Via Voice Support
Support for IBM ViaVoice for Windows 95 and NT

Technical support: frequently asked questions.
Click on the question number to see the answer.

 

* indicates a new or updated question and answer since January 1998.
Section 1 - Installation and configuration
1.1   What releases of Microsoft's Word does ViaVoice support and how much memory does my system require to run both ViaVoice and a supported version of MS Word?
1.2   Does ViaVoice support Windows NT?
1.3   Can I install ViaVoice over any of the previous versions of VoiceType?
1.4   When I move from a previous version of VoiceType to ViaVoice, is my personal data (enrollment, added words and statistics) migrated?
1.5   I have partitioned my harddrive. Can I install ViaVoice on one partition and any other version of VoiceType on my other partition?
1.6   I want to uninstall my previous version of VoiceType before I put ViaVoice on my system. How do I delete the previous version?
1.7   How do I reinstall a previous VoiceType version after I have installed ViaVoice?
1.8   How can I uninstall and reinstall ViaVoice without losing my user data (e.g. enrollments)?
1.9   I deleted the files and program folders through the Windows 95 Explorer, but the product is still on my system.
1.10   Will navigation macros I have created with VoiceType Dictation 3.0.x and Simply Speaking Gold work under ViaVoice?
1.11   Will additional vocabularies available with VoiceType Dictation 3.0.x and VoiceType Simply Speaking Gold work with ViaVoice?
1.12 * I have a sound card that is not advertised as a 100% Sound Blaster compatible. Can I still use it for ViaVoice?

Section 2 - Microphone Setup
2.1   What is Microphone Setup?
2.2   When should I run Microphone Setup?
2.3   The microphone in my copy of ViaVoice is different from the one shown on the Microphone Setup.
2.4 * New inexpensive ThinkPad adapter now available.
2.5   I didn't get a power adapter (black) with my microphone.
2.6 * Do I need to use the microphone adapters included with ViaVoice?
2.7   Can I use the microphone that shipped with my computer (or the built-in microphone, if there is one)?
2.8   Can any other microphones be used?
2.9   How often should I change the batteries in the microphone battery adapter?
2.10 * I have an Ensoniq Sound Card in my PC and I keep failing the test in Microphone Setup "I am Testing...".
2.11 * I have a Crystal sound card in my PC and when I run Microphone Setup, a "General Error" message is returned.
2.12 * If you have an FX sound card in your Acer PC...
2.13 * The Sound Galaxy 534 sound card in my PC appears to constantly be recording background noise.
2.14 * I have a Creative Labs Soundblaster 16 sound card and I am having a problem with microphone setup.

Section 3 - Enrollment
3.1   What is enrollment and is it required?
3.2   How many sentences should I read for enrollment?
3.3   What if I do not speak with a native accent for the language version I have installed?

Section 4 - General dictation and SpeakPad
4.1   What is the difference between continuous-word speech and isolated-word speech?
4.2   How does the system learn as I correct mistakes in SpeakPad?
4.3   Once I've dictated a document in SpeakPad, how do I transfer it to another application?
4.4   Is it possible to add an alternate pronunciation for an existing word in the vocabulary?
4.5   My recognition was good, but it now has deteriorated. Why?
4.6   How do I dictate numbers?
4.7   How can I improve my recognition performance with ViaVoice?
4.8 * Can I save a voice session to a diskette or other removable cartridge like device such as an IOMega Zip or Jazz Drive?
4.9   Can I have text in files read to me?
4.10   When reading the dictated text in VoicePad, the volume is extremely low compared to the volume of correcting dictation error. How can I increase the volume ?
4.11 * A Word Basic Error 53 appears every time I open Microsoft Word.

Section 5 - ViaVoice Options
5.1   How do I change users if more than one user has enrolled?
5.2   What is the Recognition Sensitivity used for under the ViaVoice Options Voice page?
5.3   What is the Recognition Performance used for under the ViaVoice Options Voice page?

Section 6 - Vocabulary Expander
6.1   How can I quickly add words to my vocabulary and improve recognition?

Section 7 - Vocabulary Manager
7.1   How do I see my added words, and when would I want to delete a word?

Section 8 - Hardware and software requirements
8.1   What are the minimum hardware and software requirements for IBM ViaVoice?

Section 9 - Known limitations
9.1 * Are there any known limitations?
9.2   When using an IBM Thinkpad, is there a problem using suspend mode while dictating?
9.3   I have an MWAVE card and have just upgraded my software from 28.8 to 33.6. VoiceType no longer works since I have upgraded my modem software.


Answers to questions
Answers section 1 - Installation and configuration
1.1
What releases of Microsoft's Word does ViaVoice support and how much memory does my system require to run both ViaVoice and a supported version of MS Word?
MS Word release 6.0C (US English only), 7 and 8 are supported if running Windows** 95. MS Word release 6.0C is not supported under Windows NT**. Releases 7 and 8 are supported in Windows NT. The minimum specification for running ViaVoice with Microsoft Word is 32MB under Windows 95 (or 48MB under Windows NT). However, like with any software, increasing the processor and/or the memory will improve the speed of decoding, but will not improve the recognition performance.
1.2 Does ViaVoice support Windows NT?
Yes. It supports Windows NT 4.0. You must have administrator privileges during the installation of ViaVoice Gold under Windows NT.
1.3 Can I install ViaVoice over any of the previous versions of VoiceType?
Yes. The ViaVoice installation process will automatically uninstall VoiceType Simply Speaking and VoiceType Simply Speaking Gold if one of these products is installed on your system. However, if either VoiceType Dictation 1.32 or 3.0.x is installed, you will have to uninstall this version and reboot your computer before installing ViaVoice.
You can uninstall VoiceType Dictation 3.0.x using the uninstall tool which is part of the product. To uninstall VoiceType Dictation 1.32, use the ADD/REMOVE Programs from the Windows 95 Control Panel. You must reboot your system after uninstalling previous versions of VoiceType and prior to installing ViaVoice. After this reboot, you may get a message that another version of VoiceType Dictation has been detected on your system, but you can proceed with the installation.
1.4 When I move from a previous version of VoiceType to ViaVoice, is my personal data (enrollment, added words and statistics) migrated as well?
If you install ViaVoice on top of VoiceType Simply Speaking or VoiceType Simply Speaking Gold, your added words and other personal data will be migrated to ViaVoice, and your enrollments will be saved. Your previous enrollments however can not be used in ViaVoice, you will need to reenroll.

If you install ViaVoice on a system which had VoiceType Dictation 3.0.x installed previously, your personal data will not be migrated.

1.5 I have partitioned my harddrive. Can I install ViaVoice on one partition and any other version of VoiceType on my other partition?
ViaVoice cannot coexist with other versions of VoiceType on the same system, because it uses common registry entries, and the same speech engine, directory structure and program files. Unless you have two separate copies of the operating system (for example, two copies of Windows 95 each running in its own primary partition), you will not be able to run ViaVoice and VoiceType on the same computer.
1.6 I want to uninstall my previous version of VoiceType before I put ViaVoice on my system. How do I delete the previous version?
IBM VoiceType Dictation version 3.0.x, VoiceType Simply Speaking versions 3.0.x and VoiceType Simply Speaking Gold version 3.5 are equipped with an uninstall program. You must run this uninstall program to successfully delete any entries that were made to the Windows 95 Registry. VoiceType Dictation version 1.32, and earlier versions, will have to be removed using the Add/Remove Programs icon in the Control Panel of Windows 95. Make sure you reboot your system before installing ViaVoice.
1.7 How do I reinstall a previous VoiceType version after I have installed ViaVoice?
VoiceType Simply Speaking and VoiceType Simply Speaking Gold:
To reinstall Simply Speaking or Simply Speaking Gold, uninstall ViaVoice, shut down and restart your computer, and then reinstall Simply Speaking or Simply Speaking Gold in the same directory. Your enrollments and other personal data will be restored.
VoiceType Dictation 3.0.x:
To reinstall VoiceType Dictation 3.0.x, uninstall ViaVoice, then shut down and restart your computer. Install VoiceType Dictation in its original directory (x:\ibmvtype).
1.8 How can I uninstall and reinstall ViaVoice without losing my user data (e.g. enrollments)?
When you reinstall ViaVoice, be sure to specify the same directory where ViaVoice was installed previously. That way, you will not lose any user data or enrollments from the previous installation.
1.9 I deleted the files and program folders through the Windows 95 Explorer, but the product is still on my system.
You should not delete the files and program folders through the Explorer. Instead, you should use the uninstall program provided in the product. IBM VoiceType Dictation, VoiceType Simply Speaking, VoiceType Simply Speaking Gold and ViaVoice versions are equipped with an uninstall program. You must run this uninstall program to successfully delete any entries that were made to the Windows 95 Registry. VoiceType Dictation version 1.32, and earlier versions, will have to be removed using the Add/Remove Programs icon in the Control Panel of Windows 95. After uninstalling a version of VoiceType, make sure you shut down and restart your system before installing any version of VoiceType or ViaVoice.
1.10 Will navigation macros I have created with VoiceType Dictation 3.0.x and Simply Speaking Gold work under ViaVoice?
No, navigation is not supported in ViaVoice.
1.11 Will additional vocabularies available with VoiceType Dictation 3.0.x and VoiceType Simply Speaking Gold work with ViaVoice?
No. ViaVoice does not support additional vocabularies created for VoiceType Dictation 3.0.x and VoiceType Simply Speaking Gold.
1.12 I have a sound card that is not advertised as a 100% Sound Blaster compatible. Can I still use it for ViaVoice?
ViaVoice uses a powerful technology. If your sound card and PC do not meet the minimum requirements, ViaVoice will not work adequately on your PC.


Answers section 2 - Microphone Setup
2.1 What is Microphone Setup?
Microphone Setup is a wizard, located in the ViaVoice Tools folder, that helps you connect the IBM ViaVoice microphone headset to your computer and helps you configure your audio settings. Microphone Setup does the following:
    - Shows you how to connect the microphone headset to your computer.
    - Tests your existing audio setup.
    - Adjusts the microphone volume.
    - Performs a speech recognition test.
    Setting up your microphone correctly is the single most important thing you can do to enhance the use of ViaVoice. Proper microphone set up, and correct audio settings are required to achieve the highest recognition accuracy.

2.2 When should I run Microphone Setup?
You should run Microphone Setup:
    - BEFORE you begin your first dictation session.
    - If your recognition accuracy has deteriorated.
    - If you've changed your sound card.
    - If you've changed your microphone.
    - If you've switched users.
2.3 The microphone in my copy of ViaVoice is different from the one shown on the Microphone Setup.
The microphone shown in the Microphone Setup (the Andrea ANC-500) is one of the many microphones which works with ViaVoice.
2.4 New inexpensive ThinkPad adapter now available.
Some IBM Thinkpads can now use an inexpensive adapter to provide power to the microphone which does not require any batteries. This would replace the battery adapter that you are currently using. These adapters can be purchased from
Andrea Electronics. Please be aware that these adapters will work on all models of the following families of Thinkpads: 380, 385, 560, 760, 765 and 770.
2.5 I didn't get a power adapter (black) with my microphone.
Not all IBM ViaVoice microphones require the power adapter (black). The NC-50u and NC-80u (also called NC-80) have the power adapter built-in to their tips. Therefore they are not supplied with a separate power adapter.
2.6 Do I need to use the microphone adapters included with ViaVoice?
The Microphone Setup program gives you instructions on what microphone adapters to use, depending on the sound card it detects.

- Signal adapter (light gray): this adapter reduces the microphone signal. It is used with sound cards that require a weak microphone signal. The Microphone Setup will give you instructions if this adapter is required.

- Power adapter (black): if you have one of the ViaVoice microphones Andrea NC-50 and ANC-500, you may require power. Most sound cards provide power to the microphone, but not all sound cards provide this power in the same way. This is why the power adapter (black) is necessary for some sound cards. For instance, the Sound Blaster(**) cards usually require the power adapter (black). However, the other ViaVoice microphones (Andrea NC-50u and NC-80u) have the power adapter built in to their tips and is therefore not shipped as a separate item in your microphone package.

- Battery adapter: A few sound cards and some laptop computers (including the IBM ThinkPad range) do not provide microphone power. For those, you must use the battery adapter. If you require a battery adapter, please contact Andrea Electronics (information included with the headset). Try the microphone both with and without the black power adapter (if supplied with your microphone), following the instructions in the Microphone Setup program, before deciding to use the battery adapter. Don't forget to install two fresh AAA batteries in the correct orientation into the battery adapter before using it. Even if it seems that your sound card needs the battery adapter, you may not, in fact, need it. Some sound cards have the ability to provide microphone power, but this feature is disabled. To enable the feature, carefully read the documentation for your sound card; you might need to set a jumper or run a setup utility. If you do not have documentation for your card, contact your computer or sound card manufacturer and ask if and how your particular sound card can provide power to microphones so that you can avoid using the battery adapter and having to buy batteries.

2.7 Can I use the microphone that shipped with my computer (or the built-in microphone, if there is one)?
We recommend using the microphone supplied with your ViaVoice product. This microphone has noise cancelling capabilities and was specifically designed for speech recognition. However, if you have another microphone for your computer, you can use it to make sure that the computer's sound system works before you plug in the microphone for ViaVoice. For this pretest, make a test recording of your voice in the Windows Sound Recorder. Again, use this microphone only for testing the sound system -- not for ViaVoice speech recognition.

When plugging the ViaVoice microphone into your computer, do not use the microphone-in jack on the side of the monitor. Instead, make sure that you plug the microphone directly into your sound card's microphone-in jack. This will help avoid getting any interference from your monitor through the microphone.

2.8 Can any other microphones be used?
You can use many microphones for speech recognition; however, not all microphones will produce satisfactory results. Several microphones have been tested and found to produce dictation accuracy consistent with the microphone included with the product. Please click
here to be linked to an up to date list of tested microphones.
2.9 How often should I change the batteries in the microphone battery adapter?
The microphone draws power from the battery adapter even when the microphone is off. To increase the life of the batteries, unplug the microphone from the battery adapter when you are not using it. If you are using ViaVoice on a daily basis, you should change the batteries every month or so.
2.10 I have an Ensoniq sound card in my PC and I keep failing the test in Microphone Setup "I am Testing...".
Updating to the latest drivers for the Ensoniq sound card often resolves this problem. However, if you still have problems after downloading the latest drivers, the error may be due to the microphone input being set too high.
2.11 I have a Crystal sound card in my PC and when I run Microphone Setup, a "General Error" message is returned.
Updating to the newest drivers almost always resolves this failure.
2.12 If you have an FX sound card in your Acer PC...
Make sure you disable the wavetable and special effects such as 3D and Reverb.
Note: Removing or disabling components in this manner may affect the functionality or performance of your sound card and other software.
2.13 The Sound Galaxy 534 sound card in my PC appears to constantly be recording background noise.
Removing PB Fast Media and FM Thunk from the Startup Folder and disabling the wavetable usually resolves this problem.
Note: Removing or disabling components in this manner may affect the functionality or performance of your sound card and other software.
2.14 I have a Creative Labs Soundblaster 16 sound card and I am having a problem with microphone setup.
If your Soundblaster 16 has Auto Gain Control (AGC), you should make sure the box is checked. Please refer to the ViaVoice README for complete instructions on how to do this.
Note: Removing or disabling components in this manner may affect the functionality or performance of your sound card and other software.
Answers section 3 - Enrollment
3.1 What is enrollment and is it required?
Enrollment is the process of teaching ViaVoice your voice so your speech can be recognized with greater accuracy. Although enrollment is not required (you can simply start using ViaVoice right out of the box), doing either the short or full enrollment will help improve your recognition accuracy.

The enrollment should not be confused with the short speech recognition task in the Microphone Setup where each user must speak 4 or 5 words. The enrollment process consists in reading a minimum of 50 sentences in the US English version of ViaVoice Gold.

3.2 How many sentences should I read for enrollment?
Although you can start using IBM ViaVoice right out of the box, we recommend that you do the short enrollment to improve recognition accuracy. The short enrollment requires that you read 50 sentences (for the US English version, this might be different for the other language versions). After reading the 50 sentences, you will be prompted to select Train. Unless you have a heavy accent, the short 50 sentence enrollment should suffice. If you decide not to train and continue reading beyond the 50 sentences, you must then complete the full enrollment of 265 sentences before you can process this enrollment. For this reason, we suggest that you choose to train after reading 50 sentences. You still have the option to do the full enrollment by going back and reading the remaining sentences later.

Even after you have processed your enrollment, IBM ViaVoice continues to update your personal language model helping to improve your recognition performance. Whenever you use the Correct Error function to correct recognition mistakes, IBM ViaVoice will learn the usage of the corrected word in reference to its language context and will give this word higher rank next time this word is spoken. Essentially, doing word correction allows ViaVoice to learn from its mistakes and recognize the corrected word next time you speak it.

3.3 What if I do not speak with a native accent for the language version I have installed?
If you do not have a native accent for that language, or if you have a strong regional accent, and are frequently getting "red" words while reading the enrollment sentences, decrease the recognition sensitivity as follows:
    - Click "Options" in the Enrollment panel.
    - Move the slider to the left in the "Match word to sound" section by clicking the "Approximate" arrow 3 to 5 times.
    - Click "OK", then click "Yes".
    - However, do not forget that most times problems with "red" words occur because of incorrect positioning of the microphone. Make sure that your microphone is positioned and adjusted properly by running Microphone Setup before you start the Enrollment.


Answers section 4 - General dictation and SpeakPad
4.1 What is the difference between isolated-word speech and continuous speech?
Isolated-word speech is speaking with small pauses between your words. Continuous speech allows you to speak without pauses between your words, however you should speak at a moderate pace and pronounce each word clearly. It is important not to run your words together. You should use the Dictation Trainer to learn how to speak when dictating with IBM ViaVoice.
4.2 How does the system learn as I correct mistakes in SpeakPad?
As soon as you correct a word, the correction is saved in memory and is available during your dictation session. Once you close your SpeakPad dictation session, the correction is saved to disk and your speech data is updated with the correct pronunciation of a new word and its usage of the misrecognized word.
4.3 Once I've dictated a document in SpeakPad, how do I transfer it to another application?
After you have completed a dictation session in SpeakPad and corrected any errors, you can transfer the text to any application which accepts text input (e.g. a word processor). With the left mouse button, click the Transfer icon in the icon toolbar (this will transfer the text automatically to the last application that you used) or click and drag the icon with your mouse pointer to the opened application window where you want to transfer the dictated text. The formatting of the document in SpeakPad WILL NOT be preserved in the other application. You should format the text after transferring it.
4.4 Is it possible to add an alternate pronunciation for an existing word in the vocabulary?
No. There is no manual way to insert an alternate pronunciation for a word in the dictation vocabulary. However, if the system detects that you've corrected a word more than twice, a pop-up message will appear and you will be asked to provide a new pronunciation. This new pronunciation will be stored along with the old pronunciation.
4.5 My recognition was good, but it now has deteriorated. Why?
Several factors could account for this problem:
    - The microphone settings might have been changed either manually or by some other sound application. Please run Microphone Setup. This will readjust your microphone settings so that ViaVoice will work correctly.
    - You might not be using your own speech data. Make sure you use the correct user name that contains your own personal language model. You can use the IBM ViaVoice Options, in the Control Panel, to check and change users.
    - You might be positioning your microphone incorrectly. The microphone boom should be angled toward the corner of your mouth (not up or down) so that the flat part on the microphone element under the foam faces the corner of your mouth. The Microphone Setup Wizard illustrates the correct positioning of the microphone.
    - Make sure that you are not breathing directly into the microphone mouthpiece or speaking too loudly when dictating. Also, make sure the foam microphone wind screen is attached and in place.
    - The batteries in your battery adapter may be running low. If you are using the battery adapter, try using fresh batteries.
4.6 How do I dictate numbers?
To dictate numbers, like a social security number, you should break them up into two digits at a time. For instance, to dictate the following social security number, 521-44-9655, say fifty-two one hyphen forty-four hyphen ninety-six fifty-five. Initially, the numbers will have spaces in between them, but once ViaVoice understands the context of this number, by saying another word, it will glue these digits back together.
4.7 How can I improve my recognition performance with ViaVoice?
ViaVoice is speaker independent, so you can use SpeakPad to dictate without first training it to recognize your voice (enrollment). Let's assume that you are using the US English version of ViaVoice. If you have set up your microphone correctly, and if you have a native US English accent, you should get more than 90% recognition accuracy for words in the ViaVoice vocabulary without enrolling. To gauge your true recognition accuracy, dictate a few paragraphs, say, from a business letter, skipping words, such as names, that are not likely to be in the vocabulary. After you finish dictating, you might find that there are a number of misrecognized words in your text. If you find your recognition performance is lower than 90%, then we recommend going through enrollment. Refer to the enrollment section in these frequently asked questions for further information.

Here are some tips on how to improve your recognition performance:

- Use speech correction to correct a word that ViaVoice misrecognizes and teach it how to display the word. Speech correction adjusts your personal speech files so that ViaVoice remembers the correction each time you say the word. There are several methods for error correction using ViaVoice. Please reference your "How Do You Dictate and Correct Errors" in the on-line help.

- ViaVoice is a continuous speech program. However, you will still need to ensure that you dictate at a moderate rate of speed and pronounce your words clearly. Do not run your words together.

- It is important to speak in a normal tone of voice. If the audio level is low (not reaching the green in the microphone input level), move the microphone closer to the side of your mouth, or rerun the Microphone Setup program to readjust your microphone settings.

- The microphone position is very important for good recognition accuracy. Be sure that the microphone boom bends toward your mouth. The microphone should be about 20 mm (3/4 inch) away from your face. It should be a little to the side of your mouth so that you do not breathe into it.

- If you have enrolled, use the same microphone and sound card that you used for enrollment when you dictate. Although you can move your speech data to another computer, your accuracy will never be as good as on the system you used to enroll. So if you switch computers, sound card, or microphone, and you want the highest possible dictation accuracy, rerun Microphone Setup and re-enroll on the new system!

- If your system has at least a Pentium 200MHz processor, then you can increase recognition accuracy by setting recognition performance to "accurate" under ViaVoice Options in the Voice page. Refer to the ViaVoice Options section in these Frequently Asked Questions for further information.

- If you want to interrupt your dictation, for example in order to answer the phone or talk to someone, first stop your dictation by saying "Stop-Dictation" or by clicking Stop Dictation in the Dictation menu.

4.8 Can I save a voice session to a diskette or other removable cartridge like device such as an IOMega Zip or Jazz Drive?
One minute of dictation equals approximately 1MB of disk space, because ViaVoice saves your original dictation audio. A two page document could be as large as 30 - 40 MB of disk space. Therefore, you will be limited not only on the size of the document you want to save but also how many documents you could save as a result of the size. Since these files are so large, they can take a long time to save, especially if you are using a parallel drive. We recommend that you save the file to your harddrive and then use a file copy command to copy them to your removable drive.
4.9 Can I have text in files read to me?
Yes, ViaVoice (US English version only) has a text to speech option, ViaVoice Outloud. Dictate some text or open a file using SpeakPad, then select "Reading" on the toolbar, and finally select "Begin Reading". All of the text in the file will be read back. To have portions of text read instead of the complete file, highlight the portion you want read and then select "Begin Reading". The first time you do this, the IBM Text to Speech icon will appear on the right of the Taskbar. Right mouse click on the IBM Text to Speech icon and select Help to find out how you can use IBM Text to Speech.
Note: when using ViaVoice on NT4.0, ViaVoice Outloud is only available to users who have administrator access.
4.10 When reading the dictated text in SpeakPad, the volume is extremely low compared to the volume of correcting dictation error. How can I increase the volume ?
Select Dictation and then Dictation Options from the SpeakPad menu and click on the audio tab. Move the slider to change the output volume level. Or you can use the Audio Mixer (by running the Volume Control applet in the Accessories/Multimedia folder) to increase the playback volume.
4.11 A Word Basic Error 53 appears every time I open Microsoft Word.
If this error occurs, copy the NORMALB.DOT file into the MSOFFICE\TEMPLATES folder (Word 7.0 & Word 8.0) and rename the file to NORMAL.DOT. After that you will need to update the Microsoft Office Registry entry to point to the current templates drive and folder for Microsoft Office. Refer to the online reference for more help on how to correct this error and other problems you may encounter with Microsoft Word.

Answers section 5 - ViaVoice Options
5.1 How do I change users if more than one user has enrolled?
Start IBM ViaVoice Options located in the Tools folder within the IBM ViaVoice program folder. You must click the User tab and select a new user from the drop down menu. If you have multiple enrollments for the same user (for example, one for a noisy environment and one for a quieter environment), or multiple languages installed, you can switch enrollments and languages from this menu as well. You can make these changes by clicking on "OK".
Note: If any speech applications are active, you will be prompted to close them.
5.2 What is the Recognition Sensitivity used for under the ViaVoice Options Voice page?
The Recognition sensitivity slider does not affect the recognition for dictation, but is used to relax or tighten the acceptance of the pronunciation of words read during enrollment. If the pronunciation doesn't match the expected pronunciation of the word read during enrollment, ViaVoice will reject the sentence by highlighting this sentence in red. ViaVoice will be more likely to reject sentences when this slider is moved closer towards "Exact Match". If during enrollment you get a lot of red sentences, you can move the slider closer to "Best Guess". This will help reduce the number of red words, by relaxing ViaVoice's expected pronunciation of words read during enrollment. This is particularly important for people with heavy accents. This setting is the same as the Match Word to Sound setting under Options in Enrollment.
5.3 What is the Recognition Performance used for under the ViaVoice Options Voice page?
The Recognition Performance setting is used to increase performance or accuracy depending upon your system. In general, if your system has a lower speed Pentium processor (166MHz, for example), we recommend that you set the recognition performance to "fast" or "balanced". This will speed up recognition processing at the slight expense of accuracy. If your system has a higher speed Pentium processor (200MHz, for example), you should set the recognition performance to "accurate". This will improve recognition accuracy with a small degradation of speed.

Answers section 6 - Vocabulary Expander
6.1 How can I quickly add words to my vocabulary and improve recognition?
By using Vocabulary Expander you can analyze text and add words to your current Added Words List. Vocabulary Expander also helps ViaVoice learn your dictation patterns, and updates your personal language model via the "Words in Context" dialog. This helps improve dictation accuracy. To analyze text you can open a file which has previously been created, copy text from the clipboard, or create text in the Vocabulary Expander by using your keyboard. Vocabulary Expander will be able to analyze the text, allow you to select words you wish to add, and train the words you added.

Answers section 7 - Vocabulary Manager
7.1 How do I see my added words, and when would I want to delete a word?
The Vocabulary Manager utility is used to display words that were added to your personal added word list. On occasion, a word will be added to your personal added word list that will take the place of an already existing word. For example, if the word "comma" was inadvertently added during word correction, the word "comma" might appear instead of the punctuation mark ",". In your added word list, you can delete the word "comma" and the punctuation mark should again appear during dictation. You might also want to delete misspelled words and words such as proper names that you know you will not use again.

Answers section 8 - Hardware and software requirements
8.1 What are the minimum hardware and software requirements?
To run IBM ViaVoice, you must be running Windows 95(**) or Windows NT 4.0(**) and have at least the following hardware:
    - Pentium(**) 166MHz, or equivalent AMD-K6 MMX Enhanced Processor (**).
    - 32MB of memory for Windows 95 / 48MB of memory for NT 4.0. These memory requirements include running Microsoft Word. However, like with any software, increasing the processor and/or the memory will improve the speed of decoding, but will not improve the recognition performance.
    - 125+MB of available (non-compressed) hard file space.
    - Creative Labs(**) Sound Blaster 16 (or 100% compatible) or Mwave(*) sound card.
    - CD-ROM Drive.

Refer to our list of
systems tested with ViaVoice for additional information.


Answers section 9 - Known limitations
9.1 Are there any known limitations?
Following are known limitations:
    - A user must use the same application for retrieving deferred or delegated dictation as was used for saving it. For example, if SpeakPad was used to save a dictation, then you must use SpeakPad to retrieve and make corrections to that dictation.
    - In the US version, when using the "Text to Speech" function, the volume is lower compared to the volume when correcting dictation errors. Please note that ViaVoice Outloud (the text to speech function) is found under SpeakPad as 'Begin Reading' as specified in the online help. If you have VoiceCenter up, you can also say 'Begin Reading' to read any text from any active window. Also note that you must have administrator privileges to use ViaVoice Outloud when running ViaVoice on NT4.0.
    - If "Check Grammar as You Type" option in Word 97 is selected, dictated word correction does not work. You can temporarily remove the grammar checking by right-clicking the underlined words and clicking Ignore Sentence
    - Microsoft Word 6.0c and Word 7.0 (Office 95) might not work after you install Word 97 in the same system and then install Dictation Support for it.
    - The Dictation Trainer is difficult to read with the display properties set to Large Fonts. To change to small fonts, click Start/Control Panel/Display and make sure that the font size is set to small fonts.
    - You must have administrator privileges to install ViaVoice on Windows NT 4.0, use ViaVoice Outloud (text-to-speech utility) and MS Word support.
    - Problems with ViaVoice and Anti-Virus Software. If you receive errros such as SMAPI RC = 215, SMAPI = -4 in Microphone Setup Wizard, general error in Dictation Trainer, no playback in SpeakPad, or errors using ViaVoice options, make sure that you are not running any antivirus software (e.g. IBM Antivirus for Windows 95 or NT, or Norton Antivirus) during the installation of ViaVoice.

If you run IBM Antivirus for Windows 95 or NT, make sure you disable the "Check files when accessed" field in System Shield setup before installing ViaVoice.

    - On Windows NT, do not use an Audio Description on saved dictation sessions. You must answer "No" to the question "Would you like to record an audio description for this session?" when saving a dictation session.
    - Direct Dictation to Word 6.0c is not supported under Windows NT. You can use SpeakPad to dictate, then transfer your dictated text into Word 6.0c.
    Recently there has been a trend towards lower end, inexpensive consumer like PC's. One of these cost cutting methods is the elimination of L2 cache. L2 cache is used to buffer data into the main CPU (processor) to insure optimum system performance. This is also referred to as Pipeline Burst Cache or Processor Cache.

Systems without L2 cache will run slower with CPU/floating point calculation intensive applications such as speech recognition and other multimedia programs which may result in performance problems. Some systems have sockets where customers can add L2 cache by purchasing this feature separately.

Customers who experience performance problems should contact their place of purchase or system manufacturers for information on adding cache to optimize their systems to run these applications.

9.2 When using an IBM ThinkPad, is there a problem using suspend mode while dictating?
On IBM ThinkPad computers, you must Stop Dictation before you enter suspend mode.
9.3 I have an MWAVE adapter and have just upgraded my software from 28.8 to 33.6. ViaVoice no longer works since I have upgraded my modem software.
The 33.6 modem software uses a lot of resources and may keep the modem on all of the time. This will prevent ViaVoice from being able to use audio and therefore, ViaVoice will not be able to run. You should use the 28.8 modem software for MWAVE with ViaVoice.

THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS TECHNICAL SUPPORT WEB SITE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. You assume the entire risk as to the accuracy and the use of the information contained herein.

 

(*) IBM ®, Mwave ®, Aptiva ®, ThinkPad ® and VoiceType ® are IBM registered trademarks.

(**) Microsoft ®, Windows ®, and NT ®, are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

(**) All other products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Back