look, mum, no hands!

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.

1Category: Native Dragon features15

Native Dragon method

1. Navigate to the miscellaneous tab under Dragon Bar > Tools > Options
2. 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

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

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


2. Restart your computer


3. 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.    

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.

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

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

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


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


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


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


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


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


7. Try out your brand-new voice commands!


8. 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:

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


2. Say these commands in order:
"context menu"
"runs the command"
"new keystroke"
"shift"
"plus-sign"
"spell f one zero"
The command should read context menu = {shift + F10 } ;

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


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

Too easy! Now I'll go through the process of writing macros which perform more than one action in part 3.

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

Category: Natlink/Vocola for beginners

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

1. 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.)
   
2. Open the three installer files and follow the prompts, accepting all defaults.
3. 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

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 install Natlink/Vocola