Speech-to-Text is a really useful accessibility tool if typing is difficult for you. Or you can also use it if you like to think out loud and transcribe what you say.
In this tutorial, I'll show you how to use speech-to-text in Google Docs. Do note, though, that this feature is available only if you're using Google's Chrome browser.
How to Activate the Speech-to-Text Tool
You can activate speech-to-text from the Tools menu – it is the fourth menu item from the bottom. Or you can use the Ctrl+Shift+S (on Windows) or Command+Shift+S (on Mac) shortcut to activate it.
This will open a little tab with a microphone and a dropdown menu.
You can drag it around with the three horizontal dots at the top. Next to those dots you can click the X to close it. Just below you'll see the dropdown menu where you can change languages (and it shows what language is currently set). Then below that there's the big square button with a grey microphone in the middle.
Mar 09, 2021 After upgrading to macOS Catalina, follow these steps to turn on Voice Control: Choose Apple menu System Preferences, then click Accessibility. Click Voice Control in the sidebar. Select Enable Voice Control. When you turn on Voice Control for the first time, your Mac completes a one-time download from Apple. Aug 13, 2020 Dictation — an Accessibility feature available on Mac computers, allows you to input text using voice-to-text typing. Here's a guide on how to Dictation on Mac. Turn on keyboard dictation. On your Mac, choose Apple menu System Preferences, click Keyboard, then click Dictation. Open the Dictation pane for me. If a prompt appears, click Enable Dictation. If you’re asked if you want to improve Siri and Dictation, do one of the following: Share audio recordings: Click Share Audio Recordings. Voice Typing Keyboard - Type with Voice is an Android app and cannot be installed on Windows PC or MAC directly. Android Emulator is a software application that enables you to run Android apps and games on a PC by emulating Android OS.
If you want to change the language setting for the Voice Typing tool, you need to use the drop down menu. It will let you choose between many languages. Just select the language you prefer, and you are ready to start using it.
How to Use Voice Typing in Google Docs
You can start voice typing by clicking on the microphone button. When it's activated, it will become red.
If you get an alert from Google Docs asking for permission to use your microphone, go ahead and grant permission or you will not be able to use voice typing.
Now, start speaking, and Google Docs will transcribe what you say. You need to speak clearly and not too quickly for better results.
While Google is interpreting what you have said there will be a pattern of little squares shown where the words will appear after it has finished elaborating.
Voice Commands
Writing a document often includes editing and formatting. Voice commands allow you to do all the editing and formatting using only your voice.
Voice commands are available only for the English language. When you say certain words and phrases, like 'move to the end of the line' or 'select paragraph', those actions will be executed.
You can find the whole list of available commands by saying 'voice commands list', or in the Google Docs guide article with the complete list of available voice commands.
Voice Typing and Voice Commands in action
Conclusion
Voice typing, or speech-to-text, is a useful accessibility tool. I hope this article has taught you how to use it, and you will be able to write with less typing!
Everyone wants to speak now — or rather, use speech-to-text with artificial intelligence to save the labor of typing. So is it a surprise that Microsoft now has a potentially innovative attempt at speech-to-text, born from its own private tests and development?
Microsoft Dictate is an experimental new app from Microsoft Garage that brings voice dictation to Windows versions of Outlook, Word, and PowerPoint. You only need to download the light 2 MB add-in for the Ribbon to get started.
Go Hands-Free in Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint
Dictate Text In MS Office. After you install Dictate, open any MS Office app. You will see a new tab on the ribbon called Dictation. Select this tab. You can start dictating text right away. There aren’t any settings that need tweaking. Just click the Start button to dictate text.
Microsoft Dictate started its life from a hackathon project. I guess the guys at Redmond wanted to save some time in emails, long text documents, and quickfire PowerPoint demonstrations. After all, it’s not always fun to depend on the keyboard for saying things like “Deploy infrastructure to improve cognitive load on the virtual machines.”
Install this handy program and it goes to work from its own tab in the Ribbon.
- First, you need to set up Dictation if it's not set up already, so if you go to Settings, and System Preferences on the dock, on your Mac, this app might be Siri, rather than Dictation & Speech.
- Meet Microsoft Dictate As the name implies, Dictate is an add-in designed to convert speech to text by letting you speak what you need to type. On the company blog, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) announced this is a new project from Garage, a resource to Microsoft employees supporting and encouraging problem solving.
- Dictation should spread to Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint sometime in 2019. More accessibility improvements are coming in the near future. Microsoft is bringing Immersive Reader to its Flipgrid.
Voice Typing Download
- Reveal the Dictation tab on the Ribbon. Click on the Mic icon to start the voice to text speech recognition.
- The dictation software picks up your speech patterns and translates that into text on the page. You can also see the real-time feedback in the field.
- Quickly shift to the language options if you want to spell out something in a different language. Dictate supports more than 20 languages for dictation and can handle real-time translation of 60 languages.
- Nine specific voice commands help you create new lines, delete, add punctuation and more to format the text.
- Toggle between manual punctuation and automatic punctuation for better control.
- Microsoft Dictate is supported on Windows 8.1 or later, Office 2013 or later, using .NET Framework 4.5.0 or later.
Take an Experimental Shot at Productivity
Convert image to text for mac. Microsoft Dictate uses the same infrastructure that runs the successful Cortana. The cutting-edge speech recognition and artificial intelligence built on Microsoft Cognitive Services includes the Bing Speech API and Microsoft Translator.
The fledgling effort will only get better with time, assuming Microsoft keeps on with the project. For now, more advanced speech-to-text software need not tremble at its “intelligence” — it’s still a Garage project for the foreseeable future.
Want to try something similar outside of Microsoft Office? Check out voice typing in Google DocsHow Voice Typing Is the New Best Feature of Google DocsHow Voice Typing Is the New Best Feature of Google DocsVoice recognition has improved by leaps and bounds in recent years. Earlier this week, Google finally introduced voice typing into Google Docs. But is it any good? Let's find out!Read More.
Is Dictate among the Microsoft Services you didn’t know about till now? Have you ever used voice typing to write an entire document?
Voice Typing Mac Free App
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Microsoft Outlook For Mac Support
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Speech Dictation On Mac
Dictation On Macbook Air
We can use PC with google chrome with voice to text extensions. There are quiet a few. I use that to enter text into whatsapp web, telegram web, dictate in gmail etc. only some text entry boxes will not work.
Also google office doc voice activate shortcut : Ctrl+shift+S