With the Dictation & Speech utility in Mac OS X Mountain Lion, you can convert speech into text without downloading any additional software. Dictation is turned off by default, so you will have to turn it on from System Preferences before you can use it. Once it's set up, just press the keyboard shortcut to begin dictating to your Mac. Your words aren't actually converted on the Mac itself, so you will need Internet access to use this feature. What you say is sent to Apple's servers, which convert your words and send the text back to your Mac.
Setting Up Dictation
Step 1
Press the keyboard shortcut for starting dictation, or choose Edit > Start Dictation. The default shortcut is Fn Fn (press the Fn key twice). When your Mac is listening, it displays a microphone to the left or right of the page, aligned with the insertion point. Mar 28, 2010 How to Make a Mac Talk: Text to Speech Mar 28, 2010 - 22 Comments You can make your Mac talk to you in various different ways and even speaking with different voices, all by using the powerful built-in Text-to-Speech abilities of Mac OS X. How can the answer be improved?
- How to enable and use Speech to text or Dictation feature on Mac Go to System Preferences on Mac (Click on Apple Logo, and Select System Preferences). Under System Preferences, hit Dictation & Speech option, and Select Dictation Tab. ( Note: MacOS Sierra 10.12 users need to click on Keyboard option, and then select Dictation tab).
- VoiceOver You don’t need to see your Mac to use your Mac. “Color Wheel, selected, button” VoiceOver is a revolutionary built-in screen reader that’s more than a text-to-speech tool.
Launch System Preferences from the Apple menu in the upper left corner of the desktop. Click the 'View' menu and select 'Dictation & Speech.'
Step 2
Click the 'On' toggle beside 'Dictation.' A dialog box opens informing you that what you say is sent to Apple to be converted to text. Other information from your Mac is also sent to Apple, including contacts. Click the 'Enable Dictation' button.
Step 3
Speech To Text Software
Click the 'Shortcut' menu if you want to change the keyboard shortcut you will use to enable dictation. The default shortcut is to press the 'Fn' key twice, but not all keyboards have an 'Fn' or function key.
Speech To Text Software Mac
Step 4
Click the 'Language' menu if you want to change the default language from English (United States) to another version of English or another language like Spanish, Chinese or German.
Step 5
Press 'Command' and 'Q' simultaneously to quit System Preferences. Your changes are saved automatically.
Step 1
Launch an application like TextEdit, Notes, Mail or any other application that gives you an option to enter text.
Step 2
Place the cursor where you want the text to appear. Press the 'Fn' key twice on the keyboard or use the shortcut you specified while setting up Dictation & Speech. A small pop-up window appears with a microphone icon.
Step 3
Speak into the microphone on your Mac. When you are done, click the 'Done' button below the microphone icon or simply press 'Enter' on the keyboard. Wait a second or so for the words you spoke to appear on the screen. If the words don't appear correctly, try to speak more slowly and clearly, within two feet or so of the Mac's microphone.
![Mac text to speech online Mac text to speech online](/uploads/1/2/6/8/126888713/474433563.png)
Tip
- Don't forget to proofread the spelling and punctuation after using Dictation before saving your work.
- Say the name of a punctuation mark to have Dictation use that punctuation mark. For example, say 'period' to place a period after a sentence or 'quote' before and after a word to put that word in quotation marks.
References
About the Author
A published author and professional speaker, David Weedmark has advised businesses and governments on technology, media and marketing for more than 20 years. He has taught computer science at Algonquin College, has started three successful businesses, and has written hundreds of articles for newspapers and magazines throughout Canada and the United States.
Photo Credits
- Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News/Getty Images
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![Funny things for text to speech Funny things for text to speech](/uploads/1/2/6/8/126888713/374114779.jpg)
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