To use speech recognition, you must have the following hardware and software components:
Speech recognition engine. It is available with Office XP, but it may not be installed.
To determine whether the speech recognition engine is installed on your computer, follow these steps:
Click Start, and then click Run.
Type control mmsys.cpl sounds in the Open box, and then press ENTER. The Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices window is displayed.
Click Speech in the Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices window.
Note If you do not have a Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices window, but have a Sounds and Audio Devices window instead, the speech component may be in a separate window. In this case, follow these steps:
Click Start, and then click Run.
Type control in the Open box, and then press ENTER.
Double-click Speech.
Look for the Speech Recognition tab. If the Speech Recognition tab is available in Speech Properties, the speech recognition engine is installed. If it is not available, the engine is not installed.
A high-quality close-talk (headset) microphone. We recommend a USB microphone.
A 400-megahertz (MHz) or faster computer that has 128 megabytes (MB) of memory.
Microsoft Internet Explorer, version 5.0, or later versions of Internet Explorer.
If the speech recognition engine is already installed, go to the "How to set up your hardware" section. If the engine is not installed, go to the "How to install the speech recognition engine" section.
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How to install the speech recognition engine
If you recently purchased a new computer, the Microsoft speech recognition engine may already be installed. In that case, you do not have to install it again. If you installed Office XP in an older computer, or if you purchased a new computer that has Office XP installed, the speech recognition engine is included. However, the engine may not be installed.
This section describes how to install the speech recognition engine. Start with the first section, "Install speech recognition by using Add or Remove Programs." Then, go to the "Turn on speech recognition in Microsoft Office 2003 and 2002" section. If you removed speech recognition as a text service and want to re-add it, go to the "Add speech recognition as a text service" section.
Install speech recognition by using Add or Remove Programs
To install speech recognition by using Add or Remove Programs, follow these steps:
Click Start, and then click Run.
Type control appwiz.cpl add new hardware in the Open box, and then press ENTER. The Add or Remove Programs window is displayed.
Click Microsoft Office XP, and then click Change.
Click Add or Remove Features, and then click Next.
Under Features to install, double-click Office Shared Features.
Double-click Alternative User Input, click Speech, click the down arrow, and then click Run from My Computer.
Click Update. Speech recognition is now available in all Office programs and other programs for which it is enabled, such as Internet Explorer.
If you receive an error when you install speech recognition, or if you cannot install it, go to the "Next Steps" section.
The Microphone Wizard might start automatically after you install the speech recognition engine. If it starts automatically, you can install and configure your hardware immediately. Or, you can exit the wizard and set up the hardware another time by using the "How to set up your hardware" section.
Turn on speech recognition in Microsoft Office 2003 and 2002 programs
After you install the speech recognition engine, turn on speech recognition in the Microsoft Office program in which you want to use it.
To turn on speech recognition in Microsoft Office 2003 and 2002 programs, follow these steps:
Start the Microsoft Office 2003 or 2002 program in which you want to use speech recognition.
On the Tools menu, click Speech.
After speech recognition is installed and turned on, you can do several things:
To change the speech recognition engine or specific settings on your selected engine, go to the "How to configure speech recognition engines" section.
If you are satisfied with your speech engine settings, go to the "How to set up your hardware" section to set up your hardware to use speech recognition.
If your hardware is already installed, go to the "How to train speech recognition" section. For best results, we recommend that you spend at least 15 minutes training speech recognition to your environment and to the sound of your voice.
Add speech recognition as a text service
Generally, speech recognition is added automatically as a text service when it is installed. Follow these steps only if you removed speech recognition as a text service and want to re-add it.
To add speech recognition as a text service, follow these steps:
Click Start, and then click Run.
Type control intl.cpl in the Open box, and then press ENTER. The Regional and Language Options window is displayed.
Click the Languages tab, and th