MacSpeech Dictate has finally been upgraded to version 1.2. The list of improvements and fixes is extensive, and essential function such as correction (they call it “phrase training”) and a spelling mode have been introduced.
Some people have reported problems related to upgrading on the MacSpeech discussion forums, but hopefully these will be quickly addressed. I have had a minor problem myself but it doesn’t seem to have affected the functioning of Dictate itself, just the appearance of one of the windows.
The full list of changes and new features is displayed when upgrading but I couldn’t find it on the MacSpeech website. It includes changes/improvements in installation, setup, and the user interface overall.
There is also a new Recognition Window which aids with phrase training/correction. Here’s an image of the recognition window with the Dictate notepad – it had correctly recognised the phrase “It knows my name” but offers other plausible alternatives which I could have used for correction:
As well as the new commands related to training, these commands have also been added to ease editing:
- “Move Backward/forward 1-99 Words”
- “Capitalize The Word[s] “text” [Through/To "text"]
- “Uppercase The Word[s] “text” [Through/To "text"]
- “Lowercase The Word[s] “text” [Through/To "text"]
- “Send Message” for iChat
- “Purge Document”
- “Cache Document”
- “No Trailing Space” for Spelling mode
- “Play The Selection”
This seems like a great upgrade and should definitely be installed by all MacSpeech Dictate users. Let’s hope that minor upgrades flow more quickly now they’ve got this one out the door!
Website: MacSpeech, Inc. Ships First Major Update to MacSpeech Dictate
- Ricky Buchanan
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Also, I forgot to note that all the documentation has been updated for this upgrade. I suggest everybody — including me — should reread the user manual from start to finish. The user manual can be found under the help menu in MacSpeech Dictate.
Incidentally I am using Dictate to write this!
I downloaded my update and I am reading the new manual. This fives me so much hope. You and Macspeech have made my day. I dictated a book review and it was error-free However I failed to save it properly so it is in the ether.
back to carefully reading the manual
diane bechtler’s most recent blog post: AT Mac post the writing/reading life
This 1.2 upgrade is such a good improvement. When I installed version 1.0, although it was quite good, it had some bugs in it that were a deal breaker, since I use it for work. So I stopped using it, waiting till this update. I am so pleased to report that this 1.2 version is so wonderful. Many times, I dictate pieces without any errors. There are, of course, times when it stumbles over less-than-common words, however, overall, I believe this is ready for prime time.
@Diane: I’m not sure how the Dictate Notepad saves things – I always copy from there and paste into another app and save it there. Not sure why I do it, probably just habbit, but it does work!
Hope you’re going well.
@JT: It sure is a huge improvement. Is it improving recognition as you train through the errors?
I have been working Dictate and have it to 99% accuracy
diane bechtler’s most recent blog post: new era
@Diane: That’s fantastic news! How are the commands working for you, in terms of controlling the computer?
I am a writer who started using Dictate in self-defense because so many hours at the computer was giving me repetitive motion injuries. I’m pleased with the changes released in the upgrade, but I need some information on using commands to control my Mac. The manual seems lacking in this area. Can anyone advise me on where else to look for control commands. For example, I can use dictate to open adium, and I can dictate in the chat, but I can’t stand without pressing send. Just looking for some help with little things like that. Thanks for the great blogs.
Karen
@Karen: For Adium specifically, you can just say “new line” or “new paragraph” to send the text – pressing enter sends text usually in Adium so those work. But the general procedure of how to make a Dictate command to do something on the menu is a bit too difficult to explain here. It’s a good topic for a blog entry – I’ll try to have it available in a day or two for you!
I am having a problem with the Mail commands such as “Reply to this message” and “Send message”.
When I issue my first command it takes longer to process than I would expect (longer than commands do in iCal for example). However, the problem gets worse when I issue the next command and worse still on subsequent commands. After 5 or 6 the system just stops working at all. I looked at the AppleScript and they look fine. I switched on the Activity Monitor and I can see that the Mail CPU stays at about 100% for tens of seconds.
I have called MacSpeech and they cannot replicate the problem and cannot explain why there is a problem.
I have called AppleCare and they say it is not their problem.
Apple recently delivered a large update to Mail and this was followed by a fix for a problem with attachments. I am not sure if the problem occured before I applied these updates but the problem might be related.
Has anyone else had this problem? Has anyone else upgraded Mail and do you have the problem or not?
@Peter: It’s not a problem I’ve come across before. It looks like it’s a problem with Mail.app’s processing of the AppleScript, given that it’s Mail that’s pushing the CPU, but I really don’t know. I’ll certainly let you know if I hear of anybody else with the same problem. Best of luck!
Was wondering if this software recognizes other language than English?
thanks
@Aymeric: MacSpeech Dictate only recognises English at the moment. For more details, there’s an article on dictation in Languages Other Than English available.
Today, MacSpeech showed what kind of company they are. Yesterday, I received an error message indicating that I had too many copies of the program running. I have had 3 copies running in my office for over 3 years. The instructions indicated that I had the right to use 5 copies. In any event, I called support and they told me to get the upgrade which would repair this problem. I did that and the problem continued. I called support and was told that the upgrade prevented more than one copy of the program running at the same time. If I wanted to have more than one copy running, I would have to buy a new program at $339. It seems to me a bit ruthless for a company to change business policy unannounced and disrupt businesses in such a way. I could resolve the problem by buying 2 more copies of the program at $670. With this type of behavior in the company, I believe it’s time to start looking for a new transcription program. DJB