Where does dictation work in Windows Speech Recognition?

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I get a lot of questions about dictation in Windows Speech Recognition for Vista.  One of the most frequent questions is why dictation doesn't work in a particular application.  The short answer is that dictation relies on a technology called Text Services Framework to interact with applications.  If the application doesn't support it, then dictation doesn't work well.  There is a very basic form of dictation support that can be activated when you check 'Enable Dictation Everywhere' in the Options submenu of the speech recognition context menu (right-click on the speech recognition UI).

 What applications support Text Services Framework? Well, I know that the following applications definitely support Text Services Framework:

  • Microsoft Word 2003, 2007 (possibly XP; I haven't tried it)
  • Wordpad
  • Notepad
  • Microsoft Publisher 2003 and 2007 (I haven't used earlier versions)

I also know that the following applications do NOT support Text Services Framework:

  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Powerpoint
  • Microsoft Works
  • Microsoft Word 2000 and earlier

Dictation should work in any program that uses plain text controls or richedit controls, as well.

Comments

  • Anonymous
    October 24, 2007
    PingBack from http://www.soundpages.net/computers/?p=4327

  • Anonymous
    October 24, 2007
    This post is about WSR introduced with Vista. I own a tablet PC with Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005, but I use Office 2003 for dictation in Word. I would like to upgrade Office 2003 to Office 2007, but my laptop is underpowered to handle Windows Vista, my question is: Can I use the speech recognition in XP Tablet PC Edition to dictate in Word 2007 or other apps that support Text Services Framework? Otherwise, for me, it would be pointless to upgrade to Word 2007, without upgrading to Vista.

  • Anonymous
    October 29, 2007
    Update: Found it out myself by downloading the Office 2007 trial.

  • Anonymous
    December 31, 2011
    Hi Eric, I have developed a program to train the MS Speech Engine, could I send you the code for your revision? Kind regards. Carlos Vargas

  • Anonymous
    December 31, 2011
    Hi Eric, my email es jcvargast@hotmail.com. Thanks in advance! Carlos Vargas