How to Use a Voice Recorder

Familiarize yourself with the buttons on your voice recorder. The buttons on each voice recorder are going to differ slightly, but you can expect to find a record button, stop button, forward and rewind buttons, menu button and a play button. Sometimes buttons will be combined such as play/pause or record/stop.

Find the microphone, speaker, headphone jack and USB or other computer link connector. Not all voice recorders will have these features, but at the least there will be a microphone and some sort of output, such as a speaker or headphone jack.

Learn the screen of your voice recorder. The screens on voice recorders range from simple displays to advanced LCD panels. You can expect to find at least a recording indicator, file location, recording time available and battery life.

Record a test file. You may have to set where you want to record a file by using the "Folder" or "Menu" button before recording. Once you specified the location, press the record button and speak into the microphone. Be sure the screen indicates that you are recording. Press stop after speaking for a short period.

Play back your test file. Choose the file from the location you recorded it to and press "Play." This is a good time to familiarize yourself with the volume controls as well.

Connect your voice recorder to your computer using the USB or other computer link connection. Install any necessary software that came with your voice recorder. Transfer your test file to your computer. Play it back on your computer to be sure it works.