look, mum, no hands!

Quick access to the task manager

2006-11-27T16:07:00.000-08:00

Category: Navigating Windows XP

Just created a desktop shortcut to the task manager -- bringing up the task manager has been another thing that I find time-consuming to do by voice.

The task manager lives in the following file path in Windows XP:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\taskmgr.exe

Create a desktop shortcut by right clicking on the taskmgr.exe file and selecting Send to > Desktop (create shortcut).

Issues with default Windows/Office settings

2006-11-22T16:38:00.000-08:00

Category: Navigating Windows XP

I found that these default Windows/Office settings get in the way of using Dragon smoothly:

"Condensed" menus in Office programs
When I say "File" in Microsoft Word, it's much easier if i can see all of the options on the file menu straight away.
The fix: follow these instructions.

Long start menu shortcut names in Office 2003
I find I am not able to say "start Microsoft Word". Instead, I have to say "start Microsoft Office Word 2003".
The fix: navigate to the start menu shortcuts for office 2003 programs. On my computer, this is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Microsoft Office. Rename each program shortcut to a short, unique name you'll remember. I renamed mine as "Word", "Excel", etc.

The ever-growing and shrinking system tray on the lower right
Perhaps this is just a personal preference, but I wanted to show all taskbar icons at all times (see step 17 of this article for instructions). Then I could easily access ones I did use, and delete unwanted icons. Doing so reduces the number of programs that launch on start-up. Or rather, reducing the list of start-up programs reduces the number of icons in the system tray.

By default Windows Explorer shows files and folders in tile view, and does not show hidden files
I like to view files as a list and view hidden files by default.

By default .rtf files created in Dragon pad will open in Word
The fix: it doesn't seem possible to associate the .rtf file type with Dragon pad. But one compromise is to select a .RTF file and associate it with WordPad.

Although not strictly a Windows setting, while doing the above I found it useful to create a Vocola command for inserting curly quotes, with thanks to the authors of this forum post.

Setting up RoboForm with Dragon

2006-11-20T23:15:00.000-08:00

1Category: Free & easy tools

11One of the things my to-do list was to get RoboForm up and running on my new laptop. Can't believe I waited so long! It really is such a timesaver for filling in text fields on websites.

RoboForm works in Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and a couple of other browsers.

To configure RoboForm:

Follow the installation and set up instructions on the RoboForm site.
If all works well, it will prompt you to create a profile and ask to save information whenever you fill out Web forms.

You'll also need to:

create a voice command for clicking on the [Passcards] button (fills in site-specific saved information)
create a voice command for clicking on the [your name] button (fills in generic information based on your RoboForm profile).

To create Vocola commands

Open the browser/s you commonly use.
Say "edit voice commands".
Copy and paste the below commands into your command file.

Fill this in = SetMousePosition ( 1, 333, 119 ) ButtonClick(1,1) SetMousePosition ( 1, 333, 129) ButtonClick(1,1);
Generic fill in = SetMousePosition ( 1, 448, 119) ButtonClick(1,1) SetMousePosition ( 1, 448, 129) ButtonClick(1,1);

Note: The above mouse coordinates work for Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox on my computer. You may have to adjust these.

Happy surfing!

DNS9 and Natlink/Vocola troubleshooting

2006-11-20T01:58:00.000-08:00

1Category: Natlink/Vocola for beginners34

DNS 9 has fantastic accuracy. And the new Vocola installer worked like a charm. But both DNS 9 and Vocola have required a few "adjustments".

I, and other users, have experienced the below issues.

Problem	Solution
DNS 9 freezes in noisy environments	Install patch35 from Nuance website
Apparently the new NatLink/Vocola installer does not install over the old installation.	Uninstall existing NatLink/Vocola installation before using the new installer.
Some macros won't work.	Increase or insert additional "Wait" times. I now usually insert Wait(200) by default whenever a menu pops up/down or screen updates.
Apparently recursive grammars cause issues.	See this forum post36 for details.

If anyone would like to add to the above, please let me know.

I'm back :-)

2006-11-20T01:53:00.000-08:00

My apologies for the lack of recent postings!

My priorities have been with other projects but there's lots more I want to achieve with this site.

At the very least, I have sorely missed not having an excuse to keep furthering my SR knowledge and there's a very large list of things I'm looking forward to trying out.

So please stay tuned to this space :-)

Using Dragon in "unsupported" applications

2006-08-04T01:22:00.000-07:00

Categories: Other discoveries, Native Dragon features

Here are some great tools/techniques to use in non-Select-and-Say applications.

Note: Select-and-Say applications are programs where you are able to dictate freely, and select phrases on command.  Non-Select-and-Say applications are programs where it is much more difficult to dictate and select text, i.e. many of the applications not listed in the Dragon compatibility charts.

Enable That for editing formatted text
Enable That is a great add-on that works with all editions of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 5-8.  Works best with the Professional edition, but I have tested it in Standard and was able to use it to edit text.  I mainly work in Microsoft Publisher, and found that Enable That was able to edit text without any issues, but I lost my pictures.  From what I hear, it will possibly become redundant with the improved dictation box in Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9?  Great if you work mainly with text and seems to have loads of features.

Dictation Box for dictating long phrases
The dictation box is a standard feature of Dragon NaturallySpeaking.  To use the dictation box:

Move the cursor to the point where you want to insert your text

Say "show dictation box"

Dictate the required text

Say "okay"

Your text will be inserted into the document.
The dictation box is great for inserting long sentences or paragraphs.  Commands using the Vocola variable <_anything> is quicker for dictating short phrases.

Edit All for editing plain text
"Edit All" is a native Dragon command that grabs plain text from a window and displays it in the dictation box where you can use standard editing command before reinserting the edited text into the original window.

Vocola commands using <_anything> for quickly dictating short phrases
I found this tip on the speech wiki web site.  Very simple, but very effective.
If you create a Vocola command using the special variable <_anything> (which I believe is unique to Vocola..?) to capture your dictation, you can get great accuracy in non-Select-and-Say applications.

My command looks like this:
Dump <_anything> = $1

So to dictate a single word or a short phrase, I will say "dump <the phrase>”.

Commands for editing text on-the-fly
The biggest frustration with using non-Select-and-Say applications is editing while you work.  Commands like "select next four words" and "delete line" become extra useful in non-Select-and-Say areas.

Because I tend to work mostly in columns of text in Publisher, I like to be able to select groups of words on the same line.  For example, I might edit a line like this:

Contact the Directorate of Social Services for more help.

Let’s say I wanted to change "more help" to “further assistance”.  I would then want to select those two words and then dictate over them.  There are many ways to do this, but I like selecting the words by number.  In this example, I would select words 7 and 8.

I use the following Vocola command to select a specified number of words from a given word:
Select 1..10 from 1..10 = {home} Repeat($2, {Ctrl+right}) {ctrl+left} Repeat($1, {shift+Ctrl+right}) ;

So in the above example, to select words 7 and 8, I would select two words from the start of word 7 by putting the cursor anywhere within the line say "select two from seven".

Other commands which I find quite useful are:
Repeat select up
Repeat select down
Repeat select left
Repeat select right
(all of these use the Natlink repeat keystrokes script)
Select 1..20 previous words / lines
Select 1..20 next words words / lines
(found in Speech wiki’s general editing command collection)

Shortcuts for working with files and folders

2006-07-05T03:45:00.000-07:00

1Category: Other discoveries

This is the easiest method for accessing files and folders by voice I've come across so far:

http://speechwiki.com/SR/OpenAnyDocument.html12.

Copying from a web page by voice in Mozilla Firefox

2006-07-03T01:55:00.000-07:00

11Category: Other discoveries

Here’s how to copy content from a web page without using the mouse.

To do this, you'll need to have the following command either in your global voice command file or in your Firefox voice command file:

Select 1..20 More Words = Repeat($1, "{Ctrl+Shift+Right}");

The procedure is as follows:

1. Say “slash x”, where x is the first word of the passage you want to copy.

The word will be highlighted.

2. Say “select y more words”, where y is the number of words/items in the rest of the passage.

The rest of the passage will be highlighted.

3. Say "copy that".

The passage will be copied to the clipboard!

Get updates on Vocola macros

2006-05-13T17:56:00.000-07:00

Category: Natlink/Vocola for beginners

When browsing around on Speechwiki the other week, I found that there is a facility to receive e-mail updates of all changes/additions to their collection of Vocola macros.

So far, I've received about one or two updates per week.

Sign up for Vocola macro updates by following the instructions on this page:

http://speechwiki.org/SR/MacrosNewsletter.html

Moving towards hands-free computing

2006-05-04T21:10:00.000-07:00

Categories: Navigating Windows XP, Navigating applications, Natlink/Vocola for beginners

Life would be much easier if you could say the name of any element of any Windows program and have it respond accordingly!  While the former is not yet possible, it is possible to move towards hands-free computing through the use of dictated keyboard shortcuts.

One type of keyboard shortcut is an assigned keyboard shortcut for a given element.  An example of this is Ctrl + S for saving a file.  You can often find a list of these by going to your application's Help menu (index tab) and doing a search for "keyboard shortcuts", "keys", "shortcut keys", or "function keys".  Another way of finding lists of keyboard shortcuts is to do a google search.

The other type of keyboard shortcut is a general shortcut for working with a type of element.  These help you to navigate Windows applications when you can't call the name of the window elements or toggle them through a specific keyboard shortcut.  Some of these general shortcuts may not work for all applications, but they should all work with Microsoft applications.

These apply no matter which voice recognition software you use (as long as you can “press” keys by voice) or which macro software you use (if any).  For users who are interested, I have written some tips for automating actions through macros at the bottom of this post.

Navigating to an area of an application window
You have an application up and running and want to move the focus to a different section
To move the focus to the next area of an application window, use the F6 key.
To move the focus to the previous area of an application window, use Shift + F6.
(Example: moving between the left and right hand sides of Windows Explorer, or moving between the task pane, main window, and toolbars in Microsoft Word.)

Navigating to a specific text box, listbox, radio button, etc
The focus is in the right section, but you want to select a specific element in the section
To move the focus to a specific element in the current area, use the Arrow keys.
OR
To move the focus to the next element in the current area, use the Tab key.
To move the focus to the previous element in the current area, use Shift + Tab.
If the label next to the element has an underlined letter, use Alt + the underlined letter.
To move the focus to the first element in the current area, use the Home key.
To move the focus to the last element in the current area, use the End key.

Working with text boxes
The focus is on the text box, but you want to be able to enter text into the text box
To insert the cursor in a selected text box, use the F2 key.  (Example: inserting the cursor in a Publisher text box.)
To remove the cursor from a selected text box, use the F2 or Escape keys.
To select the contents of a text box, use Ctrl + A.

Working with list boxes
The focus is on a list box, but you want to expand it or return it to normal view
To expand a selected list box, use the F4 key (most Windows list boxes) or the down arrow key (special “list boxes” like the Word font colour icon).
To return a selected list box to default view, use the F4 key (most Windows list boxes) or the Escape key (special “list boxes” like the Word font colour icon).

The list box is expanded, but you want to select an item in the listbox
To move the focus along items in a list box, use the up and down arrow keys.
To move the focus to the first item in a list box, use the Home key.
To move the focus to the last item in a list box, use the End key.
It is sometimes possible to move the focus to a word in a list box by using the key corresponding to the first character of that word.
To select an item in a listbox, use the Enter key.

Working with radio buttons
To select/un-select a radio button that has the current focus, use the Enter key.

Working with folders
To expand and contract selected folders, use the right and left arrow keys or the Enter key.

Working with menus and dialog boxes
To expand a menu, say the name of the menu or use the Alt and underlined keys.  For example, to expand the bookmark menu in Firefox, say “bookmarks” or use Alt + B.
To select a menu or dialogue box item, use the underlined key.  For example, to select the Width attribute of the Microsoft Publisher Format Picture dialog box, use the “w” key .

Automating commands with macros
If you use Dragon Naturally Speaking, there are a few different tools at your disposal for automating the above kinds of actions in applications.

Dragon Professional has macro recording and scripting capability and Preferred allows you to create shortcuts.  There are also a wide range of tools that are used with all editions of Dragon, from the all-purpose Macro Express to the Dragon add-ons KnowBrainer and Vocola.

Here are some tips for automating commands by putting together a series of key strokes, no matter what tool you use with your speech recognition software.

This is a tip for impatient people like me: read up on how your tool works before you go crazy writing macros. It's often helpful to read other people's experiences on forums like speechcomputing.com, voicerecognition.com and knowbrainer.com.

Don't reinvent the wheel if you can help it. I find the Vocola macro repository at http://speechwiki.com/NL/VocolaMacros.html to be very helpful.

The process that works best for me with writing macros is to try out the action first using only dictated keystrokes. Then, I perform the action again and write down the keystrokes as I go. Finally, I put it all into a macro. This usually ensures I don't miss something!

Focus is an important issue. A command may work when the focus is on one part of the screen but not another. One way of troubleshooting this is to start the macro by shifting focus to a neutral area. For example, say you wanted to write a macro to work with folders or files on the right-hand side of Windows Explorer. There are three sections of Windows Explorer: the left pane, the right pane, and the address bar. You can switch through the different sections clockwise by using the F6 key, or anticlockwise by using Shift + F6. However, in this example, you want to make sure that you will always end up on the right pane. As it turns out, there is a keyboard shortcut for shifting the focus to the address bar (Alt + D). So, we can move the focus to the address bar with Alt + D, and then use F6 twice to ensure that the focus will be on the right pane, no matter which area we start from.

If you have any questions about the above, I'm happy to be of any assistance that I can.

Vocola troubleshooting

2006-04-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

Category: Natlink/Vocola for beginners

Some users have had issues with their Vocola files not loading properly and macros not being recognised.

The following post contains a tip to ensure that your user files always load:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VoiceCoder/message/4107

Comparison of different e-mail programs and sites

2006-04-22T17:49:00.000-07:00

Category: Navigating applications

I've experimented with a few different e-mail programs and sites over the past few months -- here's what I've found...

Hotmail
Very yucky to use with Dragon NaturallySpeaking.  There are no keyboard shortcuts and, though you can click on the links, you have to deal with each e-mail one by one which is very tedious.  I've now switched to gmail for Web-based e-mail.

Gmail
You cannot click on the links that you see on the web pages, unless you use gmail in HTML mode (which offers roughly the same functionality as Hotmail).  In fact, if you forget and try to click on links by voice, you will often go to another page.

However, gmail autosaves e-mail drafts, so this is no major drama.  The added functionality of the keyboard shortcuts is fantastic, and well worth adjusting to using the shortcuts rather than the links.

I've uploaded my Vocola macros for using the gmail shortcuts to http://www.speechwiki.org/NL/GmailMacros.html.

One of the nicest things about using gmail is that I don't have to worry about saving e-mails in different folders.  You just archive all the e-mail you want to keep, and search for it if you need to retrieve it.

Mozilla Thunderbird
Thunderbird isn't as Select-and-Say as Outlook, but I really like Rick Mohr’s Vocola macros for the program (posted at http://www.speechwiki.org/NL/ThunderbirdMacros.html).
Needless to say, Thunderbird offers far better security than Outlook and some nice features, but I can see that it could be down to personal preference.

Outlook
If you want to check and store your e-mail on the same PC and want to be able to dictate directly into the e-mail client, Outlook is probably your best choice.

I haven't spent much time playing with my Outlook macros (I use Outlook at work), but there is a good selection of Vocola macros for Outlook 2003 at http://www.speechcomputing.com/node/765.

Speedy Firefox browsing

2006-02-16T17:38:00.000-08:00

11Categories: Free & easy tools, Navigating applications

Two Firefox extensions allow Dragon NaturallySpeaking users to navigate web pages in Firefox by voice: Hit-A-Hint (HaH) and Mouseless Browsing (MB).

Both extensions place numbers near clickable elements. HOWEVER, they do so differently [see forum discussion comparing HaH & MB].

Having used both, I can say that Mouseless Browsing is by far the best way to browse with Firefox for three reasons:

The numbers appear very quickly

The numbers do not obscure page elements

You do not have to refresh the numbers to click on a different element on the same page

I would even argue that Firefox + MB is as fast or faster than Internet Explorer for Dragon users.

I've written the following instructions to save others from reinventing the wheel, so to speak.

Setting up Mouseless Browsing 0.4.1 for use with Dragon NaturallySpeaking

Install Firefox 1.5 if you haven't already done so. Any previous Firefox settings and compatible extensions can be migrated automatically.

Install Mouseless Browsing 0.4.1.

You can set the options for using this extension under Tools menu > Extensions > Mouseless Browsing > Options.
The only option I changed was to enable "use number pad exclusively for Mouseless Browsing".

I initially had difficulty using Mouseless Browsing with voice commands because it relies on navigating links through the number pad. To my knowledge, there is no native Dragon command for 'press [eg] 8 on the number pad'.

However, it is possible (and expedient) to execute this command if we use a macro to automate the process.

The free Dragon macro tool, Vocola, lets us do just this. I wrote a simple Vocola macro for Mouseless Browsing -- posted below -- so that all I have to do is say "click 81" and link #81 will open.

Please feel free to use this command. Firstly, you'll have to install Natlink/Vocola, say "Edit VoiceCommands" from a Firefox window, and paste the following lines into the editor:

<x> := 0..150;
click <x> = {shift+F6}{F6}{NumLock} $1 {enter} ;
#the first two keystrokes remove the focus from any active text boxes

Say "refresh macros" and you're good to go!

For more Firefox navigation shortcuts, please see Browsing the Web by voice with Mozilla Firefox.

Downloading podcasts by voice

2006-01-27T17:03:00.000-08:00

Category: Free & easy tools

I got an MP3 player for my birthday :-) and have since been happily cruising along listening to MP3's and podcasts.

To get podcasts from the Internet and on to my computer, I naturally needed podcatcher software. And I didn't want to have to write a whole new set of macros for software if I didn't have to. It took a little bit of experimentation with different podcatchers, but I am very happy with the result.

Here's what I found:

Most compatible with my DNS 8 setup

Juice (formerly ipodder) -- lovely, easy user interface and works with Dragon very smoothly.

Not at all compatible

iTunes -- couldn't access menu items by voice or keyboard shortcuts

@Podder (feed reader for the visually impaired) -- very surprisingly, I could not execute any of the keyboard shortcuts by voice, no matter what variant of e.g. "press alt delta" I used.

I tried a few other podcatchers of varying compatibility but none were as easy to use as Juice.

I have it set up to automatically check for and download my favourite podcasts and then I use Windows Media Player (version 9) to sync up with my MP3 player.

Desktop search + Dragon = Quick file navigation

2006-01-12T20:17:00.000-08:00

1Category: Free & easy tools

I first heard about desktop search programs on the technology show, Call for Help. They seemed to have great potential for speeding up file search and file navigation for Dragon users and non-Dragon users alike.

So, I trialled Google Desktop Search and Yahoo! Desktop Search. I chose to keep the Google program because it was the easiest to set up, seems to have the most features, and displays its results as a web page (making it very easy to operate using Dragon NaturallySpeaking).

Why I wanted to use a desktop search program

I want to easily access files on my computer without navigating folders in Windows Explorer.

I was interested in features like the ability to search the contents of documents, including e-mails.

The advantages of Google Desktop Search

Nice, simple interface. Say "start Google Desktop Search" and you will see something that looks like the Google homepage.

The cursor automatically appears in the search bar.

Not only does it search files and e-mails, but also recently browsed (cached) web pages. I love this feature.

It navigates like a regular web page. On my system "go to top" and "go to bottom" don't work, but all other relevant commands appear to work well.

Disadvantages of Yahoo!

It looks like dragon users can only navigate menus by voice. I couldn't navigate any of the text boxes or buttons by voice.

The cursor doesn't automatically appear in the search bar.

It is harder to navigate search results.

I didn't install Windows Desktop Search because...

There was a rather involved registration process (even though I already have an MSN passport account).

You must install add-ins for less common file types.

I didn't see anything about being able to search cached web pages. If it had this feature, I might have tried it out. As it is, I'm very happy sticking with Google unless anyone can persuade me otherwise. :-)

Browsing the Web by voice with Mozilla Firefox

2005-12-31T22:08:00.000-08:00

11Category: Navigating applications

I read about using extensions to facilitate speech recognition with Firefox on one of the Dragon forums, but it took a little bit of research and trial and error to set it all up. Now that I am very successfully browsing with Firefox by voice, I thought I'd share the tips I've learned:

Navigating menus
You can just say the name of a menu and then (verbally) press the underlined shortcut keys to select an element in the menu. For example, to select Toolbars on the View menu say "View" and then "press tango"

Navigating bookmarks
Say "bookmarks" to access the menu and then, instead of pressing shortcut keys, you just (verbally) press the first letter of the desired bookmark title.

Navigating links, text boxes & buttons
Use the Mouseless Browsing or Hit-A-Hint extensions. I chose Mouseless Browsing because it is quicker and its display numbers do not obscure page elements. For more detail on using Mouseless browsing, please see Speedy Firefox browsing.

Entering URLs, creating bookmarks, etc
Use the many keyboard shortcuts available.

There is an interesting forum discussion on the pros and cons of Mouse-less browsing versus hit-a-hint.

Others still, find the accessibility options in Opera worthwhile, especially for visually impaired users.

Start Dragon automatically

2005-12-31T19:41:00.000-08:00

1Category: Native Dragon features15

Native Dragon method

Navigate to the miscellaneous tab under Dragon Bar > Tools > Options
Check Launch in QuickStart mode on Windows startup

The method that worked for me
I wasn't able to get the above feature to work, so I started Dragon as a scheduled task on start-up under Windows. The Microsoft site has clear instructions16 and troubleshooting tips17 on running programs as scheduled tasks.

Update: I recently reinstalled Windows on my computer and now scheduled tasks don't work as advertised due to a fault in Service Pack 2. So, after a search of the major speech recognition forums, I found the following, simpler method which works like a charm:
http://forum.knowbrainer.com/read.php?f=2&i=33081&t=33081

See also: Dragon performance tips18 from Speech Wiki

Finally! A command to hold down keys!

2005-12-31T19:19:00.000-08:00

Categories: Natlink/Vocola for beginners, Free & easy tools

The repeat keystroke command has literally changed the way I use Dragon. A kind soul authored and shared a Natlink script to enable Dragon users to hold down keys and combinations of keys continuously by voice.

And, thankfully, you can use it without knowing any scripting languages whatsoever.

Simply do the following:
Install Natlink/Vocola

Download the repeat keys script, unzip the file, and save it in your My Documents\Natlink directory

Restart your computer

Start taking advantage of commands like "repeat left", "repeat delete", "repeat select down", etc

If you want to add even more key combinations, right click on the repeat keystrokes script file, open it in Notepad and follow the instructions for modifying the file. You can do this at any time.

Dragon commands cheat sheet

2005-12-31T18:41:00.000-08:00

Category: Native dragon features

I made these notes on a reread of the manual to try to cram some more of these into my head!

Desktop icons
"Move down 2"
"press shift f10" displays context menu

Selecting text
"select again" selects next instance of search text

Web browsing
"show choices" " drop list" "open list"
"type text"

Keypad and function keys
"press keypad one"
"press function one" cancel

Mouse
"drag mouse down"
"mouse left 10 "

Text/Number Format
"Caps on”
“All caps on”
“All caps Melissa” = MELISSA
"No Caps on"
"set font arial 12 bold" (order is font face, and size, then style)
"restore that" = removes formatting
"set font arial 12 bold in the word/line/paragraph " (order is font face, and size, then style)
"numeral three"
"format that spelled out"
"format that number"
"no space on"
"spell mode on"

Bullet Points/Numbered Lists
"set the paragraph to bulleted/numbered"
"delete bullets from the document"
"unnumber the selection"

Managing Vocabulary
"add new word"
To create a shorthand spoken form of a word or phrase, go to "View or Edit Your Vocabulary" in the Accuracy Centre.

Vocola mini-dictionary

2005-12-31T16:14:00.000-08:00

Category: Natlink/Vocola for beginners

Read Vocola quick-start guide first.

View/edit commands for applications "Edit voice commands"
Say "edit voice commands" to open the voice command list file for the application that you're working in. Say it twice to view the voice commands for Vocola macros.

View/edit global voice commands "Edit global voice commands"
Opens the voice command file for global commands.

Macro syntax say "runs the command" after the macro name
Macro name = ;

{ } "New keystroke"
Allows you to incorporate one or more keyboard keys as part of your macros. You can include letters, numbers, and characters, as well as the following special keys: Esc, F1 to F12, SysReq, PrtSc, ScrollLock, Pause, Break, Tab, Caps Lock, Shift, Alt, Space, BackSpace, Enter, Home, Up, PgUp, Left, Centre, Right, End, Down, PgDn, Ins, Del.

[ ] No voice shortcuts apply
Square brackets make part of a command optionally silent. I use this to provide shortcuts for commands that make more sense when they are a bit longer (and are therefore easier to remember!).

e.g. context [menu] = {shift + F10} ;

You can execute this command by saying either "context" or "context menu".

| “Or”
Use a vertical line to provide a choice of commands for the same action.

e.g. (Switch | Next) View = {Ctrl+Tab};

Raw text
To feed a fixed phrase into a command as if you were typing it, just insert the text at the point where you would type it.

For example, you could open a commonly visited web site in Firefox without dictating the URL each time.

e.g. Open Melissa's blog = {Ctrl+l} www.blogspot.com/mefre/ {enter};

Execute Dragon commands “ Insert HeardWord"
Vocola also understands native Dragon commands. To incorporate Dragon commands into Vocola macros, use the function HeardWord. You must separate each word of the command, as shown below.

e.g. Capitalise first word = HeardWord("go","to","beginning","of","sentence")
HeardWord("select","word")
HeardWord("\Cap","that")
HeardWord("Go","Back") ;

<_anything> and $1 No voice shortcuts apply
Use this special variable if you want to dictate different phrases into a command without defining a variable. One of the most useful commands in my Vocola files uses this variable to perform a Google search for any text that I dictate.

[search] Google for <_anything> = AppBringUp("Firefox") Wait(1000) {Ctrl+k}$1 {enter};

This command opens Mozilla Firefox, pauses, places the cursor inside the Google search bar, inserts the text you have dictated and presses the enter key.

I originally thought that it was okay to put any words inside the angle brackets and wondered why <_filename>, <_webpage>, etc didn't work. Trust me, you have to use <_anything>.

<a> := 1..50 “New list insert”
To improve accuracy, you can predefine a variable's range (and call that variable by a name of your choosing!). In this case, we're saying that <a> can be any number from 1 to 50.

Define the variable, and then write one or more commands using it directly underneath.

e.g. <a> := 1..50 ;
go <a> screens down = {PgDn_$1} ;
go <a> screens up = {PgUp_$1} ;

<b> := (choice one | choice two etc) "New list insert"
Here we’re assigning a list of phrases to the variable instead of a range of numbers. I use this construction in opening my favourite web sites.

e.g.
<Websites> := (hotmail="www.hotmail.com" | forum1="http://www.speechcomputing.com/tracker" |forum2="http://www.voicerecognition.com/board/index.php?s=e12e2cdc1e9a9654026b21e236427b5b&showforum=5" | forum3="http://forum.knowbrainer.com/list.php?f=2"?);

go to <Websites>= {ctrl+l}$1{enter} ;

AppBringUp "Insert AppBringUp"
Start an application with this command. You must provide the name of the application's .exe file. For example, AppBringUp(Internet Explorer) won't do anything. To start Internet Explorer, you'd have to use AppBringUp(iexplore).

Find out the name of the application's .exe file by looking inside the programs folder on your hard disk and the specific program's subfolders.

Wait (eg 100 miliseconds) "Insert wait 100”
Pauses before executing the next command.

SetMousePosition (n, x, y) “Insert SetMousePosition 1..99 by 1..10”
Moves the mouse to a position of your choice.
x = pixels across
y = pixels down
If n is 0, coordinates are relative to the top left of the screen.
If n is 1, coordinates are relative to the top left of the active window.

e.g. SetMousePosition (1, 300, 200)

Other functions
Vocola allows you to use all Dragon macro language functions.

See also:
Rick Mohr's Vocola language tutorial
Vocola macros for Vocola macros

Vocola quick-start guide

2005-12-17T20:32:00.000-08:00

1Category: Natlink/Vocola for beginners

This quick-start guide is intended to supplement Rick Mohr's excellent Vocola tutorials. After installing Natlink/Vocola I recommend doing the below simply to save time in getting Vocola up and running.

PART ONE: COPY & PASTE EXISTING MACROS

Navigate to this collection of Vocola macros: http://speechwiki.org/NL/VocolaMacros.html

Choose application-specific commands (e.g. Adobe Reader commands) that look useful to you.

Copy one set of commands from the web site to the clipboard.

Start the application (e.g. Adobe Reader) and say "edit voice commands".

A text window should come up -- paste your copied commands into the window, underneath the header.

Say "refresh macros" to save your new voice commands and refresh the microphone, preventing Dragon from crashing

Try out your brand-new voice commands!

Once you're comfortable with the process, go ahead and import any other macros from Speech Wiki's Vocola macro list that you thought looked useful. Don't worry about importing Vocola macros for Vocola macros -- they're already there.

To import any global macros, say "edit global voice commands" to access that file.

If you are inclined to write your own macros, go on to part two.

PART TWO: WRITE A SIMPLE MACRO
One macro I use a lot is a command to bring up a context menu, the kind of menu you see when you right click the mouse, or press Shift + F10.

The Vocola macro looks like this: context menu = {shift + F10} ;
The left half is the voice command, the right half represents the keyboard shortcut.

Write this macro by voice
The beauty of Vocola is that you can dictate parts of the macro by voice. Here's how:

Say "edit global voice commands". Insert the cursor onto a blank line.

Say these commands in order:

context menu = {shift + F10 } ;

Say "refresh macros" to save the macro and prevent Dragon from crashing.

Try bringing up a context menus in an application or on the desktop.

PART 3: WRITE A LONGER MACRO
After creating a document in most Windows applications, you can use this command to save your new documents in a fixed location (for easy access, I save my documents on the desktop).

Save file as <_anything> = {Ctrl + s} Wait(1000) "C:\Documents and Settings\Mel\Desktop\"$1 {enter} ;

DECIPHERING THE PARTS OF THIS MACRO

Save file as <_anything> These are the words you say to execute the macro. <_anything> represents the name you would like to give the file. For example, if I create a new word document and say "save file as lists", the file will be saved as lists.doc.

{Ctrl + s} These keystrokes bring up the 'save as' dialog box.

Wait(1000) "C:\Documents and Settings\Mel\Desktop\" Pauses and then pastes the fixed file path you have chosen.

$1 Represents the file name you dictated.

{enter} Equivalent to clicking OK on the 'save as' dialog box

; You must end each macro with a semicolon.

Here are the voice commands I used to write the macro:
"save file as"
"new list"
"press underscore" "anything" "press right"
"new keystroke"
"spell c...t...r...l" "plus-sign" "press sierra"
"insert wait one thousand"
"open quotes dictate or paste the file path where you want to save files here close quotes"
"dollar one"
"new keystroke" "enter"

Don't forget to say "refresh macros" after you have entered your macro.

But wait there's more...
If you're able to dictate this command, you're able to automate any task requiring key combinations and text input. Vocola macros can also include mouse actions and Dragon commands.

I've drawn up a Vocola mini-dictionary39 describing the main Vocola commands and when you'd use them.

See also: Scott Weinstein's overview of Vocola40

How to install Natlink/Vocola

2005-12-17T17:10:00.000-08:00

Category: Natlink/Vocola for beginners

All that the end user needs to do to use this powerful tool is:

Download three files: Microsoft.net installer, Active Python 2.3.4 installer, and Natlink/Vocola installer for Dragon 8 OR Natlink/Vocola installer for Dragon 9.
(See speechwiki.org for previous instalation files.)
Open the three installer files and follow the prompts, accepting all defaults.
Reboot the computer.

You're now ready to import macros written by other users & dictate macros of your own!

See next: Vocola quick-start guide

Why install Natlink/Vocola

2005-12-17T16:38:00.000-08:00

Category: Natlink/Vocola for beginners

Vocola and Natlink are developed and maintained as free, open source software by generous souls who wanted to extend the capabilities of Dragon.When used in conjunction, Vocola/Natlink allows non-programmers such as myself to dictate macros by voice and import macros and scripts written by other people.
So far, I have dictated Vocola/Natlink macros to take care of the following:

combinations of mouse actions

combinations of key presses

combinations of Dragon commands

combinations of all of the above!

This allows me to use applications that aren't compatible with Dragon and automate common tasks without having to purchase the Preferred or Professional editions.

Apparently Vocola happily coexists with DNS commands and macros, and users of the higher editions have found it useful to be able to:import the Vocola macros which are around, saving them from having to reinvent the wheel

Speech wiki has an excellent comparison of Natlink and Dragon Professional at this URL: http://speechwiki.org/NL/NatLinkVocolaDNSComparison.html.

Next: How to i nstall Natlink/Vocola