This feature is available in the Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English (U.S.), and Japanese language versions of Microsoft Office.
To get started, do the following:
Verify speech recognition system requirements
To use speech recognition, you need the following:
(A universal serial bus (USB) microphone is recommended.)
- A 400 megahertz (MHz) or faster computer
- 128 MB or more of memory
- Windows 2000 with Service Pack 3 or Windows XP or later
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 or later
See the Microsoft Office Online Web site for more information about operating system specific requirements or microphone information.
Position the speech recognition microphone
Install and train speech recognition
Speech recognition is installed in all Office programs by initially using the feature in Microsoft Word or by doing a custom installation.
After speech recognition is installed, you can increase speech recognition accuracy by taking a few minutes to train the computer to recognize how you speak.
Note After you have installed speech recognition, you can review the tutorial video by clicking Search on the Start menu, and then searching for the Video.mht file.
Install and train by using Word
- Open Microsoft Word.
- On the Tools menu, click Speech.
You're asked if you want to install the feature. Click Yes.
- After the installation is complete, click Next to train speech recognition.
Training begins with help in adjusting your microphone.
Custom installation and training
- On the Microsoft Windows Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs.
- Click Change or Remove Programs, select Office 2003, and then click Change.
- Click Add or Remove Features, and then click Next.
- Select the Choose advanced customization of applications check box, and then click Next.
- Under Choose update options for applications and tools, next to Office Shared Features, click
.
- Next to Alternative User Input, click , click Speech, and then select the type of installation you want.
- Click Update.
After the custom installation is completed, you can train speech recognition.
- In most Office programs, click Speech on the Tools menu.
Note In Microsoft Excel, point to Speech on the Tools menu, and then click Speech Recognition.
- To train speech recognition, click Next.
Training begins with help in adjusting your microphone.
Note If you do not train at this point, you can train by clicking Speech Tools 
on the Language bar, and then clicking Training.
Learn about how to speak to a computer
When speaking to others, you're usually understood whether you whisper or shout, or talk fast or slow. However, a computer understands speech best when spoken to in a more predictable way.
- Speak in a consistent, level tone. Speaking too loudly or too softly makes it difficult for the computer to recognize what you've said.
- Use a consistent rate, without speeding up and slowing down.
- Speak without pausing between words; a phrase is easier for the computer to interpret than just one word.
For example, the computer has a hard time understanding phrases such as, "This (pause) is (pause) another (pause) example (pause) sentence."
Because we don't usually need to think about how to speak, it can seem a little awkward at first to speak to a computer. However, with a little practice, speaking to a computer will become more natural.
Speech recognition tips
- Start by working in a quiet environment so that the computer hears you instead of the sounds around you, and use a high quality close-talk (headset) microphone.
If your work environment has a lot of noise or if the noise level varies during the day, try creating different speech recognition profiles for different times of day. If you work in several different environments, create different profiles for each environment.
- Keep the microphone in the same position; try not to move it around once it's adjusted.
- Train your computer to recognize your voice by reading aloud prepared training text in the training wizard. Additional training may increase may speech recognition accuracy.
- As you dictate, don't be concerned if you do not immediately see your words on the screen. Continue speaking and pause at the end of your thought. The computer will display the recognized text on the screen after it finishes processing your voice.
- Pronounce words clearly, but don't separate each syllable in a word. For example, sounding out each syllable in "e-nun-ci-ate" will make it harder for the computer to recognize what you've said.
- Remember to turn the microphone off when you are not using speech recognition. Speech recognition will continue to process sounds until the microphone is turned off.
Practice using speech recognition
You can use speech recognition by clicking buttons on the Language bar to switch between two modes — Dictation and Voice Command. The Language bar appears by default in the upper-right corner of the screen of any Office programs.
Language bar with text labels hidden
Note The Language bar shows text labels beside each button on the bar. You can hide or show the text labels by right-clicking the Language bar, and then clicking Text Labels.
You'll switch between Dictation mode and Voice Command mode less often and save time if you complete dictation first, review your file, and then format text or make corrections.
- Position your microphone.
- Click in the program in which you want to use speech recognition.
If you open a Help topic while you're working or if a message appears on the screen, click again in the program to continue using speech recognition.
- If the microphone is not already turned on, click Microphone
on the Language bar.
- Switch between Dictation and Voice Command modes as you work:
Use Dictation mode
- To turn the words you speak into text, click Dictation
on the Language bar.
As you speak, you'll see a blue bar on the screen that means the computer is processing your voice. As your words are recognized, text is displayed on the screen.
You can continue to speak while the computer processes your voice; you don't have to wait until the blue bar disappears to speak again.
Previously recognized text
Blue bar that indicates the computer is processing your voice
Notes
- If Dictation is not on the Language bar, see the Speech recognition isn't working section on the Troubleshoot speech recognition Help topic.
- While the blue bar is on the screen, avoid using your mouse or keyboard to type or take other actions. This will interrupt speech recognition, and your words will not be processed.
Use Voice Command mode
- Turn the microphone off when you are through speaking to the computer by clicking Microphone on the Language bar.
Tips
- You can also switch between Dictation and Voice Command modes by saying "dictation" or "voice command."
- In Microsoft Word, you can delete the last thing you said in Dictation mode by saying "scratch that."
- You can turn the microphone on and off by clicking Speech on the Tools menu (in Microsoft Excel, point to Speech on the Tools menu, and then click Speech Recognition).
You can also turn the microphone off by saying "microphone."
Learn about things you can do and say with speech recognition
This feature is available in the Simplified Chinese, English (U.S.), and Japanese language versions of Microsoft Office.
When you use Office speech recognition, you'll switch between working in Voice Command mode and Dictation mode by clicking buttons on the Language bar or by saying "voice command" or "dictation."
Language bar with text labels hidden
Note The Language bar by default shows text labels beside each button on the bar. You can hide or show the text labels by right-clicking the Language bar, and then clicking Text Labels.
Using Voice Command mode
Note Using Voice Command mode for dialog box and task pane (task pane: A window within an Office program that provides commonly used commands. Its location and small size allow you to use these commands while still working on your files.) items is not available in Simplified Chinese and Japanese.
To select menu, toolbar, dialog box, and task pane items by using your voice, if the microphone is not already turned on, click Microphone on the Language bar, and then click Voice Command 
on the Language bar, or say "voice command."
For example, to change the font in any Office program by using your voice, do the following:
- To open the Format menu, say "format."
- To open the Font dialog box, say "font."
- To change the font from Times New Roman to Verdana, say "verdana."
- To close the Font dialog box, say "OK."
Note You can also change font format without opening the Font dialog box. Say "font" to open the Font box on the Formatting toolbar, and then say a font name.
Other Voice Command mode examples
Do the following to select:
Toolbar buttons
For example, the ScreenTip for the Save 
button is "Save." Say "save" to open the Save dialog box.
Menu and command items
Dialog box items
- To select different tabs in a dialog box, say the name of the tab. For example, in Microsoft Word, say "edit" or "tab edit" in the Options dialog box to select the Edit tab.
- Say the name of any dialog box option. For example, on the Edit tab in the Options dialog box in Word, say "prompt to update style" or "check prompt to update style" to select the Prompt to update style check box.
To clear a dialog box option, say "prompt to update style" again or say "uncheck prompt to update style."
- In an Open dialog box, you can open a drop-down list by saying the name next to the list, if a name is available. For example, in Microsoft PowerPoint, to open the Tools menu, say "tools." To select the Options command, say "options," which opens the Options dialog box.
To select a tab in the Options dialog box, say the name of the tab. For example, say "save" to open the Save tab.
To see the items in the Save PowerPoint files list, say "save PowerPoint files as" or "drop save PowerPoint files as."
Task pane items
Commands you can say
The following list is a sample of the commands you can say. For more information, see the Microsoft Office Online Web site.
Navigation examples
The command you can say is shown first, followed by the keyboard or mouse equivalent for the command. For example:
END (command you can say)
Press END (keyboard or mouse equivalent)
Return
Enter
Press ENTER
Backspace
Delete
Press BACKSPACE
Back one word
Last word
Press CTRL+LEFT ARROW
Space
Space Bar
Press the SPACEBAR
Escape
Cancel (U.S. English only)
Press ESC
Right-click
Context menu
Right-click menu
Right-click a menu
(Not available in Japanese language version of Office)
Tab
Press TAB
Shift Tab
Press SHIFT+TAB
End
Go End
Press END
Home
Go Home
Press HOME
Up
Go Up
Press UP ARROW
Down
Go Down
Press DOWN ARROW
Left
Go Left
Press LEFT ARROW
Right
Go Right
Press RIGHT ARROW
Previous Page
Press CTRL+PAGE
Next Page
Press CTRL+PAGE+DOWN ARROW
Page Down
Press PAGE DOWN
Page Up
Press PAGE UP
Using Dictation mode
To dictate text into any Office program, if the microphone is not already turned on click Microphone on the Language bar, and then click Dictation on the Language bar, or say "dictation."
Tips
- You can dictate by spelling. Say "spelling mode," pause briefly, and then say "s-u-n."
- You can use Dictation mode to get help as you work. Place the insertion point into the Office Assistant or into the Ask a Question box, and then dictate your question.
The following lists tell you how to say some things as you dictate. What you can say is followed by what is inserted. For example:
Period
Dot (what you can say)
. (what is inserted)
Punctuation
Period
Dot
.
Comma
,
Colon
:
Semi-colon
;
Question mark
?
Exclamation point
!
Symbols and special characters
Ampersand
&
Asterisk
*
At sign
At
@
Backslash
\
Slash
/
Vertical bar
|
Hyphen
Dash
-
Double dash
--
Equals
=
Plus
Plus sign
+
Pound sign
#
Percent
Percent sign
%
Dollar sign
$
Underscore
_
Tilde
~
Ellipsis
...
Greater than
>
Less than
<
Caret
^
New line
Enter
New paragraph
Enter twice
Brackets
Bracket
Left bracket
Open bracket
[
End bracket
Right bracket
Close bracket
]
Open brace
Curly brace
Left brace
{
Close brace
End curly brace
Right brace
}
Open parenthesis
Left paren
(
Close parenthesis
Right paren
)
Quotation marks
Quote
Open quote
"
Close quote
"
Single quote
Open single quote
'
Close single quote
'
Numbers
5
five (numbers less than 20 are spelled out when inserted)
21
21 (numbers greater than 20 are inserted as digits)
first
first (ordinal numbers)
one half
1/2 (fractions)
five five five zero one eight seven
555-0187 (telephone numbers)
Tip
To dictate all numbers as digits, say "force num," pause briefly, and then say "5."
Note For more examples of how to use speech recognition, see the Microsoft Office Online Web site.
