Working in Microsoft Word—Working with text

Use these procedures to select, format, and move text.

These procedures use Natural Language Commands. To use them, you must have enabled the Enable Natural Language Commands option and the Enable Microsoft Word commands option on the Options dialog box—Commands tab. For more information, see About Natural Language Commands.

For a list of commands you can use in Word, say "What Can I Say?" at any time.

To select words:

There may be multiple instances of words that you select. Numbers appear next to each instance. Dragon allows you to perform an action on a single instance, or on all instances. For more information, see Working with multiple text matches.

Say one of the following:

  • "Select Next Word"
  • "Select Next <1-20> Words"
  • "Select Forward Word"
  • "Select Forward <1-20> Words"
  • "Select Previous Word"
  • "Select Previous <1-20> Words"
  • "Select Back Word"
  • "Select Back <1-20> Words"
  • "Select Last Word"
  • "Select Last <1-20> Words"
  • "Select <text>"
  

To select lines:

  • "Select Next Line"
  • "Select Next <1-20> Lines"
  • "Select Forward Line"
  • "Select Forward <1-20> Lines"
  • "Select Previous Line"
  • "Select Previous <1-20> Lines"
  • "Select Back Line"
  • "Select Back <1-20> Lines"
  • "Select Last Line"
  • "Select Last <1-20> Lines"
  • "Select <text>"
  

To select paragraphs:

  • "Select Next Paragraph"
  • "Select Next <1-20> Paragraphs"
  • "Select Forward Paragraph"
  • "Select Forward <1-20> Paragraphs"
  • "Select Previous Paragraph"
  • "Select Previous <1-20> Paragraphs"
  • "Select Back Paragraph"
  • "Select Back <1-20> Paragraphs"
  • "Select Last Paragraph"
  • "Select Last <1-20> Paragraphs"
  • "Select <text> through <text>"
  

To deselect text:

Say "Unselect That".

To bold, italicize, or underline text:

Do one of the following:

Use a Natural Language Command, like one of the following:

  • "Turn on Bold"
  • "Turn on Italics"
  • "Turn on Underline"
  • "Bold the Next Word"
  • "Italicize the Next Word"
  • "Underline the Next Word"
  • "Bold the Next <number> Words"
  • "Italicize the Next <number> Words"
  • "Underline the Next <number> Words"
  • "Bold the Next Sentence"
  • "Italicize the Next Sentence"
  • "Underline the Next Sentence"

Or

Use Global Commands. For more information, see Formatting font type, size, and style.

To change the font type or size:

Do one of the following:

Use a Natural Language Command, like one of the following:

  • "Set the Font to <font name>"
  • "Set the Font to <font name> in this sentence"
  • "Set the Font to <number> Points <font name> in This Document"
  • "Increase the Font to <number> Points"

Or

Use Global Commands. For more information, see Formatting font type, size, and style.

To create a bulleted list:

Tutorial: How do I create bullet points or numbered lists?

Do one of the following:

  1. Select the text. Say one of the following:

    • "Select <text> through <text>" (US and Canada only)
    • "Select <text> to <text>" (all other regions)

  2. Say one of the following:

    • "Set That to Bulleted"
    • "Make That Bulleted"
    • "Format That Bulleted"

Or

To bullet the last text you dictated, or to bullet the next line or paragraph, say one of the following:

  • "Set That to Bulleted"
  • "Make That Bulleted"
  • "Format That Bulleted"

To move words, lines, or paragraphs:

  1. Move the cursor before the word, line or paragraph to move.

  2. Say one of the following:

    • "Select <word>"
    • "Select Line"
    • "Select Paragraph"

  3. Say a Natural Language Command, like one of the following:

    • "Move Word Forward <number> Words"
    • "Move Word Backward <number> Words"
    • "Move Line Forward <number> Lines"
    • "Move Line Backward <number> Lines"
    • "Move Paragraph Forward <number> Paragraphs"
    • "Move Paragraph Backward <number> Paragraphs"
    • "Move Paragraph to the Beginning of the Document"
 

Related procedures

Additional information

Working in Microsoft WordAbout formatting text automatically
Selecting and deselecting textAbout Natural Language Commands
Formatting font type, size, and style 
Cutting, copying, and pasting text 
Inserting, replacing, and deleting text 
Working with multiple text matches