Issues with recognizing speech or low accuracy when dictating with Dragon Professional

Overview

The guide is to assist with troubleshooting issues related to getting Dragon Professional to recognize speech or experiencing low accuracy of text when dictating.

Before you begin

At Indiana University, access to Dragon Professional is granted by your campus ADA services office. Contact the services office on your campus to learn about arranging a course accommodation for your needs.

Troubleshooting procedures

Option one: Verify Dragon Professional is installed on your computer

Press Win.
Type the text Dragon.
If it is installed, Dragon Professional will show up in the list of programs on the computer.
If it does not show up in the search, follow Get started with Dragon Professional for Windows to install Dragon on your computer.

Option two: Verify that the microphone you want to use is active for your computer

Note:

UITS highly recommendeds that you use an external headset microphone (headset jack, USB, Bluetooth, etc). This will enable you get much better microphone placement, less background noise, and higher accuracy than when using the built-in microphone on a computer.

You can do this by accessing your audio settings on your computer and selecting the mic.

Press Win.
Type in Sound.
From the list of options, select Sound Settings.
In the "Sound settings" window under "Input", verify that your microphone is listed.
- If it isn't, then select the drop-down menu under "Choose your input device" and then select your microphone.
Close the "Sound settings" window and try using Dragon again.

Option three: Verify the microphone you use is setup with your Dragon profile

Launch Dragon Professional Group.
In the Dragonbar, select Settings, and then Microphone.
From the submenu that appears, select Choose Microphone.
A window with a list of the microphones available to Dragon will open.
Select the microphone you wish to use, and then select the finish button at the bottom of the window.
Try using Dragon again.

Option four: Check microphone positioning

Headset microphone: Adjust the microphone on the headset so it is one inch from the corner of your mouth. If your headset has a boom (the extension the mic is attached to) that is bendable, adjust it to achieve this positioning.
Built-in laptop microphone: Position yourself 1-2 feet directly in front of the microphone.
Other types of microphones: Follow the manufacturer's recommended distance for use.

Once you have adjusted your microphone positioning, try using Dragon again.

Option five: Run the Accuracy Tuning tool

Note:

This process is resource intensive on your computer. Make sure you aren't doing anything else when running this tool.

Launch Dragon if it isn't already running.
In the Dragonbar, select Tools, and then select Accuracy Center.
From the submenu that appears, select Launch Accuracy Tuning.
The "Acoustic and Language Model Optimizer" window will open.
Leave both checkboxes checked, and then select the Start button to run a process.
- It may take a few minutes to run.
- It may say your profile hasn't been used enough to be optimized.
  - If you are new to using Dragon and haven't dictated enough content to run the optimizer, use some books and news articles to practice dictating and making corrections with Dragon.
Once it finishes, select the Done button.
Try using Dragon again.

Get help

If you are still having issues recognizing speech or low accuracy with Dragon after trying the options in this guide, contact your campus Support Center.