#Mac dictation software not dragon for mac#
Dragon for Mac is now on version 6 version 5 or later works well for Mac. (As a long-time Apple user, I’m more accustomed to the reverse being true.) If you’ve already tried Dragon on a Mac and found that it doesn’t work for you, check to see which version you’re using and upgrade to a later one if necessary. Until recently, the Mac version of Dragon has been vastly inferior to the PC one. In only an hour, the consultant had me operating Dragon like a pro, and helped me understand why it hadn’t worked for me before. This time, however, I hired a consultant to help “train” me - along with the software. Sadly, I found the number of errors the software made so infuriating that I couldn’t continue with it.Ī few years later, I decided to try again. I went out and bought Dragon Dictate and gave it a try. I have difficulty with my thoracic spine and the theory was that reducing my typing would help reduce my pain. I first tried voice activation about six years ago on the urging of my doctor who thought it might help my back problems. My advice was to get him using voice activation software. “I bet he has a learning disability,” I said. I was reflecting on voice activation software recently, because I have a client - a university professor - who is working with a very bright PhD student who has a hard time expressing himself in writing. But the same process operates just as well for longer writing on your desktop or laptop computer. Likely, you may have already used such a feature on your cell phone to record texts or emails to family, friends and colleagues.
You speak and your computer records your words - not as an audio file - but as a text one. This process is called voice command or voice activation. I am writing this column by speaking it aloud to my computer. Now, however, you don’t need a secretary to be able to dictate. Do you want to speed up your writing process? Who doesn’t? That’s precisely why you should dictate rather than write with your hands…īack in the era of Mad Men, secretaries went into the offices of people like Don Draper (photo above) and took shorthand while he dictated.