Apple Dictation. Dictation is Apple’s own free dictation software on Mac (and the equivalent of WSR – Windows Speech Recognition) that has been a feature since macOS Sierra. By default it’s only suitable for dictations of 30 seconds or less but you can turn-on Enhanced Dictation for unlimited transcriptions. Apr 15, 2020 Speech-to-Text Software to Download 1. Windows Speech Recognition (plus Cortana) Windows Speech Recognition is a free and built-in application in windows system. It’s easy to set up it. You just need to type “speech recognition” in the search bar, select “start speech.
As the rapid development of the technology of speech recognition, a bunch of dictation software are getting much more popular among computer users especially those who used to spend a lot of time in typing. With the help of dictation software, you can convert your voice into written words automatically. There is no doubt that it will free your hand, speed up your writing and improve your working efficiency.
In the following part, I will share best 6 free user-friendly speech-to-text software for you. All these software are easy to get started, so you needn’t worry they are complicated. All you need is to prepare a microphone and then open your mouth! These dictation tools can be divided into two categories:
1. Online Speech-to-Text Tool
2. Speech-to-Text Software to Download
Online Speech-to-Text Tool
All this type of speech-to-text tools are free websites used in a browser (Chrome suggested) to turn your voice to text without downloading or installing any software. You just need an internet connection.
1. Google Docs Voice Typing
Nowadays Google Docs gets more popular among office personnel because of its function of cloud synchronization. It’s worth mentioning that there is a dictation tool called voice typing in it. When you don’t want to type, you can click “Tools” and then “voice typing”. Then a microphone box appears. If you are prepared for speaking, just click the mic and it will change into a red button. Please remember to speak clearly at a natural speed and volume, and also make sure you have a good network.
2. Dictation. io
Unlike Google Docs Voice Typing, Dictation. io is often for one-time use. This website has clean interface and design since you just need to click “start” to speak. When I was testing this tool, it worked rather accurately. Thus, I highly recommend this dictation tool if you want to dictate for once or you’re looking for a rare language since this tool supports more than 120 languages. Also, when you finish your dictation, you can copy your work into anywhere, save it as text format, tweet it, email it or print it.
3. Speechnotes
Speechnotes is the last online speech-to-text tool I want to share with you. This free tool not only works along with Google Chrome but also Android devices. Speechnotes claims to be a free alternative to Dragon Naturally Speaking by providing the best free online dictation tool and offering the most accurate results.
When you start speaking, just click the microphone at the bottom-right , and it will turn your voice into words automatically. There exists a disadvantage about this service, that is, some ads in the interface. However, they don’t influence your user experience. Especially, ensure that you have copied your document since it won’t save it after you leave the website.
Speech-to-Text Software to Download
1. Windows Speech Recognition (plus Cortana)
Windows Speech Recognition is a free and built-in application in windows system. It’s easy to set up it. You just need to type “speech recognition” in the search bar, select “start speech recognition” and follow the procedure.
After successful setup, the voice box appears. Click on the speaker and it will turn into blue. Now it’s time for you to speak, and what you have just spoken will convert into written words. During my process of testing, I must admit that it didn’t respond so quickly and its accuracy is comparatively lower than the others like the two which I am going to share with you next. If you are looking for a staring program about dictation software, Windows Speech Recognition plus Cortana, an AI assistant, can be a good choice. If you want to know more about its operation, please click here for windows 7&8 and for windows 10.
2. Speech to Text Converter
Speech to text Converter is a very simple but powerful dictation tool to convert voice into plain text. Compared with Windows Speech Recognition, it has faster reaction speed and higher accuracy. Every time you want to open it, just type “speech to text converter” in the search bar and you’ll find it quickly. It’s worth mentioning that the words in the box cannot be edited or saved, but you can copy them anywhere you need. Given its faster reaction and high accuracy rate, it’s definitely worthwhile for you to download.
3. Dictate
Dictate is an add-in for Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Outlook. After downloading and installing, Dictation ribbon will appear in your Office software. In addition to the function of speech to text, what you speak can be turned into another language in written words. For example, you need to write French, but you can only speak English. Don’t worry! Dictate can help you. Just settle the language options from English to French, your requirement will be satisfied. I’m sorry to tell you that this add-in is only supported on Windows versions of Office. If your computer is equipped with windows system and office software, Dictate can be a considerable choice for you.
Conclusion
As you can see, each dictation tool or software above has its own features and advantages. They can satisfy different people with different requirements. All in all, online dictation tools can be used without downloading and installing, and what I highly recommend is Dictation. io due to its concise interface. As for the dictation software belong to the second category, I commend Speech to Text Converter for its high accuracy rate and fast reaction speed. But finally, it’s up to you to choose one since you may have different demand. The most important is that all these speech-to-text tools I share today are free.
Bonus Tips
1. When you need punctuation in sentences, you can say period/comma/question mark/exclamation/semicolon and etc.
2. Be prepared with a good-quality microphone and internet connection, which guarantee your success of converting speech to text.
3. Try your best to speak like a broadcaster. This doesn’t mean that you should speak like a robot, but you ought to speak as clearly and naturally as possible. Also, it’s better for you to keep practice, in order to train the software to be familiar with your speech habits. When you have done this, your working efficiency can be ensured.
4. If you have any trouble in using these software or have any other better suggestions, don’t hesitate to contact us or give us comment below.
5. If you are looking for a free tool to convert DRM-protected Audible aax/aa audiobooks to DRM-free MP3, you can try Epubor Audible Converter. All you need to do is to drag and drop the audiobooks to the software, click the Convert button to start the conversion. For more detailed information, you can read Ultimate Ways to Convert AAX to MP3 [Infographic].
Michelle loves reading very much. She seeks the methods to enjoy eBooks and audiobooks more freely and wants to share everything new she has got with you.
macOS Catalina introduces Voice Control, a new way to fully control your Mac entirely with your voice. Voice Control uses the Siri speech-recognition engine to improve on the Enhanced Dictation feature available in earlier versions of macOS.1
How to turn on Voice Control
After upgrading to macOS Catalina, follow these steps to turn on Voice Control:
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Accessibility.
- Click Voice Control in the sidebar.
- Select Enable Voice Control. When you turn on Voice Control for the first time, your Mac completes a one-time download from Apple.2
Voice Control preferences
Apps to control your mac from iphone. When Voice Control is enabled, you see an onscreen microphone representing the mic selected in Voice Control preferences.
To pause Voice Control and stop it from from listening, say ”Go to sleep” or click Sleep. To resume Voice Control, say or click ”Wake up.”
How to use Voice Control
Get to know Voice Control by reviewing the list of voice commands available to you: Say “Show commands” or ”Show me what I can say.” The list varies based on context, and you may discover variations not listed. To make it easier to know whether Voice Control heard your phrase as a command, you can select ”Play sound when command is recognized” in Voice Control preferences.
Basic navigation
Voice Control recognizes the names of many apps, labels, controls, and other onscreen items, so you can navigate by combining those names with certain commands. Here are some examples:
- Open Pages: ”Open Pages.” Then create a new document: ”Click New Document.” Then choose one of the letter templates: 'Click Letter. Click Classic Letter.” Then save your document: ”Save document.”
- Start a new message in Mail: ”Click New Message.” Then address it: ”John Appleseed.”
- Turn on Dark Mode: ”Open System Preferences. Click General. Click Dark.” Then quit System Preferences: ”Quit System Preferences” or ”Close window.”
- Restart your Mac: ”Click Apple menu. Click Restart” (or use the number overlay and say ”Click 8”).
You can also create your own voice commands.
Number overlays
Use number overlays to quickly interact with parts of the screen that Voice Control recognizes as clickable, such as menus, checkboxes, and buttons. To turn on number overlays, say ”Show numbers.” Then just say a number to click it.
Number overlays make it easy to interact with complex interfaces, such as web pages. For example, in your web browser you could say ”Search for Apple stores near me.” Then use the number overlay to choose one of the results: ”Show numbers. Click 64.” (If the name of the link is unique, you might also be able to click it without overlays by saying ”Click” and the name of the link.)
Voice Control automatically shows numbers in menus and wherever you need to distinguish between items that have the same name.
Mac 6 incompatible app updates. Look for the most recent macOS update and check which versions of macOS it was released for. This release is supported with security updates, and the previous releases—macOS 10.12 Sierra and OS X 10.11 El Capitan—were also supported. If a version of macOS isn’t receiving new updates, it isn’t supported anymore.For example, in May 2018, the latest release of macOS was macOS 10.13 High Sierra.
Grid overlays
Use grid overlays to interact with parts of the screen that don't have a control, or that Voice Control doesn't recognize as clickable.
Say “Show grid” to show a numbered grid on your screen, or ”Show window grid” to limit the grid to the active window. Say a grid number to subdivide that area of the grid, and repeat as needed to continue refining your selection.
To click the item behind a grid number, say ”Click” and the number. Or say ”Zoom” and the number to zoom in on that area of the grid, then automatically hide the grid. You can also use grid numbers to drag a selected item from one area of the grid to another: ”Drag 3 to 14.”
To hide grid numbers, say ”Hide numbers.” To hide both numbers and grid, say ”Hide grid.”
Dictation
When the cursor is in a document, email message, text message, or other text field, you can dictate continuously. Dictation converts your spoken words into text.
- To enter a punctuation mark, symbol, or emoji, just speak its name, such as ”question mark” or ”percent sign” or ”happy emoji.” These may vary by language or dialect.
- To move around and select text, you can use commands like ”Move up two sentences” or ”Move forward one paragraph” or ”Select previous word” or ”Select next paragraph.”
- To format text, try ”Bold that” or ”Capitalize that,” for example. Say ”numeral” to format your next phrase as a number.
- To delete text, you can choose from many delete commands. For example, say “delete that” and Voice Control knows to delete what you just typed. Or say ”Delete all” to delete everything and start over.
Voice Control understands contextual cues, so you can seamlessly transition between text dictation and commands. For example, to dictate and then send a birthday greeting in Messages, you could say ”Happy Birthday. Click Send.” Or to replace a phrase, say ”Replace I’m almost there with I just arrived.”
You can also create your own vocabulary for use with dictation.
Create your own voice commands and vocabulary
Create your own voice commands
- Open Voice Control preferences, such as by saying ”Open Voice Control preferences.”
- Click Commands or say ”Click Commands.” The complete list of all commands opens.
- To add a new command, click the add button (+) or say ”Click add.” Then configure these options to define the command:
- When I say: Enter the word or phrase that you want to be able to speak to perform the action.
- While using: Choose whether your Mac performs the action only when you're using a particular app.
- Perform: Choose the action to perform. You can open a Finder item, open a URL, paste text, paste data from the clipboard, press a keyboard shortcut, select a menu item, or run an Automator workflow.
- Use the checkboxes to turn commands on or off. You can also select a command to find out whether other phrases work with that command. For example, “Undo that” works with several phrases, including “Undo this” and “Scratch that.”
To quickly add a new command, you can say ”Make this speakable.” Voice Control will help you configure the new command based on the context. For example, if you speak this command while a menu item is selected, Voice Control helps you make a command for choosing that menu item.
Create your own dictation vocabulary
- Open Voice Control preferences, such as by saying ”Open Voice Control preferences.”
- Click Vocabulary, or say ”Click Vocabulary.”
- Click the add button (+) or say ”Click add.”
- Type a new word or phrase as you want it to be entered when spoken.
Learn more
- For the best performance when using Voice Control with a Mac notebook computer and an external display, keep your notebook lid open or use an external microphone.
- All audio processing for Voice Control happens on your device, so your personal data is always kept private.
- Use Voice Control on your iPhone or iPod touch.
- Learn more about accessibility features in Apple products.
Mac Speak And Type Software App
1. Voice Control uses the Siri speech-recognition engine for U.S. English only. Other languages and dialects use the speech-recognition engine previously available with Enhanced Dictation.
Mac Speak And Type Software Windows 10
2. If you're on a business or school network that uses a proxy server, Voice Control might not be able to download. Have your network administrator refer to the network ports used by Apple software products.