Stop Using Your Hands to Type on a Mac. Use Your Voice Instead

I hardly ever use Siri on my iPhone, but boy, oh boy, do I take advantage on my Mac.

With just my voice I can quickly search through hundreds of documents for a single file or check for free disk space if I’m running out of storage, but the intelligent personal assistant does have its limitations. Conveniently, Mac has another voice feature that fills in some of the holes that Siri leaves behind — including voice typing.

The tool, known as Dictation, lets you use your voice to type pretty much anywhere on your computer — which Siri can’t do. Siri does have a voice-to-text feature, but it only works with native applications like Mail and Messages. Dictation, on the other hand, works in 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.

If you’re always multitasking and need something to help you write up long emails or leave quick comments, use Dictation. 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.

Use Dictation from the menu bar

The first way to use Dictation is from the menu bar at the top of your screen. 

1. To start, open up your application of choice — such an email or word processor — and click anywhere where you want to input text.

2. Next, navigate to the menu bar and click Edit > Start Dictation. As soon as you do, a small microphone icon next to your cursor will appear. As you speak, you’ll see the volume control in the microphone go up and down, indicating the strength of your voice. You should also see text populating the area where your cursor is, after you speak. 

3. Once you’re finished dictating, click Done.

Use Dictation with a keyboard shortcut

The second way to use Dictation is with a keyboard shortcut, but you must first enable it. To do this:

1. Open System Preferences.

2. Click on Keyboard.

3. Go into the Dictation tab, then click the Shortcut dropdown.

4. Choose any of the six options, including Press Control Key Twice (a solid choice).

The other shortcut options are: Press Fn Key Twice, Press Right Command Key Twice, Press Left Command Key Twice, Press Either Command Key Twice and Customize. If you choose Customize, you can then enter any key combination to turn on Dictation.

Finally, like in the first step, navigate to whatever app has a text field, like Gmail or Pages, click anywhere in that text field and enter the keyboard command to turn on Dictation. As you speak, text should appear.

As a Mac owner, it’s difficult to get a firm grasp on every single feature the computer has to offer. Not to worry. Check out seven of the best hidden features for your Mac and 10 tips to flex your superpowers on Mac.