Getting Started with CATalyst VP
Written by Justin Sieger
Updated at August 28th, 2026
CATalyst VP allows you to transcribe proceedings through dictation. Using CATalyst VP, along with Dragon Professional software, you can perform voice translation through a microphone or mask. You must be using CATalyst VP Version 21 (or above) and have Dragon Professional Version 16 installed on the same computer for the voice features to function properly.
During voice translation, CATalyst VP uses the Dragon vocabulary to match words with what it hears. CATalyst VP also uses a Personal VoiceCommands dictionary to format text such at Q, A, Colloquy, etc. The Personal VoiceCommands file may also contain entries for Auto Includes, number conversion, translation commands, and macros invoked by your voice, called AccelerWriters. CATalyst VP allows you to record the room noise using AudioSync.
The success of voice translation depends on training Dragon to recognize your speech patterns and voice. You must initially “train” the software to recognize your voice using the Dragon training feature. As you use CATalyst VP, you can continue to train Dragon, improving your recognition accuracy.
Dragon Professional Help provides information specific to Dragon features. While working in CATalyst VP, you can access Dragon Naturally Speaking online help by clicking the question mark (?) in the Dragon Bar and selecting Help Topics.
CATalyst Help provides information specific to CATalyst VP functions and features, as well as all other CATalyst functions. This includes steps on how to perform various tasks and how to use CATalyst VP features such as translate options, editing tools, customizing the Personal VoiceCommands file, job management, and more. Detailed help for voice translation can be found in the CATalyst VP section of CATalyst Help. To access CATalyst Help, press F1 or click Help, Case CATalyst Help.
CATalyst VP System Requirements
Operating System
Windows 11
Speech Recognition Engine
Dragon Professional v16
Computer Processor
Intel Core 5 or 7, Intel Ultra 5, 7, or 9, or AMD Ryzen 5, 7, or 9 processor.
NOTE: There is a processor type called an ARM Processor. This processor is commonly called Snapdragon for Windows computers. This processor is not compatible with CATalyst due to driver incompatibility. Please be aware of what processor is on the computer before purchasing.
RAM
16 GB of RAM or more.
Hard Drive
256 GB hard drive or larger.
Audio files and Dragon Voice files take up the most space in CATalyst. Having enough storage on your computer is essential in keeping CATalyst and other programs running efficiently.
Audio
To record Voice Audio and Room Audio, you will need two sound cards. The first sound card is usually the built-in microphone or an external mic used to record the Room Audio. The second sound card can be a USB sound card like Startech or Andrea USB sound cards for the mask. If your mask is USB, then it has a built-in sound card.
Ports
A USB port for the external sound card or mask to dictate realtime.
Internet Connection
Using Direct Audio and the Stenograph Virtual Audio Cables for web conferencing platforms (Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc.) can also affect your internet connection due to video and audio streaming from the platform. If using Stenograph Virtual Audio Cables for Direct Audio, it is recommended your internet connection exceeds the above minimum internet connection requirements.
A stable, high speed internet connection is essential for many of CATalyst's advanced features like Cloud Backup & RealTeam. It is recommended that your internet connection has a minimum download speed of 10/Mbps and a minimum upload speed of 5/Mbps.
Other Information
Many CATalyst editing commands rely on the Function Keys (F1 - F12), especially the F4 key when inserting format symbols. Computer manufacturers have changed the default Function Keys to Activity Keys (increase/decrease volume, increase/decrease screen brightness, etc.) and this can cause these editing commands to not function. If your computer’s Function Keys are Activity keys, consult your computer’s documentation or contact the manufacturer for assistance on changing the Activity Keys to Function Keys.
Laptop and Desktop computers are beginning to use higher definition displays which can cause applications like CATalyst to appear blurry. If CATalyst appears blurry, adjusting the DPI settings for CATalyst might help.
CATalyst is not compatible with Mac computers due to hardware changes and Windows 10 no longer being supported. Click here for more information.
While these are the minimum requirements for CATalyst, Stenograph cannot guarantee compatibility with all makes and models of computers. We recommend asking the store or manufacturer about their return policy just in case an issue arises.
Preparing for Voice Translation
Installing CATalyst VP
Use the New Computer Setup Guide to install and configure CATalyst VP on your computer. You do not need to install the Stenograph Writer drivers and can ignore that step.
Sample voice files are available to get you started using CATalyst VP and can be downloaded here. Simply use the Restore feature in CATalyst to bring them into your User.
For more information on how to use the Sample Voice Files, open the PDF titled Sample Voice Files Document after you have restored the files into CATalyst.
To familiarize yourself with CATalyst, review the Introduction section in the CATalyst Integrated Video Tutorials by clicking Help, Integrated Video Training.
Enabling Dragon-Faster Drop
Enabling Dragon-Faster Drop will speed up the drop rate of text from Dragon into CATalyst. If you are restoring a CATalyst backup of your files and have already done this step, you do not need to do it again.
- From Manage Jobs, double-click System Files, then double-click usersettings.
- In the Settings Manager dialog box, click inside it, then press Ctrl-f.
- Search for “Dragon-Faster-Drop” and click OK.
- On the Dragon-Faster-drop option, click Edit, and choose “Yes, I know what I am doing”.
- Delete the 0 and replace it with 1. Press Enter then click OK.
- Click Save at the bottom of the dialog box to close.
Disable Dragon-Use-Results-Box-ForHyp Setting
Disabling this setting will improve the results from Dragon Hypothesis Words function. Leaving it enabled can result in mistranslated words. If you are restoring a CATalyst backup of your files and have already done this step, you do not need to do it again.
- From Manage Jobs, double-click System Files, then double-click UserSettings.
- In the Settings Manager dialog box, click inside it, then press Ctrl-f.
- Search for “Dragon-Use-Results-Box-ForHyp” and click OK.
- On the Dragon-Use-Results-Box-ForHyp option, click Edit.
- Delete the -1 and replace it with 0. Press Enter, then click OK.
- Click Save at the bottom of the dialog box to close.
Install and Train Dragon Software
To use CATalyst VP, it is necessary to install and train the Dragon software. Install the Dragon Professional v16 software using the Dragon installation instructions.
After the installation is complete, Dragon will walk you through the process of creating a Dragon User Profile. This involves creating a User Name, selecting your input source, configuring the volume levels, and some initial voice recognition training. The success of voice translations is dependent upon training Dragon to recognize your voice. The more training you perform in Dragon, the better the translation results in CATalyst VP.
Auto-Format Text
Dragon has its own formatting options on how to handle numbers like address, phone numbers, currency, etc. These options can conflict with CATalyst’s own Automatic Number Conversion, so it is recommended to choose one or the other.
To turn off Dragon’s Auto-Formatting:
- In the Dragon Bar, click on Settings, Auto-Formatting Options.
- In the Auto-Formatting dialog box, uncheck Automatically Format Text, then click OK.
Turn Off Automatically Adjust Microphone Volume
By disabling the Automatically Adjust Microphone Volume option, Dragon will not automatically adjust the mask volume when you are not speaking into the mask and then adjust again when speaking. With this option enabled, Dragon adjusts the mask volume and can create a loud volume spike when you begin dictating after a few seconds of quiet. This also results in Dragon not capturing your dictation while the volume level is adjusting.
- On the Dragon Bar, select Settings, Microphone, Choose Microphone.
- In the Choose a Microphone dialog box, highlight the MASK/Microphone you are using then uncheck the Automatically adjust the microphone level as I speak option. Then click Finish.
If you are presented with the Your microphone level may need adjusting. Please complete the Microphone Check. prompt, click OK.
Complete the Check Microphone wizard. For accurate volume settings, it is important that you talk at the volume and have your mask/microphone positioned as you would when dictating.
Starting Realtime with CATalyst VP
Starting a realtime job with CATalyst VP is similar to starting realtime with a steno writer but there are a couple extra steps to be aware of. The first is to make sure your mask, secondary audio device, and other peripherals you’re using are connected to your computer before you open Dragon and CATalyst.
The second is to make sure Dragon is running before opening CATalyst VP and starting realtime. You’ll know the Dragon is running when the Dragon Bar appears on your screen and your Dragon user is fully initialized.
When recording room audio using AudioSync you’ll need to make sure that the correct microphone is selected. Otherwise, you may end up with two recordings of your voice instead of one voice audio and one room audio. To change the microphone for room audio, in CATalyst go to Translate, Options, Realtime. On the left side, under Audio Input, click the down arrow and choose your room audio microphone.
Using CATalyst VP with Dragon
The following steps must be taken every time Dragon is opened.
- Before opening CATalyst, open Dragon. Wait for the Dragon Bar to show and to have fully initialized your Dragon Profile.
- In the Dragon Bar click Settings, Now Listening For, Dictation. This will need to be done each time you launch Dragon. If the mode is left to Dictation & Commands, then Dragon may interpret a word, like “copy”, as a Windows command.
- Open CATalyst and click on Translate (Ctrl-t).
- Click Options in the lower left corner.
- Click the Realtime tab at the top.
- On the left side, under Single Channel Audio, click the down arrow next to Audio Input and choose the recording device for your room audio.
- Click Apply, then OK.
- Back under Translate, on the top left, next to Steno Source, choose Voice.
- Type a file name in the File: box and click OK.