Nuance PowerMic III Setup
Use your PowerMic dictation buttons with the RIS voice transcription
What This Does
The Nuance PowerMic III is a USB dictation microphone with physical buttons for controlling recording. This guide shows you how to set it up so that pressing the Dictate button on the PowerMic starts and stops Google Medical voice transcription in the RIS webapp — no on-screen clicking needed.
Audio
Works automatically. The PowerMic shows up as a standard USB microphone — no setup needed for audio.
Buttons
Requires a small free utility to map the physical Dictate button to a keyboard shortcut that the RIS webapp recognizes.
Requirements
- Nuance PowerMic III (USB connection)
- Windows 10 or 11
- Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge
- PowerMic Buttons for Fluency (PBF) — free, open-source button mapping utility
No Nuance Dragon license required. The PowerMic III works as a standard USB device. You do not need Dragon Medical or any Nuance software installed.
Step 1: Connect the PowerMic III
- Plug the PowerMic III into a USB port on your computer
- Windows will automatically detect it — no drivers needed
- Open Windows Settings → System → Sound → Input
- Confirm "Microphone (PowerMic III)" appears in the input device list
- Select it as your default input device (or leave it — Chrome will let you choose later)
Test the microphone: Open Windows Sound Recorder or go to chrome://settings/content/microphone to verify the PowerMic picks up your voice.
Step 2: Set Chrome to Use the PowerMic
- Open Chrome and navigate to the RIS webapp
- Click the lock icon (or tune icon) in the address bar
- Click Site settings
- Under Microphone, select "Microphone (PowerMic III)"
- Close the settings tab — the change takes effect immediately
Alternative: When you first click a dictation button, Chrome will ask which microphone to use. Select the PowerMic III from that prompt.
Step 3: Install the Button Mapper (PBF)
PBF (PowerMic Buttons for Fluency) is a free, open-source utility that maps the PowerMic's physical buttons to keyboard shortcuts.
- Download pbf.zip from pcheng.org/powermic
- Extract the ZIP file to a folder (e.g.,
C:\Program Files\PBF)
- Run PowerMic_Buttons_for_Fluency.exe — a small icon will appear in your system tray
- Right-click the tray icon and open Settings
- Configure the Dictate button to send the
F9 key
- Click Save
Important: PBF must be running for button mapping to work. See Step 5 below to set it up to start automatically with Windows.
Step 4: Configure Button Mappings
The RIS webapp listens for these keyboard shortcuts. Map your PowerMic buttons in PBF accordingly:
| PowerMic Button | Map To | RIS Action |
|---|
| Dictate |
F9 |
Start / stop voice transcription (Google Medical) |
Only the Dictate button mapping is required. The other PowerMic buttons (Tab Forward, Tab Backward, etc.) can optionally be mapped to other shortcuts if desired, but are not needed for dictation.
Step 5: Set PBF to Start Automatically
So you don't have to launch PBF manually every time you log in:
- Press
Win + R to open the Run dialog
- Type
shell:startup and press Enter — this opens your Startup folder
- Create a shortcut to PBF.exe in this folder
- PBF will now launch automatically when you log into Windows
Verify it's running: Look for the PBF icon in your system tray (bottom-right corner of the taskbar, near the clock). You may need to click the ^ arrow to see hidden tray icons.
Using the PowerMic for Dictation
Dictating into Relevant Findings
- Open a report in the RIS webapp
- Click into the Relevant Findings text area
- Press the Dictate button on the PowerMic — the button turns red to indicate recording
- Speak your findings clearly at a normal pace
- Press the Dictate button again to stop — your speech is transcribed and inserted
Editing the Report Content area
FLAIR’s Google voice buttons apply only to Relevant Findings. The main Report Content editor does not include those controls—edit by typing, pasting, or your usual dictation software.
If your PowerMic sends F9 to the browser, Medical dictation (Google) runs only when the cursor is in Relevant Findings. Click into that box before using the mic’s Dictate button (or F9) for in-browser Google transcription.
Cursor placement: Text from in-browser dictation follows the same rules as typing—insertion depends on focus and selection in Relevant Findings. See the
Voice Dictation Guide.
Troubleshooting
Dictate button does nothing
- Check PBF is running (tray icon)
- Verify the Dictate button is mapped to
F9
- Make sure the browser window is focused
Audio not picked up
- Check Chrome is using the PowerMic as input
- Verify microphone permissions are granted
- Test in Windows Sound settings
PBF doesn't detect the PowerMic
- Unplug and re-plug the USB cable
- Restart PBF
- Try a different USB port
F9 and the PowerMic Dictate button
- In FLAIR, F9 toggles Medical dictation (Google) only when Relevant Findings is focused
- Click into the findings box before pressing the mic button or F9 for that workflow
Alternative: Octopus USB Controller
If PBF doesn't work for your setup, Octopus USB Controller (OUC) is a commercial alternative ($69.99 for 2 years) with a GUI-based configuration interface.
- Download from octopususbcontroller.com
- Offers a 5-use free trial
- Supports all PowerMic III buttons with a point-and-click setup
- Same result: map Dictate button to
F9