Word Dictate - keeps typing 'what'

Anonymous
2020-01-23T08:42:55+00:00

Hi, I just started using the dictate function in Word and its great. However when I pause for too long it types 'What' and if i'm not careful i miss it and it stays in my text. I have tried several times and there is no background noise and I am not breathing heavy or saying anything? It will often type 'what' also before the dictate function times out and turns off. 

edit - it is now also typing 'hello' and 'heehee'. I think its possessed!! 

The function commands such as hyphen, open parenthesis etc do not work either. comma, full stop do. Also is there a way to lengthen the time out function as I find it too short?

Any suggestions or anyone else having this problem?

Thankyou

H

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2020-06-04T17:16:46+00:00

Thanks @Rohn007 for pointing this out - I have just e-mailed Emily Tran to let her know. She is the person from Microsoft working to fix this.

When we were last in contact she hadn't been able to see the 'hello' problem in action. This might be why.

I think most of us would like to continue using the dictate function - it just needs a bit of perseverance to get there, and collaboration with Microsoft to help them.

Onwards and upwards!

A fix has been deployed to 100% of Dictation users - please let us know if you still see the issue.

Was this answer helpful?

3 people found this answer helpful.
0 comments

97 additional answers

Sort by: Oldest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Suzanne S Barnhill 279.2K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2020-04-02T12:23:20+00:00

    I have escalated this through the Word distribution list, which is read by members of the Word product group, but this isn't really a Word feature, I think, or even an Office feature, but a feature perhaps designed for Windows that has been adopted by Office, so I'm not sure who "owns" it, and of course response and action are complicated by the fact that many Microsoft employees are working from home at the moment.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2020-04-02T12:35:05+00:00

    Thanks for that. It looks like Dragon Speech recognition is the only immediate solution. I've given up on Word Dictate. It's just too annoying.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2020-04-02T19:53:59+00:00

    I have just had an e-mail reply from Emily at the Microsoft Dictation Team in Seattle. Impressed. Progress....!

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2020-04-03T00:43:34+00:00

    I have just had an e-mail reply from Emily at the Microsoft Dictation Team in Seattle. Impressed. Progress....!

    Thank you again for sending a frown to us yesterday, April 1st, as you got our attention to review this thread! :)

    Office Dictation - Punctuation Supported List

    Dictation (through the Dictate button on the Home Tab) in Office has the punctuation supported listed in each article here Dictate in Office 365. So, if you are looking for Word , please see that page. We are actively looking to extend support in all languages, so please send your feedback for what you would like to be able to see added at any time. 

    Silence Timeout for Dictation

    We've captured that various folks here are requesting a longer timeout. Two remedies may be 

    1. Potentially making the timeout longer, right now it should be about 20 seconds. 
    2. Having keyboard shortcuts to toggle Dictate on and off. Refer to the help articles for coverage as shortcuts are just coming soon. In Word for the Web, the shortcut ALT + ` (backquote) is rolling out now. 

    "Hello" and other strange text inserted

    Finally, the bizarre text issue where it types "Hello" is concerning, and we'ved logged a bug as well. I will circle back about that.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments