Apple's Dictation service offers a quick way to enter text into practically any application's text input fields simply by speaking into your computer's microphone.
This service was introduced in OS X Mountain Lion, but it required you to speak text and then stop the dictation service so the audio sample could be sent to Apple's servers and converted into corresponding text. This requirement made the useful service somewhat inconvenient, especially for entering longer paragraphs.
In OS X Mavericks, Apple has changed this by offering Dictation as a local service that runs on your machine, instead of requiring Apple's servers. This change comes with a couple of key benefits.
- No network requirement
Now instead of requiring users to wait for audio samples to be uploaded and processed by Apple, you can use this service even when there is no network connection available. - Continuous and live dictation
Instead of limiting the length of spoken phrases and then waiting for the entire audio bite to be returned as text, you can now see the live processing of your phrase as it is entered word for word into your document as you speak it.
To enable local dictation, you just need check the "User Enhanced Dictation" box in the Dictation tab in the Dictation & Speech system preferences, and after confirming, the system will download and install the service on your system. Once done, using it is the same as prior dictation, where you use the designated shortcut key (default is to press the Fn key twice) and then start speaking.
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