Chapter 22
In This Chapter
Dictating but nothing happens
Dealing with incorrect results
Speaking commands that get typed as text
Failing to control text with Full Text Control
Discovering that NaturallySpeaking inserts extra little words
Dealing with slow dictation
Uncovering Menu commands that don’t work
Tracking down Natural Language Commands that don’t work
Ascertaining that “Undo That” doesn’t undo
Realizing that “Start” doesn’t start
Did you ever own something that worked perfectly as soon as you took it out of the box, and never gave you a lick of trouble during its long, productive life? Neither have I. Problems are just part of the experience of owning something. And software problems … they are just part of the experience. Period.
So, without further ado, here are ten common problems that NaturallySpeaking users face.
The words leave your mouth, but they don’t appear on the screen. Obviously, they must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. Suppose you follow the path the words should have taken, and see where they may have gotten diverted.
But before you take that trip, are you sure that nothing is happening? Say a few words into the microphone and see what happens. Does it say, “Please say that again”? Okay, back to following the words after they leave your mouth:
Another possibility is that Windows (for its own unfathomable reasons) has changed your device settings — redefined your microphone to be a printer or something equally helpful. (I think I’m exaggerating, but it’s hard to be sure.) Running a microphone check will either fix the problem or give you a more specific complaint to take to Dragon Technical Support. (See Chapter 21.)
If you are dictating directly into the NaturallySpeaking document window, the preceding are all the obvious sources to check. But if you’re dictating into a different application, there are other places to look for problems.
Also, if you’re using a nonstandard Microsoft application, it might be a good idea to use the Dictation Box. If this happens inside Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft Word, make sure you close them down along with NaturallySpeaking and then restart them. This usually fixes it. Also, make sure that WinWord.exe or Outlook.exe is not running in the Processes tab of the Task Manager.
Still stumped? That’s about as much help as I can give you from this distance in time and space. You need some one-on-one help either from Dragon Technical Support or from other NaturallySpeaking users.
If NaturallySpeaking just doesn’t get it right when you dictate, you’re having what’s called recognition errors or accuracy problems. Now, don’t you feel better, having an official diagnosis of your problem?
No? Then turn to the chapters in Part V of this book. So many different things can affect accuracy that I devote the entire part to them. If that sounds too wearisome, try the following first-aid:
If your problem is that NaturallySpeaking repeatedly gets certain words wrong, make sure you use the Correction dialog box so that NaturallySpeaking learns about its errors. (Say, “Correct That” after NaturallySpeaking errs.) If you just select the erroneous text and dictate over it, NaturallySpeaking will never learn.
Few things are more frustrating than to select the most important line in your document and say, “Italicize That” only to watch the whole line disappear and be replaced with the words italicize that. (A quick “Undo That” or two usually gets back what you lost.)
This kind of problem can happen for a number of reasons. Here are some things to check or try:
The most common reason Full Text Control doesn’t work is that the application you’re dictating into isn’t a Full Text Control application. To easily determine if it is, look at the DragonBar on the right side where you see the circle. If the circle is green, you are in a Full Text Control application. If the circle is light gray, you aren’t.
Some days, you find your documents littered with little words like in or to or and. You are sure you didn’t say them. Your NaturallySpeaking assistant just seems to have an overactive imagination today.
These extra little words come from two places. The most likely explanation is that your microphone is positioned badly. If the mic sits in front of your mouth rather than to the side, your words are being punctuated by little bursts of air. Those puffs hit the microphone and make a short, sharp noise that NaturallySpeaking interprets as a short word. It’s also possible that the breath coming out of your nostrils is blowing across the microphone. In either case, move the mic farther to the side of your mouth.
The second possibility is that you are trying too hard to enunciate consonants. For example, maybe you had trouble a few lines ago getting NaturallySpeaking to recognize your “Format” command. It heard formal, form, for Matt, or some other phrase that wasn’t “Format.” Then the next time you needed to format something, you tried too hard to make NaturallySpeaking hear the t at the end. And NaturallySpeaking did hear it — a little too well — and so it typed format to. The only solution here is to relax; go back to speaking the way you naturally speak. (That’s why they call it NaturallySpeaking, you know.)
You dictate something to NaturallySpeaking, and then you wait. How long is it going to take to figure out what you said? Did it even hear you? Should you repeat? Finally, the words show up.
You can deal with slow response time in the following ways:
When you say, “Click” and nothing happens, the likely problem is that your Use Menus That Are Compatible with Screen Readers check box is not selected. To check it:
There’s no point in telling you how to access this by voice, because that’s exactly what isn’t working!
If the Natural Language Commands I describe in Chapter 8 don’t work, the two most likely possibilities are
When all else fails, Dragon’s integration for the application may not be working. Close the application completely and close Dragon NaturallySpeaking completely. Reopening both should reconnect your assistant and the application.
Often, particularly in Word, “Undo That” doesn’t fully undo (an underdone undo?). It partially undoes. For example, suppose you highlight some text and speak the command “Format That Arial 14,” but instead of NaturallySpeaking changing the format, it types Format that aerial for teens over your selected text. Not what you had in mind. So you say, “Undo That” and NaturallySpeaking removes the offending text, but your intended original text is still missing!
In that event, you need to repeat the “Undo That” command. Many NaturallySpeaking actions are actually made up of several Word actions, and “Undo That” only undoes one Word action at a time.
You say, “Start Internet Explorer” or “Start Microsoft Word” or “Start Quicken” and nothing happens. What’s the deal?
The “Start” command will start any application that is installed on your machine and has either
The catch, however, is that you have to say the name exactly as it appears on the shortcut or menu entry. So if the entry on the Programs menu is Microsoft Word 2010, then you need to say “Start Microsoft Word Twenty Ten.”
If the name on the icon or menu entry is too much of a mouthful to be worth pronouncing, or if you can never remember exactly what it says, rename it. Rename a desktop icon by right-clicking it and choosing Rename. You can do the same thing to the Programs menu entries, but you have to find them first. They live in the folder C:WindowsStart Menu.
Another possibility is that you have too many programs on the Start list or on your desktop so the one you want to use can’t open. NaturallySpeaking tracks up to 500 menu and desktop items. If you are beyond that number, you will have a problem opening a program. Cleaning up the list can solve that problem.
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