You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

I have trouble using my wrists or elbows for any length of time on MacBook Pro. Using Voice Dictation/Voice Commands/Voice Navigation is extremely cumbersome. Is there an expectation that I memorize all the commands?

I have trouble using my wrists or elbows for any length of time on MacBook Pro. Using Voice Dictation/Voice Commands/Voice Navigation is extremely cumbersome. Going back and forth from System Preferences to the working document adds to the burden.

What's the voice command(s) to do even that task?

Is there an expectation that I memorize all those commands?

Is there a way to make the list more accessible, such as printing it, or placing it in a visible box on the screen? I understand that dictation is different than navigation and different again from selecting, editing, and deleting. Is there is a way to make this more helpful than a scrolling list of commands that may or may not work?

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 11.4

Posted on Jun 20, 2021 8:21 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 20, 2021 10:21 AM

Hello, Jennifer_J1.


Sorry to hear that you're having trouble with using Voice Commands on your MacBook Pro.

It looks like you could use easier access to the list of commands that are available to you at any time, and you can't find an easy way to display that.


I poked around a little bit in Apple Support and found this How-To article:

Use Voice Control on your Mac - Apple Support:

click> https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210539#createyourown


You posted that accessiblility to the list of commands was problematic, and I found this section in the above linked article:

"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."


Also, in the same article I found this link to a section describing how to create your own voice commands:

click> https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210539#createyourown


I hope this is a helpful start to overcoming your challenge. 🙂

4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 20, 2021 10:21 AM in response to Jennifer_J1

Hello, Jennifer_J1.


Sorry to hear that you're having trouble with using Voice Commands on your MacBook Pro.

It looks like you could use easier access to the list of commands that are available to you at any time, and you can't find an easy way to display that.


I poked around a little bit in Apple Support and found this How-To article:

Use Voice Control on your Mac - Apple Support:

click> https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210539#createyourown


You posted that accessiblility to the list of commands was problematic, and I found this section in the above linked article:

"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."


Also, in the same article I found this link to a section describing how to create your own voice commands:

click> https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210539#createyourown


I hope this is a helpful start to overcoming your challenge. 🙂

Jun 20, 2021 10:07 AM in response to Jennifer_J1

See if this helps...


Say this ...

Get this ...

Type

Comments

Period

Full stop

.

Punctuation


Comma

,

Punctuation


Question mark

?

Punctuation


Exclamation Mark


Exclamation Point

!

Punctuation


New line

New Paragraph

New line (Enter)

Punctuation / Command


Apostrophe S

's

Punctuation

adds  's after the last word. Saying "Peter apostrophe s"

types  Peter's

Colon

:

Punctuation


Semicolon

;

Punctuation


Open quotes

"

Punctuation


Close quotes

"

Punctuation


Hyphen

-

Punctuation


Underscore

__

Punctuation


M-dash

Punctuation

Em dash

N-dash

Punctuation

En dash

Begin single quote


Open single quote

'

Punctuation


End single quote


Close single quote

'

Punctuation


Backquote


Backtick

`

Punctuation


Left parentheses


Open parentheses

(

Punctuation

For some English speakers, the brackets/parentheses commands

might take some getting used to. In Australia, for one,

'parentheses' is rarely used in favour of the term 'brackets' You'll have to adjust your vocabulary to fit Microsoft's definitions.

Right parentheses


Close parentheses

)

Punctuation


Left bracket


Open bracket

[

Punctuation


Right bracket


Close bracket

]

Punctuation


Left brace


Open brace

{

Punctuation


Right brace

Close brace

}

Punctuation


Asterisk

*

Punctuation


Backslash

\

Punctuation


Forward slash

/

Punctuation


Vertical bar sign

Pipe character

|

Punctuation


Paragraph sign

Paragraph mark

Punctuation


Section sign

§

Punctuation


Ampersand


And sign

&

Punctuation


At sign

@

Punctuation


Copyright sign

©

Punctuation


Registered sign

®

Punctuation


Caret symbol

^

Symbol

 

Ellipsis


dot dot dot

...

Punctuation

NOT a real ellipsis, just three dots in a row (similar but not the same).

Degree sign

°

Symbol


Percent sign

%

Symbol


Number sign

Pound sign

#

Symbol


Plus sign

+

Mathematics


Minus Sign

-

Mathematics


Multiplication sign

x

Mathematics


Plus or minus sign

±

Mathematics


Division sign

÷

Mathematics


Equal sign

=

Mathematics


Less than sign


Left angle bracket

<

Mathematics


Greater than sign


Right angle bracket

>

Mathematics


Dollar sign

$

Currency Symbol


Pound sterling sign

£

Currency Symbol


Euro sign

Currency Symbol


Yen sign

¥

Currency Symbol


Smiley face

: - )

Emoji

Remains as text, not converted to full emoji

Frowny face

: - (

Emoji

Remains as text, not converted to full emoji

Winky face

; - )

Emoji

Remains as text, not converted to full emoji

Heart emoji

<3

Emoji

Remains as text, not converted to full emoji

Undo

 

Editing Command

 

Delete

 

Editing Command

'Delete' alone removes the last word, punctuation or symbol at

the cursor.

Delete that

 

Editing Command

Removes the last spoken phrase

Delete last n words

 

Editing Command

Remove the last n words back from the current cursor. n

can be from 1 to 100 words.

Delete last n sentences

 

Editing Command

Remove the last n sentences back from the current cursor. n

can be from 1 to 100 sentences.

Delete " " (word or phrase)

 

Editing Command

Deletes the spoken word or phrase from recently spoken text.

Insert Space

 

Punctuation / Editing Command

Add a normal (breaking) space

Backspace

 

Editing Command

Deletes last word

Backspace n

 

Editing Command

Deletes the last n characters.

Bold

 

Formatting Command

 

Italics

 

Formatting Command

 

Underline

 

Formatting Command

 

Strikethrough

 

Formatting Command

 

<format*> [word or phrase]

 

Formatting Command

 

Superscript

 

Formatting Command

 

Subscript

 

Formatting Command

 

Indent

 

Formatting Command

 

Decrease Indent

 

Formatting Command

 

Clear all formatting

 

Formatting Command

 

Align Left

 

Formatting Command

 

Align Right

 

Formatting Command

 

Align Center / Centre

 

Formatting Command

 

Start List

 

List Command

commence a bulleted, unnumbered list.

Start Numbered List

 

List Command

commence a numbered list.

Next Line

 

List Command

Add a new point / number to the list.

Exit List

 

List Command

Return to normal, non-list text.

Add Comment

 

Comment Command

Inserts a comment at the cursor, ready for typing

Add Comment ....

 

Comment Command

Inserts a comment with the words spoken immediately after the

two command words.

Show Help

 

Dictation Command

Display help pane open at Dictation items

Pause Dictation

 

Dictation Command

Pauses dictation / microphone. To resume click the microphone

icon or use the shortcut  Alt + ` (grave accent sign,

often below the ~ at top left of a US keyboard).

Exit Dictation

 

Dictation Command

Same as clicking the microphone icon.


Dictate voice commands - the full, searchable list - Office Watch (office-watch.com)

Jun 20, 2021 2:22 PM in response to D.I. Johnson

Thank you so very much for your assistance. I did see the article you mentioned, but it addresses Catalina, and the directions did not work for Big Sur. I have been attempting to become more familiar with Voice Control after many years using Nuance Dragon versions for the Mac, which are no longer being supported. Apple did work with Nuance on Voice Control and I see many similarities. I will certainly use the listing of commands that you have provided. I was struggling with trying to make enough screen shots of the Voice Control commands, as the only way to see them is to scroll through all available options. And I am just beginning to add to the custom commands.


I wish you a wonderful rest of the day and again, want to express my appreciation for all of your help.


Jennifer

I have trouble using my wrists or elbows for any length of time on MacBook Pro. Using Voice Dictation/Voice Commands/Voice Navigation is extremely cumbersome. Is there an expectation that I memorize all the commands?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.