list 46
from documents 35
from e-mail messages 46
preparing documents for 36, 45
when correcting mistakes 33
with Vocabulary Builder 41
with Vocabulary Editor 41
Advanced Settings dialog box 165
All Caps [text] 96
All Caps Off 97
All Caps On 97
All Caps That 97
America OnLine 119
apostrophe ’s 70
application-specific commands, creating 140Ð142
application-specific commands, storing 142
Audio Setup Wizard 12

backing up a user 135
BACKSPACE key 102
backup dictionary 32
Bold That 100, 188
bold, adding or removing 188
Build Vocabulary 44
creating a word list 47
opening users and vocabularies
building vocabularies 44
buttons, selecting 108

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

C
Cap [word] 95
Cap That 97
capitalizing text 186
already in a document 97
applying lowercase 97
consecutive words 96
next word 95Ð96
Caps Off 96
Caps On 96
Center That 100
characters
deleting 102
moving to next/previous 90
selecting 94
Check Audio 12
check boxes, selecting 108
clicking the mouse 117
closing e-mail 120

207

Index

commands
creating a command file 141
creating your own 140
deleting 150
editing 141, 148
file locations 150
global 171
importing 150
in Select-and-Say programs 172
in word processors 171
including punctuation 151
making them work 62
naming 142
using with a recorder 159
renaming 149
specifying actions 142
troubleshooting 151
undoing 182
which ones work in which programs 171
See the Command Appendix for a complete list
Compound That 70
compound words 69Ð70
contractions. See apostrophe ’s
Copy All to Clipboard 95, 106
Copy That 95, 186
copying text to other programs 106
Correct [text] 18
Correct [text] Through [text] vi, 18, 92
Correct [text] To [text] vi, 18, 92
Correct That 18, 34
correcting mistakes 15, 17, 168
by adding a word 33
by mouse and keyboard 18
commands for 176
in longer phrases 93

208

Correction dialog box 15, 17, 34
commands for 177
deleting text in 21
editing in 21
moving around in 21
selecting text in 21
spelling a correction 20
spelling in 17, 177
Create User screen 156
Ctrl key, for recognizing commands 70
currency 81
custom words. See Vocabulary Editor
Cut That 94Ð95, 186

D
data 55
dates 79
decimal separator 77
deferred correction 26
Delete That 100Ð101
Deleting command files 150
deleting text 182
backing up and resuming dictation 101
characters 102
last words dictated 100
lines 102
paragraphs 102
specific words 94, 101Ð102
deleting words from the vocabulary 44
deselecting text 92
dialects
dictating currency 81
dictating times of day 79
punctuation for 66
sharing a computer 137
spelling and punctuation conventions v
dictate now, correct later 26
dictation guidelines 12Ð14
dictation shortcuts 38, 140

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

Index

dictation, saving for later playback 26
documents
formats for, when adding words 46
moving to top/bottom 88
opening 105, 197
selecting all text in 93
dollar sign 81
Dragon NaturallyMobile recorder 154, 163
DragonBar 2, 131

E
Edit Command Wizard 140Ð141
Edit Vocabulary 41
Editing a command 148
e-mail 119, 199
adding words from 46
checking for new 120
closing 120
composing 120
deleting 122
dictating 121
forwarding 122
navigating fields 121
opening 120
printing 122
replying to 122
sending 122
transferring dictation 121
e-mail addresses, dictating 72
ENTER key 173
erasing and undoing 182
errors. See correcting mistakes
ESC key 25, 29, 108, 168
Eudora 119
Excel 103
Explorer (Windows) 104
exporting vocabularies 57
extra words appearing 12
Extras toolbar 3, 29

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

F
Favorites, in Web pages 123
features 2
folders, opening 105, 197
fonts, changing 98
foreign words 75
Format That 99
Format That Centered 100
Format That Left Aligned 100
Format That Number 77
Format That Right Aligned 100
Format That Spelled Out 77
formatting text 188
applying bold 100
applying italics 100
applying underlining 100
changing font face, size, and style
removing formatting 100
fractions 83
full stops, in abbreviations 67
periods, in abbreviations 67

G
General Training, when to run again 63
global commands, creating 140Ð141
Go to Beginning of Line 88
Go to Bottom 88
Go to End of Line 88
Go to Sleep 173
Go to Top 88
GoldMine 172

H
hands-free 7, 103, 205
homophones, tips for selecting
Hyphenate That 68
hyphenated words 68
adding later 68
dictating 68

91Ð92

209

Index

hyphens 68
preventing 69
removing 69

I
ICD-PCLINK 154
icons, selecting 109
Importing command files 150
importing vocabularies 57
individual word
adding and training 35
Insert After [text] 88
Insert Before [text] 88
Installing recorder software 154
International Communications Alphabet 112, 178
Internet addresses 72
Internet Explorer 104, 172
adding a favorite Web page 124
clicking check boxes, list boxes and radio
buttons 129
clicking images 128
clicking named buttons 128
commands for 202
dictating URLs 124
entering a Web address 124
entering text in a text box 125
following links 126
going back or forward in Web pages 125
going to a favorite Web page 123
scrolling in a Web page 129
Italicize That 100, 188
italics, adding or removing 100, 188

K
keyboard shortcuts
for recognizing commands 70
stopping playback 25Ð26, 29, 108, 168
keyboard, pressing keys 111, 113Ð114

210

L
language data 10, 32, 44, 55
Left Align That 100
lines
adding 173
deleting 102
moving to beginning/end of 88
moving up/down 89
selecting 94
Lotus Notes 119, 172, 202
lowercase, applying 97

M
macros. See commands, creating your own
managing vocabularies 54
creating new 55
deleting 57
importing and exporting 57
opening 56
renaming 57
measurements. See abbreviations
menus, opening and closing 107, 198
microphone
positioning correctly 11
turning on/off 173
Microsoft
Access 104
Chat 172
Excel 103
Office 103
Outlook 104, 119, 172
Outlook Express 119, 172
PowerPoint 103
Word 46, 87, 98, 103, 171Ð172
minus (-) key 26
mistakes. See correcting mistakes
money 81

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

Index

mouse
clicking 117
moving the pointer 115Ð116
MouseGrid 115
Move to Top 88
moving around a document 183
before/after specific words 88
to beginning/end of line 88
by paragraphs or lines 89
scrolling 110
to top/bottom of page 88
by words or characters 90
multilingual users 137

N
names 34, 65
Netscape Communicator 119
New Command Wizard 140
New Line 173
New Paragraph 173
New User Wizard 132, 155
No Caps [text] 97
No Caps Off 72, 97
No Caps On 72, 97
No Caps That 97
No Space 69
No Space Off 70
No Space On 70
Notepad 172
numbers 76, 191
changing formats 77
currency 76, 81
dates 79
decimal separator 77
fractions 83
Roman numerals 84
telephone numbers 80
times of day 76, 79
numbers mode 78

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

Numbers Mode Off 78
Numbers Mode On 78

O
opening and closing menus
opening documents 197
opening e-mail 120
opening folders 197
options, selecting 108

198

P
Page Down 88
Page Up 88
Page Up/Down 88
pages. See moving around a document
paragraphs
adding 173
deleting 102
moving up/down 89
selecting 94
Paste That 95, 186
periods, in abbreviations 67
phonemes 10
places. See names
Play That Back 24
playback controls 3, 23, 196
playing back dictation 23, 196
correcting mistakes 26
in the Correction dialog box 23
in a document 24
skipping backward 25
skipping forward 25
stopping 25Ð26, 168
storage space for 26
portable recorder
using Dragon NaturallySpeaking with 153Ð
170
possessives. See apostrophe ’s
postal and Zip codes 85

211

Index

pound sterling 81
PowerPoint 103
problems dictating currency or time
programs, starting 104
punctuation 194

Q
Quick Correct 15Ð16, 33
options 17

R
Read That 28
reading text 196
recognition errors. See correcting mistakes
recommended training time 63
recorders, using with Dragon
NaturallySpeaking 160
Regional Settings control panel 76
renaming a command 149
Restore That 100, 188
restoring a user 136
Resume With 101, 159
revising text. See Select-and-Say
Right Align That 100
Roman numerals 84

S
’s 70
saving dictation 26
storage space for 30
saving speech files 135
Scratch That 94, 100
scrolling 110, 129
searching while selecting 91
Select [text] 90
Select [text] Through [text] 93
Select [text] To [text] 93
Select Again 91
Select All 93

212

Select Document 93
Select-and-Say 17, 22
supported programs 172
selecting text
again 91
characters 94
commands for 174
a document 93
limits on 92
lines 94
paragraphs 94
punctuation 91
specific words 92, 94
Set Font 98Ð99
Set Size 98
Skip Backward 25
Skip Forward 25
Sony ICD-R100 154, 157
Sony Memory Stick IC Recorder ICD-MS1 154,
157Ð158, 160Ð161, 163
Sony Memory Stick Voice Editor 154
Space Bar 173
spaces, adding 173
speaking guidelines 12Ð14
special characters 73, 178Ð179, 181, 194
speech recognition, how it works 10
Spell [text] 18, 22
Spell That 18, 34
spelling
as you dictate 22
errors 23
for corrections 17
in the Correction dialog box 20
spoken forms 39, 42
creating 43
guidelines for selecting 40
Start Numbers Mode 78
starting programs 104, 197
Stop Numbers Mode 78

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

Index

Strikeout That 100
switching windows 106, 197

T
Tab key 108, 173
tabs (dialog box), selecting 108
telephone numbers 80
text-to-speech 28Ð29, 196
The restricted command set 159
time separator 80
times of day 79
Train Words dialog box 35, 60, 62
training an individual word 35
training Dragon NaturallySpeaking
when making corrections 60
for recorded speech 157
training commands 61
training time, recommended 63
Transcribe a Recording dialog box 161
Transcribe from dialog box 164
Transcribe Recording dialog box 164
Troubleshooting
recorder transcription 167
Troubleshooting commands 151
typeface, changing 98

U
Underline That 100, 188
underlining, adding or removing 188
Undo That 182
undoing unwanted changes 182
unselecting text 92
URLs, dictating 124

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

users
backing up 135
creating new 132, 155
deleting 134
opening 133
renaming 133
restoring from a backup copy 136
speech files 131, 135
Users menu 131

V
vocabularies
active words 32
backup words 32
building 44
creating new 55
deleting 57
deleting words from 44
editing 41
exporting 57
importing 57
managing 54
opening 56
renaming 57
word limits for specialized vocabularies
See also adding words 31
Vocabulary Builder 44
adapt to document style 53
analyzing documents 48
creating a word list 47
preparing documents 45
tips for multilingual users 138
undoing unwanted changes 136
word limit 50
Vocabulary Editor 41
vocal strain, preventing 15
Voice It Link 154
volume setting, on a recorder 159

213

Index

W
Wake Up 173
Web addresses 72, 124
Web pages. See Internet Explorer
windows
closing 110, 199
resizing 110, 199
switching between 106
Windows Explorer 104
Windows NT 103
WordPad 172
WordPerfect 46, 87, 98, 171Ð172
words
deleting 94, 101Ð102
moving to next/previous 90
placing insertion point before/after 88
selecting 92, 94
WorldWide Web. See Internet Explorer
written forms 39, 42

Y
years 79

Z
Zip codes 85

214

Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide

ScanSoft, Inc
9 Centennial Drive
Peabody, MA 01960
USA

ScanSoft Belgium BVBA
Guldensporenpark 32
9820 Merelbeke
Belgium

Web:
www.ScanSoft.com/NaturallySpeaking/

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