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Is anyone having problems with Dictation in Yosemite?

I downloaded Yosemite, and have downloaded the Dictation update, but now it seems that dictation is not working and is continually capitalizing words as I dictate, causing more issues.

Posted on Oct 20, 2014 11:27 AM

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51 replies

Dec 2, 2014 6:25 PM in response to Gaddiscorp

I'm having the same problem. Mostly in word. I discovered it usually happens with pauses. In other words if you say your punctuation like the word 'period'. And then there's a pause afterwards before you start speaking again, it will usually not put in a space and capitalize the next letter. Like this "again,It will". The same thing happens with commas. But, if you wait until saying your punctuation and then right away start speaking it will usually put in the proper space and capitalize like it should.


I also noticed if you pause in the middle of a sentence and then start speaking again after the pause it will usually not put in a space and capitalize the next letter. Annoyingly, the only way to overcome that was to say the words "space bar no caps" and then continue with your words you want typed, in which case it would properly format the sentence. I did not have the same problem dictating this reply nor in Pages or in Mail.

Dec 5, 2014 10:21 AM in response to MNegraeff

I am also having the same problemIf there is anybody out thereThat can provide a solution,I and those above meIn this discussionWould be really happy.


I have usedDictationFor the last 18 monthsBecause I’m not very good typist.I use it at work and at homeBut as with thePreviousCorrespondentsIt is driving me madWhen I dictate in any of theMicrosoftOfficePrograms.



The first two paragraphs of this message are typed in Microsoft Word, the sentence I have dictated directly onto this messageboard.

Dec 20, 2014 2:29 PM in response to Gaddiscorp

PROBLEM: Dictation not working at all. Microphone pops up, shows that it receives input, but no words get produced.


SUMMARY OF INVESTIGATION:

I have been having this problem for about a week after a fresh install of Yosemite (Clean). It has been mildly annoying since I've been dictating for my college papers for the last 1.5 years! So it has caused me enough pain to keep going on troubleshooting and I think I found a good solution. I've tried the unchecking and re-checking the box, no dice. I tried downloading the files myself and putting them in the folder, no dice. Finally, I found that you could add languages, and so I added Australia, it downloaded the content, and I was dictating again! So to go further, I had both US and Australia checked, and unchecked Australia. When I hit OK, it asked me if it wanted to delete content. That gave me an idea. So I checked Canada and unchecked US after making Canada my default. It says "Will be downloaded" next to the files. So when I hit OK, it asked me if it was OK to delete the dictation files for English (US). I said OK and then went straight back in and selected English (US). A little icon appeared next to the selection like a gear icon, so I clicked on that and selected "Full Download" instead of Standard, which brought the download to 2.2GB. After downloading everything, it installed very quickly. The last sentence and this sentence has now been dictated with my voice just like it used to work.


SOLUTION:

To summarize:

1. Switch to a different language and unselect English US.

2. Let it download the new files, and then switch back to English US.

3. Ensure you select the gear icon and change to "full" under the selection.

4. After it downloads and installs, you should be up and running in your favorite word processing application.

No restart needed!


Enjoy!

Dec 31, 2014 6:24 PM in response to Gaddiscorp

AhulaniDec 31, 2014 6:22 PM

I have the same problem as others. With dictation on Word, everytime I pause, even after a comma, the program inserts the next word as capitalized. And it does not insert a space between punctuation marks. It is really time consuming to correct. This is what it looks like, when I dictate a sentence. It doesn't seem to be a problem in this program. So here is a facsimile.This is what it looks like,If I am using Word,And I don't correct the errorsWhen they occur.

Dec 31, 2014 6:31 PM in response to daleharris541

You are amazing, daleharris541! To have gone to all this trouble.

I have switched to Canadian and then back to US, but I never saw a gear icon. I will give it a try now on Word and see how it goes.

It did not work for me. I still get capitalized words after every pause. Hmm. I wonder if the gear icon has something to do with it. Can you tell me where it appeared? Thank you and Happy New Year!

Dec 31, 2014 9:34 PM in response to daleharris541

I did try Australian as well as Canadian. It is for Microsoft Word. Rats! You would think that Apple would have worked this kind of stuff out with major programs like Office before releasing a new OS. Grr. It has been going on for months with no response from Apple.

Someone suggested I write in Text and then paste into Word. It is a good work around because it seems that Dictate works in Text.

BTW where did the gear icon show up? I never saw an opportunity to:

3. Ensure you select the gear icon and change to "full" under the selection.

Is anyone having problems with Dictation in Yosemite?

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