It was a bit of a spaghetti-junction mess. Employees would enter their data, hit Calc, leave, and come back later. They purchased only one for the entire firm of 150. One of my first employers purchased a desktop computer-you had to load DOS, then load software, and then load your program-for a bit over $5,000. However, I think training in music is a lot like the computer sciences that are studied today (those courses didn’t even exist when I was in college). I was a music major and woefully unprepared for the technical age that was coming. My early years with technologyĪt this point, I want to share a bit about my past with technology so you can understand why I find this feature so exciting. Dictate is available in the desktop version a more powerful feature, Transcribe, is available in the web version. There’s no demonstration file you won’t need one. I’m using Microsoft 365 on a Windows 10 64-bit system, but you can use older versions. In a subsequent article, I’ll show you how to use the web version. We’ll discuss what versions do what for you and then learn how to use Dictate in the desktop version. The purpose of this article is to introduce you to the difference between Word desktop and web-the web version has more functionality at this time. SEE: 60 Excel tips every user should master (TechRepublic) It’s easy, but it’s new, so many of you might not know about it.

In this article, I’ll show you how easy it is to use Microsoft Word’s dictation feature in the desktop version, which became available in August 2020. Never did I imagine that someday I would simply speak, and computer software would instantly transcribe my words for me. It took two people-two! I know that vision exposes my age: I’ve seen technology change so much in my lifetime.

The art of dictation and transcription used to draw up images of someone recording a message and then a second person wearing earphones and pressing a foot pedal to control a recording device, while turning the recorded word from the first person into a typed document. Image: iStock/Prostock-Studio Must-read Windows coverageĭefend your network with Microsoft outside-in security services Whether you're a bad typist or have a hurt thumb, you can still interact with Microsoft Word using its new Dictate feature. How to use the Dictate feature instead of typing in Microsoft Word

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