If you’re a Technologous Cloud IT user, you’ll be pleased to know Office 365 includes New Microsoft Word Transcription and Voice Command!
Currently, Word limits transcription capabilities but is still robust enough to be genuinely useful. At present, it only supports transcribing audio into US English.
You’ll need Microsoft Edge, Chrome, or some other Chrome-based browser to make use of that feature. The best part about the new feature is that the actual transcription is online, so there’s no need to download and install a third-party app to handle audio files.
In addition to that, the new Microsoft word transcription feature automatically detects different speakers in recorded conversations. The software transcribes them accordingly, making it easier to follow the conversation flow in a transcript generated in Word.
Dan Parish, the company’s Manager of Natural User Interface and Incubation, had this to say about the new feature:
“Your transcript will appear alongside the Word document, along with the recording, which enables you to leverage your transcript to create great content in the way that works best for you.”
Although these may change at any time, the new Office 365 Microsoft Word Transcription has placed the following parameters on the use of the new feature:
- The program limits users to five hours of transcription time per month
- Uploads of audio files must be in one of the following formats:
- .mp3
- .wav
- .mp4
- .m4a
- Uploaded files may not exceed 200 mb in size.
Even given these restrictions, this is a very needed addition.
Voice Commands
The second enhancement to talk about here are the voice commands.
Dan Parish had a few words to say on that topic as well:
“We’ve been adding voice commands to Dictate so that you can break away from the keyboard. Whether on the desktop or mobile (or transitioning between devices), you can stay in the flow and focus on your message by using dictation with voice commands to add, format, edit, and organize your text.”
Microsoft has a full list of Dictate commands the software will accept, and the system even understands a variety of symbols, which is super convenient.
Kudos to the New Microsoft Word Transcription and Voice Command. It’s incredible and will make your life easier.
