Hi,

I'm using a new VXI headset with a parrot soundpod that works very well with Dragon. However, I keep having the same issue, regardless of headset or user profile.

If I say "open notepad", notepad will launch, but it isn't the active window, it is grayed out. If I say "mouse click" it takes a good five or 6 seconds for the notepad window to turn dark blue, then I see my cursor.

This also happens if I say "open Internet" to launch IE9. It will launch, but grayed out. I can physically click my trackball to make it active, otherwise if I gave the Dragon command for "mouse click" it would take a good five or 6 seconds.

Has anyone experienced this? If I can resolve this issue, I would be extremely satisfied with Dragon.

Laptop specs: Windows 7 Pro, 8 GB RAM

-------------------------

Owner and Operator http://www.disabledonline.com

Dragonuser76,

I experienced the identical problem you are describing with notepad.  Your post prompted me to experiment a little.  The solution (at least on my computer) is to create a custom voice-command using the AppBringUp function.  I noticed you are using NaturallySpeaking Pro, so you can try this fix.  If you are new to scripting, just let me know, and I will send you step-by-step instructions.

The code to open notepad with focus is simply:

    Sub Main
        AppBringUp "notepad.exe"
    End Sub

You can even name the new voice-command "open notepad" as it will override the built-in command.  Or, if you prefer, you can give it a unique name.

I noticed the same focus problem with calculator.  Creating an analogous voice-command to open calculator solved this problem as well.

I am not experiencing the focus problem with Internet Explorer 9.  But, you could try creating an analogous command using following code:

    Sub Main
        AppBringUp "iexplore.exe"
    End Sub

I am not sure if this launches the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Internet Explorer.  The 32-bit version appears to be installed (on my computer) in C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer.  To ensure this version is launched, modify the above code to:

    Sub Main
        AppBringUp "iexplore.exe", "C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe"
    End Sub

Good luck.

Todd

-------------------------

Todd Kermit
Principal
SpeechWise
todd@speechwise.com
www.speechwise.com

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12.5 Legal, Lenovo ThinkPad T520, Intel Core I7 2860QM (2.5 GHz, 8 MB L3 cache), 6 GB DDR3 RAM (1333 MHz), Windows 7 64-bit, Plantronics CS55/Buddy USB Adapter

We noted that on many systems, this command can wind up opening more than 1 instance of NotePad. If you run into multiple instances of NotePad, you can eliminate the problem by substituting the following script:

Sub Main
          Wait .1
          AppBringUp "notepad.exe"
End Sub

-------------------------

Click KB 2012 REV D to Download a 30 Day Evaluation of KnowBrainer 2012
Click SpeechStart+ to Download a 15 Day Evaluation of SpeechStart+

Todd,

I used your code on notepad because notepad always loaded out of focus when I launched it too.

Your code did the trick and now it loads perfectly every time.  Thanks for that.

I am also getting the same problem with the calculator as you did with it launching out of focus.

Have you got the code to make the calculator load with focus please?

I tried it with the same code, substituting 'notepad.exe' with 'calculator.exe' and 'calculator' but it did not work and I got a Dragon error message when I said 'open calculator.'

If you could tell me where I am going wrong and put up the right code for me to put the focus on calculator when I open it, I would really appreciate it.

Cheers

-------------------------

Tiger Feet

| DNS 12 Professional | KnowBrainer 2012 | Windows 7 Professional /64 Bit | Intel Core i7 Quad Core 3840QM (2.80GHz) 8MB | 16GB RAM. | 240GB Intel 520 Series SSD Boot Drive | 750GB 7200 rpm Secondary Drive  | Plantronics Wireless Handsfree Microphone CS60-USB. |

Tiger Feet,

So close.  Just replace "calculator.exe" with "calc.exe".  In other words:

    Sub Main
        AppBringUp "calc.exe"
    End Sub

Todd

-------------------------

Todd Kermit
Principal
SpeechWise
todd@speechwise.com
www.speechwise.com

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12.5 Legal, Lenovo ThinkPad T520, Intel Core I7 2860QM (2.5 GHz, 8 MB L3 cache), 6 GB DDR3 RAM (1333 MHz), Windows 7 64-bit, Plantronics CS55/Buddy USB Adapter

Todd,

Cool!  Works every time now :-) thank you very much.

Mark, you must be lucky with the calculator.  Mine always came up not focused until now :-)

Cheers

-------------------------

Tiger Feet

| DNS 12 Professional | KnowBrainer 2012 | Windows 7 Professional /64 Bit | Intel Core i7 Quad Core 3840QM (2.80GHz) 8MB | 16GB RAM. | 240GB Intel 520 Series SSD Boot Drive | 750GB 7200 rpm Secondary Drive  | Plantronics Wireless Handsfree Microphone CS60-USB. |

Tiger et al.,

I have no explanation as to why launching notepad or any other application doesn't come up with the application in focus. I had this problem very early on with Windows 7. However, every application that I opened with simple Dragon command now opens in focus, including notepad and calculator. I never was able to figure out why the problem occurred in the first place, but I'm glad now that I don't have to wrap my leg around my neck writing scripts to get this to get applications to open in focus. Regardless, it's a Windows problem not a Dragon problem.

Even if I did, I have a simple VoicePower command that automatically places the focus wherever I want which is built into VoicePower. So, all I have to say is "Place focus and it automatically places the focus and whatever application is to be located in any one of those positions. It also works on multiple monitors by simply adding the monitor number to the end of the command (i.e., on monitor <#> ). VoicePower users don't have to create this command because its built-in and 100% reliable.

Chuck Runquist
Technical Project Manager
VoiceTeach LLC
Home of VoicePower®: We don't make Dragon NaturallySpeaking, We make it better!

For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press three. - Alice Kahn

-------------------------

Chuck / Tiger

 

You are dead right in that this is a Windows 7 problem and It's funny this comes up now as I had this problem off and on for quite a while and eventually managed to find a cure.  You can try various flavours of scripts which will solve the problem temporarily but it usually reappears.  However before revealing what the cure and avoiding having to rewrite every opening command for every application, do you happen to have Adobe Acrobat running on your system?  Not that Adobe Acrobat has anything to do with the problem but there is something within Acrobat (which was a feature I use a lot) that always reveals this problem.

 

If you do have Acrobat can you try doing a print from something like Internet Explorer e.g. file | print (making sure to choose Adobe PDF is the printer).  You must do this completely using Dragon, that is hands-free by voice command.

 

If you do this to you then get a problem with the file save dialogue not being in focus?  Anyone else for that matter?

 

Lindsay

-------------------------

www.pcbyvoice.com
www.pcbyvoice.co.uk

Lindsay,

I have this focus problem with quite a few applications so I would love to know how to stop it happening without
having to rewrite or introduce voice commands for every application that does it?  So how do I do that?

Cheers

-------------------------

Tiger Feet

| DNS 12 Professional | KnowBrainer 2012 | Windows 7 Professional /64 Bit | Intel Core i7 Quad Core 3840QM (2.80GHz) 8MB | 16GB RAM. | 240GB Intel 520 Series SSD Boot Drive | 750GB 7200 rpm Secondary Drive  | Plantronics Wireless Handsfree Microphone CS60-USB. |

I just uninstalled Adobe Acrobat reader and now whenever I launch my Internet browser (Firefox and IE9), they are in focus. However, I'm still having the issue remain with calculator and notepad.

-------------------------

Owner and Operator http://www.disabledonline.com

Tiger/DragonUser

This is actually caused by an intended design feature of Windows 7, implemented by the Windows 7 police. To cut a long story short there are rules within Windows 7 that stop applications obtaining foreground status (the active window) in certain circumstances. Without going into great amounts of detail one of these possible circumstances is if a background application (which is effectively what Dragon is) tries to bring another application to the foreground. In certain circumstances the application will flash orange on the taskbar, which is a deliberate feature of Windows 7, indicating that it wants attention (e.g. to bring it into focus).  The thinking behind this is to stop any background application just bursting onto the foreground when you are in the middle of doing something else, however it doesn't seem to have been very well thought out.  So this is basically what is happening on certain systems under certain conditions.

So in order to prevent introducing voice commands to open all your applications that are doing this, and also to get round the problem with DNS Premium, if you have no third-party scripting available, then do the following:

1. Start Menu | regedit
2. Go to the following location: (take the usual registry precautions before editing your registry)

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

Highlight the following entries on the right-hand pane of the registry editor, press enter and then modify as shown:

ForegroundFlashCount : this will probably be set to 7, change it to 1
ForegroundLockTimeout: this could be set to anything but just change it to 0

This should resolve the focus problem with various applications when trying to start them with DNS. The problem I referred to with Adobe is purely with Adobe Acrobat (not with Adobe reader) and it happens when you try to print from any application direct to an Adobe PDF (this is a feature that Adobe Acrobat is often used for). This problem will be solved also as well as many other focus problems.

Let me know how you get on.

Lindsay

-------------------------

www.pcbyvoice.com
www.pcbyvoice.co.uk

Eureka!!!

Thank you Lindsay, you are a true genius. 

It worked!  All my applications are coming up in focus now. 

Even after deleting the commands I put in my Command Browser for notepad and calculator and the confirm printing commands all work now and come up in focus when called.

Cheers

-------------------------

Tiger Feet

| DNS 12 Professional | KnowBrainer 2012 | Windows 7 Professional /64 Bit | Intel Core i7 Quad Core 3840QM (2.80GHz) 8MB | 16GB RAM. | 240GB Intel 520 Series SSD Boot Drive | 750GB 7200 rpm Secondary Drive  | Plantronics Wireless Handsfree Microphone CS60-USB. |

I followed the instructions for changing the registry. After doing so, I still have the same issues with Notepad and calculator and my browsers. I wonder why it didn't work for me.

-------------------------

Owner and Operator http://www.disabledonline.com

Did you try reloading Windows afterwards?

Lindsay

-------------------------

www.pcbyvoice.com
www.pcbyvoice.co.uk

Thanks Lindsay! I rebooted and the issue is fixed.

-------------------------

Owner and Operator http://www.disabledonline.com

Tiger Feet,

 For my "Open Notepad" command, using the following also works.

Sub Main
AppBringUp "Notepad"
End Sub

Regarding the "Open Calculator" command, I don't have/need a custom command for it, simply say "Open Calculator" and it does.

MDH

-------------------------

Tiger,

All of these commands are already included in your KnowBrainer 2011. However, in KnowBrainer, they're called Start <AppList> as in Start NotePad, Start Internet Explorer. However, Start Calculator is a separate command because it works by additionally locking NaturallySpeaking into Numbers Mode.

Also note that if any application launches out of focus, you could use your KnowBrainer Refresh Window command but if the problem occurs frequently but not all the time, simply add SendSystemKeys "{Alt+Tab 2}" to the end of your script to always bring your application or Window into focus.

-------------------------

Click KB 2012 REV D to Download a 30 Day Evaluation of KnowBrainer 2012
Click SpeechStart+ to Download a 15 Day Evaluation of SpeechStart+

Lunis,

I did know about Start notepad but I get so used to saying open <whatever > that I forget sometimes.  However, I did not know about the start calculator which does indeed start up in Numbers mode.  Out of interest, are 'Add,' 'Subtract,' 'Multiply' & 'Divide' KnowBrainer commands as well for the calculator?

One thing that did not work was 'Start Internet Explorer.'  When I called this up, I got a Dragon error message saying 'File IExplorer not found.'

Thanks for the refresh window command.  Sometimes this works but sometimes it brings up another application on top of the window that I am trying to refresh.

When you say, simply add SendSystemKeys "{Alt+Tab 2 simply add it to what?

Cheers

-------------------------

Tiger Feet

| DNS 12 Professional | KnowBrainer 2012 | Windows 7 Professional /64 Bit | Intel Core i7 Quad Core 3840QM (2.80GHz) 8MB | 16GB RAM. | 240GB Intel 520 Series SSD Boot Drive | 750GB 7200 rpm Secondary Drive  | Plantronics Wireless Handsfree Microphone CS60-USB. |

Quote:

Out of interest, are 'Add,' 'Subtract,' 'Multiply' & 'Divide' KnowBrainer commands as well for the calculator?

Yes



This will be fixed in the KnowBrainer 2012 release

The Refresh Window command the presses {Alt+Tab} twice which can bring up a previous Window. This command never should've been necessary but was designed as a simple way to tackle a Windows issue without actually knowing the answer.



  See following xxample:

Sub Main
          AppBringUp "Notepad"
          Wait .75
          SendSystemKeys "{Alt+Tab 2}"
End Sub

-------------------------

Click KB 2012 REV D to Download a 30 Day Evaluation of KnowBrainer 2012
Click SpeechStart+ to Download a 15 Day Evaluation of SpeechStart+

Lunis,

That's good to know.

I like the fact that the calculator comes up in numbers mode when you say, 'Start Calculator.'  The only problem there is, and it has been brought up before, when in numbers mode, when dictating the number '2,' sometimes you have to say it more than once for it to appear.

As we already know, this is a fault in Dragon 11.5 in numbers mode.  I hope Nuance have taken note of this and will rectify it at some point.

Cheers 

-------------------------

Tiger Feet

| DNS 12 Professional | KnowBrainer 2012 | Windows 7 Professional /64 Bit | Intel Core i7 Quad Core 3840QM (2.80GHz) 8MB | 16GB RAM. | 240GB Intel 520 Series SSD Boot Drive | 750GB 7200 rpm Secondary Drive  | Plantronics Wireless Handsfree Microphone CS60-USB. |

Tiger,

I don't doubt that some users experience this problem. However, it doesn't seem to be a problem for me and never has been. Therefore, any time you run into a situation like this which is a problem for some but not for everybody, you can't necessarily point at Dragon as the root cause.

What results you get if you do the following:

1.  Just say "open calculator". Does the calculator open? If so, go to #2.

2.  Say "switch to numbers mode", then say "2".

Do you still have the same problem?

If you do have the same problem, open notepad and, in numbers mode, say "2". Does it work properly there? That is, do you get the number 2 displayed without having to repeat yourself?

I'm just curious because I'm trying to replicate your problem and I can't. So, I wanted to take KnowBrainer of the picture (i.e., in your case) just to eliminate that as a player in the game. In other words, if you're going to test cause-and-effect relationships with a problem that you're having in Dragon, then the only variables that you should have are the situation in which the problem occurs and Dragon, without anything else that would possibly be at the heart of the matter. Otherwise, you're not controlling the all the variables sufficiently to be able to point the finger directly at Dragon.

Again, I'm not questioning the fact that you're experiencing the problem. Since I can't replicate your problem I'm just trying to use you as a guinea pig to see if the problem occurs under all conditions (i.e., for you), or just some conditions.

Chuck Runquist
Technical Project Manager
VoiceTeach LLC
Home of VoicePower®: We don't make Dragon NaturallySpeaking, We make it better!

Logic 101: Post Hoc fallacy - The logical fallacy of believing that temporal succession implies a causal relation.

-------------------------

Quote:

I don't doubt that some users experience this problem. However, it doesn't seem to be a problem for me and never has been. Therefore, any time you run into a situation like this which is a problem for some but not for everybody, you can't necessarily point at Dragon as the root cause.

Chuck,

The fault with numbers mode in Dragon 11.5 has come up before with quite a few people replicating it, not just me.  This includes Lunis & Graham.  In fact, the original poster in the thread below brought it up initially because he used numbers mode regularly in DNS 10.1 and DNS 11 without a problem.  He then mentions the fault only started happening when he upgraded to DNS 11.5.

http://www.knowbrainer.com/PubForum/index.cfm?page=viewForumTopic&topicId=12930&listFull#1A41543F-D408-78DE-4B7917C1A057DF9Athread68390

In fact, in one of your own posts in that thread you quote the following below:

"The fact that it's broken is something that ought to be taken up with Nuance. I'd be more than happy to provide the sledgehammer."

Quote:

What results you get if you do the following:

1. Just say "open calculator". Does the calculator open? If so, go to #2.

2. Say "switch to numbers mode", then say "2".

Do you still have the same problem?

After closing KnowBrainer, undertaking all of the above, when trying to dictate the number '2' into the calculator, it will not work and will not show in the calculator.  In fact, it seems worse now because I cannot dictate the number '2' at all.  When I had KnowBrainer open, I could at least dictate '2,' even though it sometimes took a few times dictating it before it would stick.  On top of that, using Dragon only, I could not switch back from numbers mode to normal mode.  To do this, I had to switch to WSR to open normal mode from 'Modes' on the Dragon bar.

Quote:

If you do have the same problem, open notepad and, in numbers mode, say "2". Does it work properly there? That is, do you get the number 2 displayed without having to repeat yourself?

In notepad just using Dragon 11.5 in numbers mode without KnowBrainer, the only numbers recognised were 4,5, & 0.  1,2,3,6,7,8,& 9, would not dictate into notepad when in numbers mode. 

In Microsoft Word, the only numbers recognised were 4,5,6, & 0.  1, 2, 3, 7, 8, & 9 would not dictate when in numbers mode. 

You have got all the guinea pigs you need in the thread that I posted above.

Perhaps other people in this forum can try it again and see how they get on under the conditions and using the applications you pose?

Cheers

-------------------------

Tiger Feet

| DNS 12 Professional | KnowBrainer 2012 | Windows 7 Professional /64 Bit | Intel Core i7 Quad Core 3840QM (2.80GHz) 8MB | 16GB RAM. | 240GB Intel 520 Series SSD Boot Drive | 750GB 7200 rpm Secondary Drive  | Plantronics Wireless Handsfree Microphone CS60-USB. |