Speech to Text Tools

Speech to text, also called dictation, turns what you say into typed text. This page covers dictation in Word, Windows, Android, iOS, and macOS, and Dragon; to control your computer or phone with your voice, see Voice Control.

On this page:

Word Dictate

Available at Langara: Langara provides it to students and/or staff.
Paid: you or your organization needs to buy it.

Langara students can access the full Microsoft 365 suite of tools using their Langara email and password.

Microsoft Word has a built-in dictation tool available on all platforms.

Word Dictate

Dictate is built into Microsoft 365 versions of Word for Windows, macOS, the web, and mobile:

  1. On the Home ribbon, click the microphone icon labelled Dictate. The Word Home ribbon with the Dictate button circled.
  2. Wait for the Dictate toolbar and Listening message to appear. The Dictate toolbar with microphone, settings, help and close buttons.
    1. Check that the right microphone is selected in the Settings menu. The Dictate toolbar with the settings button outlined. Dictation Settings with the Microphone menu open, listing three microphones.
  3. Speak clearly at a steady pace.
  4. Say punctuation such as “period,” “comma,” and “question mark.”
  5. Say “pause dictation” or “stop dictation” to stop. Click the microphone to start again.

Dictate your documents in Word – Microsoft Support

Settings

The Dictate toolbar with the settings (gear) button circled.

The gear icon on the toolbar opens Dictation Settings:

  • Spoken language: set the language you speak, for accurate spelling.
  • Microphone: if you have more than one, choose which to use.
  • Auto-punctuation: turn automatic punctuation on or off.
  • Filter sensitive phrases: on by default. Profanity and other sensitive words are replaced with asterisks, so a recognition error can’t put offensive words in your document.

Windows

Built in: part of your device, browser, or an app you already have.

Microsoft Windows 11 has built-in dictation called Voice Typing.

Windows Voice Typing

Windows Voice Typing lets you type with your voice anywhere you can type text, including apps and web pages. To use Voice Typing:

  1. Open Settings and navigate to Privacy & security. Select Speech and toggle Online speech recognition on.
  2. Place your cursor in any text box and press Windows + H to dictate text. The Voice Typing window with settings, microphone and help buttons.
  3. Select the cog icon to access Settings. Voice Typing settings with Voice typing launcher and Automatic punctuation switches, Select default microphone, Give feedback and Microsoft Speech Services.
    1. Toggle Voice typing launcher on to quickly access voice typing whenever you place the cursor in a text box. The small Voice typing launcher with a microphone button.
  4. Voice Typing may display tips and suggestions. A Voice Typing tip: To move keyboard focus to the voice typing tool, press Windows key + Alt + H.

Use voice typing to talk instead of type on your PC – Microsoft Support lists the voice typing and punctuation commands.

To control your whole computer by voice, see Voice Control.

How to use Voice typing in Windows 11 – My Computer My Way

Android and ChromeOS

Built in: part of your device, browser, or an app you already have.

Android and ChromeOS devices offer Google Voice Typing allowing users to dictate text.

Android and ChromeOS

You can dictate text on Android and ChromeOS. Many apps (Chrome, Play Store, Docs) have a microphone icon in the search box for searching with your voice.

An Android keyboard with the microphone button circled in the toolbar above the keys.

To type with your voice, tap the microphone on the keyboard.

Voice typing is usually on by default. If you don’t see the microphone icon on a Samsung phone:

  1. Go to Settings > General Management.
  2. Select Keyboard list and default. Android General management settings with Keyboard list and default circled.
  3. Toggle on Google Voice Typing. Keyboard list and default settings with Google Voice Typing switched on and circled.

Use Live Transcribe to turn speech around you into text on screen (see also Closed Captions). To turn on Live Transcribe:

  1. Go to Settings > Accessibility.
  2. Select Installed apps.
  3. Choose Live Transcribe and toggle Live Transcribe shortcut to On.
  4. Tap on Accessibility shortcut.
  5. Select Live Transcribe.
    1. Follow prompts to set permissions.
  6. Use the shortcut to start Live Transcribe.

Use advanced voice typing features – Gboard Help (Pixel phones)

iOS and macOS

Built in: part of your device, browser, or an app you already have.

iOS and macOS offer Dictation tools built-in.

iOS and macOS

iOS

  1. Go to Settings > General > Keyboard.
  2. Turn on Enable Dictation. iOS Keyboards settings with Enable Dictation switched on and circled.
  3. When the onscreen keyboard appears, tap the microphone icon in the bottom right. The iOS keyboard with the microphone button circled in the bottom right.

Dictate text on iPhone – Apple Support (CA)

macOS

macOS has built-in dictation. To turn it on:

  1. Go to System Settings.
  2. Select Keyboard.
  3. Scroll down to Dictation.
  4. Turn on Dictation. macOS System Settings with an arrow pointing to Keyboard in the sidebar and the Dictation switch circled. The Shortcut setting is underlined.

In the same settings, check the Language (for correct spelling), the Microphone source, and the Shortcut.

To dictate, click in a text field (such as a document or the browser address bar) and press the dictation shortcut (by default, the Microphone key, F5 on many keyboards), or choose Edit > Start Dictation.

Speak clearly and say commands in plain language, such as “new line” or “exclamation point”.

Dragon

Available at Langara: Langara provides it to students and/or staff.
Paid: you or your organization needs to buy it.

Langara has a limited number of Dragon licences. Contact Accessibility Services for information.

Dragon is powerful speech to text software.

Dragon

Dragon can dictate into almost any text field. To do so:

  1. Put the blinking text cursor where you want the text to go.
  2. Turn on Dragon’s microphone.
  3. Start speaking. Your words are typed into the text field.

To turn Dragon on or off:

  1. When the microphone icon is red, Dragon is not listening. Click the icon to start Dragon. The DragonBar with a red microphone button and the tooltip Currently off – click to turn on.
  2. When the microphone icon is green, Dragon is listening and will transcribe what you say. The DragonBar with a green microphone button and the tooltip Currently on – click to turn off.
    1. Click the green icon to stop Dragon.
  3. Say “go to sleep” and the icon turns blue. Dragon is in sleep mode and won’t type what you say. Say “wake up” or click the icon to continue. The DragonBar with a blue sleeping microphone button and the tooltip Currently sleeping – click to wake up.

If Dragon makes a spelling error, say “correct that.” If the correct word appears in the menu, select it to automatically replace the incorrect word with the correct one. If the correct word does not appear in the menu, say “spell that” and spell the word letter by letter.

Common commands

  • Say “period” or “comma” to add punctuation.
  • Say “new line” to move to a new line.
  • Say “delete that” to delete what you last dictated, or “delete last (number) words”, for example “delete last 3 words”.

It is often quickest to dictate most of your text with Dragon and then fix small errors with the mouse and keyboard.

Dragon has a YouTube playlist of videos demonstrating common features.

See Voice Control for more on using Dragon.

Transcription

Dragon can transcribe .wav, .mp3, .wma, .dss, .ds2, and .m4a audio files to text.

  1. Open the Tools menu.
  2. Select Transcribe Recording.
  3. Choose a file.
  4. Click Transcribe.

Dragon creates an .rtf text file, which you can open and edit in DragonPad or Word, or keep for later.

See Note-taking and Transcription for step-by-step transcription instructions with screenshots.

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