i thought anyone who may be thinking of getting dradon naturally speaking voice recognition may like this following information .
HintsBackup
Backup User Files
Moving User Files
Backup Vocabulary
Backup Macros
General Backup Needs
One common note: Some of the folders (directories) to be backed up are by default "hidden folders." To see these, you will need to change the settings of "My Computer" or "Explorer" to see them. In Windows-XP, go to Tools, Folder Options to make this change.
This only covers backup. Restoration can take many different directions depending on the system status, what data is available, etc.
Backup User Files
There are two basic methods for backing up user files. Some use the built-in "Export" feature, others prefer to find the files and copy them. The User files can be very large -- over 1GB is possible. In most cases, this is because ".dra" files have accumulated. Those are not necessary for backup and can be deleted prior to writing the backup to CD-ROM or other media where space is limited.
Alternate 1: Export of a user is done by opening NaturallySpeaking, going to NaturallySpeaking on the DragonBar (or File if using the Tray Icon mode), Manage User, click the Advanced button, then Export. Select a place for the files to go.
Alternate 2: Copy user files by finding the "Users" folder and then copying the folder(s) for your user(s). On a standard installation, these files are in the folders:
Vista: C:ProgramDataNuanceNaturallySpeaking9 (or 10)Users
Windows-XP, Releases 9 or 10: C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersApplication DataNuance NaturallySpeaking9 (or 10)Users
Windows-XP, Release 8: C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersApplication DataScanSoft NaturallySpeaking8Users
(On Release 7.3, substitute "NaturallySpeaking" for "NaturallySpeaking8"
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Moving User Files
There are two basic methods for moving user files from one system to another. Some use the built-in "Export" feature, others prefer to find the files and copy them. The User files can be very large -- over 1GB is possible. In most cases, this is because ".dra" files have accumulated. Those are not necessary for backup and can be deleted prior to writing the backup to CD-ROM or other media where space is limited.
Alternate 1: On the old system, export a user by opening NaturallySpeaking, going to NaturallySpeaking on the DragonBar (or File if using the Tray Icon mode), Manage User, click the Advanced button, then Export. Select a place for the files to go on a USB drive, network, etc. Then, on the new system, install Dragon but cancel out of creating a new user. Go to NaturallySpeaking, Manage Users, the Advanced Button, then import. Bring in your user files with the Import process. You will be asked to rerun the Audio Setup Wizard when you first Open the user on the new system.
Alternate 2: Copy user files by finding the "Users" folder and then copying the folder(s) for your user(s). On a standard installation, these files are in the folders:
Vista: C:ProgramDataNuanceNaturallySpeaking9|10Users
Windows-XP, Releases 9 or 10: C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersApplication Data NuanceNaturallySpeaking9 (or 10)Users
Release 8 on Windows-XP: C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersApplication DataScanSoftNaturallySpeaking8Users. (On Release 7.3, substitute "NaturallySpeaking" for "NaturallySpeaking8")
After copying them, move the files to the new system in the corresponding folder after first installing Dragon NaturallySpeaking on the new system.
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Backup Vocabulary
The "acoustic" part of your user files can be reconstructed fairly quickly. If your machine is destroyed, you might end up with a different type of sound system, a new microphone, etc. So some people will only back up the vocabulary. This is a subset of backing up the user files, so doesn't need to be done if you have good backups of the user files. You may back up your entire vocabulary OR just your "custom words" which might be phrases. Backing up "custom words" is also useful for moving from one release to another or else one base vocabulary (e.g. Medical, Legal, General English) to another.
Backup of Entire Vocabulary: open NaturallySpeaking, going to NaturallySpeaking on the DragonBar (or File if using the Tray Icon mode), Manage Vocabularies, then Export. Select a place for the files to go.
Backup of Custom Words (including phrases): open NaturallySpeaking, then Words, Export. Select a place for the file to go. This is a tiny file -- open it with Notepad and edit it if you please. Prior to Release 6 (?) this option was not available and another program was used to save this portion of your vocabulary.
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Backup Macros
Many users of Preferred, Professional, Medical or Legal versions create macros to expedite use of NaturallySpeaking. Typically collections of these macros are small files, able to be backed up on floppy disk, sent to other machines, etc.
If your entire user is backed up, your macros are also backed up so a separate backup is not necessary.
Alternate 1: Go to Tools, Command Browser, then the Manage tab. Select all items (or only specific ones if you choose), then click Export. Select the destination file.
Alternate 2: In the Users directory, then <your user name>current folder, find the MyCmds.dat file and copy it. On Release 6, this was the only practical means to save macros.
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General Backup Needs
Application Backup
There are many more complete sources of information on backup of data. The key point is to do it! Backup may be done to another hard drive, CD-ROM, DVD, tape, USB disk drives (so-called keychain drives can be very handy for this), etc.
Key files to back up for Speech Recognition Users include:
DragonPad Documents: If they are saved by default in a specific folder (as is suggested) then save that folder.
Word Documents and Associated Files
Documents -- save the folder where you save documents.
Templates -- if you use Word templates, they are kept in one or more folders. Most persons will use the default User Template folder. To find it, open Word, go to Tools, Options, and then click the File Locations tab. Highlight the "Users Templates" item and if needed, click the Modify button just to find where these are stored, then Cancel after you verify the location. They will commonly be at C:Documents and Settings<your Windows User Name>Application DataMicrosoftTemplates.
Word Macros, Toolbars, AutoText Entries -- if you use any of these, a common method allows saving them. Open a blank document. Go to Word Tools, Macro, Macros. Then click the Organizer button. Then, Copy your macros, Toolbars, and AutoText entries into your new document. Save the document, and all of these items are saved. You may temporarily see duplicate toolbars when doing this, but they will disappear after you close this new document. Some of this information is commonly in the normal.dot template which is saved if you backup the directory listed above.
Other Application Data: you are on your own -- each product you use should have a means of preserving data if it saves non-trivial data. If it doesn't, then quit using the product!
One key point: SAVE YOUR BACKUP WHERE IT IS UNLIKELY TO GET STOLEN, DAMAGED, OR LOST IN THE SAME INCIDENT WHEN YOUR ORIGINAL DATA IS LOST.
An effective way to think about backup is to go to a place away from your computer, and then pretend that the computer is gone along with the entire room contents. Then walk through what you need to have to recover. That could include your program CD's, serial numbers and passwords, contact lists, insurance contacts, important contracts (though these are often available from the other party, think Katrina where entire sections of a city are wiped out), home phone numbers for employees, and your Speech Recognition Specialist. here is the link to the page , their may be other info of use their to .
http://www.pcspeak.com/hints/general/backup.shtml[
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