Windows 7: How to Set Up Speech Recognition
November 13, 2009 | In: Computers
After years of developing the built-in speech recognition engine with Windows, Microsoft has actually done a pretty good job with Windows Vista. Windows 7 promises to be an improvement over the previous OS so the speech recognition feature should be better and it turns out it is. Well, so far.
Speech recognition isn’t only for accessibility purposes, it’s a nifty feature that any user can try to maximize. I sometimes use it to write stuff to prevent repetitive stress injury from too much typing. Before you can start using the feature though, make sure you have a decent microphone. A headset would work best for the job.
1. Click Start -> Control Panel -> Ease of Access -> Speech Recognition
2. In the window, click the Start Speech Recognition and this will launch another wizard dialog box. Click Next to proceed.
3. Select the device you want to use in the Select the Type of Microphone You Would Like to Use dialog box
4. Read the cheesy passage that the wizard wants you to read. Try to read it using your normal voice. If successful, you’ll be prompted with a message saying “Your Microphone Is Now Set Up.” Otherwise you’ll be prompted with a message and you have to repeat this step again. Click Next to proceed.
6. Select the Enable Document Review option in the Improve Speech Recognition Accuracy dialog box. Click Next to proceed.
7. You’d be prompted to Choose an Activation Mode. Windows typically requires you to manually activate the Speech Recognition when you turn it off. Selecting Use Voice Activation Mode allows you to say “Start listening!” to reactivate it. Click Next to proceed.
8. You can also execute common tasks by speaking keywords into the microphone. Good thing you can print out a Reference Card of the commands you can use.
9. Next up, you’ll be prompted to choose whether or not to Run Speech Recognition Every Time I Start the Computer. Speech recognition uses a fair bit of resources, so I personally deselect it and just launch it when I need it. Click next to proceed.
10. You’ll be prompted that You Can Now Control This Computer By Voice. If you need more help, you can simply click the Start Tutorial button to launch the tutorial.
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