Nikkielynn

Q: Unable to auto indent first line of paragraph in Word using Mac Dictation

I have a new MacBook Air and I am using Word for my manuscripts per my publisher. I have my document configured to auto indent the first line of every paragraph. This works fine when typing. When I dictate using the built-in dictation, it refuses to indent the first line whenever I say 'new line' or 'new paragraph'. This is extremely frustrating and it's a total deal-breaker for me. If I dictate in Pages, it works fine. I need this to work in Word. I can't keep working in one program and copying and pasting into Word. I have tried creating a new dictation command, but it will not accept pressing ENTER as a shortcut key. Is there something I'm missing?  I desperately need help with this.

Posted on May 31, 2016 11:19 PM

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Q: Unable to auto indent first line of paragraph in Word using Mac Dictation

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  • by pedro d,

    pedro d pedro d Jun 2, 2016 9:46 AM in response to Nikkielynn
    Community Specialists
    Jun 2, 2016 9:46 AM in response to Nikkielynn

    Hello there, Nikkielynn.

     

     

     

    It sounds like you're not seeing desired behavior from your Mac when using Dictation with Microsoft's Word application. The following Knowledge Base article offers up some great guidance on creating/customizing commands in dictation that may help in creating the desired behavior in Dication:

     

     

     

    Use your voice to tell your Mac what to do

     

     

     

    Create your own commands

    After you select “Enable advanced commands,” an Add button appears beneath the list of commands.

    1. Click the Add button to add “undefined command” to the list of commands.
    2. Click the undefined command to select it, then configure these options:
      • When I say: Enter the word or phrase that you want 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.

    Accessibility preferences: Configure command

    To learn more about dictation, choose Help from the Finder menu bar, then search for “dictation.”

     

     

    One thing you can also try, to further isolate the behavior, is to test in another application such as TextEdit or Pages. This article provides some explanation on how to accomplish that:

     

     

     

    Mac OS X: How to troubleshoot a software issue

     

     

     

    Thanks for participating in Apple Support Communities.

     

     

     

    Kind Regards.

  • by Nikkielynn,

    Nikkielynn Nikkielynn Jun 2, 2016 7:59 PM in response to pedro d
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 2, 2016 7:59 PM in response to pedro d

    I've tried this repeatedly. It will not accept pressing the ENTER key as a command. How do I make it recognize the ENTER key?

  • by pedro d,

    pedro d pedro d Jun 8, 2016 3:17 PM in response to Nikkielynn
    Community Specialists
    Jun 8, 2016 3:17 PM in response to Nikkielynn

    Hello again, Nikkielynn.

     

    Thanks for the follow up on what you're trying to accomplish in dictation. Due to the nature of your question, it may be best if we get you in contact with someone who can look into this further. You may find more information by using another one of Apple's support resources - https://getsupport.apple.com

     

    Cheers.

  • by cdhw,

    cdhw cdhw Jun 8, 2016 4:56 PM in response to Nikkielynn
    Level 4 (2,653 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Jun 8, 2016 4:56 PM in response to Nikkielynn

    I think that this is a 'bug' in Word. MS has a reputation for using their own code instead of calling the Apple APIs, which mean MS apps don't integrate well with things like dictation. In this case, the code that actually renders the style doesn't seem to execute when the 'new line' instruction is dictated.


    As a workaround, I would suggest you stick with dictating your text into another application, such as Text Edit. Then, when you're done copy and paste the lines into Word and apply your desired paragraph style to the whole lot in one go.


    Another workaround is to save the document in another format, such as RTF, and then reopen it again. This seems to reapply the paragraph style(s) correctly.

     

    C.