Windows Speech Recognition

Windows 11 has built-in speech recognition tools that can be helpful for people who have difficulty using a keyboard or mouse. These features are getting good enough that specialized software like Dragon may not be needed. And because they are built-in, they are much less likely to cause crashes or have compatibility problems.

1. Office Dictation - If you just want to dictate documents or emails, use Office Dictation.
   • Click Dictate on the Home menu in Word or the Message menu in a new email in Outlook.
   • For instructions, see:
     • Dictate your documents in Word
     • Dictate your emails in Outlook
2. Voice Access - to control your computer by voice and dictate into any program, use Voice Access. It's Microsoft's alternative to Dragon.
   • Press the Windows Key and type Voice Access then Enter.
   • Right-click Voice Access and pick Pin to Taskbar for easy access.
   • Say "Voice Access wake up" to turn the microphone on.
   • Say "Open Voice Access Guide" to sart the the tutorial.
   • Say "What can I say" for a list of commands.
   • Say "Voice Access sleep" to temporarily turn the microphone off.
   • For more instructions, see:
     • Use voice access to control your PC & author text with your voice
     • Get started with voice access
     • Voice access command list
   • IMPORTANT: If you get a message saying "Can't update language file", pick "Remind me after a week" and click Close. It will still work.
3. Voice Typing - Voice Typing is another way to dictate text anywhere you can type, but may not be available in your organzation.
   
   • Click in an editable area and press Windows Key + H.
   • For more instructions, see:
     • Use voice typing to talk instead of type on your PC
   • IMPORTANT: For security reasons, Voice Typing is NOT currently available for government employees. Use Office Dictation or Voice Access instead.

Remember, all speech recognition tools take time to get used to. Read the instructions, be patient, and practice, practice, practice!