Dragon, Word 2007, and hiding the status bar

One of the things that annoys me about using Dragon with Microsoft Word 2007 is that when my dictation reaches the status bar, the status bar gets in the way; even if I continue to dictate, the screen does not always advance to the next line until I actually take a breath and start a new sentence. So, I googled and copied the VBA code for hiding the status bar. You lose the nice automatic word count that way, but you can always just say “show word count.” Perfect. The code is: Application.CommandBars(“Status Bar”).Visible = False

It’s a little trickier to actually apply this code if, like me, you’re not used to VBA.

Step 1: Say “office button” and then “word options.” Under Popular, say “show Developer tab in the ribbon.”

Step 2: Say “developer,” then “macros.” In the macro name box, name the macro something like Hide, so you know what it refers to. Then say “macros in,” then choose Normal. This means that you can use the macro in any document once you set up.

Step 3: Say “create.” You’ll be taken to a Visual Basic editing window. Paste the code into that window, and save it.

The next thing you want to do is create a button, so that when you tell Dragon to click it, it will run the macro and hide your status bar. This is done via the Quick Access Toolbar (the one with the tiny icons).

Step 4: Using the mouse commands, right-click the Quick Access Toolbar and say “customize quick access toolbar.”

Step 5: Say “choose commands from,” then “macros.” Hide, or whatever you called it, should be on that list, though its name will be surrounded by a bunch of programmy stuff. Once it’s highlighted, say “add.” Your macro will be moved to the list on the right hand side.

Step 6: Tab until Hide is highlighted again, then say “modify.” Tab into the Display Name field, and rename it simply Hide or whatever, without the programmy stuff. Say OK.

Step 7: Now there should be a new button on the toolbar, named Hide. This is what Dragon “sees”. Say “Click Hide.” NOTE: You MUST include the click before the name, or Dragon won’t click it. I’m not sure why.

Step 8: Enjoy dictating without the speedbump.

Be a N00b at your own risk!

Well, excuse the heck out of me.  A professional programmer might well find it ridiculous that somebody wanted to learn about it with no intention of pursuing it full time. But it’s just as useful, I think, if I wanted to learn it for my own ends. So, with that in mind, I inquired whether it was possible to use VBA to help with the problem of Word’s replacement table not distinguishing between upper and lowercase entries. It’s a small thing, but would make it easier to use Speedwords for when I couldn’t think of efficient contractions. It’s easier to undertake learning to do something if you know there’s a use at the end. Now, apparently that was a rank amateur question. I knew that but still didn’t know the answer, so I asked. I was helpfully told that wasn’t possible, then not so helpfully told:

“Why not learn how to type!!!”

Uh, excuse me, Mr. Programmer. I asked a question because I didn’t know the answer. Answering a question does not require making assumptions about the questioner. If I asked, I had a reason. Enough said. Ever consider somebody with a disability who couldn’t type much might want to learn how to adapt her machine, eg by using shorthand, without paying through the nose for specialized software she can’t afford? I know you didn’t know that. But if you don’t know why somebody is asking, don’t presume. I’m sorry I’m new at programming, but is there anywhere a student can ask computer or programming questions and get a bare bones answer?

I’ve seen it with the adapted keyboard and speech recognition, too — people think they’re unnecessary or “laziness” or something like that just because they haven’t touched them or don’t personally have a need for them. I remember a reviewer of Dragon saying it was useless and slow because she could already type 150 WPM. If you can do that, what the hell more do you want? Warp speed? The mentality boggles me.