Getting started with speech recognition

This feature is available in the Simplified Chinese, English (U.S.), and Japanese language versions of Microsoft Office.

To get started, do the following:

Verify speech recognition system requirements

To use speech recognition, you need the following:

See the Microsoft Office Web site for more information about operating system specific requirements or microphone information.

Note   The hyperlink in this topic goes to the Web. You can switch back to Help at any time.

Position the speech recognition microphone

A high quality close-talk (headset) universal serial bus (USB) microphone with gain adjustment support is recommended.

Position the microphone so that:

Note   If you inadvertently move the microphone as you speak, remember to bring it back to the correct position.

Install and train speech recognition

Speech recognition is installed in all Office programs by initially using the feature in Microsoft Word or by doing a custom installation.

After speech recognition is installed, you can increase speech recognition accuracy by taking a few minutes to train the computer to recognize how you speak.

Install and train by using Word

  1. Open Microsoft Word.
  2. On the Tools menu, click Speech.

    You're asked if you want to install the feature. Click Yes.

  3. After the installation is complete, click Next to train speech recognition.

    Training begins with help in adjusting your microphone.

Custom installation and training

  1. On the Microsoft Windows Start menu, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
  2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
  3. Click Change or Remove Programs, select Microsoft Office XP, and then click Change.
  4. Click Add or Remove Features, and then click Next.
  5. Under Features to install, next to Office Shared Features, click Plus box.
  6. Next to Alternative User Input, click Plus box, click Speech, and then select the type of installation you want.
  7. Click Update.

After the custom installation is completed, you can train speech recognition.

  1. In most Office programs, click Speech on the Tools menu.

    Note   In Microsoft Excel, point to Speech on the Tools menu, and then click Speech Recognition.

  2. To train speech recognition, click Next.

    Training begins with help in adjusting your microphone.

Note   If you do not train at this point, you can train by clicking Speech Tools on the Language bar, and then clicking Training.

Learn about how to speak to a computer

When speaking to others, you're usually understood whether you whisper or shout, or talk fast or slow. However, a computer understands speech best when spoken to in a more predictable way.

Because we don't usually need to think about how to speak, it can seem a little awkward at first to speak to a computer. However, with a little practice, speaking to a computer will become more natural.

Speech recognition tips

Practice using speech recognition

You can use speech recognition by clicking buttons on the Language bar to switch between two modes — Dictation and Voice Command. The Language bar appears by default in the upper-right corner of the screen of any Office programs.

Language bar

1  Language bar with text labels hidden

Note   The Language bar shows text labels beside each button on the bar. You can hide or show the text labels by right-clicking the Language bar, and then clicking Text Labels.

You'll switch between Dictation mode and Voice Command mode less often and save time if you complete dictation first, review your file, and then format text or make corrections.

  1. Position your microphone.
  2. Click in the program in which you want to use speech recognition.

    If you open a Help topic while you're working or if a message appears on the screen, click again in the program to continue using speech recognition.

  3. If the microphone is not already turned on, click Microphone on the Language bar.
  4. Switch between Dictation and Voice Command modes as you work:

    Use Dictation mode

    Notes

    Use Voice Command mode

    Note   If Voice Command is not on the Language bar, see the Speech recognition isn't working section on the Troubleshoot speech recognition Help topic.

  5. Turn the microphone off when you are through speaking to the computer by clicking Microphone on the Language bar.

Tips

Learn about things you can do and say with speech recognition

This feature is available in the Simplified Chinese, English (U.S.), and Japanese language versions of Microsoft Office.

When you use Office speech recognition, you'll switch between working in Voice Command mode and Dictation mode by clicking buttons on the Language bar or by saying "voice command" or "dictation."

Language bar

1  Language bar with text labels hidden

Note   The Language bar by default shows text labels beside each button on the bar. You can hide or show the text labels by right-clicking the Language bar, and then clicking Text Labels.

Using Voice Command mode

Note   Using Voice Command mode for dialog box and task pane items is not available in Simplified Chinese and Japanese.

To select menu, toolbar, dialog box, and task pane items by using your voice, if the microphone is not already turned on, click Microphone on the Language bar, and then click Voice Command on the Language bar, or say "voice command."

For example, to change the font in any Office program by using your voice, do the following:

  1. To open the Format menu, say "format."
  2. To open the Font dialog box, say "font."
  3. To change the font from Times New Roman to Verdana, say "verdana."
  4. To close the Font dialog box, say "OK."

Note   You can also change font format without opening the Font dialog box. Say "font" to open the Font box on the Formatting toolbar, and then say a font name.

Other Voice Command mode examples

Do the following to select:

Toolbar buttons

Menu and command items

Dialog box items

Task pane items

To open the New File task pane in Office programs, do the following:

Commands you can say

The following list is a sample of the commands you can say. For more information, see the Microsoft Office Web site.

Navigation examples

The command you can say is shown first, followed by the keyboard or mouse equivalent for the command. For example:
END (command you can say)
Press END (keyboard or mouse equivalent)
Return
Enter
Press ENTER
Backspace
Delete
Press BACKSPACE
Back one word
Last word
Press CTRL+LEFT ARROW
Space
Space Bar
Press the SPACEBAR
Escape
Cancel (U.S. English only) 
Press ESC
Right-click
Context menu
Right-click menu
Right-click a menu
(Not available in Japanese language version of Office)
Tab
Press TAB
Shift Tab
Press SHIFT+TAB
End
Go End
Press END
Home
Go Home
Press HOME
Up
Go Up
Press UP ARROW
Down
Go Down
Press DOWN ARROW
Left
Go Left
Press LEFT ARROW
Right
Go Right
Press RIGHT ARROW
Previous Page
Press CTRL+PAGE
Next Page
Press CTRL+PAGE+DOWN ARROW
Page Down
Press PAGE DOWN
Page Up
Press PAGE UP

Using Dictation mode

To dictate text into any Office program, if the microphone is not already turned on click Microphone on the Language bar, and then click Dictation on the Language bar, or say "dictation."

Tips

The following lists tell you how to say some things as you dictate. What you can say is followed by what is inserted. For example:

Period
Dot (what you can say)
. (what is inserted)

Punctuation

Period
Dot
.
Comma
,
Colon
:
Semi-colon
;
Question mark
?
Exclamation point
!

Symbols and special characters

Ampersand
&
Asterisk
*
At sign
At
@
Backslash
\
Slash
/
Vertical bar
|
Hyphen
Dash
-
Double dash
--
Equals
=
Plus
Plus sign
+
Pound sign
#
Percent
Percent sign
%
Dollar sign
$
Underscore
_
Tilde
~
Ellipsis
...
Greater than
>
Less than
<
Caret
^
New line
Enter
New paragraph
Enter twice

Brackets

Bracket
Left bracket
Open bracket
[
End bracket
Right bracket
Close bracket
]
Open brace
Curly brace
Left brace
{
Close brace
End curly brace
Right brace
}
Open parenthesis
Left paren
(
Close parenthesis
Right paren
)

Quotation marks

Quote
Open quote
"
Close quote
"
Single quote
Open single quote
'
Close single quote
'

Numbers

5
five (numbers less than 20 are spelled out when inserted)
21
21 (numbers greater than 20 are inserted as digits)
first
first (ordinal numbers)
one half
1/2 (fractions)
five five five zero one eight seven
555-0187 (telephone numbers)

Tip

To dictate all numbers as digits, say "force num," pause briefly, and then say "5."

Notes