Dragon Naturally Speaking

What works

Install.

What does not

Anything else.

Workarounds

What was not tested

Anything past install.

Hardware tested

Graphics:

• GPU:
• Driver:

Additional Comments

There are more complete installation and setup notes on the version 7 entry, many of which will also apply to v10 though expect some differences due to changes in WINE as well as DNS. 

 This should however be a useful reference.

The following text was dictated using Dragon 9 Pro. There are only 2 or 3 very minor faults.

This is my shiny new installation of Dragon naturally speaking on Linux.  It required running the install process three times.  The first installation was done with default settings. It finally fails just before the end leaving all the programme and tutorial files in temporary directories.

The second installation allowed customisation of the install destination and language options. This installation gets almost to the end and then reports unexpected termination.

Finally a third installation process with the same customise options is the last step allows it to get right to the end.  Dialog boxes shown confirming completion of installation process.  At this stage the programme can be run under wine and enters into the setup for the voice training.  Once a voice training is completed there is a small delay while its doors [it stores] profile information, then the programme is ready for dictation.

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rm -rf ~/.wine
cd ~/dl

wget http://www.kegel.com/wine/winetricks

sh winetricks win2k gdiplus sound=alsa vd=800x600
cd ~/.wine/dosdevices
ln -s /mnt/tmp h:

# disable internet access or else it faults on some dlls: winsta.dll regapi.dll

wine h:setup
# keep std options, install
# copying slow, be patient.
# dns "error: auth data (44952) not properly read or written."
# dns "couldn't find reg file ... "
# deselect option : "check internet for updates"
# terminates correctly to command prompt but desktop window remains.
# all dirs in  ~/.wine/dri*/Prog*/Nu*/* are named like *temporary9

wine h:setup
# install shield: modify / repair ?
# choose modify:  take out text-to-speech, tutorial and "foreign dialects"
#                 keep UK (or other required)
# reports exits unexpectedly but controlled, not crash.
# terminates correctly to command prompt

wine h:setup
# install shield: modify / repair ?
# choose modify:  take out text-to-speech, etc, as before.
# exits cleanly with final confirmation dialog.

cd ~/.wine/dri*/Prog*/Nu*/*/Prog*
wine natspeak

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 It will now start to configure initial user profile and enter voice training.

Once done it will save the profile. Skip document analysis , start with dictation. Let it save the profile then close the user. 

Now to turn off yet another phone home feature that may bring up dll problems. Second menu on the main menu  has "administrative settings", go to Miscellaneous , deselect "check for product updates". Close the program to ensure all is saved and stable.

On restarting, It will take some time to load the profile when restarting Dragon so don't presume it has crashed. Hover mouse over the mike icon in the task bar will show a hint message that it is "initializing dictation..." .

 

This method was used with WINE 1.3.8 on Gentoo Linux which provides Wine with gecko , many distros do not. You may need to use the distro to add gecko or add it to the winetricks options. This was not tested here.

Despite the triple install loop it does work well, I was able to install the options I required in non std install directory. Just don't try it first time in. :?