Dictating in Word, email, Excel & other apps

Dictate into a document or email

For longer passages, use Hands-Free so you do not need to hold a key. On Mac, Live Dictation lets you see and edit the draft before inserting it.

1. Open a document in Word or Google Docs, or start an email in Outlook, Gmail, or Mail.
2. Click where you want the text to appear. Make sure you can type there and the text cursor is visible.
3. Hold your configured Push-to-Talk hotkey and speak.
4. Release the key to insert the text. Review it as you would any draft.

• Choose a dictation mode

Can I dictate into Excel?

Yes. Enter edit mode in the cell, or click in the formula bar, so the text cursor is active. Use your Voibe hotkey to dictate the cell text, then finish editing the cell as usual.

Start with a short text entry. Review numbers carefully before using the spreadsheet. Dictating text into a cell does not operate the spreadsheet for you or navigate between cells.

Do I have to use the black window from the demo?

No. Your documents keep their own appearance. Voibe can insert text into editable fields in light or dark apps. The demo shows one example of a writing surface.

On Mac, Live Dictation has a floating draft editor. Push-to-Talk and Hands-Free insert text after you finish speaking, without requiring you to write in that editor.

What about apps other than VS Code?

You can dictate ordinary text into editable fields in other code editors and developer tools. Workspace-aware features, such as resolving file names and attaching files, require a supported Developer Mode integration.

• Supported Developer Mode editors
• Dictating to AI assistants

Voibe records, but no text appears

1. Click inside an editable field and test whether normal typing works there. A selected page, button, or read-only document cannot receive dictation.
2. Try a short dictation in Notes on Mac or Notepad on Windows. This helps check whether the problem is specific to one app or field.
3. On Mac, check Voibe under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. If needed, toggle its permission off and on, then quit and reopen Voibe.
4. Use Paste Last Transcript from the Voibe menu to recover the last result if it is available, after focusing the intended text field.
5. If the problem affects only one app, email hi@getvoibe.com with the app name, your operating system, Voibe version, and what happened.

• Hotkey and text insertion troubleshooting

How do I dictate dialogue in a novel?

Use quotation marks around each speaker’s words and “new paragraph” to start the next speaker. No special document template is required. Review the punctuation in your draft.

• Quotes, punctuation, and paragraph commands

Common questions