Spoken punctuation in YapToText: what to say for each mark
By Ryleigh Newman · Published · Updated
To get punctuation when you dictate on a Mac with YapToText, say the mark's name at the end of a clause: question mark, exclamation point, new line, new paragraph. One-word names such as comma, period and colon need the word insert in front, so you say insert comma, because Require the word “insert” before a command is on by default.
Most sentences need none of this, because Whisper punctuates ordinary speech by itself. Spoken names are for the mark it cannot guess, and every one is listed, and changeable, on the Commands page. My hands make typing difficult, and reaching for the keyboard to add one comma would undo the point of dictating. For Apple's own Dictation, the Mac dictation commands guide has its list.
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.
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On this page: 10 sections
Say two-word names at the end of a clause
Names of two or more words fire on their own, with no insert, when they end a clause. Two-word names never need insert, as long as they end the clause.
Say: End a sentence with the name of the mark.
is it working now, question markYou get: “is it working now?” The comma Whisper puts before the name goes too, and so does any mark it adds right after it.
Followed by a lowercase word, a two-word name stays as words, so “it put a question mark in the middle” is typed as you said it. Followed by a capital letter or a number, it fires. New line and new paragraph also clean up the spaces on both sides of the break. This is the usual dictation convention, and YapToText has followed it since 1.4.
Put insert before one-word names
The Commands page has a switch, Require the word “insert” before a command, on by default. It keeps ordinary speech from turning into symbols, so “that period of time” and “a dash of salt” stay words.
Say: Anywhere in a sentence, while the switch is on.
insert commaWhat happens: A comma lands, attached to the word before it.
- One-word punctuation names. Period, comma, colon, semicolon, hyphen, dash, ellipsis, quote, apostrophe, slash, backslash, ampersand, hashtag, asterisk, tilde, underscore, bang and the rest need insert.
- Emoji and snippets. All of them need insert, even the long ones: insert smiley face, insert today's date.
- Two-word punctuation names. They never need it.
Turn the switch off and every name fires bare. Matching is whole words and ignores case, so “periodic” never becomes a period. The insert rule is what keeps ordinary words from turning into symbols.
How the mark lands in your text
- Marks that attach. Period, comma, question mark, exclamation point, colon, semicolon and ellipsis swallow the space before them, so “really question mark” gives “really?”
- Symbols that lead a word. Hashtag, at sign, dollar sign and the opening brackets glue to the next word: “dollar sign 50” gives $50, and with the switch on, “insert hashtag vibes” gives #vibes. A two-word name such as at sign followed by a lowercase word stays as words.
- Line breaks. New line and new paragraph swallow the spaces on both sides.
- Repeats. Dot dot dot absorbs extra dots, so five heard dots still give one ellipsis.
Punctuation is settled before any AI cleanup, so the cleanup model sees the finished mark instead of the words. Emoji and snippets go in after cleanup, so a rewrite cannot drop or move them. All of it works in every mode, Raw Transcription included. It all happens before the text is typed, so it works in any app YapToText types into, from Word to Google Docs.
Every punctuation name
These are the 45 punctuation commands YapToText ships with. With Require the word “insert” before a command on, the one-word names need insert in front. Names of two or more words never do. Pound sign types the number sign. Say sterling sign for the currency.
| Say | You get |
|---|---|
| period, full stop | period (.) |
| comma | comma (,) |
| question mark | question mark (?) |
| exclamation point, exclamation mark, exclamation, bang | exclamation point (!) |
| colon | colon (:) |
| semicolon, semi colon | semicolon (;) |
| hyphen, dash, minus sign | hyphen (-) |
| ellipsis, dot dot dot | ellipsis (…) |
| open paren, open parenthesis, left paren | opening parenthesis |
| close paren, close parenthesis, right paren | closing parenthesis |
| open bracket, left bracket, open square bracket | opening square bracket |
| close bracket, right bracket, close square bracket | closing square bracket |
| open brace, left brace, open curly brace | opening curly brace |
| close brace, right brace, close curly brace | closing curly brace |
| quote, double quote, quotation mark | straight double quote (") |
| apostrophe, single quote | apostrophe (') |
| slash, forward slash | slash (/) |
| backslash, back slash | backslash (\) |
| ampersand | ampersand (&) |
| at sign, at symbol | at sign (@) |
| hashtag, hash sign, pound sign, number sign | number sign (#) |
| percent sign, percent symbol | percent sign (%) |
| asterisk, star symbol | asterisk (*) |
| plus sign | plus sign (+) |
| equals sign, equal sign | equals sign (=) |
| dollar sign | dollar sign ($) |
| euro sign | euro sign (€) |
| pound sign symbol, sterling sign | pound sterling sign (£) |
| cent sign | cent sign (¢) |
| bullet point, bullet symbol | bullet (•) |
| degree sign, degrees symbol | degree sign (°) |
| caret symbol | caret (^) |
| tilde | tilde (~) |
| underscore | underscore (_) |
| vertical bar, pipe symbol | vertical bar (|) |
| less than sign, left angle bracket | less than sign (<) |
| greater than sign, right angle bracket | greater than sign (>) |
| copyright sign, copyright symbol | copyright sign (©) |
| registered sign, registered trademark | registered sign (®) |
| trademark sign, trademark symbol | trademark sign (™) |
| section sign | section sign (§) |
| paragraph sign, pilcrow | pilcrow (¶) |
| tab key | a tab |
| new line, line break | a line break |
| new paragraph | a blank line, two line breaks |
Every name in this table can be renamed, switched off or given more phrases.
Emoji and snippets
158 emoji have spoken names out of the box, almost all ending in the word emoji: fire emoji, heart emoji, laughing emoji, thinking emoji, party emoji, rocket emoji, check mark emoji, skull emoji. A few have shorter names: smiley face, thumbs up, thumbs down.
Say: With the insert switch on, which is the default.
insert smiley faceWhat happens: The smiling emoji appears where you said it.
Five snippets ship ready to use:
- today's date. It types today's date.
- current time. You can also say the time right now. It types the current time.
- paste my clipboard. It types the text on your clipboard.
- shrug face. It types the shrug made of keyboard characters.
- my email signature. It types “Best,” and a line break. Change it to your own sign-off.
At the bottom of the Commands page, Suggestions offers five starters: Phone number, Work email, Personal email, Home address and Website. Click one, fill in your real value, and insert phone number types it. They are starters you fill in, not built-in commands. Three live tokens work in the Inserts box of any command, {date}, {time} and {clipboard}, and are filled in at the moment you dictate. A snippet is any phrase you choose, typing any text you write.
Change any name on the Commands page
The Commands page has three tabs, Snippets, Punctuation and Emoji, and a search field. Each row lists the phrases you say, separated by commas, what it inserts, and an On switch.
Add a phrase of your own
- You: Open a tab, press the Add button under the list, then type your phrase under Say this and the text under Inserts.
- YapToText: Saves it as you type. In the Inserts box, \n stands for a line break.
- Check: Dictate the phrase, with insert in front while the switch is on, and the text appears.
- Several phrases. Give one command several, like “exclamation point, exclamation, bang”. Longer phrases are matched first, so exclamation point is never cut short by exclamation.
- Restore Defaults. It resets only the tab you are on.
- Export All and Import. They move every command as one file.
- Enable voice commands. This switch turns every command off at once.
Rename any command to the words you would naturally say. Words that keep coming out misspelled are a job for dictionaries instead.
Limits
- The insert rule. While it is on, a one-word name said without insert is typed as a word.
- Clause endings. A two-word name followed by a lowercase word stays as words, on purpose.
- No delete or backspace command. To take back a dictation that just landed, say scratch that as its own dictation within 30 seconds. Replace, then the wrong word, then with, then the right word fixes one word. Both are Corrections by voice, covered in the Quick Edit guide.
- What Whisper hears. A name fires only when Whisper writes those exact words. YapToText primes Whisper with the two-word names, but a noisy room can still turn one into something else.
If a mark comes out as a word
- Add insert. One-word names need it while the switch is on.
- End the clause. Say a two-word name where the clause ends. Followed by a lowercase word, it stays as words.
- Check the switches. On the Commands page, Enable voice commands must be on, and so must the row's On switch.
- Read the raw transcript. In History, Show pipeline details shows what Whisper heard. If it wrote the name another way, add that spelling as another phrase on the row.
- Tell me. Open a GitHub issue with the exact words you said and what was typed.
The short version
- Two-word names. Say them bare, at the end of the clause.
- One-word names. Put insert in front.
- Emoji and snippets. Put insert in front of those too.
Say the name where the mark goes, and add insert when the name is one word. If a name does not fire the way this page says, tell me on GitHub. Every issue 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
Questions
How do you add punctuation when dictating on a Mac?
With YapToText, say the name of the mark at the end of the clause, like question mark or new paragraph. One-word names such as comma need insert first while that setting is on, which is the default.
Do I have to say insert before every punctuation mark?
No. Only one-word names like period, comma or dash need it, and only while Require the word insert before a command is on. Names of two or more words never need it.
How do I start a new line when dictating on a Mac?
Say new line for a line break or new paragraph for a blank line, at the end of the clause. Neither needs insert, and tab key types a tab.
How do I delete a word when dictating on a Mac?
Right after a dictation lands, say scratch that as its own dictation, within 30 seconds, and YapToText removes it. To fix one word, say replace, then the wrong word, then with, then the right word.
Why did period come out as a word instead of a dot?
Period is one word, so with the insert setting on you say insert period. Turn the setting off on the Commands page if you would rather say it bare.
Can I dictate emoji on a Mac?
Yes. YapToText has 158 spoken emoji names, like fire emoji and thumbs up. With the insert setting on, say insert fire emoji and the emoji appears.