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I am trying to use Mac dictate. It works very well but it has an attention deficit: it's very impatient: it turns it self off very quickly if I stop talking. Program works through Siri so my question isHow can I keep Siri listening to me without stopping?
MacBook, macOS 10.14
Hi Aegy
Mostly you are running into the way that Dictate works.
In System Preferences>Keyboard>Dictation you can enable "Use Enhanced Dictation" this will download additional files that will allow Dictation to occur mostly on your local computer. If this is not checked, when you dictate something, your recording is send to the Apple servers for analysis and conversion. Apple limits how much is ingested to around 30/40 seconds and wants to send the results back to you. Fast internet speeds really help here. If you pause in speaking, then the program assumes you are done, this is a activated in just a couple of seconds, so think what you want to say keep talking.
Using the Enhanced Dictation will remove most of this limitation, but Apple's version is still not as good as Dragon Dictate used to be. Nuance has discontinued Mac support, so Apple Dictate may be the best we get.
Hope this Helps, Greg
Hi Aegy
Mostly you are running into the way that Dictate works.
In System Preferences>Keyboard>Dictation you can enable "Use Enhanced Dictation" this will download additional files that will allow Dictation to occur mostly on your local computer. If this is not checked, when you dictate something, your recording is send to the Apple servers for analysis and conversion. Apple limits how much is ingested to around 30/40 seconds and wants to send the results back to you. Fast internet speeds really help here. If you pause in speaking, then the program assumes you are done, this is a activated in just a couple of seconds, so think what you want to say keep talking.
Using the Enhanced Dictation will remove most of this limitation, but Apple's version is still not as good as Dragon Dictate used to be. Nuance has discontinued Mac support, so Apple Dictate may be the best we get.
Hope this Helps, Greg
Apple product teams and leadership do not participate here. It is fellow users, and occasionally Apple hosting support staff. You can send direct feedback to the macOS product team, but do not expect a reply due to the obvious volume.
Hi, lets see if more info about you Mac helps...
EtreCheck is a simple little app to display the important details of your system configuration and allow you to copy that information to the Clipboard. It is meant to be used with Apple Support Communities to help people help you with your Mac.
http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck
Pastebin is a good place to paste the whole report...
Or use the paperclip at the bottom of a Reply to attach the full report here. :)
Workable but harder for me to work with...the Note tool on the bottom of this editor's toolbar, as shown in the image, to copy and paste the output from EtreCheck.
Many thanks for your message. I remember that when I was with Sierra there was a box for enhanced dictation but I don't find it on Catalina. I suppose it is now automatic, in which case my problem is probably partly due to the fact I live in the middle of a golf course with very poor connection.
Just before replying to you I had written the following for Apple (I include it here in case you have any further comment) "For many years, I used to DragonDictate but when I upgraded to Catalina: disaster.
When I go to keyboard and switch on dictation it works well but it doesn’t recognise commands like “New line” or “new paragraph. Each time I try one of those the microphone switches off.
It also switches off if I am silent for a short time (10 seconds) which spoils the continuity of my dictation.
On the other hand, if I turn off keyboard dictation and go to voice control I can dictate to the computer and it works, but hesitatingly until everything stops.
If I continue to talk but try to use the command for comma it no longer recognises my speech; it types all kinds of rubbish.
I am really frustrated; I’m writing a book and I have a strict deadline. Should I buy a Windows machine? I have been with Apple since 1981. Surely too late for a divorce?
With Catalina, Apple has switched to Voice Control in Accessibility (you can tell Siri to "Start or Stop Voice Control"), that uses Siri's voice recognition technology, but will automatically use the older enhanced dictation capabilities if the system language setting is not English. There is no user interface to enable/disable enhanced dictation in Catalina.
I have used Voice Control in Catalina, and it makes you work to dictate anything reliably. If you pause for an extended timeframe after speaking, Voice Control assumes you have nodded off, and loses context of where you were in your dictation. Not my favorite tool.
Many thanks. It's very frustrating; I was so comfortable with dragon dictate But I lost it when I upgraded to Sierra without backing up my applications!
I am disappointed that Apple have not identified this important job in the repertoire of the operating system.
Mac, are you listening???
Mac Dictate
