Voice Recognition in Office XP

Information about Office XP's built in voice recognition software

Introduction

Office XP has 'built-in' voice recognition software which takes your speech and turns it into text on the screen or commands to control your Office XP programs. It does not allow you to dictate into, or control, other programs.
For example in Word (2003) you access Voice recognition by clicking on the ' Tools menu or pressing ' Alt' +' T ' and selecting ' Speech ' or pressing ' H ' as shown in Fig 1.

 
Fig 1

Before you can start talking to your computer you must 'enrol' (see Fig 2) by reading a certain amount of text to enable the software to learn how you speak. Unlike other voice recognition software you have to buy separately, however, this software is expecting a U.S. English accent and hence English speakers with British accents will experience much poorer initial recognition accuracy.

 
Fig 2

Also unlike some of the other packages available, this software requires that you use the mouse and keyboard to make corrections when your speech has been recognised incorrectly. Hence this is not a practical option for someone requiring a 'hands-free' solution.

More information on voice recognition products that can be used 'hands-free', and with other applications, is available on the 'Voice recognition software for Windows' page.

Related factsheets

•    Voice recognition software – an introduction (text)
•    Voice recognition software – an introduction (PDF)
•    Voice recognition – more advanced features and concepts(text)
•    Voice recognition – more advanced features and concepts (PDF)
•    RSI - work-related Upper Limb Disorder (text)
•    RSI - work-related Upper Limb Disorder (PDF)