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Introduction - Mark Batten

Computers and their programs evolve – and often leave us behind in the process. Below are some programs that I now find worth buying - and investing the time in learning how to use. In some cases I’ve used older versions in the past and found them inadequate.

With most of these programmes you can download a trial version from the internet. However, even with broadband, this may take a long time.

1. Microsoft Word 2003 – thesaurus and dictionary in “tools, then research” To access the thesaurus or dictionary you do a mouse left click while holding down the alt key, with the mouse pointer clicked on the word you want help with. The thesaurus comes as part of the MS Office package. As standard, the UK English thesaurus pops up when you click alt plus the left mouse button. This is really useful when editing a document. (I always advise separating the “laying track” - or initial input – from the process of editing, or second draft.)

   Office 2003 does not provide a dictionary on the installation CD. However, you can add the Collins English Dictionary, and other reference resources, by going to the Microsoft website and subscribing to a service that integrates automatically with Word. This dictionary then pops up as an option when you “alt and left click”. It costs $28 a year to subscribe to this service. The only snag I’ve found is that, unlike the thesaurus, you have to be connected to the internet while accessing the Collins dictionary. As a writer I find the free built-in thesaurus really useful and quick.

2. Scansoft “Omnipage 15” OCR (optical character reader) software. Why use Omnipage? You could frame this as an opportunity to infringe copyright by scanning in pages of books and magazine articles. Alternatively you can frame it as an opportunity to build an electronic “scrap book” that you can edit, cut and paste from, and search on – using the Microsoft search facility. For me this converts an evergrowing pile of torn out articles, training notes (for which I only had hard copy), and odd pages from books into a valuable, instantly accessible and searchable resource at my fingertips when I am writing or researching.

   Omnipage is market leader in the OCR field, and is reckoned by the PC Press to be well ahead of its main rival “Viavoice”.

   What does Omnipage do? This version of Omnipage, costing £62 from Amazon, quickly and very accurately converts printed page into editable Word document. It is intelligent enough to use similar fonts to those in the scanned article, to retain the original format, to recognise tables and bullets, and to copy images as images. I used an earlier version of this 6 years ago, and found it good for converting pages of Times Roman from books into Word documents that could be edited and searched. But it was hard work manually tidying up the results of scanning in newspaper and magazine articles.

3. Scansoft “Dragon naturally speaking” voice recognition software (standard edition) version 8

   Why use Dragon? If your typing is slow, or you have arthritis in your hands making it difficult to use a keyboard, then this programme can be particularly helpful. If you want handsfree, fast input of words into Word, and are prepared to put the time and effort into training the software then it can be a very fast and effective way of creating a document using the supplied headset with microphone and earpiece. The reviews say you either love it or hate it.

   Dragon std. 8 costs £48 from Amazon. This includes the headset. What does Dragon do? It converts speech into text. While you are watching the words appear in your Word document as you speak into the headset, or afterwards, you can edit it’s text output using both hands on the keyboard. It works fast on modern PCs. It requires you to train it by reading in scripts as they flash up on your screen.

   What are Dragon’s benefits and limitations? For me, Dragon is too cumbersome for complex technical subject matter, for using as an editing tool, and for formatting documents. It comes into its own when writing first drafts of stories, essays and training materials. I avoid editing until I’ve finished. You can easily work out what the words should be, because it uses phonetics and experience to work out what it thinks you are saying. I did laugh when it transcribed my pronunciation of “chiropodist” as “cure a Buddhist” !

   I also find it invaluable for capturing the bits you highlight and underline in books . . . and then can never find when you want them. The huge advantage is that you have both hands free to hold the book open. You just read in your head, as normal, and then when you come to a section you want to capture you read it aloud. When you’ve captured and edited it you can search on it using keyword search, and cut and paste it. Or print it out as a useful set of notes.

   I find it doesn’t get in the way as much as I’d feared. The headset is comfortable with just one ear pad, so you can still hear what’s going on around you, and the microphone is very directional. Turning up my standard background writing music from Bach to Beatles does not interfere with it at all.

4. Mindmanager Pro 6 single user MindMapping software. Why use MindManager, and what does it do? If your job is a routine procedural one then you’d probably have little use for this MindMapping software. You’d be better off using templates in Word or Excel. However, if you have a lot of complex information that needs organising, or if your job has a large creative element, or requires the ability to spot patterns in information, or the ability to view information at both the overview and the very detailed level then MindManager is for you. It has also proved extremely valuable in helping people with certain types of dyslexia. MindManager is the market leader in the MindMapping field, and is “industrial strength”. It is of German origin. This Pro 6 version is a huge improvement on earlier versions. It is well integrated with Word, Powerpoint and MS Project. This means you can export the contents of your MindMap into these packages.

   The power and value of MindManager is reflected in its price. The Pro 6 single user version costs £199 for CD or download version, or £99 upgrade from earlier versions. Amazon only advertises old versions. M-urge are the UK distributors, so key M-urge into Google.

5. Microsoft wireless notebook optical mouse 4000 Treat yourself to this wireless mouse. Plug the tiny transmitter into a USB port on your laptop, and use the mouse on your bedspread or the arm of your sofa. At £24 from PCWorld it almost makes work a pleasure !