10
Automate Your Work
One of the most exciting features of NaturallySpeaking is its
ability to automate your work. Instead of typing the 50 characters
of your street address, for example, you can just say “address
line.” To start a new e-mail message addressed to Jackie, just say
“New Message for Jackie.”
Using voice shorthands, forms, and macros will make your
work more efficient. With shorthands, you can say one thing
(“work phone number”) and NaturallySpeaking will type
something else (“510-555-9435”). Macros, discussed in Chapter
11, are more powerful than shorthands. Macros can type large
passages of text and execute computer commands. Forms,
described at the end of this chapter, let you complete reports and
correspondence more quickly.
95
96 A U T O M AT E Y O U R W O R K
Shorthands:
! are available in all editions of NaturallySpeaking.
! can type up to 126 characters with one voice command.
! cannot exceed one line (no carriage returns).
! cannot contain tabs, modifier keys, or other nonprinting
characters.
! cannot contain backslashes.
Macros:
! are available only in the Professional, Medical, and Legal
editions of NaturallySpeaking.
! can type any amount of text with one voice command, up
to 16,000 characters.
! can execute computer commands, such as checking e-mail
or clicking the mouse.
! can include variables (“send e-mail to ”).
In the Professional, Medical, and Legal editions, one user can
have separate vocabularies for dictating on different topics.
Shorthands are stored separately within each vocabulary.
Macros, however, are specific to the user and shared across all
vocabularies.
If you’d like to use macros and your edition of Naturally-
Speaking does not include them, upgrades are available. See
Chapter 20 for more information.
Which to Use—Shorthand or Macro?
If you want to type text that’s all on one line and less than 126
characters, use a shorthand. While a macro can do the same
thing, shorthands do not require a pause before and after you say
them, making them easier to use in dictation.
Creating Shorthands
To create a shorthand, decide:
! the shorthand’s name, which is what you will say to the
computer.
! what you want the computer to type.
A U T O M AT E Y O U R W O R K 97
Choose a name that’s more than one word long and that’s not
something you would typically use in dictation. The name plus
what the shorthand types can be up to 126 characters combined.
Bad Names and Good Names
Bad shorthand names are those you’d often say while dictating,
such as phone, phone number, my phone number, and e-mail
address. You might dictate a sentence about phones and find out
your phone number has popped up in the middle of it.
Good shorthand names are unusual enough that you’d rarely
say them while dictating. You might end frequently used
shorthands with the word “line.” This makes the shorthand
names unique, but easy to remember. Also, NaturallySpeaking
recognizes longer names (three syllables or more) more
accurately than shorter names.
! Examples of good names (there are many): phone number
line, e-mail address line
To create a shorthand name that includes letters spoken
separately, separate the letters with spaces to make it easier for
NaturallySpeaking to recognize the pronunciation.
! Example: In the Spoken Form box, type “U F O,” not
“UFO.”
If you want the computer to type the name of a shorthand
instead of the shorthand itself, pause briefly in the middle of
saying the name, then continue. Pause between words, not in the
middle of a word.
Making a New Shorthand
From the Tools menu in NaturallySpeaking, choose Vocabulary
Editor. The Vocabulary Editor window appears. This window
shows all the words in your active vocabulary, in alphabetical
order (Figure 10-1).
98 A U T O M AT E Y O U R W O R K
Figure 10-1
Figure 10-2
Most words are typed the same way they’re spoken. In Figure
10-1 above, “A&P” and “a priori” are this way. A few words are
spoken differently than they are typed. Saying “alpha” types the
letter “a.” So does saying “letter-alpha.” Both are dictation
shorthands already built into NaturallySpeaking.
A U T O M AT E Y O U R W O R K 99
To create your own shorthand, type the spoken form (the
shorthand’s name) on the right and the written form (what the
computer should type) on the left. Then click the Add button to
add the new shorthand to your vocabulary (Figure 10-2).
Like all added words and shorthands, your new shorthand
will have a large red asterisk to its left (Figure 10-3). Click the
Train button to pronounce the shorthand once and teach the
computer how you say it.
Figure 10-3
Click the Close button when you’re done creating
shorthands. Save your speech files (click the Save Speech Files
button on the NaturallySpeaking toolbar), then test your
shorthands to be sure they work.
If a shorthand doesn’t work, check for the most common
shorthand mistakes:
! the spoken form and written form were reversed.
! you forgot to click Add after entering the spoken and
written forms.
100 A U T O M AT E Y O U R W O R K
If things are as they should be, try training the shorthand
again. Choose Vocabulary Editor from the Tools menu, click on
the word, and click the Train button.
Sometimes, for no apparent reason, a shorthand just won’t
work. Change the shorthand’s name, train the new name, and try
again—this often solves the problem.
Changing Shorthands
To change a shorthand, open the Vocabulary Editor (choose
Vocabulary Editor from the NaturallySpeaking Tools menu). Find
the shorthand you want by typing the first few letters of the
shorthand’s written form in the Written Form box. Select the
shorthand, then edit the written form and spoken form as
desired. Click Add to add the new word. This adds a new
shorthand—it does not replace the shorthand you modified. Find
the old shorthand, click on it to select it, and click Delete. If your
new shorthand has a new spoken form, be sure to train it. Select
the new shorthand and click Train.
Shorthand Ideas
Voice shorthands are much easier to remember than keyboard
macros, and you can create several thousand of them if you are
that ambitious. It’s well worth the time to create shorthands for
any repetitive text that is longer than a few words or that
includes numbers or punctuation. Substitute your own contact
information for the examples below.
You say The computer types
phone number line (510) 555-9435
e-mail address line sales@SayICan.com
Web site line http://www.SayICan.com
The shorthand names in these next two examples are rarely
used in dictation, so there’s no need to make them more distinct
by adding “line” or some other word.
company name Say I Can
Yahoo address www.yahoo.com
A U T O M AT E Y O U R W O R K 1 0 1
Create synonyms to make your life easier. Synonyms are
shorthands that have different names but that all type the same
text. Our brains are built to remember meaning, not exact
wording, so creating several versions of the same shorthand
makes using shorthands more natural.
You say The computer types
phone number line (510) 644-9435
my phone line
print phone number
print work phone
phone shorthand
Shorthands also work well for phrases with unusual
capitalization, such as institutions, organizations, or titles. You
can have the shorthand be short for a longer phrase:
UC Berkeley University of California at Berkeley
I B S long International Bureau of Standards
(not “I B S” by itself, because you
may sometimes want to type just
the acronym by saying IBS)
You can put the whole phrase in as a shorthand (actually,
you’re adding a new word). You say the whole phrase, but it will
be capitalized correctly each time.
international bureau of standards International Bureau of Standards
the catcher in the rye The Catcher in the Rye
Without the shorthand, you’d have to say the capitalization
manually.
Cap international Cap bureau International Bureau of Standards
of Cap standards
Cap the Cap catcher in the Cap rye The Catcher in the Rye
Shorthands are the best way to speak words with accented
characters. Type the word with accented characters in your word
102 A U T O M AT E Y O U R W O R K
processor, copy it, switch to the Vocabulary Editor (Figure 10-2),
and paste it into the Written Form box.
Spoken form Written form
attache attaché
manana mañana
Shorthands are perfect for passages you use repeatedly.
You say The computer types
personal thank you It was a pleasure speaking with you
today about our products. Please
call as other questions may arise.
phone sentence My phone number is (510) 555-
9435.
Shorthands cannot print text that includes a line break, such
as an address. Use a macro instead, if your edition of Naturally-
Speaking allows it.
To work around this limitation, you can create several
shorthands:
Spoken form Written form
first address Say I Can
second address 2039 Shattuck Ave. Suite 500
third address Berkeley, CA 94704
Say them in sequence:
You say The computer types
first address New Line second Say I Can
address New Line third address 2039 Shattuck Ave. Suite 500
Berkeley, CA 94704
Filling in Forms by Voice
Like shorthands, voice-activated forms let you avoid dictating
the same text repeatedly. These forms work like paper forms. The
structure and body of your document are already there—just fill
in the blanks.
A U T O M AT E Y O U R W O R K 1 0 3
To create a form, first create a document in Word or
WordPerfect and put this text wherever there would be a “blank”
in the form: NEXT FIELD 1, NEXT FIELD 2, etc. Number each
blank consecutively. Your document might look like this:
Dear NEXT FIELD 1,
This letter is to confirm your appointment on NEXT FIELD 2 for a
demonstration of NEXT FIELD 3. I look forward to seeing you then.
Save the form as a template. When you want to use this form,
open the template and say “Select next field 1.” The text “Next
Field 1” will be selected. Then dictate the client’s name—it will
replace the selection. Say “Select next field 2,” then dictate the
date. Say “select next field 3” to continue. When you’re finished,
save the new document under a new name (the client’s name,
perhaps) and print it.
The forms method described here is simple to use and
reliable. You can create more complex forms with the template
features of your word processor and custom NaturallySpeaking
macros, though instructions for this are beyond the scope of this
book.