Voice commands for dictation that let you edit without the keyboard
Dictating is quick until you need to fix something. With most tools that is the moment you reach for the mouse, select a word and retype it. Stenograph listens for plain spoken commands, so you can break a paragraph, turn notes into a list, remove a sentence or swap one name for another while your hands stay where they are.
Listening
Commands that sound like normal speech
There is no special syntax to memorize. You say what you want done in ordinary words, and Stenograph tells a command apart from the text you are dictating by its phrasing and position. When you say "new paragraph" at the end of a thought, it breaks the text. When you say "she started a new paragraph in her life" inside a sentence, it writes the words. Every command acts on the text Stenograph has just inserted, or on a selection if you have highlighted something, and the app shows the change before it is applied so nothing happens silently.
The commands you can say
| Say | What happens |
|---|---|
| "new paragraph" | Starts a new paragraph at the current point |
| "new line" | Inserts a line break without starting a new paragraph |
| "make that a list" | Turns the last passage into a bulleted list, one item per point |
| "make that a numbered list" | Turns the last passage into a numbered list in the order you spoke |
| "delete the last sentence" | Removes the most recent sentence you dictated |
| "delete that" | Removes the last utterance, from the moment you started speaking to the pause |
| "replace Smith with Smyth" | Swaps every occurrence of the first word or phrase in the current passage with the second |
| "make it shorter" | Tightens the last passage while keeping every point you made |
| "more formal" | Raises the register for a client, a court, a board or a journal |
| "more casual" | Relaxes the tone for a colleague or a team chat |
| "add a subject line" | Writes a subject line for the email you are drafting |
| "undo" | Reverts the last change made by a command |
| "stop listening" | Ends the current utterance immediately |
Commands work in every language Stenograph supports, so you can say them in the language you are dictating in. The multilingual dictation page covers mixed language speech.
Correcting names and terms by voice
The command people use most is replace. You dictate a paragraph, notice that a name came out the way a stranger would spell it and say "replace Katherine with Kathryn". Stenograph changes it in the passage and, if you like, offers to add the spelling to your personal dictionary so it is right the next time. Over a few days the dictionary fills with the names you actually use, and you need replace less and less. The custom vocabulary speech recognition page shows how that dictionary works.
Rewriting the tone and length of a passage
"Make it shorter" and "more formal" are rewriting commands. They keep your facts, names and figures, and change only how the passage reads. A rambling update to a client becomes three tight sentences. A quick note to a partner becomes a polite letter. If you prefer the original, say "undo". These commands sit on top of the structure Stenograph builds on its own, explained on the ai text formatting dictation page.
Voice editing in the desktop app, browser and phone
Commands work wherever Stenograph inserts text: in any app on Mac and Windows through the desktop app and its global hotkey, in web apps through the Chrome extension and on the iPhone and Android keyboard. The microphone is on only while you speak. One tap or the hotkey starts listening, a natural pause or a second tap ends the utterance, and the state indicator shows listening, processing and inserted, so you always know whether a command was heard. To see the full flow from first word to finished text, read how ai dictation works.
Questions about voice commands
What if Stenograph mistakes my text for a command?
Commands are recognized at the end of an utterance and shown before they are applied. If a phrase was meant as text, say "undo" or tap the indicator and the words are inserted as you spoke them.
Can I edit text I typed with the keyboard?
Yes. Select the text in any app and speak a command such as "make it shorter" or "more formal", and Stenograph applies it to the selection.
Do commands use my monthly minutes?
Commands are short utterances and count as dictation minutes like any other speech. Solo includes 1,500 dictation minutes per month, Pro 3,000, Team 8,000 pooled and Enterprise 30,000 pooled.
Can I try commands before choosing a plan?
Yes. The one-time demo on the home page shows formatting and editing on a short recording of your own. Plans start at 24 USD per month billed yearly, and there is no plan at zero.
Keep your hands on your thoughts
Dictate, say what to change and move on. Stenograph handles the editing you used to do with the mouse.