Dictation writing styles that match the app you are writing in
You do not write a team chat message the way you write a letter to a client. Stenograph knows which app your cursor is in and applies a writing style to fit it: short and direct in Slack, polished in Outlook, structured in Notion and Word, careful with code in VS Code and the terminal. You speak the same way everywhere, and the text comes out right for where it lands.
Listening
One voice, many kinds of writing
A professional switches register dozens of times a day. A quick reply to a colleague, a formal update to a client, a structured page of meeting notes, a commit message. Typing, you adjust without thinking. Dictating with a general tool, you get the same flat output everywhere and have to reshape it by hand. Writing styles remove that step. They decide tone, length, punctuation habits and structure based on the app in front of you, so a message reads like a message and a memo reads like a memo.
Built-in writing styles per app
| App type | Style Stenograph applies |
|---|---|
| Slack, Microsoft Teams chat and other team messengers | Concise, conversational, short paragraphs, no greeting or sign-off |
| Outlook, Gmail and other email clients | Formal, with a greeting, clear paragraphs and a sign-off with your name |
| Notion, Confluence and notes apps | Structured, with headings, bullets and short summaries |
| Microsoft Word and other document editors | Full paragraphs, document tone, headings when you outline |
| VS Code, JetBrains IDEs and code editors | Code aware, identifiers kept exact, comments and docstrings in a technical tone |
| Terminals and command lines | Literal and minimal, no added punctuation, casing and symbols preserved |
| Everything else | A neutral style that keeps your wording with clean punctuation |
Stenograph recognizes the app automatically on Mac and Windows through the desktop app, in the browser through the Chrome extension, and on the iPhone and Android keyboard by the app you are typing in.
Create your own writing styles
The built-in styles are a starting point. You can create a style of your own and assign it to any app or website. Describe it in plain words ("short, friendly, no emoji, sign off with Best, J.") and add a few lines of your own writing so Stenograph can follow your habits. Styles can also be tied to a purpose instead of an app, such as "client letter", "chart note" or "PR description", and you switch between them by voice. Typical custom styles include:
- A firm letter style with your preferred salutation and closing
- A clinical note style with fixed section headings
- A newsroom style that follows your outlet's conventions for numbers and titles
- A pull request style with Summary, Changes and Testing sections
How styles work with formatting and commands
A style sets the tone and default structure. Formatting then builds lists, paragraphs or emails as you speak, which is explained on the ai text formatting dictation page. Voice commands sit on top of both: say "more formal" in Slack when a message goes to a client, or "make it shorter" in Outlook when an email runs long. The full list is on the voice commands for dictation page. Your dictionary keeps names and terms exact in every style.
Code aware and long form styles
In a code editor or terminal, the style does not try to make your words pretty. It keeps identifiers, flags and paths exactly as you say them and avoids adding sentence punctuation where it would break a command. Developers can read more on the voice coding dictation page. At the other end, long form styles for Word and other document editors keep paragraphs flowing for essays, reports and chapters, which writers use daily, as shown on the dictation for writers page.
Writing styles shared across a team
On Team and Enterprise plans, an administrator can publish styles to everyone, for example the firm's letter format or the company's tone for customer email. Members keep their personal styles for everything else. Shared styles live next to shared dictionaries, described on the shared dictionary for teams page.
Questions about writing styles
Can I turn automatic styles off?
Yes. You can switch off automatic detection and use one style everywhere, or pin a style to a single app.
How many custom styles can I create?
Every plan includes custom styles for your own use. Team and Enterprise add shared styles that an administrator manages for all members.
Does a style change the facts in my text?
No. Styles change tone, length and structure. Names, numbers, dates and the points you made stay as you said them.
Can I see styles in action before I pay?
Yes. The one-time demo on the home page includes a format select, so you can compare an email and a note from the same recording. Subscriptions begin at 24 USD a month with annual billing.
Write the right way in every window
Let your text fit the app it lands in, without retyping. Pick a plan and set your styles in minutes.