For example, if you choose Press Fn Key Twice as the Dictation Shortcut option, the Keyboard settings option changes to Start Dictation automatically.įor more help with Keyboard options, click the Help button in Keyboard settings. Note: When you choose a Dictation keyboard shortcut, depending on your Mac model, the Press fn key to or Press to option in Keyboard settings may change automatically. To create a shortcut thats not in the list, choose Customize, then press the keys you want to use. Go to Dictation on the right, click the pop-up menu next to Shortcut, then choose a shortcut to start Dictation. On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Keyboard in the sidebar. Tip: If is available in the row of function keys, you can press it to start Dictation or use the keyboard shortcut.

You can choose a specific dictation keyboard shortcut or create one of your own. In this guide we’ll show you two different ways to enable voice dictation on your Mac: from the menu bar at the top of your screen and with a keyboard shortcut of your choice. If you’re always multitasking and need something to help you write up long emails or leave quick comments, use Dictation. Dictation works in pretty much any app or service on your Mac, meaning you could write an essay in Microsoft Word or leave a comment on YouTube in Safari - with only your voice. Siri works great with native applications such as Mail and Messages, but if third-party apps don’t have support, you’re out of luck. The tool, known as Dictation, lets you use your voice to type pretty much anywhere on your computer - which Siri can’t do. Conveniently, Mac has another voice feature that fills in some of the holes that Siri leaves behind. With just my voice, I can search through my hundreds of documents for a certain file or check for free disk space if I’m running out of storage, but the intelligent personal assistant does have its limitations. I use Siri on my Mac more than I do on my iPhone or any of my other Apple devices. With more than a decade of experience, he covers Apple and Google and writes on iPhone and Android features, privacy and security settings and more. Nelson Aguilar is an LA-based tech how-to writer and graduate of UCLA.

Unlike Siri, you can use this voice-to-text feature to write an essay in Microsoft Word or send a response on Facebook.

Speak to text for mac