DNS automatically scrolling cursor to top of page in Word

[Benjamin]

More DNS woes.

Has anyone encountered the problem of the screen automatically
scrolling so that the cursor is at the top of the page when
dictating in Word using Dragon Naturallyspeaking? I have been
using DNS 11.5 and Wordfast classic on a Windows 7 machine,
Word 2007, without any problems. When I tried installing DNS
on two different machines, both XP/SP3, one with Word 2007
and one with Word 2010, the scrolling problem occurs. I'm using
the same microphone and the same version/settings for
Wordfast. (I tried "FirstKeyIgnore" but that didn't make any
difference).

Apparently I'm not the only one:

http://www.voicerecognition.com/board/index.php?showtopic=20153

Although the answer there didn't help. This problem basically
makes it impossible to use Wordfast with DNS, since as soon as
I start dictating, the screen scrolls up so that the target box is at
the top of the page, thus blocking the source text.

The only difference I can see between the two setups is the
version of Windows. Incidentally, the problem starts when I start
using Wordfast. If I dictate anything into Word before running
Wordfast, the page doesn't scroll. After using and closing
Wordfast, however, it continues to scroll until quitting Word and
launching it again.

If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears. Thank you!

Benjamin Willey

[John Stroman]

Benjamin,

Sorry to hear about your problem. I also use DNS 11.5, but on my
trusty XP dinosaur and do not have that problem with Felix.

Apparently the kind people at Nuance have inserted a command into DNS
that always puts the cursor at the top of the page in newer versions
of Word. Convenient for people who are simply dictating but not for
someone who wants to see the previous sentence.

(1) I checked "scroll" in DNS help tppics and found you can use voice
commands like "stop scrolling," "scroll up," "scroll down," etc. You
may be able to simply use one of those commands to get it to go up or
down a few lines. I could not find a toggle to turn off a "go to top
of screen" function.
(2) Do you have Natural Language commands enabled? I keep mine turned off.

(3) Because of other issues such as an exceedingly slow response time
in large Word files, I've started using the DragonPad to dictate in
many cases. Although not perfect, it seems to be an acceptable
workaround. DragonPad is much improved over earlier versions and
maintains most of the functionality (correction boxes, etc.) of
dictating in Word. It's a little inconvenient to switch back and
forth, but I've found I can do proofing in DragonPad for recognition
problems, and then work on style and accuracy after I paste the
dictation into Word. Since it separates the process of proofing for
two different types of errors, I think it improves my product overall.

Good luck,

John Stroman

[Steven P. Venti]

John Stroman <stromana...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I've started using the DragonPad to dictate in many cases.

You're not going to believe this, but because of all the problems I've had
with DNS not functioning properly in Win7, I run it only in a virtual XP
environment running on Win 7.

So basically, I dictate into DragonPad in the virtual XP environment, then cut
and paste into Word in the native Win7 environment. As John says, moving back
and forth is something of an inconvenience, but overall it does offer certain
advantages.

But it does go to show that there is more than one way to skin the Dragon.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Venti
spv...@bhk-limited.com

Oh, you go down to the bank so you can cast your bait,
If you're looking for a catfish, mama, you ain't got long to wait.
Catfish got whiskers and a cute little grin,
But you never can tell where a catfish has been.
--Danny O'Keefe
-----------------------------------------------------------------

[Benjamin]

Thank you both, John and Steve, for your rapid replies.

It looks like I spoke too soon: amazingly, upgrading to DNS 11.5 (which I
had been wary of doing) has made the problem disappear. The scrolling
problem was consistent until that point, and now I can no longer reproduce
it. The upgrade immediately caused Word to crash (I was prepared for
that), but now it neither crashes nor scrolls. While the odds are better,
I have to say that using DNS seems a bit like playing the lottery.

As for John's specific suggestion of using the dragon pad, I played
around with that yesterday. The biggest problem is that it reduces
the functionality of Wordfast, since I can't directly insert glossary
items during the dictation, but as a last resort that does seem like
one solution. I also like the idea of running a virtual XP environment
specifically for Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Whenever the office
switches over to Windows 7 (or 8) I imagine I'll have to try to
replicate my current environment if the new system causes
problems.

Thanks again,
Benjamin Willey

[Jacob Dunlap]

I have experienced that same problem and it is
throw-the-computer-out-the-window infuriating if you are a WF user.
For me, it happens with a combination of DNS 10, Windows XP Home
(English) installed on a Macbook Pro via Bootcamp, and Word 2007. It
does not happen on a Dell desktop running Windows 7 Home Premium
(English), Word 2007 (English), and DNS v12.

I seem to remember it happening on my old desktop, which was Windows
XP Pro (Japanese), Word 2007 (English), and DNS v10 -- but only for a
short time (an hour, maybe?) after which *something* I did cleared it
up. I was unable to figure out what that something was, though. To
make things even more complicated, on my version of XP installed on my
Macbook, the cursor jumps to the top of the screen each time I simply
use Alt+Down to move to a new segment in WF. I think this is because
I have DNS v10 set up to run in the background upon startup, but I
haven't checked.

I pored over Word 2007's settings quite extensively but was unable to
find anything that seemed like it would do the trick. Ditto for DNS
v10. At some point I'm going to delete my XP partition and install
Windows 7 on my Macbook; when I do that and install DNS v12, I'll try
to remember this thread, and see if I can (or, actually, *can't*, I
hope!) replicate the problem.

Jacob Dunlap