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# Vocabulary Editor Window

The Vocabulary Editor allows you to view and edit the list of words, phrases, and symbols that Dragon Dictate can type for you in Dictation mode.

To open the Vocabulary Editor window, choose Tools > Vocabulary Editor.

> The very first time you open the Vocabulary Editor window when a given profile is active, there will be a brief delay while Dragon Dictate generates an initial list of the built-in dictation vocabulary for that profile. Once this initial list is generated, subsequent access to the Vocabulary Editor window is rapid. (The list is long, though — over 150,000 words — so there can still be a brief delay when you perform certain actions in the window.)

To switch among vocabulary lists:

- Click All, Built-In, or User. User vocabulary can come from vocabulary training (analysis of written text) or from direct editing in this window. An icon distinguishes built-in vocabulary from user vocabulary.

To filter the displayed list:

- Type in the search field and press Return. The pop-up menu in the search field lets you determine whether the filter operation is Contains, Begins With, or Ends With. Both the written and spoken forms are searched. For example, a Contains search on “dash” lists “balderdash”, because its written form contains “dash”, but also “`---`”, because its spoken form is “em-dash.” To empty the search field and stop filtering the list (displaying the entire list), click the “x” in the search field or press Esc when the search field has focus.

> If you do a search and no match is found, Dragon Dictate will offer to add the term to your user vocabulary, regardless of which category you're in. To add it, click Yes. (You can edit this new vocabulary item later.) To decline, click No.

To edit a vocabulary item:

- Select the item, and use the info area on the right side of the window.

You can’t edit the written form of a vocabulary item. You can edit the spoken form of a user vocabulary item, but not of a built-in vocabulary item; you should do this if the item’s written form differs from its pronunciation. (For best results, train the item’s pronunciation, as described below.) To edit the spoken form of a user vocabulary item:

- Type the spoken form (an English spelling equivalent to how the word is pronounced) and press Return. You should see a dialog warning that any recorded training for this word will be erased.

The Vocabulary Editor window info area also displays features of the selected vocabulary item having to do with Dragon Dictate’s intelligent automatic capitalization and spacing. You can edit these features for user vocabulary items, and for most built-in vocabulary items (although some built-in vocabulary items have complex automatic capitalization and spacing rules, which can’t be fully displayed or edited):

- Next word. Decide how the capitalization, or lack of capitalization, should be handled in the next word. The checkbox next to Lower case in titles determines the capitalization of that word when formatting it as part of a title.

- Insert X spaces before/Insert X spaces after. Use the corresponding dropdowns to determine how many spaces Dictate should automatically use before and after the word. You can only insert 0 or 1 spaces before a word; after a word, you can insert 0, 1, or 2 spaces, or turn on or off the spacing.

- Numbers. Determine how numbers should be formatted before and after the word. "Normally" is the default setting for most vocabulary items, which means Dictate will follow the typical conventions you have set up when dealing with numbers in Dictate and Numbers modes. However, you can also tell Dictate to format them as numerals or as Roman numerals, if you want to designate exceptions to the normal behavior.

- Alternate Forms. Use this area to create alternate forms of usage for the vocabulary item. Click the + button and fill out the pop-out dialog to create an alternate form. Some vocabulary items already have alternate forms created and listed in this area; click the checkbox next to them to enable or disable them, or click the Edit button to edit the alternate form in a pop-out dialog.

- Reset defaults. If you've made changes but want to go back to the way they were originally, click the Reset defaults button to restore a vocabulary item to its original state. Note: clicking this button restores the word properties to their original default state. Any previously saved changes will be lost.

If a vocabulary item is not being recognized correctly, you might wish to train the pronunciation of the item. This means that you pronounce the item several times, so that Dragon Dictate can record your voice saying it and incorporate the recording into your voice model. To train a vocabulary item, select the item and choose Train from the Tool (gear) menu at the bottom of the window.

Dragon Dictate presents a sequence of training dialogs:

1. A dialog explaining that you are about to pronounce the item three times (click Train to proceed).

2. A dialog where you pronounce the item three times, watching for feedback in the dialog so you know Dragon Dictate has heard you.

3. A dialog where you are informed that the training process is over.

To create a new user vocabulary item:

- Click the button. Type the word, as written, in the dialog. To add a description of how the word is spoken, click Advanced to reveal the rest of the dialog.

To delete a user vocabulary item:

- Select the word and press Delete (or choose Delete from the Gear menu). A dialog appears giving you an opportunity to change your mind.

To export and import vocabulary items:

- To export, select the item(s) and choose Export from the Gear menu. An XML file is created. To import, choose Import from the Gear menu and specify an exported XML file. User vocabulary, when created, belongs to the current profile, so this is a way to copy user vocabulary from one profile to another.