Viva Voce Speech Recognition

Hearing playback through speakers

2011-09-17T22:19:00.000-07:00

We are often asked how to organise playback through speakers (either your computer's built-in speakers or alternatively, speakers that are plugged in to your computer) rather than through the headset earphones that you use with Dragon.

For example, you might be able to hear playback through your headset earphones, but you would prefer to listen to music or you tube videos through speakers.

You can set up playback and recording in control panel/sound so that you are dictating to Dragon (ie recording) through your headset microphone, and playing sound back through speakers.

For Windows 7:
Playback
Go to Start Menu/control panel/sound/playback. You can nominate how you want to hear playback by selecting the appropriate device, and setting that as the default.
if you nominate speakers as the default device, rather than your headset, then you won't need to put your Dragon headset on to listen to music.
Select the appropriate device and click ‘Set default', then ‘OK’.

Recording

if you are using Dragon with a headset microphone, this headset should be nominated as the default recording device. How the device shows in the Recording Tab of the Sounds dialog will depend on the brand of mic. I am using an analog mic plugged into a Buddy USB pod and this shows as ‘Microphone 2 - Buddy USB 7G’.

Does Dragon sometimes misrecognise what you say as "Mail it to", or "Send it to"?

2011-09-17T22:04:00.000-07:00

If Dragon sometimes misrecognises what you say as "Mail it to", or "Send it to", these commands can be disabled.
Go to DragonBar/tools/options/commands and uncheck 'Enable email and calendar commands". Click Apply then OK.

Service Pack 1 for Dragon 11

2011-07-28T01:27:00.000-07:00

Nuance has released Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Dragon NaturallySpeaking V11.
This update is free for Dragon NaturallySpeaking V11.0 users , and will update your software to V11.5.
I recommend that you do load SP1, because it's good to keep your Dragon up to date, however there is no urgent need to load this update.
If you are using Dragon at work and do not have permissions to download software from the Internet, contact your IT service desk. If your workplace doesn't load this update for awhile, there is no reason to be concerned.

Top 3 New Features in Version 11.5

1. New Audio Input Options: Dragon Remote Microphone Application

o This FREE application converts a user's iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch 4 into a wireless microphone via WiFi.

2. New Time-Saving Voice Commands and Advanced Capabilities

o New Facebook and Twitter Commands

o New Text Formatting Commands

3. Improved Correcting and Editing: Easier than ever to change / correct text

o Handling Multiple Matches in Text , More usable Spelling Window

As some users have reported problems loading SP1, I recommend that you take the following precautions before installing the update :

export a copy of your Dragon User profile in case anything goes wrong during the installation. If you don't know how to export a copy of your Dragon User, you will find instructions in the posting dated 20 June 20 .

if you have Dragon in your Startup folder so it launches automatically, remove it from Startup before loading SP1. Some users have reported problems loading SP1 when Dragon is in the Startup folder , caused by Dragon launching automatically, before the update has been fully installed . There is some information on this issue on the Knowbrainer forum. See instructions below for removing Dragon from the Startup folder.

If the software manager appears automatically when you open Dragon and you don't want to load the update at this stage, simply click cancel.

How to download Service Pack 1

Method 1

For many Dragon Users, the software manager will appear automatically with the following message, when they open Dragon.

'Available software update for Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11. The following update is available on the Internet. Service Pack 1 for Dragon NaturallySpeaking'.

The service pack can be downloaded by clicking Next and following the prompts.

Method 2

Alternatively, go to DragonBar/help/check for updates and follow the prompts.

The following information comes from:

http://nuance.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/6213/kw/Dragon%20NaturallySpeaking%2011.0%20update/session/L3RpbWUvMTMxMTYzNTA1MC9zaWQvOVpEclRVems%3D

“Downloading the service pack:

The service pack is available for download through the Nuance Update Service. The Nuance Update Service is an automatic update service included with Dragon NaturallySpeaking. To open the Nuance Update Service, do the following:

1. Start Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.

2. Click on "Help > Check for Updates".

3. When the Update Service opens, select the "Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5" update.

4. Click the "Next" button and then use the "Download" button to save the Service Pack(s) to the computer. [ Note added by Sue :I recommend that you download the installation file to the desktop so you can locate it easily ]

5. Once downloaded, double-click the Service Pack to install. Please be sure to close out of all open applications [including Dragon] before installing the Service Pack(s), except the service pack download.

Download Name: DNS11ServicePack1.exe
Approximate size: 530 MB
Approximate download time: 1 Hour”

I had success with Method 2, after Method 1 failed. Although Nuance advise approximate download time is 1 hour, I found it was much quicker than that, 10 to 15 min.

When asked to choose language, choose 'English (United States)'. Don't be concerned that your Dragon user profile might be set up with Australian English or another accent model. The language in this case relates to the language of the download, not the language of your user profile.

For more information see

Nuance website

http://nuance.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/6213/kw/Dragon%20NaturallySpeaking%2011.0%20update/session/L3RpbWUvMTMxMTYzNTA1MC9zaWQvOVpEclRVems%3D

Recent postings on the Knowbrainer forum

http://knowbrainer.com/pubforum/index.cfm?page=viewForumCategory&categoryId=2

How to remove Dragon from the Startup folder

Locate the Startup folder and delete the Dragon icon. If you have any doubts about whether you should be doing this yourself at work, contact your IT service desk.

You can return Dragon to the Startup folder after download of Service Pack 1 by copying the desktop icon, and pasting it into the Startup folder.

Location of Startup folder

Windows XP

C:\Documents and Settings\All users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Windows 7

If Dragon is in your individual user Startup folder (that is, Dragon launches only when you logon):

C:\users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

For all users: (that is, if Dragon launches when anyone logs onto your computer): C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Sue Woodward

info@viva-voce.com.au

Dragon and Adobe Reader X

2011-07-25T01:03:00.000-07:00

If you have loaded the latest version of Adobe Reader (X), and in particular if you encounter this error message:

'COM returned an unexpected error code: Details are HOOKERR_NONOTIFYWINDOW'

Adjust Adobe Reader settings as follows, to disable "Protected" mode (note this is not relevant to other versions of Adobe Reader, only version X):

1. Start Adobe Reader X.
2. Go to "Edit > Preferences > General Tab".
3. Uncheck "Enable Protected Mode at startup".

4. Close all applications including Dragon and restart computer

Note: Unchecking ‘Enable Protected Mode at start-up ‘will affect screen reading technologies. So if Dragon User is also using screen reader technologies e.g. Jaws, Zoomtext, best to use an earlier version of Adobe reader e.g. version 9.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking V11.5

2011-06-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 11.5 will be released soon. This will be a free update for those who already have version 11 software.If you have registered your V11 software, you will receive an email from Nuance in coming weeks to advise when the update is available. If you have not registered your software, you can do so at

http://www.nuance.com/product-support/default.asp?lang=au&prod=dn

For more information on V11.5, see
http://app.marketing.nuance.com/e/es.aspx?s=274&e=92672&elq=499133a0f49b458dae05d6dd7162e8f4

Exporting a copy of your Dragon User profile

2011-06-20T03:45:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Viva Voce blog! This blog will post information, tips and updates relating to speech recognition software, mostly Dragon NaturallySpeaking, perhaps later also on Dragon Dictate 2 (for Mac).

For this first posting, I'm going to write about the importance of exporting a copy of your Dragon User profile, in case of hard drive failure or corruption of your user profile.

Note that it is possible to export a copy of your Dragon User profile if you have Dragon preferred/premium or professional editions. if you have Dragon standard or home, it will not be possible to export a copy of your user profile. For this reason, if you are serious about using speech recognition software long-term, I recommend use of Dragon 11 premium or professional, not home edition.

The Dragon User profile is generally located on your computer's hard drive. Although your user profile is backed up automatically (generally every five times your user profile is saved, and the user profile is usually saved when you close Dragon), this automatic backup is also located on the hard drive. This means that if your hard drive fails, you will lose your Dragon user profile.

If you have used Dragon for some time, your user profile represents a lot of work in customising Dragon to recognise your speech - through correction of recognition errors, words and phrases that you have added to the vocabulary, perhaps you have created macros. if for any reason you cannot access your user profile, it's really handy to have a copy that can be imported/restored.

For this reason, it's a good idea to export a copy of your Dragon User profile from time to time. This copy can be imported/restored if required.

To copy/export Dragon User

1. Say "Say "Manage users" or go to Dragon bar > Profile > manage user profiles (in versions earlier than 11, go to DragonBar > NaturallySpeaking > Manage user profiles)
2. Select your Dragon user
3. Say or click "Advanced" then "Export"
4. Say "Yes" if asked to save user before exporting
5. Browse to a network drive or storage device for example an external hard drive or USB drive and follow the prompts from here
6. it's a good idea to save your user profile to a folder with today's date on it so if you ever need to restore your Dragon User you will know exactly when you exported it. if you have exported more than one copy of your user profile, you will know which is the most recent copy.

Should you need to import your Dragon User
1. go to Dragon bar > Profile > manage user profiles (in versions earlier than 11, go to DragonBar > NaturallySpeaking > Manage user profiles)
2. Say or click "Advanced" then "Import "
3. Browse to the copy of your Dragon User Profile and select it (your exported Dragon User will look like a yellow folder, and will be named whatever you named your user profile when you set it up e.g. 'your name')
4. Follow the prompts from here
5. you will be given the opportunity to rename the user profile you are importing, to avoid overwriting your existing user. I recommend that you do rename the user profile
6. if you are not sure whether your imported User Profile is open, go to DragonBar > Profile> Open User Profile and click Open (in versions earlier than 11, go to DragonBar> NaturallySpeaking> Open user).

In summary, there are several good reasons for exporting a copy of your user profile:

as a backup that can be restored in the case of:

hard drive failure; or
corruption of the user profile. There is a risk of the user profile corrupting if your computer crashes, or you shut your computer down without closing Dragon first (say "Close NaturallySpeaking" to close Dragon).

to copy your user profile to a different computer, follow the instructions above to export your user profile, then copy this on to a thumb drive. Copy the Dragon User profile from thumb drive to other computer, doesn't matter where you copy it to, the desktop will do. Follow the instructions above to import User profile into Dragon installation on the other computer. Dragon needs to be installed on the other computer.