Keys and shortcuts
The dictation shortcut for a Mac running YapToText is the Right Command key: tap it once to start talking and tap it again to stop, or set it to hold-to-talk and it works like a walkie-talkie, recording only while the key is down. While a dictation is running, Space pauses and resumes, Esc cancels, and the number keys 1 to 9 pick the mode your words come out in.
I dictate everything, so the keys had to be few and easy to hit. This page lists the keys the app watches, what each one does by default, and how to change it. Nearly all of them live in Settings, on the General page, under Shortcuts.
The defaults
- Right Command: start or stop a dictation, from any app.
- Control-Option-Space: the backup shortcut. Same job, and it works without the Accessibility permission.
- Space: pause and resume while dictating.
- Esc: cancel the dictation. Nothing is typed and nothing is saved.
- 1 to 9: switch the output mode while dictating.
- Right Option, held: Quick Edit. Select text first, hold the key, say the change, let go.
Space, Esc, and the number keys are only captured while you are actually dictating, so they never interfere with normal typing. Space and the number keys need the Accessibility permission, the same one the dictation key needs.
Tap to toggle, or hold to talk
The dictation key works two ways, and you pick in Settings. The setting is called It responds to, and it has three choices: Tap to start / stop, Hold to talk, and Off. Tap is the default: one tap starts, the next tap stops, and your words are typed at the cursor. Hold turns the key into a push-to-talk button. Recording runs while the key is down and stops the moment you let go, so a short thought is press, speak, release.
One exception: Caps Lock is a toggle at the hardware level, so on that key hold-to-talk becomes tap to start and stop.
The backup shortcut
The bare dictation key needs the Accessibility permission, which you grant on the Home screen. The backup shortcut does not. It is a regular key combination, Control-Option-Space by default, and it starts and stops dictation from any app the same way. It has its own behavior setting, so it can be a toggle or push-to-talk independently of the main key. If another app already owns the combination, Settings says so and you pick a different one.
If Right Command does nothing, check Accessibility first. Until it is granted, the backup shortcut still works. Without Accessibility the app still transcribes everything and copies the result to your clipboard.
Change the dictation key
The dictation key can be Right or Left Control, Fn (the Globe key), Right or Left Option, Right Shift, Caps Lock, or almost any ordinary key on the keyboard, down to a single letter or F-key. Left Command and Left Shift are the two it cannot watch. A plain key that becomes the trigger stops typing its character, so pick one you do not use. If the same key is bound to both dictation and Quick Edit, both fields turn red, and whichever fires first wins.
Every other shortcut on the page works the same way: the field records whatever you press, and a right-click clears it or puts the default back.
Pause, stop, and cancel
Space pauses a running dictation and resumes it. The app swallows the key, so it never types a stray space into the app you are dictating into. Pause can be moved to a different shortcut in the Pause / resume field.
Esc cancels. The recording is discarded, nothing is typed, and nothing is saved. Esc stays live through transcription and cleanup too, so a run that seems stuck can always be cancelled from the keyboard. If you cancel by accident too easily, the Require pressing Escape twice to cancel switch makes it take two presses within a moment. The Esc cancels dictation switch stops Esc from cancelling while you are recording; it still works during transcription and cleanup.
The same three controls sit on the floating panel and in the menu bar capybara's header while recording: pause and resume, stop and insert, and cancel.
Number keys pick the mode
While you are dictating, pressing a number from 1 to 9 picks the mode for that dictation: how your words come out once they are transcribed. The order matches your Modes list, so 1 is always the first mode in the list. With Auto mode on, Auto takes slot 1 and everything else shifts down one; a number pick is then a one-off, so that dictation uses the mode you chose and Auto is back for the next one. Out of the box the list runs Auto, Raw Transcription, Clean Up, Note, Email, Message, and Code Comment, and the mode chips on the expanded panel show the numbers. A number pressed with a modifier, such as Command-1, passes through to the app as usual.
If you type numbers from the keyboard while recording, the Number keys switch modes switch turns the feature off and the keys go back to typing. The default Space pause rides on the same key watcher, so it goes off with it; set a shortcut in the Pause / resume field if you still want one.
Any mode can also have its own shortcut, set in the mode's editor: press it anywhere and a dictation starts in that mode; press again to stop.
Stopping without a key
Dictation can end on its own. Auto-stop after silence is off by default and goes up to five seconds; when it is on, going quiet for that long ends the dictation. Maximum length is a hard cap, also off by default, and goes up to five minutes. Both live in Settings under Recording, and any mode can override them in its own editor.
Quick Edit and the rest
Quick Edit has its own key, Right Option by default, with the same tap-or-hold choice. Hold it over selected text, say the change, and release to apply. A double-tap cancels a running edit, and Esc cancels one while it is being applied. Three more fields on the Shortcuts page are empty until you set them: Redo last dictation, Cycle mode, and Paste recent dictation. Redo erases the last inserted dictation, runs it again, and inserts the fresh result in its place.
Bug reports go to GitHub issues.
Questions
Is there push to talk dictation on a Mac?
Yes. In YapToText, set the dictation key to Hold to talk and Right Command records only while it is held down. The backup shortcut, Control-Option-Space, has the same push-to-talk option.
Right Command does nothing. What is wrong?
The bare dictation key needs the Accessibility permission, which you grant on the Home screen. Until then, Control-Option-Space works without it. The very first launch also asks for microphone permission once.
Will Space or the number keys interfere with my typing?
No. They are only captured while a dictation is running, and Space is swallowed so it never types a stray space. If you dictate numbers from the keyboard, turn off Number keys switch modes; that also turns off the default Space pause, so set a Pause / resume shortcut if you want one.
Can I use a letter or function key instead of a modifier?
Yes. Almost any key can be the dictation key, including a single letter or F-key; only Left Command and Left Shift cannot. It stops typing its character and becomes the trigger.
Can it press Return after it types my words?
Not in 1.4. A per-app Send it for me option, which presses Return or Command-Return as soon as your words are inserted, is coming in 1.4.1.