Dragon

Dictate emails, reports and notes by voice once your microphone and vocabulary are set up.

Last reviewed: 28 October 2026 · Applies to: Dragon Professional (Windows)

These instructions were checked against official Dragon Professional documentation on the review date. Full Text Control and application commands depend on the target application and whether the Dragon Web Extension is installed.

What Dragon is for, and what it needs from you

Dragon turns speech into text and computer commands on Windows. It is widely used when typing is painful, fatiguing or slow, or when getting ideas out aloud is much easier than spelling them on a keyboard.

Two practical habits make the biggest difference: using a consistent headset microphone positioned a thumb's width to the side of your mouth, and speaking in complete phrases rather than one isolated word at a time.

Getting Started

Run the Microphone Check: Open the DragonBar menu (Settings → Microphone → Check Microphone) whenever you change headsets or move to a noisier room.
Speak punctuation naturally: In a UK English profile, say "full stop", "comma", "question mark", "new line" or "new paragraph" (in a US English profile, say "period" instead of "full stop").
Use "scratch that" for immediate slips: Deletes the phrase you just dictated without touching the keyboard.
Add specialist words to the Vocabulary Editor: Open Tools → Vocabulary Center → Open Vocabulary Editor (or say "Add word") to add colleague names, acronyms and spoken forms.
Create Auto-Text commands for standard blocks: In Dragon Professional 16, open Tools → Command Center → Add New Auto-Text on the DragonBar (or say "add new auto-text") to turn signatures, email templates and recurring paragraphs into a single spoken command; you can review and manage existing commands in Tools → Command Center → Command Browser (or say "Start the Command Browser").

Commands worth learning first

"Scratch that": Removes the last continuous phrase you spoke.
"Select [word or phrase]" / "Correct [word or phrase]": Highlights specific words in a supported editor or opens the correction menu so Dragon learns from your choice.
"Insert before [word]" / "Insert after [word]": Places the cursor directly before or after a word on screen without using the mouse.
"Cap [word]" / "All caps [word]": Capitalises the next word or formats an acronym in uppercase on the fly.
"Open Dictation Box": Opens Dragon's built-in text window when you are working inside a specialist database or web form that does not support direct Full Text Control, then transfers the text with "Click Transfer".

Use headphones so Dragon does not hear your screen reader. If JAWS or NVDA speaks through desktop speakers, Dragon will try to transcribe the synthetic voice.
Reduce typing echo while dictating. Turning your screen reader's character/word echo down stops it interrupting you as Dragon inserts phrases.
Toggle the microphone with a hotkey. Pressing Numpad Plus (the default Dragon microphone hotkey) lets you turn listening on for a paragraph and straight off before reading back with your screen reader.
Consider scripting or compatibility tools where needed. Combining Dragon and JAWS in complex workplace software requires careful setup, which we cover in dedicated one-to-one training.

Common problems, and what to do

Commands are typed into the document as text. Pause briefly (half a second) before and after a command so Dragon distinguishes it from dictation.
"Select [word]" works in Word but not in a web browser. Check that the Dragon Web Extension is enabled in Chrome or Edge, or use the Dictation Box (Ctrl+Shift+D) for unsupported fields.
It mishears the same name or acronym every time. Add the written form and a clear Spoken form in the Vocabulary Editor so you never have to fight it again.

Short practice exercise

Open Microsoft Word, wake the Dragon microphone (Numpad Plus or click the microphone icon on the DragonBar), and dictate: "Thank you for sending the draft report comma I will review the figures this afternoon full stop New paragraph".
Pause briefly, say "Select draft report", and dictate "updated project plan" to replace it.
Pause briefly and say "Go to end of paragraph", then say "Go to sleep" to put the microphone on standby.