What to expect from Dragon speech recognition software
Dragon for Windows or Dragon for Mac?
Dragon is available for Windows only. Dragon for Mac has been discontinued.
Reasons to use Dragon
- enhance your productivity — most people can dictate faster than they can type;
- you might prefer, or find it easier to talk rather than type;
- operate a computer more effectively if you have a health condition or disability that limits your ability to use the keyboard and mouse;
- Dragon can make writing easier for those with dyslexia.
What you will be able to do by voice
In the Microsoft Office suite you can:
Dragon can perform a range of navigation tasks by voice, including opening applications and Windows Explorer folders, and switching between them.
- Dictate text and punctuation in Word, Outlook & Excel
- Use commands to format text, and to navigate around the document
- Use commands for common actions such as "Save document", "Send message".
- Keystrokes can be verbalised, e.g. "Press control P"
- Mouse clicks can be performed by voice, by saying "Mouse click", "Mouse double-click", "Mouse right click".
- While it is possible to position the mouse pointer by voice, this can be a rather slow process.
- Dragon's functionality will vary between web browsers (use Internet Explorer for best results) and websites, depending on how they have been developed and whether they conform with accessibility guidelines.
- Ensure that the Dragon extension/add-in for your web browser is loaded.
Dragon can perform a range of navigation tasks by voice, including opening applications and Windows Explorer folders, and switching between them.
What proportion of my computing tasks will I be able to do by voice?
People use Dragon for different reasons, and at different levels of functionality.
Some users are happy to dictate text only, and to do other computer tasks including punctuation, formatting, commands etc by hand. Others, particularly those with a health condition, overuse injury or a disability which limits use of the keyboard and mouse, will often want to do as much as possible by voice. You are free to aim for the mix of working by hand and voice to suit your needs.
It’s important to understand that it is not possible to do all computing task by voice. How much you will be able to do by voice, and the speed with which you can operate your computer by voice will depend on:
Relative productivity when working by voice compared to using the keyboard and mouse will depend on the factors outlined above, and also:
Although it is generally possible to do at least some tasks by voice in any Windows-based application, Dragon is not specifically designed to work in all applications. It works best in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook and Internet Explorer. Outside these applications, Dragon's functionality is more limited.
However, if you have the Professional edition, Dragon's functionality can be enhanced in all applications— including those it is not specifically designed to work in — by creating custom commands (macros).
As a general rule, Dragon works best in applications that have a high degree of keyboard accessibility. This is because keystrokes can be verbalised, for example "Press control N", "Press Alt H". Dragon's functionality is more limited in applications that are very mouse driven. That is, where a high proportion of the tasks can only be done by mouse and not by keyboard.
Some users are happy to dictate text only, and to do other computer tasks including punctuation, formatting, commands etc by hand. Others, particularly those with a health condition, overuse injury or a disability which limits use of the keyboard and mouse, will often want to do as much as possible by voice. You are free to aim for the mix of working by hand and voice to suit your needs.
It’s important to understand that it is not possible to do all computing task by voice. How much you will be able to do by voice, and the speed with which you can operate your computer by voice will depend on:
- your level of experience with the software and how familiar it is with your vocabulary and writing style;
- the extent you to which you have customised Dragon’s vocabulary and created custom commands, to suit your needs;
- your level of motivation and patience, including how much time you have to do the task;
- the nature of the task, e.g. transcribing or composing, dictating or navigating; and how familiar you are with that task;
- the application you are using, and whether it is one that Dragon supports.
Relative productivity when working by voice compared to using the keyboard and mouse will depend on the factors outlined above, and also:
- What typing speed and accuracy is being compared;
- What proportion of tasks you are doing by voice. People with serious health conditions or disabilities will generally want to work as much as possible by voice. However, the most efficient strategy would be to use voice for those tasks that can be done quickly by voice, and to do the rest by hand.
- Having a reasonably high-spec computer with a fast processor and plenty of RAM will increase Dragon's speed and accuracy. Once trained, most users are happy with the speed at which they can work by voice, providing there are no technical problems and recognition accuracy is high (95%+).
Although it is generally possible to do at least some tasks by voice in any Windows-based application, Dragon is not specifically designed to work in all applications. It works best in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook and Internet Explorer. Outside these applications, Dragon's functionality is more limited.
However, if you have the Professional edition, Dragon's functionality can be enhanced in all applications— including those it is not specifically designed to work in — by creating custom commands (macros).
As a general rule, Dragon works best in applications that have a high degree of keyboard accessibility. This is because keystrokes can be verbalised, for example "Press control N", "Press Alt H". Dragon's functionality is more limited in applications that are very mouse driven. That is, where a high proportion of the tasks can only be done by mouse and not by keyboard.
What level of recognition accuracy can I expect?
If Dragon is familiar with your speech and vocabulary, if your speaking voice is clear and background noise levels are not high, you can expect a recognition accuracy level of at least 95%. That is, for every 100 words or so that you dictate, Dragon should not misrecognise more than five words.
To optimise recognition accuracy it is important to:
If Dragon is familiar with your speech and vocabulary, if your speaking voice is clear and background noise levels are not high, you can expect a recognition accuracy level of at least 95%. That is, for every 100 words or so that you dictate, Dragon should not misrecognise more than five words.
To optimise recognition accuracy it is important to:
- use a high-quality noise-cancelling USB headset microphone. You will get best results with a corded microphone rather than wireless.
- speak very clearly, like a newsreader, rather than using a conversational speaking style
- customise Dragon by correcting recognition errors and adding words and phrases to the vocabulary on an ongoing basis.
Important information on what Dragon can't do
Microsoft Office 365
Dragon does not support the cloud only version of Microsoft Office 365. The desktop version is required for compatibility with Dragon.
Microsoft office 2019
Dragon Professional Individual — version 15.3 is required for compatibility with Microsoft Office 2019.
Microsoft office 2016
Versions of Dragon earlier than 15 do not support Microsoft Office 2016.
Facebook
Dragon does not work well in Facebook, although it is possible to say "Show dictation box", and dictate your text there.
Web based email
Dragon might not work reliably in on-line email systems such as Gmail, Hotmail and Outlook (ie the Outlook which is the free email system which has replaced Hotmail, not to be confused with Microsoft Outlook). For best results use Microsoft Outlook for emails. You can 'feed' your Gmail, Hotmail etc email into Microsoft Outlook, and receive and send your emails from there.
Citrix/thin client
Dragon Group is required for Citrix, Dragon professional individual does not support Citrix.
Hands free computing is not realistic
You won't be able to operate your computer entirely by voice. It is unrealistic to speak of 'hands-free' use, certainly when work involves using several applications and complex computing tasks. A greater degree of 'hands-free' use can be achieved when computing tasks are relatively simple, for instance dictating standard letters using a limited vocabulary.
See the Feature Comparison Matrix for more information on Dragon's functionality in different applications.
Dragon does not support the cloud only version of Microsoft Office 365. The desktop version is required for compatibility with Dragon.
Microsoft office 2019
Dragon Professional Individual — version 15.3 is required for compatibility with Microsoft Office 2019.
Microsoft office 2016
Versions of Dragon earlier than 15 do not support Microsoft Office 2016.
Dragon does not work well in Facebook, although it is possible to say "Show dictation box", and dictate your text there.
Web based email
Dragon might not work reliably in on-line email systems such as Gmail, Hotmail and Outlook (ie the Outlook which is the free email system which has replaced Hotmail, not to be confused with Microsoft Outlook). For best results use Microsoft Outlook for emails. You can 'feed' your Gmail, Hotmail etc email into Microsoft Outlook, and receive and send your emails from there.
Citrix/thin client
Dragon Group is required for Citrix, Dragon professional individual does not support Citrix.
Hands free computing is not realistic
You won't be able to operate your computer entirely by voice. It is unrealistic to speak of 'hands-free' use, certainly when work involves using several applications and complex computing tasks. A greater degree of 'hands-free' use can be achieved when computing tasks are relatively simple, for instance dictating standard letters using a limited vocabulary.
See the Feature Comparison Matrix for more information on Dragon's functionality in different applications.