Installing Speech Recognition

The speech recognition component is not installed by default. If you have Microsoft Office, you can initiate the speech recognition installation and training in Microsoft Word by selecting the feature. In Word, open the Tools menu and click Speech . If you don't see the Speech option, click the double-headed arrow at the bottom of the Tools menu to expand the menu. Word displays a dialog box indicating that it cannot run the speech feature because it has not been installed and giving you the option of installing it. Click the Yes button to initiate the installation. If the required Office CD is not in the CD-ROM drive, another dialog box appears, telling you which CD is needed. Insert the requested CD, wait about 10 seconds, and then click OK . When the installation is complete, Word displays a dialog box indicating that it will lead you through the process of setting up your microphone and training speech recognition to recognize your voice. Click OK and then move on to the next section.

If you have a standalone version of Excel or would rather install speech recognition using the Office or Excel installation program, follow these steps to complete the installation:

1. Load the first Excel or Office installation CD into your CD-ROM drive.

2. If the installation routine does not start automatically, double-click the My Computer icon (on the Windows desktop or on the Start menu), double-click the icon for your CD-ROM drive, and then double-click the Setup icon. The Microsoft Excel 2003 or Microsoft Office 2003 Setup dialog box appears.

3. Click the Add or Remove Features option and click Next . The next dialog box that appears enables you to customize the installation.

4. Click the check box next to Choose Advanced Customization of Applications , and then click Next . The Microsoft Excel 2003 or Microsoft Office 2003 Setup dialog box shows a list of programs and features included on the CD.

5. Click the plus sign next to Office Shared Features . This expands the Office Shared Features list.

6. Click the plus sign next to Alternative User Input . This expands the Alternative User Input list.

7. Click the icon next to Speech and click Run from My Computer , as shown in Figure 15.5.

   Figure 15.5. Install the speech recognition feature.

   

8. When you're finished entering your preferences, click Update . The installation routine installs the speech recognition feature and displays the Language bar at the top or bottom of the screen.

Note

After you install speech recognition, a Language bar appears at the top or bottom of the screen. To disable the feature and hide the bar, right-click the bar and click Close the Language Bar . To display the bar again, open Excel's Tools menu, point to Speech , and click Speech Recognition . To completely remove speech recognition from your system, run the Office or Excel setup again. In Chapter 12, "Customizing Excel," review the section named "Installing Optional Components" to learn how to install and remove various feature sets.