Microsoft has upped its game with Word on Windows 10 text predictions, bringing something like Google’s Smart Compose predictive text in search and Docs to Word documents.
“Text Predictions in Word for Windows helps users write more efficiently by predicting text quickly, timely and accurately,” Microsoft said in an update to its Microsoft 365 product roadmap as spotted by Neowin.
The Smart Compose-like feature should be rolling out this month. It works pretty much the same as Google’s Smart Compose.
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“Simply start typing in a document in Word or in an email message in Outlook, and note that predictions start appearing. Press the TAB key to accept a prediction and the ESC key to reject it,” Microsoft said.
Word users can choose to help Microsoft improve its algorithms. In Word or Outlook for Windows, users can right–click a prediction and then select Text Predictions > Feedback for Text Predictions to help Microsoft. On the web version of Word, users can click “Text Predictions: On” in the status bar, then click “Give Feedback”.
The dictation feature for Office on Windows 10 is a different feature and requires a PC with a microphone, Office for Windows 2102 (13616.10000) or later, and an active Microsoft 365 account.
Microsoft has also expanded voice dictation options for Office users worldwide, catering to people who speak Hindi, Russian, Polish, Portuguese (Portugal), Korean, Thai, and Chinese (Taiwan).
There’s a new Dictation toolbar that can be accessed by clicking the Dictate button on the Home tab.
“The toolbar gives you access to dictation, in addition to the ability to change settings like language and automatic punctuation,” Microsoft said.
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Windows 10 users need to wait for the Dictate button to turn on and then start listening, while giving guidance by voice on punctuation, such as “period”, “full stop”, “comma”, or “question mark”.
That could be quite annoying speaking in sentences and adding punctuation marks, but at least you have control over the experience.
