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macOS Ventura 13 

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Dictate messages and

documents on Mac
With Dictation, you can dictate text
anywhere you can type it. Turn it on in
Keyboard settings—your dictated
utterances are sent to Apple to process
your requests. A feedback window gauges
your speaking volume and provides basic
dictation controls.

If you need to dictate text and control your

Mac using your voice instead of a
keyboard and trackpad, use Voice Control.
See Control your Mac and apps using
Voice Control. When Voice Control is on,
you canʼt use Dictation.

On a Mac with Apple silicon, dictation

requests are processed on your device in
many languages—no internet connection
is required. When dictating in a search
box, dictated text may be sent to the
search provider in order to process the
search. Additionally, you can dictate text
of any length without a timeout. You can
turn off Dictation manually, or it stops
automatically when no speech is detected
for 30 seconds.

Note: Dictation may not be available in all

languages or in all countries or regions,
and features may vary.

Turn on Dictation
L. On your Mac, choose Apple menu >
System Settings, then click Keyboard
in the sidebar. (You may need to
scroll down.)

Q. Go to Dictation on the right, then turn

it on. If a prompt appears, click Enable.

T. If youʼre asked if you want to improve

Siri and Dictation, do one of the
following:

Share audio recordings: Click

Share Audio Recordings to allow
Apple to store audio of your Siri
and Dictation interactions from
your Mac. Apple may review a
sample of stored audio.

Donʼt share audio recordings: Click

Not Now.

If you change your mind later and want

to share or stop sharing audio
recordings, choose Apple menu >
System Settings, then click Privacy &
Security in the sidebar. (You may
need to scroll down.) Go to Analytics &
Improvements on the right, then turn
on or off the Improve Siri & Dictation
option. See Change Privacy & Security
settings.

Note: You can delete the audio

interactions (which are associated with
a random identifier and less than six
months old) whenever you like—see
Delete Siri and Dictation history.

Z. To dictate using another language,

click the Language pop-up menu, then
choose a language and dialect.

Add an unlisted language: Choose

Customize or Add Language, then
select or add the languages you
want to use.

Remove a language: Click the

Language pop-up menu, choose
Customize, then deselect the
language you donʼt want to use.

To learn more about how Apple protects

your information and lets you choose what
you share, click About Dictation & Privacy
at the bottom of the window. See the
Apple Privacy website.

Dictate text
L. In an app on your Mac, place the
insertion point where you want the
dictated text to appear.

Q. Press if available in the row of

function keys, use the dictation
keyboard shortcut, or choose Edit >
Start Dictation.

Note: Press and release to start

Dictation; press and hold to activate
Siri (Siri must be enabled).

T. When the feedback window shows a

microphone icon with a fluctuating
loudness indicator, or you hear the
tone that signals your Mac is ready for
dictation, dictate your text.

Z. To insert a punctuation mark or

perform simple formatting tasks, do
any of the following:

Say the name of the punctuation

mark, such as “exclamation mark.”

Say “new line” (equivalent to

pressing the Return key once) or
“new paragraph” (equivalent to
pressing the Return key twice). The
new line or new paragraph appear
when youʼre done dictating.

For a list of the commands you can use

while dictating, see Commands for
dictating text.

Note: Dictation automatically inserts

commas, periods, and question marks
for you as you dictate. To turn if off,
choose Apple menu > System
Settings, then click Keyboard in the
sidebar. (You may need to scroll
down.) Go to Dictation on the right,
then turn off Auto-punctuation.

b. If you set up Dictation for multiple

languages and want to switch
languages as you dictate, click the
language in the feedback window, then
choose the language you want to use.

For information about setting up

Dictation for multiple languages, see
Turn on Dictation.

c. When youʼre done, press the dictation

keyboard shortcut, the Return key, or
click Done in the feedback window.

On a Mac with Apple silicon, you can

insert emoji using your voice while
dictating—for example, say “heart emoji”
or “car emoji.”

Ambiguous text is underlined in blue. If the

text is wrong, click it and select an
alternative. You can also type or dictate
the correct text.

Set the Dictation keyboard

shortcut
You can choose a specific dictation
keyboard shortcut or create one of your
own.

Tip: If is available in the row of

function keys, you can press it to start
Dictation or use the keyboard shortcut.

L. On your Mac, choose Apple menu >

System Settings, then click Keyboard
in the sidebar. (You may need to
scroll down.)

Q. Go to Dictation on the right, click the

pop-up menu next to Shortcut, then
choose a shortcut to start Dictation.

To create a shortcut thatʼs not in the

list, choose Customize, then press the
keys you want to use. For example,
you could press Option-Z.

Note: When you choose a Dictation

keyboard shortcut, depending on your
Mac model, the “Press fn key to” or “Press
key to” option in Keyboard settings may
change automatically. For example, if you
choose Press Fn (Function) Key Twice as
the Dictation Shortcut option, the
Keyboard settings option changes to Start
Dictation (Press Fn Twice) automatically.

For more help with Keyboard options, click

the Help button in Keyboard settings.

Change the microphone

used for Dictation
The Microphone source in Keyboard
settings shows which device your Mac is
currently using to listen for Dictation.

L. On your Mac, choose Apple menu >

System Settings, then click Keyboard
in the sidebar. (You may need to
scroll down.)

Q. Go to Dictation on the right, click the

pop-up menu next to “Microphone
source,” then choose the microphone
you want to use for Dictation.

If you choose Automatic, your Mac

listens to the device youʼre most likely
to use for Dictation.

Turn off Dictation

L. On your Mac, choose Apple menu >
System Settings, then click Keyboard
in the sidebar. (You may need to
scroll down.)

Q. Go to Dictation on the right, then turn

it off.

See also

If Dictation on Mac doesnʼt work as

expected
If your Mac doesnʼt recognize text and
commands you speak
Hear your Mac read documents
Record audio in QuickTime Player on Mac
Send an audio message on Mac

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