Final Draft dictation on a Mac: the built-in commands, and a way with no cutoff
By Ryleigh Newman · Published
Final Draft has dictation on a Mac, and it is the Mac's own Dictation with script commands added: Final Draft's help says version 13 takes advantage of the dictation built into macOS and understands voice commands such as new paragraph, scene heading. It is Mac only, and the commands are English only. The other way is a dictation app that types at your cursor, such as YapToText, the free app I built, which keeps listening through long pauses and runs on your Mac.
My hands make typing difficult, so I dictate everything. What this page says about Final Draft comes from four articles in Final Draft's own knowledge base, read on October 6, 2026. I have not tested either route inside Final Draft, so I will not tell you how well it formats a scene, only what each one is built to do.
This app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.
On this page: 9 sections
Steps
- Select a microphone in System Settings, Sound, Input.
- In Final Draft, check Speech Commands under Preferences, General.
- Choose Edit, Start Dictation, or click the microphone icon in the status bar.
- Say new paragraph and the element, then the words. Click Done to stop.
Compare the two side by side
Final Draft checked October 6, 2026, on kb.finaldraft.com. Apple Dictation from Apple's Mac User Guide.
| Final Draft's dictation | YapToText | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | macOS Dictation, plus Final Draft's Speech Commands | A separate app that types at the cursor |
| How it starts | Edit, Start Dictation, or the microphone icon in the status bar | Right Command, tap to start and stop |
| Script elements by voice | Yes, in English: new paragraph, scene heading | No; you pick the element in Final Draft |
| Other languages | Action and dialogue only, no commands | 29 languages, as plain text |
| A long pause | Apple says Dictation stops after 30 seconds without speech | No silence cutoff by default |
| Windows | No; Final Draft says dictation is Mac only | No; Mac only |
| Where your voice goes | On the Mac or to Siri servers; Keyboard settings says which | Stays on your Mac |
Final Draft's dictation knows what a scene heading is. YapToText knows nothing about scripts and never stops for a pause.
Turn on dictation in Final Draft
Final Draft's article on dictation lists the setup in order. The step people miss is the Speech Commands checkbox in Final Draft's own preferences.
Step 1: Check the microphone
- You: Open System Settings, go to Sound, choose the Input tab and select a microphone.
- macOS: Shows an input level that moves when you talk.
- Check: The level moves. A Mac mini or Mac Studio needs an external microphone.
Step 2: Turn on Speech Commands
- You: In Final Draft, open the Final Draft 13 menu, Preferences, General, and check the box for Speech Commands. Click OK.
- Final Draft: Starts treating spoken words such as tab and return as keys.
- Check: The box is checked.
Step 3: Start dictation
- You: Choose Edit, Start Dictation, or click the microphone icon in the status bar. Final Draft's article also says to press the Command key twice, and its shortcut list shows Fn D.
- macOS: Shows the Dictation microphone.
- Check: Words appear on the script page as you speak.
Step 4: Stop
- You: Click Done in the microphone icon.
- macOS: Stops listening.
- Check: The microphone is gone.
Final Draft's article names System Preferences and a Sounds pane, the names from older versions of macOS. On current macOS they are System Settings and Sound. If Dictation itself is off, turn it on in System Settings, Keyboard, Dictation.
Voice commands Final Draft understands
These are the commands Final Draft's two articles list. Say new paragraph, then the element you want, and Final Draft changes the line for you.
- New paragraph. Breaks the line at the cursor and waits for you to name the type of paragraph, for example new paragraph, scene heading. The second article gives new scene heading as a spoken command too.
- Return and tab. Treated as those keys on the keyboard.
- Punctuation. Period, comma, question mark, semi-colon and other marks insert the mark.
- Undo and redo. The same as Edit, Undo and Edit, Redo.
- Natural speech. Final Draft's example: say Bob enters the office and sits down and says Hello, and it becomes an action line, then the character name BOB, then the line Hello.
That natural-speech example is Final Draft's, and I have not tried it. Apple's own Dictation commands, such as new line, are in the Mac dictation commands list.
Languages other than English, and Windows
Final Draft answers this one directly. Outside English you can dictate the words, and none of the commands.
- English. Spoken commands for paragraphs, keystrokes and punctuation, and natural-speech dictation.
- Every other language. Final Draft says speakers of other languages can dictate their action and dialogue, and cannot use voice commands to insert new paragraphs, keystrokes or punctuation.
- Windows. Not available. Final Draft says only macOS devices allow dictation.
For which languages Apple Dictation itself supports, see Mac dictation languages.
Dictate into Final Draft with YapToText
YapToText types at your cursor in any app you can type in, so in Final Draft it puts plain words on whatever line the cursor is on. It is free on the Mac App Store and needs an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later. Pick the element in Final Draft, then tap, talk, and tap again.
Step 1: Put the cursor on the line
- You: Click into the script and set the element you want, an action line or a character's dialogue, the way you normally do in Final Draft.
- Check: The cursor is blinking on the right kind of line.
Step 2: Tap Right Command and talk
- You: Tap Right Command once and say the action or the speech.
- Check: The wave moves when you speak.
Step 3: Tap it again
- You: Tap Right Command again when the paragraph is done.
- YapToText: Transcribes on your Mac and types the text at the cursor.
- Check: The words are on the line. Move to the next element in Final Draft and repeat.
- Dialogue as spoken. Press 2 while you talk for Raw Transcription, which adds basic punctuation and changes nothing else. With Auto mode on, the pick lasts for that one take.
- Character and place names. Add them on the Dictionaries page with the spelling you want, and they are used to prime the speech model as well as to fix what it types.
- Thinking time. Auto-stop after silence is off by default, so a pause does not end the take. One take can run up to 30 minutes.
- A lost take. History keeps your last 500 dictations for 30 days by default, so a speech that landed on the wrong line can be copied back.
What it cannot do
- Format a script. YapToText does not know a scene heading from a line of dialogue. Final Draft's own dictation is the route that does, in English.
- Say the commands. New paragraph, scene heading is a Final Draft command. To YapToText those are words to type.
- Promise how the two mix. I have not tested YapToText with Final Draft's SmartType lists or auto-complete, so I will not say how they interact.
- Read the script back. Final Draft's Speech Control, under Tools, reads your script aloud with a voice for each character. It is text to speech, not dictation.
Use Final Draft's dictation to build the page, and a tool with no cutoff for the long speeches.
The short version
- Built in. Check Speech Commands in Final Draft's preferences, then Edit, Start Dictation. Mac only, commands in English only.
- Elements by voice. Say new paragraph, then the element, such as scene heading.
- Long speeches. YapToText: put the cursor on the line, tap Right Command, talk, tap again.
The habits behind a long dictated draft are in the dictation for writers guide. If something here does not match what you see in Final Draft, open an issue on GitHub. Every one gets read.
This app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.
Related
Sources
- https://kb.finaldraft.com/hc/en-us/articles/27594069818004-How-do-I-use-dictation-to-write-a-script (checked 2026-10-06)
- https://kb.finaldraft.com/hc/en-us/articles/15573716350740-Does-Final-Draft-s-dictation-function-work-with-languages-other-than-English (checked 2026-10-06)
- https://kb.finaldraft.com/hc/en-us/articles/27778802776596-How-do-I-use-Speech-Control (checked 2026-10-06)
- https://kb.finaldraft.com/hc/en-us/articles/27977488282644-What-keyboard-shortcuts-can-I-use-in-Final-Draft (checked 2026-10-06)
- https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/use-dictation-mh40584/mac (checked 2026-10-03)
- https://apps.apple.com/us/app/yaptotext/id6786382289 (checked 2026-10-03)
Questions
Does Final Draft have dictation?
Yes, on a Mac. Final Draft's help says Final Draft 13 uses the dictation built into macOS and adds voice commands for script elements, keystrokes and punctuation. It is not available on Windows.
How do I use dictation in Final Draft?
Check Speech Commands under Final Draft 13, Preferences, General, then choose Edit, Start Dictation or click the microphone icon in the status bar. Say new paragraph and an element such as scene heading to change the line. Click Done to stop.
Does Final Draft dictation work in languages other than English?
Partly. Final Draft says speakers of other languages can dictate action and dialogue, and cannot use the voice commands for new paragraphs, keystrokes or punctuation. Natural-speech dictation is English only.
Does Final Draft dictation work on Windows?
No. Final Draft's help says only macOS devices allow dictation and that it cannot be done on Windows at this time.
Is Speech Control the same as dictation in Final Draft?
No. Speech Control, under Tools, reads your script aloud and lets you assign a voice to each character. Dictation, under Edit, Start Dictation, turns your speech into text.