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IBM VoiceType Dictation 3.0 Home Edition Read Me! ======================================== Here is the latest information on VoiceType. It includes: - A checklist for easiest installation - Tips for improving your dictation accuracy - Information about sound cards and microphones - Questions and answers - Known problems and limitations Please familiarize yourself with this readme. Check it any time you have a question not covered by the Online Reference or Help, and before calling Technical Support. To print this file, click File, then click Print. You can continue reading while the file is printing. Before you use VoiceType, please read the following sections: ------------------------------------------------------------- 1. IMPORTANT! DO THIS FIRST! Checklist: Please follow these instructions first. In particular, run the Microphone Setup program to set up your microphone. SETTING UP YOUR VOICETYPE MICROPHONE CORRECTLY IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO TO ENHANCE THE USE OF VOICETYPE. 2. Dictation and Enrollment Tips: Read this carefully, especially if this is the first time you have used VoiceType. Before you call Technical Support, please read the following: ------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Sound Cards and VoiceType: Here is additional information about how to set up the VoiceType microphone with your sound card. 4. Questions and Answers: See if your question or problem already has an answer in this section. 5. Known Problems and Limitations Contents -------- 1. IMPORTANT! DO THIS FIRST! Checklist A. Install the VoiceType software B. Set up the VoiceType microphone C. Dictate your first sentence D. Review the "Begin Here" E. Training the system to your voice is normally not required 2. Dictation and Enrollment Tips A. Dictation tips B. Enrollment tips 3. Sound Cards and VoiceType A. Microphone adapters and sound cards B. Microphone Boost C. Squealing speakers when running Microphone Setup 4. Questions and Answers A. Squealing sound from the speakers B. Microphone feedback through the speakers C. Turning off the "Begin Dictating" verbal prompt D. Increasing dictation speed and avoiding audio overruns E. Recognition used to be good, but it has deteriorated F. Batteries in the battery adapter run down fast G. Vocabulary compatibility H. Windows NT I. Reinstalling VoiceType 5. Known Problems and Limitations A. Correct-Error limitations B. Changing User information does not always work C. Accessing IBM VoiceCenter Properties D. Uninstall: close VoiceType applications before uninstalling ================================================================= 1. IMPORTANT! DO THIS FIRST! Checklist ================================================================= For the easiest installation, follow this checklist: A. Install the VoiceType software --------------------------------- B. Set up the VoiceType microphone ---------------------------------- - Close all speech applications. - Click the Windows 95 Start button, then click Programs, IBM VoiceType, Microphone Setup. - Follow the instructions in the Microphone Setup program. C. Dictate your first sentence ------------------------------ - Start VoicePad by clicking the Windows 95 Start button, then Programs, IBM VoiceType, IBM VoicePad. - The first time you start VoicePad, the "Welcome to IBM VoicePad!" window is displayed. Be sure to review the topics "How it works" and "How you do it" before dictating. You can always return to this window by clicking VoicePad Introduction in the Help menu. - Click Begin Dictation in the Dictation menu. Try dictating the following sentence, allowing a brief pause between the words. This (pause) is (pause) how (pause) I (pause) speak (pause) to (pause) my (pause) computer (pause) PERIOD - After you finish dictating, click Stop Dictation in the Dictation menu. The first time you dictate a sentence, VoiceType adjusts to the audio system in your computer. This affects recognition of the very first sentence dictated by any new user. - Dictate the sentence again. This time, VoiceType should recognize your words, if you speak with a native U.S. English accent. If you still experience poor recognition, go back to Section 1B, "Set up the VoiceType microphone," to make sure it is working properly. D. Review the "Begin Here" -------------------------- If you have not already done so, review the "Begin Here" by selecting it from the IBM VoiceType folder. E. Training the system to your voice is normally not required ------------------------------------------------------------- For more information review the Enrollment section of the Online Reference in the IBM VoiceType folder, as well as Section 2B, "Enrollment tips." ================================================================= 2. Dictation and Enrollment Tips ================================================================= A. Dictation tips ----------------- - Learn isolated-word speech. Learn to speak with small pauses between ALL words. Use VoicePad to practice isolated-word speech. Experienced VoiceType users need to pause only about one tenth of a second between words. - Run the Microphone Setup program to set up your microphone correctly. If you suspect that another multimedia application might have changed your microphone settings, simply rerun the Microphone Setup program. - When you dictate, you don't have to look at your dictated text; instead, concentrate on your thoughts. VoiceType preserves your dictated text and related audio and allows you to go back and correct any recognition errors after dictating an entire paragraph or two, or even your entire document. - The system is speaker independent, so you can use VoicePad to dictate without first training it to recognize your voice (enrollment). If you have set up your microphone correctly, and if you have a native U.S. English accent, you should get more than 90% recognition accuracy for words in the VoiceType vocabulary without enrolling. To gauge your true recognition accuracy, dictate a few paragraphs, say, from a business letter, skipping words, such as names, that are not likely to be in the vocabulary. - DO NOT say your words s-l-o-w-l-y. Pronounce them naturally as you would in conversation--just don't forget to pause briefly after every word! Enunciate the words to further increase your accuracy. As you become more proficient in pausing briefly between words, you can increase your speaking rate. Experienced VoiceType users can dictate at more than 100 words per minute. - It is important to speak in a normal tone of voice. If the audio level is low, move the microphone closer to the side of your mouth, or rerun the Microphone Setup program to readjust your microphone settings. - Your microphone position is very important for good recognition accuracy. It must be close (within one inch) to the corner of your mouth, NOT right in front of your mouth, so that you do not breathe into it! - If you have enrolled, use the same microphone and sound card that you used for enrollment when you dictate. Although you can move your speech data to another computer, your accuracy will never be as good as on the system you used to enroll. So if you switch computer, sound card, or microphone, and you want the highest possible recognition accuracy, rerun Microphone Setup and re-enroll and on the new system! - Don't forget that you must say dictation commands and macros such as STOP-DICTATION, BEGIN-DICTATION, and NEW-PARAGRAPH continuously, without pausing between the words in the command! - If you want to interrupt your dictation, for example in order to answer the phone or talk to someone, first stop your dictation by saying "Stop-Dictation" or by clicking Stop Dictation in the Dictation menu. B. Enrollment tips ------------------ Enrollment is the process that trains VoiceType to better recognize your voice. During this process you read a few sentences to teach VoiceType your voice patterns. If you would like to enroll, click the Windows 95 Start button, then click Programs, IBM VoiceType, Enrollment. Here are a few tips: - You do not have to enroll if you have a native U.S. English accent. However, if you do enroll, your accuracy should increase. You only need to read the first 50 enrollment sentences if you are a native speaker. If you have a foreign accent or a strong regional accent, it's a good idea to enroll with all the sentences. - During enrollment you will be asked to read some sentences. Be sure to read the sentences in isolated-word speech (with small pauses between all words). - When reading the sentences, you do not have to follow the blue pacer box, as long as you pause briefly after every word. By reading ahead of the pacer you can read the first 50 enrollment sentences in less than 20 minutes. - You need to read only the first 50 enrollment sentences or phrases. After completing the first 50 sentences, you will have the opportunity to "Train." During training your computer processes your enrollment data and creates your speech data, which is used by VoiceType to increase its recognition accuracy. Reading the rest of the sentences will not result in substantial improvement in your accuracy, if you are a native speaker. - Learn how to dictate with small pauses between words BEFORE you enroll. Use VoicePad to practice. - Make sure you run the Microphone Setup program at least once before you enroll! The audio level should be in the green range when you talk. The Microphone Setup program ensures the proper audio level for almost any sound card. - If you have a foreign or strong regional accent, and are frequently getting "red" words while reading the enrollment sentences, decrease the recognition sensitivity as follows: - Click Options in the Enrollment panel. - Move the slider to the left in the "Match word to sound" section by clicking the Approximate arrow 3 to 5 times. - Click OK, then Yes. - If you want the highest possible dictation accuracy, re-enroll after using the system for a few weeks. The patterns of isolated-word speech of experienced users are different from those of first-time users. When you re-enroll, after you become experienced at using isolated-word speech, you can expect better recognition accuracy. ================================================================= 3. Sound Cards and VoiceType ================================================================= A. Microphone adapters and sound cards -------------------------------------- The Microphone Setup program gives you instructions on how to set up your microphone, depending on the sound card it detects. Some types of microphones require external power and some do not. The VoiceType microphone requires external power to operate. Most sound cards provide power to microphones that need external power. Because different sound cards provide microphone power in different ways, a power adapter is needed for some sound cards. The VoiceType microphone includes such a power adapter (black). A few sound cards and some laptop computers do not provide microphone power. For those, you must use the battery adapter. Try the microphone both with and without the black power adapter, following the instructions in the Microphone Setup program, before deciding to use the battery adapter. Don't forget to install two fresh AAA batteries in the correct orientation into the battery adapter before using it. Even if it seems that your sound card needs the battery adapter, you may not, in fact, need it. Some sound cards have the ability to provide microphone power, but this feature is disabled. To enable the feature, carefully read the documentation for your sound card; you may need to set a jumper or run a setup utility. If you do not have documentation for your card, contact your computer or sound card manufacturer and ask if and how your particular sound card can provide power to microphones so that you can avoid using the battery adapter and having to buy batteries. The signal adapter (light gray) reduces the microphone signal. It's used with sound cards that require a weak microphone signal. B. Microphone Boost ------------------- For some cards, such as the Reveal CS500, you should turn off the "Microphone Boost" function in the Recording Controls before you run the Microphone Setup program for the first time. If the "Microphone Boost" is left on, the Microphone Setup program may not select the microphone adapters correctly. To turn off the "Microphone Boost": - Click the Windows 95 Start button, then click Programs, Accessories, Multimedia, Volume Control. - Click Properties in the Options menu. - Select Recording, make sure the Microphone volume control is checked, and then click OK to view the Recording Control window. - Click Options and make sure that Advanced Controls is checked. - Click Advanced in the Microphone (or Mic) column, and if there is a "Microphone Boost" checkbox, make sure it is not checked, and then close the Advanced Controls window. C. Squealing speakers when running Microphone Setup --------------------------------------------------- Some sound cards, such as the Yamaha OPL3 or certain ESS-based cards, may produce a loud, high-pitched sound during the Microphone Setup program. If this occurs, do the following: - Exit the Microphone Setup program by clicking Cancel in the panel where the high-pitched sound occurs and then "Yes" to exit. - Restart the Microphone Setup program, but this time stop at the first panel ("WELCOME") and do the following: - Click the Windows 95 Start button, then click Programs, Accessories, Multimedia, Volume Control. The Volume Control window will be displayed. - Make sure the "Mute" button in the Wave column is checked-- or, if there is a "Select" button, make sure it is not checked. This will disable system sounds so that you can run Microphone Setup without the squeal. - Continue with the Microphone Setup program by clicking "Next" in the "WELCOME" screen. This time, you should not hear the high-pitched squeal. - After completing Microphone Setup, bring up the Volume Control window again, but this time make sure the "Mute" button in the Wave column is unchecked--or that the "Select" button is checked. This will re-enable system sounds. ================================================================= 4. Questions and Answers ================================================================= A. Squealing sound from the speakers ------------------------------------ Q: My speakers squeal, especially when I try using the microphone. What can I do? A: Try reducing the volume of your external speakers. Also, make sure the microphone input is not played through your speakers (monitored) by doing the following: - Click the Windows 95 Start button, then click Programs, Accessories, Multimedia, Volume Control. The Speaker (or Wave Out) Volume Control window will be displayed. - In the "MIC" or "Microphone" column check the "Mute" box. If you do not see a "MIC" or "Microphone" column, then: - Click Properties in the Options menu. - Make sure the "Playback" button is checked. - Check the Microphone box in the list of volume controls. - Click OK. Now you should see a Microphone (or MIC) column, and you should be able to mute it either by checking the "Mute" box, or by unchecking the "Select" box at the bottom of the column--some sound cards have "Mute," some "Select." B. Microphone feedback through the speakers ------------------------------------------- Q: When I talk into the microphone, I can hear myself through the speakers. How can I get rid of this feedback? A: You must mute the microphone input to the speakers. Follow the instructions in Section 4A, "Squealing sound from the speakers." C. Turning off the "Begin Dictating" verbal prompt -------------------------------------------------- Q: Can I turn off the "Begin Dictating" verbal prompt? A: Yes, you can turn off both the "Begin Dictating" and "Dictation Stopped" prompts as follows: - Click the Windows 95 Start button, then Settings, Control Panel. - Double-click Sounds in Control Panel to open it. - Scroll down in the Events list until you find VoiceType. - Click Begin Dictation or Stop Dictation to select either. - Click the down arrow in "Name:" to display the sound list. Make a note of the name in the list in case you want to restore the prompt in the future. - Select "(None)" in the sound list and then "Yes." D. Increasing dictation speed and avoiding audio overruns --------------------------------------------------------- Q: How can I avoid audio overruns while dictating? A: Make sure that your computer has 256K bytes of Level 2 cache. If it does, you can speed up VoiceType processing without substantially impacting accuracy by doing the following: - Close all VoiceType applications. - Click the Windows 95 Start button, then click Programs, IBM VoiceType, IBM VoiceCenter Properties. - Select the Voice tab. - Make sure that "Balanced" is selected under "Recognition performance." - Click Apply to make the change. Other steps you can take to increase performance are: - Speak carefully in isolated words. If you do not speak with small pauses between all the words you dictate, VoiceType spends much more time trying to understand you, and this can cause audio overruns. - Close other applications that are not being used while you dictate, such as office suite toolbars. E. Recognition used to be good, but it has deteriorated ------------------------------------------------------- Q: My recognition was good, but it's not good anymore. Why? A: There could be a number of reasons for this: - If you use the battery adapter, your batteries might be running out. Replace them and see if this helps. See Section 4F, "Batteries in the battery adapter run down fast," to see how to make your batteries last longer. - The microphone settings might have been changed either manually or by some other sound application. Please rerun the Microphone Setup program. This will readjust your microphone settings so that VoiceType will work correctly. - You are not using your own voice model. Make sure you use the correct user name that contains your own voice model and added words. You can check and change users via the IBM VoiceCenter Properties in the IBM VoiceType folder. - You may be positioning your microphone incorrectly. The microphone boom should be bending toward the corner of your mouth (NOT up or down), so that the flat part on the microphone element under the foam faces the corner of your mouth. The Microphone Setup program shows a diagram of the correct positioning of the microphone. F. Batteries in the battery adapter run down fast ------------------------------------------------- Q: My battery adapter batteries run down fast. Why? A: The batteries provide power to the microphone when the microphone is plugged into the battery adapter, even when the microphone is off and is not used. So if you leave your microphone plugged into the battery adapter continuously, the two AAA batteries will last about one month. If you want the batteries to last longer, unplug the microphone plug from the battery adapter when you are not using it. G. Vocabulary compatibility --------------------------- Q: Will specialized VoiceType vocabularies work with the Home Edition? A: No, the Home Edition does not support specialized VoiceType vocabularies. If you require a specialized vocabulary, please consider upgrading from the Home Edition to IBM VoiceType Dictation (Version 3.0.1 or higher). H. Windows NT ------------- Q: Does IBM VoiceType Dictation 3.0 Home Edition run under Windows NT? A: No. I. Reinstalling VoiceType ------------------------- Q: Will I lose words that I have added to the vocabulary if I reinstall VoiceType? A: No. If you reinstall VoiceType into the same directory, you will not lose any of your personal data such as speech data and added words. To reinstall VoiceType: - Click the Windows 95 Start button, then click Settings, Control Panel. - Double-click Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel to open it. - Select "IBM VoiceType Dictation 3.0 Home Edition," then click Add/Remove. This will remove all the VoiceType entries from the Windows 95 registry and delete all VoiceType programs, but will leave intact the VoiceType directory structure and your personal data. - If asked whether to remove shared files, click "Yes To All." - Shut Down and Restart your computer. - Run Setup from your VoiceType CD-ROM. Make sure you specify the same directory that contained VoiceType originally. ================================================================= 5. Known Problems and Limitations ================================================================= A. Correct-Error limitations ---------------------------- When you dictate a string of numbers, such as "12 34 56 78," into VoicePad, they are concatenated by the system to "12345678." If any of the dictated pairs, such as "56," is double-clicked to correct it, "12" will be selected to correct instead. To work around this: - Select with the mouse only the misrecognized numbers. - Click Correct Error in the Dictation menu, or press F2. Your selection will be played back and can be corrected. B. Changing User information does not always work ------------------------------------------------- On rare occasions, when you change the settings in VoiceCenter Properties, the information is not updated correctly. Please make sure the information did indeed change after you click "OK" or "Apply." If the information did not change, close VoiceCenter Properties, then reopen it and change the information again. C. Accessing IBM VoiceCenter Properties --------------------------------------- If your computer has the program Asymetrix Compel, you will not be able to access IBM VoiceCenter Properties from the IBM VoiceType folder. Instead, click the Windows 95 Start button, then click Settings, Control Panel, and double-click IBM VoiceCenter Properties. D. Uninstall: close VoiceType applications before uninstalling -------------------------------------------------------------- You must close all VoiceType applications before running Uninstall. Otherwise certain VoiceType components may not be removed correctly. If you wish to reinstall after uninstalling VoiceType, first Shut Down and Restart your computer, then reinstall VoiceType. See Section 4I, "Reinstalling VoiceType."