Using the Dictation Box

A screenshot of the Dragon Medical Dication Box

Normally you can dictate and use Dragon Medical voice commands in any text window of any application. However, you may occasionally find an application or a specific window in an application where you cannot dictate and/or where some voice commands won’t work or will not work consistently.

In these situations, you can use a fully supported window, called the Dictation Box. The Dictation Box allows you to dictate and edit text in conjunction with non-standard windows without the difficulties you might otherwise experience.

You can then use the "Transfer Text" voice command (PowerMic or PowerMic II microphone button) to transfer the text to any application that has focused on the computer display.

Note: The Dictation Box works for all applications that can accept standard keyboard shortcuts for Windows Clipboard operations. In some applications that do not accept these commands, your text may be lost or changed when you transfer text in and out of the dictation box. Test your application before you start and, if you lose text when you try to transfer text to the application, try different selections under the Paste options (see The Options dialog box Dictation Box tab).

Note: The Dictation Box is not automatically associated with any particular window. Once you have started the Dictation Box, you can open and use other applications while you continue to dictate into the Dictation Box.

The Dictation Box can transfer text in plain or Rich Text Format (RTF). For more information on using fonts in the Dictation Box, refer to Using Fonts in Dictation Box in the Dragon help files.

Note: You cannot transfer the audio that corresponds to the text from the Dictation Box to another application . The audio is available only while the Dictation Box is open and only before you dictate the "Transfer Text" voice command.

The Select-and-Say Indicator

The Dragon bar includes a Select-and-Say indicator that turns green when you are in an application or window where all of Dragon Medical’s functionality is supported.

When you are in a non-standard window, the Select-and-Say indicator goes out, indicating that you may have some difficulty selecting and editing dictated text. Also, when you start dictating into a non-standard window, the Dragon Bar will display a message saying“Dictating into a non-standard window.”

If you have difficulty in dictating or correcting in one of these non-standard windows, use the Dictation box.

If you are using the Dictation Box in Hidden mode, the Select-and-Say indicator turns yellow.

For more information, see The Select-and-Say Indicator in the Dragon help files.

Dictating into non-standard windows

Place you cursor where you want to the text to ultimately appear.
Start the Dictation Box in one of several ways:
- Say "Show Dictation Box"
- Select Tools > Dictation Box from the Dragon Bar
- By default you can use CTRL + SHIFT + D. We recommend a change to the default hot key-and often use the Pause key. This is set in the Hotkeys portion of Options.
When the Dictation Box displays, you can dictate and edit text inside the Dictation Box using all of Dragon Medical's commands.
Once you have finished dictating and editing the text, place your cursor in the application where you want the text to appear and say "Transfer Text." The text you dictated in the Dictation Box is transferred to the application. The Dictation Box closes.

Hidden Mode

The Dictation Box can operate in Hidden mode. You set the mode by selecting Words > Hidden Mode on the DragonBar.

In Hidden mode, the Dictation Box is active but does not display. While you are dictating in Hidden mode , all dictated text will be added to the Dictation Box regardless of where the cursor is located or which application you are clicking in.

Enabling Hidden Mode

There are three ways to put the Dictation Box in Hidden mode:

Start the Dictation Box (selecting Tools > Dictation Box) and select Words > Hidden Mode from the DragonBar.
Select Always hidden on the The Options dialog box Dictation Box tab. When you subsequently dictate, you are then dictating into the Dictation Box, even though you cannot see it.
Start the Dictation Box (selecting Tools > Dictation Box) and say "Start Hidden mode" or "Hidden mode on."

Using Hidden Mode

For more information on using Hidden mode, see Using Hidden Mode in the Dragon help menus.

Defining how the Dictation Box works

You can define how the Dictation Box operates, including:

Font used in the Dictation Box.
How the text is pasted into the application (such as using keystrokes or menu selections).
Whether or not the Dictation Box is visible when it starts.
Whether or not it displays the number of characters it contains.
Whether or not any text you have not transferred is stored in the Windows clipboard when you close the Dictation Box. [1]

To define how the Dictation Box works, select Tools > Options and then the Dictation Box tab.

[1] We strongly encourage users to enable the "keep transfer text in clipboard when dictation box is closed" function as this can prevent unanticipated loss of data.

Jump to: site navigation | section navigation | page content