I’ve changed the way I position the mouse rulers, and it’s changed my behavior.
I used to leave Rulers in the default position of top and left. But lately I’ve been using them on the right and bottom, and and I’m liking this better for a couple reasons. I tend to notice them less when they’re tucked above the Taskbar and off to the right. So I tend to leave them on whether I’m using them or not. More important, they don’t change the position of windows, and so don’t affect named mouse touches.
(To change Rulers so they’re just on the right and bottom say “Rulers On”, “Rulers Right Bottom”)
Where do you like Rulers? Let me know here or e-mail at info at this Web address.
If you’re thinking about upgrading from Dragon NaturallySpeaking Standard or Preferred to Professional now’s the time to do it (Utter Command runs on the NaturallySpeaking Professional engine).
There’s a Dragon NaturallySpeaking pricing special in conjunction with the 10.1 upgrade — for $300 you can upgrade to NaturallySpeaking Professional 10.1 (retail $899) from the much less expensive Standard or Preferred versions of Dragon 7-9. Dragon resellers are offering the special — here’s a link to one of them: http://www.1st-dragon.com/drupsa.html.
The special pricing is scheduled to last until June 30.
After working with Beta testers and presales customers for the past year, today we’ve announced the general release of Utter Command.
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It’s been a long time coming. It started 15 years ago when I got repetitive strain injuries in my hands. I first used the Kurzweil speech engine, and then, when it came out, the first Windows version of DragonDictate, the precursor to Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
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After several years of writing macros that were similar to everyone else’s — and that I often forgot — I started thinking about the way the brain works with language and started working on a more consistent system. Sometime after that we decided to make a general product out of it. We were thinking it would take six months. It’s taken five years.
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One of the reasons it took so long is we’ve produced thorough, cross-referenced documentation. Every command is explained. Many thanks to our beta testers, trainers, and presales customers for using and commenting on the UC command system, applets and documentation as we were developing and refining them. Special thanks to Laurie, our VP of QA, and Bill theTrainer for many reads through the documentation and many trips through the self-guided tours.
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And special thanks to Wren, a programmer who worked with us in the early days. The bird that appears in our logo is the Painted Redstart (we’d already named the company when Wren, also named for a bird, joined us).Â
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Note to presales customers: you should have received your general release copy of Utter Command. Contact us via the support email or Make a Comment contact form if you haven’t.
After working with Beta testers and presales customers for the past year, today we’ve announced the general release of Utter Command.
Â
It’s been a long time coming. It started 15 years ago when I got repetitive strain injuries in my hands. I first used the Kurzweil speech engine, and then, when it came out, the first Windows version of DragonDictate, the precursor to Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
Â
After several years of writing macros that were similar to everyone else’s — and that I often forgot — I started thinking about the way the brain works with language and started working on a more consistent system. Sometime after that we decided to make a general product out of it. We were thinking it would take six months. It’s taken five years.
Â
One of the reasons it took so long is we’ve produced thorough, cross-referenced documentation. Every command is explained. Many thanks to our beta testers, trainers, and presales customers for using and commenting on the UC command system, applets and documentation as we were developing and refining them. Special thanks to Laurie, our VP of QA, and Bill theTrainer for many reads through the documentation and many trips through the self-guided tours.
Â
And special thanks to Wren, a programmer who worked with us in the early days. The bird that appears in our logo is the Painted Redstart (we’d already named the company when Wren, also named for a bird, joined us).Â
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Note to presales customers: you should have received your general release copy of Utter Command. Contact us via the support email or Make a Comment contact form if you haven’t.
We’re continuing to find new uses for Utter Command’s naming-a-mouse-touch ability.
Here are some new ones:
– “Folders Touch” to click the folder tree button in Windows Explorer. This lets you toggle the folder tree pane on or off – thanks to Bill Z the trainer
– “Web Touch” to click on the top left corner of a Web page, away from any links. This lets you return focus to the page – thanks to Jill
– In general, iTunes buttons – thanks to Jill
– “Snapshot Touch” to click the snapshot button on the history window in Photoshop – thanks to Eric
– “Highlight Touch” to click the highlighter button in Word – thanks to Jeff
And here’s a new one I’ve been using: “Right Touch” and “Left Touch” to click the right and left side of a horizontal scroll bar in Excel. This lets you scroll left and right by page.
We’re also finding some new uses for naming two mouse clicks in a row.
– “Balloon Middle Touch” to dismiss the Dragon NaturallySpeaking balloon that comes up in NaturallySpeaking 10 Service Pack 1. The command clicks the balloon to make it go away, then clicks the middle of the screen to put the focus back on your application – thanks to Bill Z the trainer
– “Capture Settings Touch” in FastStone Capture. The command clicks the tiny main menu icon on the software toolbar menu, then clicks settings. This makes it easy to switch among full-screen, active area and window capture – thanks to Eric
And here’s one from Daniel:
– “I use a Microsoft address book that always opens in the wrong folder (“shared contacts” instead of “main identity contacts”). The window is also divided so I can’t switch folders with the cursor without moving the mouse or tabbing a lot. So I named a Local Touch to click “main identity contacts” and another one to click inside the portion of the window that lists the names and addresses. What it comes down to is that the brief command “Local Contacts Names Touch” puts me where I want to be after the window opens. This is extremely convenient!”
Thanks, and keep them coming – reply here or let me know at info@ this website address.
Check out our new videos — UC Whirlwind Tour part 1 and UC Whirlwind Tour part 2.
The Whirlwind Tour gives you a taste of what you can do with Utter Command in some key areas:
Controlling the Utter Command menu
Opening and closing programs
Clicking the mouse
Moving and sizing windows
Using Windows and program menus
Opening files and folders directly
Dictating and closely editing in any program
E-mailing
Using the Internet
There’s a printed copy of this tour, including cross references, in Getting Started. UC also includes an on-screen guide for this tour (say “UC Whirlwind” and the Whirlwind Tour commands will appear in a narrow on-screen guide window on the right side of your screen — other programs will size around).
Watch the tour, then use the on-screen guide or a printout of Getting Started to take it yourself.
What’s your favorite UC command? What would you like to see a tour on? Reply here or let me know at info@ this website address.
