How to Start Voice Typing with Voice Notebook

Updated

To start voice typing with Voice Notebook, open the app in Chrome on Windows, Mac, or Linux, press Start recording, and confirm the browser prompt the first time. Then speak into your microphone; an external microphone is strongly recommended. The text appears in the output field, where you can adjust capitalization, undo the last sentence, and insert punctuation with the on-screen buttons.

Before you begin

Voice Notebook runs in the Chrome browser on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Android and iOS users need the separate Android and iOS apps instead. Have a microphone ready — the site notes that a good external microphone is strongly recommended for better recognition.

Step-by-step: your first voice typing session

  1. Press Start recording. The first time you do this, Chrome shows a popup toolbar asking you to confirm the action. Accept it so the browser allows microphone access.
  2. Speak into the microphone. Your speech is converted to text in the output field.
  3. Fix capitalization with the A/a button. It changes the case of the first letter of the word nearest the cursor.
  4. Remove the last sentence with Undo. This deletes the most recently entered sentence from the output field.
  5. Insert punctuation with the punctuation buttons. These add marks such as periods and commas to the text.

Optional settings that change how input works

Setting What it does When to use it
Execute voice commands Lets you control the app by speaking commands When you want hands-free editing
Replace punctuation Replaces spoken punctuation words with the matching marks When you dictate punctuation by name
Transfer to clipboard Sends spoken sentences straight to the system clipboard instead of the output field When pasting into another app; requires the Voice Notebook Chrome extension

Two caveats on punctuation: Google now automatically replaces "period" (or "full stop"), "comma", "question mark", and "exclamation mark", so the Replace punctuation checkbox does not affect those words. You can hover over the buttons to see their help texts and the words they respond to.

Changing the recognition language

Pick the language from the drop-down menu, or register and add the speech input language you want in your user account.

Using voice input beyond the web page

  • Any website text field: install the Voice Notebook Chrome extension to dictate into any text entry field on any site.
  • Any desktop application: install the Windows, Mac, or Linux integration module to use voice input in any application on those systems.

Transcribing audio files

Press the Transcription button to show or hide the audio recognition panel. The app can recognize speech in HTML5 video and audio, in YouTube clips, or in a file from your computer. Provide the URL of the HTML5 clip, pick a local file, or enter the YouTube record ID, then press Start recording to begin transcription.

Common snags

  • Nothing happens on the first click: you likely dismissed the browser confirmation popup. Press Start recording again and accept the prompt.
  • Clipboard transfer is unavailable: the Transfer to clipboard checkbox only works when the Voice Notebook Chrome extension is installed.
  • Punctuation words stay as words: check whether the word is one Google replaces automatically, and confirm the Replace punctuation checkbox is selected for the others.
  • Poor accuracy: switch to an external microphone, as recommended on the site.