Set up Dictation
The free voice recognition software built into Apple's operating system is a great way to explore speech to text functionality on your Macintosh at no expense. Free dictation software for Mac was included beginning with OSX Mountain Lion, then refined and improved in OSX Yosemite, Mavericks and ElCapitan. Modern free dictation software for Mac gives you incredible quality, and it’s already there on your computer. You will need some help with editing the text, though, so read on. Apple Dictation. Apple Dictation is native free dictation software for Mac and iOS devices, operating under Apple’s broader Voice Control functionality.
This is a very reputed web app which is dedicated to fantastic speech recognition for converting audio to text versions as well as immediate voice translation. The program runs on advanced speech-to-text technology by Google to ensure best results.
Choose Apple () menu > System Preferences, click Keyboard, then click Dictation. Turn on Dictation and choose from these Dictation options:
Text-to-speech (TTS) is the ability of your computer to play back written text as spoken words. Depending upon your configuration and installed TTS engines, you can hear most text that appears on your screen in Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and OneNote. Use this free software to convert text to speech and listen to it now, or save it for later. Ideal if you find screens tricky to read. TechRadar The source for Tech Buying Advice. Dragon Dictation makes it possible to transform voice to text and put your thoughts down anywhere anytime. All you need is the app installed on Windows, Mac, iPhone or Android phone and your voice. All you need is the app installed on Windows, Mac, iPhone or Android phone and your voice.
- Choose whether to use Enhanced Dictation, which lets you use dictation when you're not connected to the Internet.
- Choose your language and dialect. Some languages, such as English, have multiple dialects.
- Choose the keyboard shortcut you will use to start start dictating.
- Choose your preferred microphone from the pop-up menu below the microphone icon.
In macOS Sierra, you can ask Siri to “turn on Dictation” for you. Siri isn't the same as Dictation, but you can ask Siri to compose short messages, such as email and text messages.
Use Dictation
- Go to a document or other text field and place the insertion point where you want your dictated text to appear.
- Press the keyboard shortcut for starting dictation, or choose Edit > Start Dictation. The default shortcut is Fn Fn (press the Fn key twice).
When your Mac is listening, it displays a microphone to the left or right of the page, aligned with the insertion point. If you turn on advanced dictation commands, the microphone appears in the lower-right corner of your screen, and you can drag it to another position. When your Mac can hear you, the input meter inside the microphone rises and falls as you speak. - Speak the words that you want your Mac to type. Dictation learns the characteristics of your voice and adapts to your accent, so the more you use it, the better it understands you. If it doesn't understand you, learn what to do.
- To stop dictating, click Done below the microphone icon, press Fn once, or switch to another window.
Speak the following words to enter punctuation or other characters. These may vary by language or dialect.
- apostrophe '
- open bracket [
- close bracket ]
- open parenthesis (
- close parenthesis )
- open brace {
- close brace }
- open angle bracket <
- close angle bracket >
- colon :
- comma ,
- dash -
- ellipsis …
- exclamation mark !
- hyphen -
- period, point, dot, or full stop .
- question mark ?
- quote ”
- end quote ”
- begin single quote '
- end single quote '
- semicolon ;
- ampersand &
- asterisk *
- at sign @
- backslash
- forward slash /
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- caret ^
- center dot ·
- large center dot •
- degree sign °
- hashtag or pound sign #
- percent sign %
- underscore _
- vertical bar
- dollar sign $
- cent sign ¢
- pound sterling sign £
- euro sign €
- yen sign ¥
- cross-eyed laughing face XD
- frowny face :-(
- smiley face :-)
- winky face ;-)
- copyright sign ©
- registered sign ®
- trademark sign ™
- equals sign =
- greater than sign >
- less than sign <
- minus sign -
- multiplication sign x
- plus sign +
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- caps on (formats next phrase in title case)
- caps off (resumes default letter case)
- all caps (formats next word in ALL CAPS)
- all caps on (proceeds in ALL CAPS)
- all caps off (resumes default letter case)
- new line (adds line break)
- numeral (formats next phrase as number)
- roman numeral (formats next phrase as Roman numeral)
- new paragraph (adds paragraph break)
- no space on (formats next phrase without spaces)
- no space off (resumes default spacing)
- tab key (advances cursor to the next tab stop)
If you turned on Enhanced Dictation, you can also use dictation commands to bold, italicize, underline, select, copy, delete, undo, and perform other actions.
About Enhanced Dictation
Enhanced Dictation is available in OS X Mavericks v10.9 or later. With Enhanced Dictation:
- You can dictate continuously.
- You can dictate without being connected to the Internet.
- Your words might convert to text more quickly.
- You can use dictation commands to tell your Mac what to do.
Without Enhanced Dictation, your spoken words and certain other data are sent to Apple to be converted into text and help your Mac understand what you mean. As a result, your Mac must be connected to the Internet, your words might not convert to text as quickly, and you can speak for no more than 40 seconds at a time (30 seconds in OS X Yosemite or earlier).
If you're on a business or school network that uses a proxy server, Dictation might not be able to connect to the Internet. Have your network administrator refer to the list of network ports used by Apple software products.
About Dictation and privacy
Voice Recognition Software For Mac
To learn about Dictation and privacy, choose Apple () menu > System Preferences, click Keyboard, click Dictation, then click the About Dictation & Privacy button. At all times, information collected by Apple is treated in accordance with Apple’s Privacy Policy.
Learn more
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Voice Dictation Software Free Mac Os
- To use dictation on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, tap the microphone on the onscreen keyboard, then speak. Consult your iPhone or iPad user guide for details.
- If the Slow Keys or Sticky Keys feature is turned on in the Accessibility pane of System Preferences, the default keyboard shortcuts for dictation might not work. If you need to use those accessibility features, create a custom dictation shortcut: Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Keyboard, click Dictation, then choose “Customize” from the Shortcut menu.