Dragon has gone through a number of releases and we’re looking at version 15 right now. One of the biggest changes over the years happened with version 13. While many of the menus have largely remained in the same format, one of the biggest changes to the interface was when Nuance switched over to using an expanding and contracting Dragonbar.
Up until that point, the Dragonbar was a big grey bar that sat at the top or bottom of the computer screen. Much like tabs and application bars, it indicated that Dragon was loaded and enabled users to have full access to the menu and microphone on/off button. While this was incredibly useful to users wanting quick access to the features of Dragon, it could be a problem because it was given dominion. The bar would sometimes get in the way of other application bars making it a bit tricky to navigate multiple applications.
Other modes enabled users to switch to a floating mode, which allows you to drag the bar out of the way or to whichever part of the screen you’re not actively using. This also required an extra layer of attention. For others, the tray icon mode was the way to go. This mode involves hiding the menu in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. It’s great to clear the screen, especially if you’re not regularly accessing the Dragon menus but it can get a bit lost and isn’t all that clear that the software’s loaded.
Trying to appease every user’s wishes, the Dragonbar has a variety of modes that allow users to customise the experience. However, it wasn’t until version 13 that the launched the new and improved Dragonbar. The latest version, which has remained the same since version 13 allows users to have the Dragonbar floating at the top of their screen.
It’s fixed, meaning you can only slide it left or right, but the biggest breakthrough was allowing the Dragonbar to minimise when not in use. Hover the mouse over the Dragonbar expands it, so that you can choose to access menus easily but not have the Dragonbar get in the way when it’s not in use.
It’s also useful to know about these modes because for some reason Dragon sometimes switches to Tray Icon mode making it difficult to find for people who aren’t used to this setting. This means Dragon is loaded and reopening the software won’t help. Get in touch with us if you’re having trouble with this or need more information.