Dictation commands -- again

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Dictation commands -- again

(A) I can dictate: not only the text, but spoken command for comma, full stop, question-mark, exclamation-mark, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen,apostrophe, quote, unquote. I can say, for example, " 'allcaps' radar" and get RADAR.

(B) Given success of 'allcaps' in (A), one might expect 'capitalize' or 'italicize' to work. After my saying, e.g., 'italicize really', the system writes just that, ignoring my directive to italicize. Perhaps then a simple addressing-error somewhere in the guts of the system is failing to locate a list of such words.

(C) Given those punctuation-symbols' success one might expect newline or paragraph to work but they don't. If I say 'newline' the cursor jumps and then returns to its original position on the same line. Likewise for 'new paragraph'. The system doesn't type the words 'newline' or 'new paragraph'. This is different to (B): in this case the keyword is recognized -- but its corresponding action is not taken. (If I say just 'paragraph', that word is typed, like any other. )

By the way I have MacBook Pro, 16 inch, 2023, 16 GB, Sonoma 14.5.

Apple Staff, has any of you managed, in your own, Apple offices, to make these aspects of dictation work?

MacBook Pro 16″

Posted on Sep 9, 2024 5:00 PM

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Answer 1

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brbo

Level 8

44,813 points

Sep 10, 2024 9:25 PM in response to nigelrees

Re: Dictation commands -- again: ".... one might expect 'capitalize' or 'italicize' to work. After my saying, e.g., 'italicize really', the system writes just that, ignoring my directive to italicize".

If you need more control when dictating text, instead of using "Dictation" wondering if you may want to try using "Voice Control" to dictate and edit text, : How to: Turn Voice Control on or off on Mac - Apple Support

ie: In Voice Control, one can use:

"Dictation mode", "Spelling mode" and "Command mode" for more precise control.

Eg: "You can see what commands you can use : Display a list of the available commands, which vary depending on the app you’re working in and what you’re doing. For example, you see text formatting commands while in a text document, but not while in a settings window."

How to: Use Voice Control commands to interact with your Mac - Apple Support

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Re: "one might expect newline or paragraph to work but they don't".

Using Voice Control: "You can turn standard commands on or off and create your own commands, delete them, and import or export custom commands". See how to: Customize Voice Control on Mac - Apple Support

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If you want to find out more about the difference between "Dictation" and "Voice Control"

See this third-party (non-Apple) Video : How To Use Dictation on Your Mac : Explains Dictation, then Voice Control

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6Pzvm_KGNE

or, just see this other (third-party) video for:

a demonstration of Voice Control in action: 20 Voice Control Dictation Tips

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWx64HznFiU

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Re: "Apple Staff, has any of you managed, in your own, Apple offices, to make these aspects of dictation work?"

We are all Apple users, like yourself, in the community; some of us may choose to reply. Apple staff are not here.

You can send feedback to reach those who work behind-the-scenes at Apple: Product Feedback - Apple

All the best :-)

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