AI Actions: one-shot rewrites for text you already have

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An AI Action is a saved instruction, such as Summarize or Make Formal, that rewrites text you already have. A mode shapes what you just said. An action works on any text you select in another app, or on text pasted into the Utility page, and it runs on your Mac.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis 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.

Steps

  1. Select the text in any app.
  2. Open the YapToText menu bar panel and press Regenerate.
  3. Choose Selected text.
  4. Under Or apply a one-shot edit, pick the action. The result takes the selection's place.

The actions it comes with

  • Improve Writing. Fixes grammar, spelling and clarity and keeps the meaning, tone and language.
  • Fix Grammar & Spelling. Corrects grammar, spelling and punctuation only, without changing the wording.
  • Make Concise. As short as it can be without losing the meaning.
  • Make Formal. A professional tone, same meaning.
  • Make Friendly. A warm, casual tone, same meaning.
  • Summarize. The key points.
  • Bullet Points. The key points as a list.
  • Translate to English. Translates into English, and lightly corrects text that is English already.
The YapToText AI Actions page with built-in actions such as Improve Writing, Fix Grammar and Spelling, Make Concise and Summarize
Figure 1. AI Actions rewrite selected text in any app, on the Mac, from the menu bar or the Utility page.

Run one on text in any app

Select the text first. In the menu bar panel, Regenerate asks what to work on: Most recent dictation or Selected text. Selected text lists your modes under Rewrite it as, and your actions under Or apply a one-shot edit. Pick one, the panel shows Regenerating as and the action's name, then closes, and the rewrite replaces the selection in the app you were in.

If nothing is selected, the app says Select some text first and changes nothing. Password fields and other places with Secure Input on cannot be read, and the app says so.

Run one on the Utility page

The last card on the Utility page, AI action on text, takes pasted text. Pick the action, press Run, then Copy or Insert. The cards above it feed it: dictate into the scratchpad or transcribe a file, reformat it through a mode, and Send below hands it on.

Edit them or make your own

The AI Actions page in the sidebar has a card for each action: an icon, a name, and its instructions under a disclosure. Edit the instructions in plain words. New Action adds a blank one, the minus button deletes one, and Restore Defaults brings back the eight it came with. An action runs on the cleanup model your current mode uses.

Actions, modes and Quick Edit

  • An action is a saved instruction you pick from a list.
  • Quick Edit is the same idea by voice: select, press the key, and say the change in your own words. Quick Edit has its guide.
  • A mode is the recipe for a dictation. Regenerate can also rewrite a selection through any mode.

About the author. I am Ryleigh Newman, and I make YapToText. My hands do not work well enough to type for long, so I dictate nearly everything, and I built this app because I needed it. More about me and the app.

Sources

Questions

Can YapToText summarize or rewrite text I select?

Yes. Select it, open the menu bar panel, press Regenerate, choose Selected text, and pick Summarize or another action.

Is the text sent to a server?

No. AI Actions run on the cleanup model on your Mac, like the rest of the app.

Can I make my own AI Action?

Yes. Press New Action on the AI Actions page, name it and write its instructions in plain words.