Dictate Your Messages Using This Mac Keyboard Shortcut

Mac users who like to multitask: there’s a keyboard shortcut to turn on text dictation so you can talk instead of type.

Just place your cursor where you want to enter text (it’ll work in any app where you can type), double-tap the Fn key, and start talking. The microphone icon will pop up to let you know that dictation is active.

When you’re done with your message, double-tap Fn again. You can also click Done below the icon or press Return. Apple recommends keeping individual dictations to 40 seconds or less, so don’t expect to dictate a multi-page document all in one go.

If you need to insert punctuation or formatting, Apple has a guide to dictation commands.

If you’ve never used dictation on your machine, you may see a pop-up window asking you if you want to enable it the first time you use the shortcut.

Alternatively, you can turn on keyboard dictation in your machine’s settings. Go to the Apple menu > System Preferences > Keyboard > Dictation and toggle it on. You can also change the shortcut to the Command key(s) or set up your own customised key combo if you prefer.

As with any voice recognition tool, dictation on your Mac won’t always be 100% accurate, so check your text before you send it in a message or your work Slack.

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