Enable Speakable Items by checking the yes If you are using a newer version of the Mac OSX turn on Dictation by clicking the on button next to Dictation.

You then click on the speech recognition or dictation

In order to give voice commands to the MAC, open System Preferences and then select Speech or Dictation and Speech (depending on your operating system).

To make it stop choose Edit-> Speech ->Stop Speaking. Click where you want your Mac to begin reading to you, and then choose Edit ->Speech ->Start Speaking.

Another way to have the computer read aloud a selection of text is to copy and paste the text you want to hear into a blank TextEdit document.

If you would like to change the key selection that activates this option click on the Change Key button and enter the key you would like to use.

If you would like the computer to read a text that you have selected click the box next to Speak selected text when the key is pressed.

You do this by clicking on the box next to Announce when an Application Requires your Attention.

You can set your Mac give you an audio announcement when an application needs your attention.

It is also possible to delay the time when the alert appears and when it is spoken to you.

Click on the Set Alert Options button to choose a different voice to announce your alerts.

Examples of dialogue boxes include “Microsoft Word has quit unexpectedly” or “printer out of paper”.

Select the Announce When Alerts are Displayed check box if you would want to make your Mac read aloud the text when an alert appears.

You can hear a sample of the voice by clicking on

Choose the speed of the voice by moving the rating bar to the left and right.

Click in the Spoken User Interface tab or the Text to Speech Then select the voice you would like to use when the computer reads to you.

To enable text-to-speech commands, open System Preferences then click on Speech or Dictation and Speech (once again it depends on your version of the Mac OS.

This option is located at the bottom of the screen and is a check box.Įnable and configure text-to-speech commands

Then select Enable Access for Assistive Devices.

Open System Preferences then click on Universal Access or on Accessibility depending on the version of your Mac OS.

Therefore, for Mac users if they are going to doing a lot of dictation and or voice control, please consult the ITS support center.

Unfortunately, the Mac OSX voice control, dictation and voice does not train the computer to recognize one’s voice and may have limited functionality for controlling the computer.

Mac OSX has a suite of programs that allow the user to interact with his or her computer without the aid of a mouse or keyboard.

Speech to text shortcut mac