MacSpeech Dictate Troubleshooting

2 GB of space is needed for speech data. This data includes six different language models.
These are:

• US English
• US Teens
• UK English
• Australian English
• Indian English
• South East Asian English

This requirement also covers the space needed for voice profiles.

Example:
"amamazingly advancednced speech recognitiotion for tr the Mac don'tn't spend hours typing at dramatic... proroofreading... correctrecting errors... an. and then typing somee moreore."

Possible Cause
Text Expander, or another “automatic text completion” program may be installed and running. You start typing and the program tries to complete each word or phrase for you. Dictate is placing the word onto the "page", and Text Expander is trying to help it along, so you get duplicated portions of words.

Suggested Workaround
Make a Hot Key for Text Expander to turn it off when you use MacSpeech Dictate in dictation mode, and then back on when you are done.
If this does not solve the problem, please contact MacSpeech Support.

To find your license key, please log into your MacSpeech account from the computer where you wish to use the software. Please be sure to log in under the email address you used to register Dictate. Go to Account Information and scroll down until you see View My License Keys.

Under Options you will see a Zip file. Click on it, and choose Save To Disk. Once it's saved, double click on it and it will unzip a file with your name in it. You do not need to open this file but put it somewhere you will remember it.

Now, launch Dictate. The program will ask whether you want to “Register” or “Select License Key”. Choose “Select License Key”, then browse to find the file you unzipped. Select this file and it will activate your software.

Note: If you have already tried unsuccessfully to install MacSpeech Dictate, please drag any MacSpeech Dictate icons out of the Applications folder to the trash can before continuing with these steps.

Please follow the steps below to properly install Dictate:

• Insert Disk Labeled “ Application Disk”
• Once the disk is mounted it will open a new window.
• Drag the Dictate icon from that window to the Applications folder. Double-click the Dictate icon from inside the Application folder. (NOTE: This is the icon in that window with a green arrow pointing to it. Do NOT drag the CD icon to the Application folder, that will simply create an alias. Also, do NOT double-click the icon with the green arrow – instead, please DRAG it to the Applications folder).
• A status bar will appear while program installation occurs. When this is complete, you should see a request to insert the data disk. (If this doesn’t appear, just eject the Applications Disk and insert the Data Disk)
• Once the Data Disk is complete, eject the Data Disk.
• Launch the Dictate Application.
• Register the software. When registering make sure that you enter the activation code correctly as it is case and punctuation sensitive.

One possible cause of the profile crash is a bad Data Disk. This happened to a number of Dictate disks that were shipped before March 31, 2008. We have created a Dictate Data First Aid Utility to help fix this (see below).

Symptoms
The symptoms for most people, if they have a bad disc, are as follows:

• DVD is blank
• DVD won't mount properly
• DVD that does mount and has the wrong name: the correct name is "MacSpeech English Data"
• DVD that does mount and is named correctly contains non-MacSpeech data
• MacSpeech Dictate crashes when creating a profile.

Solution:
If you suspect this to be the problem, please download the Dictate Data First Aid Utility, which is designed to fix your installation disk without requiring a replacement CD or DVD. Please read and follow the instructions below precisely. The link below will allow you to download the utility called Dictate Data First Aid:

http://www.macspeech.com/release/Dictate_Data_First_Aid.zip

This utility will assist in fixing your profile creation issue. The profile crash that you experienced is potentially due to a corrupted installation of the Dictate data files. This may have been caused by a faulty DVD or an issue that occurred during installation. The Dictate Data First Aid will identify which files, if any, have been corrupted. Once identified, Dictate Data First Aid will download uncorrupted replacement file(s).

The following are the steps for using Dictate Data First Aid:

• Download the compressed application from the url above
• Unzip the application if your browser has not already done so for you
• Please make sure that MacSpeech Dictate is not running
• For proper use you must be connected to the Internet when running Dictate Data First Aid
• Launch the application named "Dictate Data First Aid"
• Please click the button named Check Data
• This will then check your Dictate Data folder for any corrupted files

At this point you will get a report of either corrupt files or the fact that you have no corruption. If you have corrupt files Dictate Data First Aid will inform you that you must be connected to the Internet and that you should repair your data.

Please click on the button marked Repair Data. This will start a download from MacSpeech's server that will replace the corrupted files with new ones. At no time is any information from your system sent to MacSpeech's servers. This process is just a request from Dictate Data First Aid for the uncorrupted files.

Depending on the files the time to download will vary. Dictate Data First Aid will report how many files it needs to download in the bottom of the window. Dictate Data First Aid will report when it has finished with the message "Replacement of corrupted files is complete."

You may receive a message that there was an error during download. If you get this message then all you need to do is click the Check Data button again and repeat the Repair process. After Dictate Data First Aid is finished downloading you are free to quit Dictate Data First Aid. Please launch MacSpeech Dictate and create your profile.

If you continue to have issues or experience issues with profile creation and do not have any corrupted files please contact MacSpeech Technical Support for further assistance.

MacSpeech Dictate requires a Mac with an Intel processor. There is no version of Dictate available for Power PC.

This is not Dictate you are hearing, but rather your operating system because you have VoiceOver ON, and it needs to be off.

To adjust this, please follow these steps:

• Click on the Apple in the top left-hand corner of the screen, and choose System Preferences
• Click on Universal Access
• Make sure the radio button for VoiceOver is OFF.
• Close System Preferences.

You can download the Quick Start Guide and Manual by going to the MacSpeech support center and click on the links listed under the section for MacSpeech Dictate.

That functionality is not available at this time. Please keep an eye on the MacSpeech website for future updates as they become available.

No. Due to the differences between the way Windows systems and Macintosh systems handle audio at a low-level, it is not possible to transfer profiles from Dragon NaturallySpeaking to Dictate.

Currently you can spell words using the phonetic alphabet. A listing can be found at this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_phonetic_alphabet

MacSpeech is working on improving this in Dictate. Please keep an eye on the MacSpeech website for future updates as they become available.

If the programmers followed Apple Development Guidelines, it should work. MacSpeech do not have a comprehensive list of programs.

One solution within MacSpeech Dictate would be to create a text macro that had the foreign word and for the name of the text macro create a short descriptive phrase using normal English words. That descriptive phrase would be something you could easily associate with the particular foreign word, name, or place name. When you dictate the descriptive phrase the foreign proper name or place name would be typed into the document by the speech recognition software.

You will not be able to use it to teach the software a high number of foreign names, or other foreign words. In teaching the software the proper pronunciation for a larger number of foreign terms you would affect the recognition accuracy of regular English.

Most speech recognition programs follow specific pronunciation rules for a specific language. In the case of MacSpeech Dictate 1.0 this is English. MacSpeech Dictate knows the approximately 80 phonemes that make up the English language and how letters combine within words to produce these various phonemes.

However, foreign languages have different pronunciation rules. When you try to dictate foreign words that don't follow English pronunciation rules, MacSpeech Dictate takes a look at the spelling and thinks the word should be pronounced one way, according to the rules it knows about, when in actuality the word should be pronounced differently. Foreign language terms or place names will always be problematic.

To switch between profiles, go to Tools---Profiles and then choose the profile that you want to switch to.

For quotes use the command "Open Quote" and "Close Quote"

It should do this automatically. There is no way to turn this off or on.

You can try the following commands:

• Do Capitalise
• Do Uppercase

To increase the size of the text in Dictate's notepad, go to Format, then Font, and then choose Bigger. If you are dictating into another program, you need to use that program's font increase options.

Crash Log Instructions:

• Launch Console. (Found in the Utilities folder)
• Under View Menu, pick "Clear Display".
• Launch MacSpeech Dictate
• Repeat the steps originally performed to cause MacSpeech Dictate to crash.
• Go to Console / File Menu / "Save a copy as"
• Save using "your name_crash log".

In addition, please be prepared to provide the following information whenever contacting MacSpeech support:

• What headset do you have? How is it connected?
• Do you have any anti-virus software running?
• Do you have any third-party programs that do voice or sound recording?
• Are you using any "haxies" or Application Program Enhancers?
• Have you tried creating a new profile?
• Have you tried rebooting the computer?
• What are the exact steps you're taking in the program when this occurs?
• What is your computer model?
• What is your keyboard make and model?
• What is your mouse model and manufacturer?
• Do you have any applications running in the background?
• What is your processor and processor speed? (Found under "About This Mac")
• How much memory do you have? (Found under "About This Mac")
• What Operating System and which version are you running? (Found under "About This Mac")

You must register the software within the first 14 days of installation for the software to properly function. Please be sure to register your software now. If you are still experiencing dificulty, please contact MacSpeech Technical Support.

The Dictate End User License Agreement specifically states you are entitled to use Dictate on one computer, so a license should be purchased for each computer onto which you want to install the product.

The one exception would be users who intend on using Dictate only one computer at a time (such as a laptop at home and a desktop computer at work). MacSpeech allows the use of the product in this manner, as long as the copies on each computer are not used at the same time.

Follow the steps below to uninstall Dictate:

• Open Macintosh HD
• Click on the house icon to the left
• Go to the Library folder
• Go to the Preferences folder
• Remove Com.macspeech.dictate.plist by sending or dragging it to the trash
• Go to back to the Library folder
• Go to the Application Support folder
• Go to the MacSpeech folder
• Remove all folders except the Dictate folder (This contains the license key file.) by sending or dragging them into the trash.
• Go to the Applications folder and remove the Dictate application by sending or dragging it into the trash.
• Dictate is now uninstalled.

If you have installed the latest update for Dictate, and the program does not work afterwards, try the following:

• Quit MacSpeech Dictate
• Put the MacSpeech Profiles folder in the Trash (located in Home/Documents)
• Empty the Trash
• Relaunch Dictate

This can occur if the program attempts to check for and download an update when the program is first launched, and the Update window is hidden. The solution is to move the main window, close the Update window, then create the profile.

If you are having difficulty with Dictate accurately analysing and recognising your speech (i.e, during the voice profile creation, the text is constantly flashing red as you read), take note of the following tips to improve the ability of Dictate to work with your voice.

• Make sure your vocal chords are lubricated. Drink some water before starting, and keep a glass of water handy to drink periodically, especially after reading large passages of text, to make sure your vocal chords don't dry out. This changes your voice quality, and the application may have accuracy issues.
• Don't get frustrated. If you are creating your voice profile, and the text is constantly flashing red, users have a tendency to start speaking louder, or to get frustrated, which causes your voice quality to change. If you are getting frustrated with the application, just close it down, and come back later when you are relaxed and in a calmer mood.
• Make sure you speak slower at the beginning. The software has to adapt to your speaking style, and if you start off speaking fast, you will experience accuracy issues. Start off by reading phrases at a time, and pause between each to let the software catch up. As you get through the profile creation process, you will be able to speed up as you go along about midway through, as the software recognises your speech patterns.
• If you have a disability such as Multiple Sclerosis that affects your voice quality at different times of the day, you may need to create multiple profiles to account for how your voice sounds at those different times. Even if you don't have a disability that affects your voice directly, many peoples' voice quality changes from morning to night.
• Position of the microphone is very important. The microphone should be approximately two fingers width from your mouth. Some may need it further away, some closer, depending on the timbre and volume of your voice. This is a guideline.
• Don't look at the screen while dictating. This helps you keep an even rhythm.
• Speak in complete phrases, with a steady rhythm, with appropriate pausing.
• Remember to speak your punctuation. That provides the software the needed context for your speech pattern.

When creating a new voice profile, you are presented with a choice for your preferred English option. Please choose the English that you speak, NOT the English setting you have configured in the operating system. For instance, if you are from the UK, you would choose UK English, so the voice engine is set to account for a UK accent, even if your system is set to US English.

Try removing the name that was automatically put in the name field, and type in a single word name, with no spaces or special characters.

To create a new profile in Dictate:

• Launch Dictate
• On the launch screen that appears, click Create New Profile.

Or if you are already in Dictate:

• Go to the Tools menu, and choose Profiles
• In the Profiles window, click the plus sign "+" in the lower left corner.
• Put in a name for the new profile, then click Create.

If you are getting an activation or registration failed message, please make sure you are entering the activation code correctly, it is case and punctuation sensitive.

If this is not the cause of the error, please contact MacSpeech support, providing your customer name as used during the registration attempt, email address used when attempting to register, and the Registration Code used.

In order to backup your profile please follow the steps below.

For Macintosh OS 10.4.11:

• Open MacintoshHD
• Open Users
• Open the folder with your username
• Open Documents
• Click once on the "MacSpeech Profiles" folder
• Go to "File" in the menu bar
• From here you can either create a new burn folder to be burned to disk or you can choose Archive.

For Macintosh OS 10.5:

• Open MacintoshHD
• Open Users
• Open the folder with your username
• Open Documents
• Click once on the "MacSpeech Profiles" folder
• Go to "File" in the menu bar
• From here you can either create a new burn folder to be burned to disk or you can choose Compress.

Although none are currently supported, Bluetooth microphones which input through a USB attachment (dongle) are being tested for certification to be used with MacSpeech Dictate. MacSpeech have not yet had success with microphones which connect directly via the Mac’s built-in Bluetooth receiver.

Please check MacSpeech's microphones web page for more information about their recommendations for input devices. This web page includes a list of MacSpeech-certified microphones, and criteria for selecting a device from this list or considerations for microphones not yet listed.

To ensure you have the latest version of Dictate, you can check manually from within the Dictate application. An Internet connection is required for updating. Go to the Dictate menu, then choose Check for Updates. The application will check for any updates and prompt you to install any available updates.

Or you can use the "Check for Updates" function on the splash screen if you have that set to display when you launch the application.

You can set the application to automatically check for updates each time it is launched, by enabling the “Check for Updates” setting:

• Go to the Dictate menu
• Choose Preferences.
• Go to General / Startup Actions.
• Check the box for "Check for Updates".
• The program will now automatically check for any available updates each time it is launched, as long as you have an active Internet connection.