KnowBrainer Speech Recognition - DragonDictate

using AppleScript to get information about commands in Dragon Dictate 3 for Macintosh

mpatton — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:57:10 EST

If you want to get information about your commands, such as their names, ID numbers, contents, etc. and use it in another application (for example creating a database of your commands that you can search easily) you need to be able to programmatically access Dragon Dictate.

You can do this directly from the AppleScript editor. For example, if you enter the following command into the AppleScript editor, (while Dragon Dictate is running):

tell application "Dragon Dictate" to get the first command of the first group

then you will get the following result:

command "//Enter or Switch to// Full Screen" of group "Global" of application "Dragon Dictate"

Alternatively you can ask for other information as follows:

tell application "Dragon Dictate" to get the content of the 2nd command of the first group

then you will get the following result (or something similar):

"set _dictateApp to (name of current application)

tell application _dictateApp

--set show Available Commands to false

set «class shAC» to false

end tell"

The "content" property of a command is what the command does when it is executed. Since (in this case) the command is an AppleScript command [e.g. it's "command type" is AppleScript], the "content" is the AppleScript itself. if the "command type" property of a command is "keystroke" then it's "content" property will be something like "Command-Shift-k"

Other properties you can get include name, ID, description, content, active, language, command type, command mode, recognition training mode, dictation mode, sleep mode, spelling mode, application name, application version, version, user created.

if you export a command using Dragon Dictate>File>CommandExport ..., you will see that many of these values are embedded in the XML file of the command that is exported.

Using AppleScript, you should be able to loop your way through all the commands (all the commands they will let you see!) in AppleScript, pull the data out, and stick it in a spreadsheet or table that you can then sort or search.

if anyone knows any other websites that are helpful in extracting information regarding commands, I would appreciate knowing about it. Please add a comment to this topic.

I discovered how to create voice variables

mpatton — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:27:22 EST

Here is a simple command you can create that will let you pass a voice variable to Dragon Dictate 3 for Macintosh.

1. Create a command as follows:

Command Name: elephant calibrate /!Diddly!/

Context: Global

Type: Applescript

Applescript:

on srhandler(vars)

set dictatedText to varDiddly of vars

say "the text you spoke was"

say dictatedText

end srhandler

2. Try it out

a. you say "elephant calibrate hello there buddy"

b. The computer should respond by saying "the text you spoke was hello there buddy"

NOTES:

The words "elephant calibrate" were chosen at random. They can be anything.

The variable name "Diddly" can be anything. But whatever variable name you choose to use in the Command Name, you must refer to it as "varVariableName" in the AppleScript.

I believe that "srhandler()" is the speech recognition event handler for Dragon Dictate 3.

Next up: seeing if it can handle two or more voice variables.

I am just learning the Mac (I use DNS12.5 at work)

How to create variables in Dragon Dictate 3 (Mac)

mpatton — Thu, 16 May 2013 02:23:35 EST

I just converted to a Mac. I have Dragon Dictate 3.

When creating a custom command I would like to pass it a variable (e.g. something like "Backspace <1to50> times".

Anyone know how to create a voice variable like this in DD3?

I am almost positive it can be done (with the proper syntax) since some of the built-in DD3 commands use variables such as:

"(Post or Update) (to) (my) (Social Networking Site) (wall or page)"

where "Post or Update" is "Post" or "Update" or "Tweet" or "Facebook"

and where "Social Networking Site" is "Twitter" or "Facebook"

and where "wall or page" is "wall" or "page"

Opening vocabulary editor crashes Dragon Dictate 3

harvid — Tue, 07 May 2013 16:48:08 EST

I start running into this issue today. My user profile continues to work for dictation. However, if I attempt to open the Vocabulary Editor Dragon Dictate 3 will crash. I do have an alternate profile which I created for which there is no issue opening the vocabulary editor. For my primary profile, the crash will happen regardless of which audio source I use.

I have seen similar complaints with earlier versions of Dragon Dictate. Unfortunately, no one posted a resolution…

Any help that could be offered would be great!

Chris

DragonDictate 3.0 Classic Edition for Windows question

netcruezer — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 10:42:56 EST

I have always used DragonDictate 3.0 Classic Edition for Windows for the last 15 years and ran it successfully in Windows 95, 98, and XP Professional aSP3

Recently I got a new computer running Windows 7 (64-bit) Professional and knew it wouldn't work within the Windows 7 OS but thought i would be able to install XP mode which is a functioning copy of Windows XP Professional SP3.

I was able to get the DragonDictate 3.0 Classic Edition installed but it's not working properly. The voice bar jumps and doesn't recognize what I'm saying. I can't even run the Quick Tutorial Training because it doesn't recognize anything.

Has anybody tried installing DragonDictate 3.0 Classic Edition for Windows in XP mode in Windows 7 (64-bit)

Is it possible to get it to work? If you have any suggestions or insight on this problem please email me at netcruezer@aol.com

Todd

Hands-free solutions for Macintosh

schafercg — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:41:01 EST

Nuance does not list Dragon Dictate 2 or 3 as 508 complaint http://nuance.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3405/kw/508/session/L3RpbWUvMTM2NDgyOTkxNy9zaWQvSS1oVUREbWw=

but I know they are making a lot of changes and improvements. Has anyone been using Dragon Dictate version 2 or 3 as a hands-free alternative successfully on the Macintosh? Are there specific limitations in comparsion to using Dragon NaturallySpeaking on Windows? Can someone who has been using Dragon NaturallySpeaking on Windows make the switch to a Macintosh and be able to use the computer completely hands-free?

Enlarge Recognition Window Text

kmlefebvre — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:12:50 EST

Is there a way to enlarge the font size of the recognition window for users with visual impairments? Thank you!

Dragon Dictate 3 Mac -- User defined "keystroke" won't send modifier (command key)

edtalks — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:23:42 EST

I designed a User Defined Safari command that included a Command-Key-modified Right Arrow] for use in a web app (comapping.com). It used to work fine, but now it doesn't. My version is 3.0.2. This command stopped working pretty recently, so I'm wondering, could the new Dictate version be what crumped the command? I have auto-update turned on... could someone tell me when 3.0.2 came out?

I can't show it as it appears in the editing pane of the Commands window of Dragon Dictate, because this message board won't show the symbols, but here's what the command does:

esc

command-right-arrow

Dragon does send the esc followed by the right arrow, but doesn't send the Command Key modifier.

Sending other keystrokes in combination with the command key, for instance command-tab, (the app switcher) does work. Manually typing ?? (command-right-arrow) still works on comapping.com.

Thoughts? I don't know AppleScript, but could that be a work-around?

THANKS!

...Ed

DNS 10.1 questions and error message

Alan_Stancliff — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 20:14:11 EST

Hello all,

It's been a long time since I've been here. I was last here in 2010. Shortly after my last visit, my wife of many years died and many things in my life changed. I stopped using DNS when I realized that the computer I had probably was just not powerful enough to run it.

I now have a new computer, described in my profile and in my signature line, which I'm sure is up to the job. I am still using version 10.1, and I have a few questions.

I work as a medical transcriptionist. I use this application to redictate material that the physicians record. I now have 8 Gb of memory, Windows Premium Home Edition 64-bit on a pretty powerful CPU. DNS is working far better on this computer them on my previous one. Nevertheless, I'm having some problems that seem to be similar to a few problems I had on the older system. One is this: If I get confused in my punctuation and seek to use voice commands to fix it, the program locks up, and I get an error message.

The other question that I have is this: Would I be better off upgrading to the latest version of DNS? Right now I have DNS 10.1 Preferred, and I'm on rather limited means, so if I do upgrade, would it be worth the extra shekels to pay for the Professional as opposed to the Preferred edition?

I'm sure I'll have other questions as time goes by.

Regards,
Alan

Global Insert Date Command

stevealex — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 09:16:09 EST

Is it possible to have a global "insert date" command in Dragon Medical? Specifically, I would like to include the current date as part of Word filenames without having to say the entire date each time. The "insert date" command works in the body of a word document, but it does not work in the file save dialog.

Thanks,

Steve

DNS vs ViaVoice

archaeologist127 — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 12:55:20 EST

I have been using ViaVoice to dictate letters and technical reports for the past 20 years, but only as a minor addition to typing when my eyes are tired. The accuracy, even though it is well trained and I speak standard English, is disappointingly low. Not surprisingly it gets technical words such as Archaeopteryx right every time, but is less accurate on common words. I am currently using ViaVoice Pro Version 10 with Windows XP Pro 32-bit. Speed was a major problem in the distant past but even with Win 32-bit this is no longer a problem. Recognition always was and stil is the problem.

I would like to 'upgrade' to DNS, but only if the recognition is likely to be better. If so, which version should I buy? I would not want to upgrade to version that had more 'capabilities' but the same poor recognition.

Dragon Dictate 3 commands

Robianx — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 07:46:00 EST

I recently had to make a new user on my Macbook Pro due to corrupted files. In doing so, I was able to bring over Dragon Dictate with my microphone profiel, however when I started to dictate and tried to use my personal commands- they were not there.

I have yet to delete my old ueser. Would anyone be able to tell me where I can find (what files) my personal commands would be located?

Thanks

Rob

I am using a mid 2012 Macbook Pro 15 inch retina 16gb ram 2.7Ghz i7

Dragon Dictate 2.5 crashes upon launch

godstrongpatty — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 07:36:24 EST

I use a MacBook Pro with my Dragon and microphone because that's all I have except a Netbook which has no external disk drive and is slow as molasses. Because it is a laptop, I frequently move it from place to place, particularly to the printer so that I can plug it in and print when I need to. The problem is that Dragon Dictate apparently does not like its microphone to be unplugged for long and will now crash whenever I try to launch it.

I have done the steps of uninstalling it and then reinstalling it but this last time it did not work. The downloaded file will not open

Which Tablet OS best for Dragon? Android - Win 8 - IPad or Samsung Galaxy?

Windstarsc — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 21:42:30 EST

I'm about to purchase a tablet for use with my home automation system but I have a rather unique situation as me wondering which operating system to go with. I need to use Dragon NaturallySpeaking with this tablet because I'm unable to push any of the buttons (no use of my limbs). I would need to either have Dragon be capable of mouse commands by saying "MouseGrid" or I'm open to any other suggestions but it would absolutely be necessary for me to control the tablet by voice only.

What operating systems will Dragon NaturallySpeaking V12 be compatible with and for what I need, what platform would be the best one to go with? I prefer to stay away from Apple products for a number of reasons… Please keep in mind, I'm unable to use any of the touchpad functions or even touch the screen per se.

I'm open to any and all suggestions but I need to get this working as soon as possible. I appreciate you taking the time to read my post.

–>Bruce

Insert date in DNS Premium

Leon — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 00:03:22 EST

I'm just wondering if the latest version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking premium allows you to prevent the automatic updating of dates. In previous versions it seemed you had no choice; the automatic updating box was always crossed in Dragon NaturallySpeaking.

How can you change this option?

This may seem a small matter but it can be highly irritating, particularly if I do not not recognise I have left it crossed.

Equivalent of the Resume command in DragonDictate

christianagain — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 21:11:54 EST

I've been using Dragon NaturallySpeaking under Windows (versions 8 and 9.5) for several years, and have recently started using DragonDictate on the Mac. My question is, is there an equivalent of the Resume command in DragonDictate? (For anyone not familiar, this works by saying "resume with xxxxx" and all the text prior to that specified is deleted.)

Thanks in advance,

Christian.

Dragon Dictate can't "hear" bluetooth microphone

JerryL — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 13:37:37 EST

I recently bought an Xpressway bluetooth headset for my Macbook with DD 3. I'm using a USB bluetooth adapter as recommended.

The Xpressway is able to "pair" with the bluetooth adapter, and I can see in "Sound Preferences" that the computer is picking up the input from the mic.

When I try to create a new input profile in DD3, however, it is obvious the Dragon doesn't "hear" any audio input, whether on the "internal microphone" (recommended by the on-line guide) or the "line-in" input.

I'm so close, so it's frustrating to not be able to complete this last step - any suggestions?

Thanks in advance,

Jerry

Dragon Dictate sometimes stops transcribing

veganjenny — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 19:51:42 EST

I've been having this really frustrating problem with Dragon Dictate lately. I will start dictating and everything will be going fine. Then, suddenly, Dragon just stops transcribing. It may have something to do with audio, since the status window doesn't show that it is receiving as much audio as I would expect when I speak. Sometimes, it doesn't pick up anything at all, and sometimes it picks up one or two words out of the phrase that I am saying. Does anyone know what could be causing this? It seems that if I quit out of Dragon Dictate, and reopen the application, things get better.

Dragon Dictate 3 Transcription - Olympus Pro Dictaphones Not Yet Compatible

dictate — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 04:37:41 EST

Hello

My first post .. bit nervous, but I guess nobody is watching so here I go !!

I was one of the few that was genuinely excited when Nuance bumped to Dragon Dictate 3 and finally introduced transcription. I have had so many calls by my Aussie customers over the years asking about this feature. We all knew it would come but boy did it take a while.

So of course first thing we try is our trusty DS-7000 to record some audio and run it into transcription .. no joy:

The file "DS700001.aif" cannot be transcribed.

Dictate cannot use files with a sampling rates below 22.050 kilohertz.

DSS Player Plus v7 converts .ds2 (as DD3 won't take .ds2 files on Mac unlike NaturallySpeaking on Windows) to the only compatible audio format on a Mac - .aif but only achieves a maximum of 16 kHz.

There is a way around this using some other software from Olympus called Sonority. But getting ahold of Sonority is not as easy as a download from the Olympus website. I have been giving copies of Sonority away to my customers.

Anyway, just thought I would put this one out there. I have had chats with Olympus and Nuance in Australia to update them and I know it is being raised with Olympus in Japan. Hopefully a fix will be rolled out in the next release of DSS Player Plus.

More on this on my blog: dictat.es/dd3-ds2

Weird glitches with Dragon Dictate 3.0

veganjenny — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 00:39:16 EST

I'm getting some really bizarre behavior when I'm using Dragon. I tend to dictate into the Dragon Notepad because it seems to work better than trying to dictate into an application directly. I've been noticing as I dictate that sometimes, if I pause, and pick up again, instead of continuing from the end, it moves the insertion point a few characters to the left. Sometimes, it will even randomly move the insertion point into the middle of a paragraph. As you can imagine, this makes dictation of little challenging.

Also, there are some words that just refuses to transcribe. For example, the word "cat". If I use the word cat in a sentence, it works. However, if I use the word on its own or in a very short phrase, for example, "Hi, Cat" it will not work (I had to type out in that last case).

(edit) FYI: I'm using Dragon Dictate 3.0 with a Sennheiser ME-3 + Andrea USB pod (AK 5370) running on an iMac with a Core i7 and 16 GB of RAM.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Use of commands quote that, bracket that in DNS

Leon — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 00:20:57 EST

Two of the three computers I use DNS premium on can respond to the commands quote that and bracket that e.g. if I want to put quotes around a phrase I just select it and say quote that - the quotes appear instantly'; the same with braket that.

One of my computers does not do that. I cannot see how to get those useful comamnds set up on that third computer. I looked at the commands section but I was somewaht bamboozled.

Any ideas?

DNS - value of more RAM

Leon — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 00:17:49 EST

With the most recent desk-top computer I had put together I asked for 24 Gb of RAM, a 1 Tb HD and a four core (I think) i7 chip. It boots off an SSD, not always very reliably.

I had thought that increasing the RAM to this level would make the recognition almost instant.

I also have a VAIO laptop with SSD, i7 chip and 8 Gb of RAM.

There is only a slight perceptible difference in the running of DNS on both; the desktop is marginally faster but not a a difference of practical value.

Is there is something I am doing wrong preventing DNS from accessing the whole 24 Gb of RAM if it needs it? I am running Windows 7 64 so there should not be any problem in accessing 24 Gb of RAM.

I am thinking, for my next computer, to just use a Mac Mini server 2.0 with Windows 8 on board and perhaps 8Gb of RAM. Do you think I would notice much loss in speed with DNS over my 24 Gb behemoth?

Review: Dragon Dictate 3 for Mac

GDS — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 14:31:52 EST

All,

For as long as I've heard about speech recognition on the Mac, the prevailing opinion has been some form of "Dragon Dictate is OK, but it pales in comparison to NaturallySpeaking." I thought I'd take a closer look at that and share my findings with you. Some choice quotes:

At the risk of ascribing human qualities to lines of code (and why not? Dragon is such a good listener!), Dragon Dictate suffers from short term memory loss. Unlike Dragon NaturallySpeaking for the PC, Dragon Dictate will sometimes “forget” what application you’re working in, forget the last utterance you acted on, or forget the last thing you said. All too often I found my work would come to a halt as I was forced to reach for the keyboard and mouse because I was unable to act as expected on text that I just dictated.

Dragon Dictate 3 lives up to its name but not its brand. The dictation capability here is stunning, a worthy investment for any Mac owner who wants to save time by dictating and reduce writer’s block by speaking what’s on their mind. But Dragon Dictate 3 is not representative of what the Dragon speech recognition experience can or should be.Dictate’s inability to let users interact with on screen controls by saying what they see forces those who prioritize voice control over dictation into a series of crippling compromises.

I put the rest of the review on my blog. I hope you'll stop by and read it.

Speech recognition from recordings

DrCreosote — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 11:55:26 EST

Hello,

I have hours and hours of recordings that I initially intended to re-type into my computer. Some of these recordings are 25 years old and recorded cassette and microcassette. More recent versions are taken using an RCA digital voice recorder. I don't even know if it is possible for voice recognition to convert any or all of these recordings to written text. Most of the recordings are short stories and often have some background noise as I generally make these recordings on long commutes, so there is car noise in there.

My question then is in two parts: First, is it even possible to use software to convert these recordings to text files? Second, if it is possible, what software solutions would be the best fit for me?

Thank you,

DC.

Can network settings disrupt DNS version 12?

brianwalz — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 15:44:33 EST

Hello,

Whenever I'm using Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 and I click on a YouTube video or even download a new program for instance and my Internet connection is busy, I cannot do anything with Dragon. The area that shows the green microphone icon and next to that area where it shows microphone modulation will be filled in with green or yellow as if I'm talking. I'm not sure if it's because of a download and my network settings are making noise that only the computer can hear but I'm unable to do anything nor even turn off the microphone for a temporary amount of time once the download begins per se. I don't recall having any type of similar issues with version 11, this seems to be all new with version 12 and I can't figure out why it would be doing this. Also, nothing has changed with my network settings and my Internet provider has been unchanged for the past five years. HELP!

My network consists of a wireless modem, I have DSL and I've never heard any noise through my computer while downloading or viewing any type of video, etc. Does all this make sense because it doesn't to me.
Thank you and any help you can be, I would appreciate.

Outlook problems

RMilo — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 20:38:18 EST

I just switched from legal 11 to legal 12 yesterday and I am unable to scroll down in the message area in Outlook 2010. It work fine in legal 11 as soon as a switched it appears that when you scroll down either by saying "page down" or "move down [X]" it just appears to go down then bounces right back up.
I also found that when I tried many commands they didn't work. In the correction box I will say "cancel" and nothing will happen. Same thing happens in many boxes. I have trained it 3 different times. Still no improvement, it happens in many other for commands in Dragon commands.

I'm so confused.

Dragon dictate 3 and medical vocabulary import

dcneuro — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 19:08:20 EST

Is this forum compatible with an iPad? Lots of trouble trying to post this message.

I just purchased dragon dictate 3. I have every other product including DNS medical for windows and Mac speech medical. I tried to export my vocabulary from Mac speech and it crashed. As this new version seems to work better with my EMR, is there a way to export and import a vocabulary file from either DNS or Mac speech?

Dragon Dictate vs Mac Speech

Dr. S. — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 13:07:06 EST

What is the difference between DragonDictate and MacSpeech? I currently have Mac speech medical as well as Dragon naturally speaking medical for Windows, the latter of which I use in Windows XP on a virtual machine. I stopped using MacSpeech medical because it just doesn't work very good at all. Does DragonDictate 3 work any better or any different? Mac Speech med is very diffferent from DNS products?

What's the deal w/ wideband bluetooth support in Dragon Dictate 3?

veganjenny — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 14:23:51 EST

Nuance touts wideband bluetooth support in Dragon Dictate 3:

Enhanced Bluetooth Support – Dragon Dictate for Mac 3 adds support for wideband Bluetooth wireless headset microphones, and you can get up and running quickly. When it detects that the USB dongle of a certified microphone is plugged into the Mac, Dragon Dictate offers “Enhanced Bluetooth” as an audio source type and does not require a script reading to get started.

What does this mean? That you don't need to go through training if you use "Enhanced Bluetooth"? Sounds kind of wrong ...

Also, I'm having trouble finding out a list of wideband bt mics. Anyone have any suggestions? Also, any feedback on how these compare to wired mics? I just don't see how the medium (wired v. unwired) can have an effect on whether to need training or not.

FYI, I'm currently using a Sennheiser ME 3 and having good results. But would be interested in seeing if there are wireless options that are equally good or better. Or, for that matter, wired options that are better.

Thanks!

Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 12 hanging up

Windstarsc — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 00:03:22 EST

I received my Dragon NaturallySpeaking upgrade to version 12 yesterday (thank you for the quick shipment) but I'm having a problem with it hiccuping and locking up from time to time. When the correction menu opens up in Firefox that that comes up; DLL.dedr. I'm not sure if it's a coincidence or not but sometimes happens after having Microsoft Word open. Attached is a copy of the error message I received and I'm at a loss when it comes to what to do and apologize. Some of the problems occurred while using Gmail, it seemed to lock up for some reason.

Your KnowBrainer software that I've downloaded, it's absolutely priceless and the more I use it, the more I love it and can imagine not having it!

Thank you much, I appreciate your help.

When I start NaturallySpeaking, I get an error message that there is a wrong file in my system directory.

cjbob — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 05:42:36 EST

Every time NaturallySpeaking starts, a box pops up with the following: The file C\Windows\system32\pdm.dll is version 6.0.0.8169.This version is known to not work well with NaturallySpeaking.

Please refer to technote #4096 on the Nuance website or contact Nuance technicals for further information.

This is a fresh install of NaturallySpeaking Professional Edition 11.5. I checked for updates but there are none available.

If anyone can send me the right version of that file or news how to fix this, I would be most appreciative.

Thanks,

Bob

Being Prompt with alarm/sound when Microphone comes on

Windstarsc — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 14:40:04 EST

I've been having a problem with my microphone getting triggered on when someone is speaking in the background. Granted, I know that I could click on the green microphone icon but because of my disability, I wouldn't be able to turn it back on if I was lying in bed while using my computer. With that said, I was wondering if there's anyway to have a sound alarm me in my ear each time the microphone gets turned on? This might remedy the problem, since it's difficult to mute some of the guest I have. I've been in touch with Nuance but they said they get in contact with somebody on a forum which led me in this direction.

Thank you – Bruce

Dragon dictate for Apple computers

StGeorge — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 14:48:56 EST

I have a priest that uses a Apple computer and was wondering if the Dragon Dictate, and, possibly Knowbrainer would work on his computer, together?

3rd Party assistance for DragonDictate?

Alan — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 20:41:09 EST

I use the PC version of DNS 11.5 Pro - even when using a Mac by using Paralles 7 and using the Windows side. I use both Knowbrainer and VoicePower and honestly don't want to give them up because they are so helpful. Does anyone know of anything similar to Knowbrainer and/or VoicePower that works with DragonDictate?

Best,

Alan

Speech recognition for the Macintosh

Alan Cantor — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:08:18 EST

It's hard to keep up with every development in speech recognition, so I would appreciate if somebody could recap the current state of affairs of speech recognition software for the Macintosh.

The Mac user I will be working with is primarily interested in speech recognition for writing and editing academic articles. The NaturallySpeaking features that are most important include:

The ability to adapt the acoustic model to a nonstandard accent. (She speaks fluent English, but with an Israeli accent.)
The ability to import and export word/phrase lists.
The ability of the program to analyze a writing sample, and tweak the language model based on that analysis.
Insert after/before XYZ commands.
Select XYZ through XYZ commands.