Dragon Professional and Medical have radically improved its performance in Microsoft Word over the last two decades. However, various issues can still remain. One of the most notable is that of performance in Microsoft Word documents.
PC Fitness and Dragon
It’s always ideal to have a computer that meets the minimum PC specifications.
Ensure that the operating system and Microsoft Office are up to date with the latest patches.
Anti-virus applications are notorious for slowing down performance in a Microsoft Word & Dragon combination. Not sure? Terminate your anti-virus application and see if there is an improvement in speed.
MS Word Document Issues
Next, consider the MS Word document itself. The reason for Dragon’s lack of responsiveness in the document can be due to one or more of the following:
Document Length
Dragon may behave slowly in lengthy documents. What is considered lengthy depends on the above and below factors. Some individuals may experience a slow down after 10 pages or after 50.
Document Source Age
A document based on a much older template or document may comprise of hidden older code, no longer used by Word, but still present.
Resolution: Copy contents and paste as plain text into a new document. Unfortunately, all formatting requires a redo.
Document Elements
A document with numerous images, tables, graphs, and other non-text elements can hinder Dragon’s ability to function quickly.
Resolution: Create text in a separate document and transfer to the final document amidst non-text elements as required.
Headers & Footers
A complex header and footer can limit Dragon’s responsiveness. If not complex, there could be aspects as per the above document age or elements.
Resolution: Create the document without headers and footers, and add such elements when the document is finished.