- Introduction
- Understanding System Preferences
- Viewing System Preferences
- Locking and Unlocking Preference Settings
- Changing Appearance Options
- Setting Up the Desktop
- Setting Up Screen Savers
- Setting the Date and Time
- Changing Language Options
- Changing Text Substitution Options
- Saving Energy and Managing Power
- Selecting a Startup Disk
- Changing the Way a CD or DVD Starts
- Controlling Sound
- Dictating Your Speech
- Letting Mac Do the Talking
- Setting Accessibility Options
- Having VoiceOver Read from the Screen
- Setting VoiceOver Preferences
- Using VoiceOver Commands
- Setting Ink Preferences
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Dictating Your Speech
The Dictation & Speech pane (New!) in System Preferences allows you to dictate (New!) the text you type using the language you want in OS X or an application, including TextEdit, Preview, and Contacts. When you use the dictation option, the information you dictate is recorded and sent to Apple to convert what you say into text. It also sends other information, such as your first name and nickname and those in your address book for better recognition and conversion. You can click About Dictation and Privacy to find out more details about what gets sent. Before you get started, make sure a microphone available on or connected to your computer, and then enable the option in preferences. You can start the dictation in a place that accepts text by selecting the Start Dictation command (New!) from the Edit menu or specifying a keyboard shortcut for easy access when you need it. After you start, a Dictation box appears at the insertion point. At this point, dictate your text, and then click Done to convert it to type. Dictation understands basic commands, such as new line or punctuation (period, comma, etc.) in the current language. If you don’t want it converted or it’s taking to long, click Cancel. If you want to control the use of dictation for specific users, you can set parental controls (New!) in System Preferences.
Setup Dictation Options
Click the System Preferences icon in the Dock, and then click the Dictation & Speech icon.
Click the Dictation tab.
To find out about the information sent to Apple for the dictation conversion, click About Dictation and Privacy, read the information, and then click Done.
Click the Microphone pop-up, and then select a microphone attached to your computer, Line In, or Automatic.
To set a shortcut to start dictation, click the Shortcut pop-up, and then select a default key option, or Customize to enter a new key.
Click the Language pop-up, and then select the language you to use for the conversion.
Click the Close button.
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Enable or Disable Dictation in System Preferences
- Click the System Preferences icon in the Dock, and then click the Dictation & Speech icon.
- Click the Dictation tab.
- To enable dictation, click the On option, and then click Enable Dictation to confirm.
- To disable dictation, click the Off option.
- Click the Close button.
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Start and Use Dictation
- Position the insertion cursor in a place where you want to dictate text, such as an application or Finder.
- Start the dictation using any of the following:
- Use the shortcut specified in Dictation preferences.
- Click the Edit menu, click Start Dictation.
- If prompted, click OK, and then click Enable Dictation.
- Dictate the text you want converted into type on the screen.
- Click Done in the Dictation box.
- To stop the conversion, click Cancel in the Dictation box.
- The text is converted to type.
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