Based on a Microsoft Garage project that was developed to test dictation in Office applications, Dictate has now been implemented in Microsoft Word for Office 365, PowerPoint for Office 365, Dictate dictation software for Office 365 and software Dictate dictation tool for Office 365. Free Word for the web, free OneNote for the web, and the free OneNote app for Windows 10. You can access the built-in tool through an icon in the ribbon of the program you're using.

Dictation in Word for Office 365

If you have an Office 365 subscription, launch Microsoft Word and open a document. Position your cursor where you want to start dictating. Click the Dictation icon on the Home ribbon. The first time you do this, Word may ask you for permission to use your microphone. Grant this permission and you can start talking.

Dictate specific words, punctuation, and actions, such as "new line" and "new paragraph." You can dictate a few sentences or a single paragraph at a time, then stop to review your text for any errors. To stop dictating, tap the Dictation icon again.

After activating the tool, click the Settings icon in the small Dictate window at the bottom of the screen. Here you can enable automatic punctuation to have your dictation automatically include periods, commas and other marks without you having to speak them. You can also enable or disable the profanity filter. When this filter is enabled, all profanity words appear as a series of asterisks.

You can also dictate text in other languages. Click the Settings icon in the Dictation window. Scroll down to the Spoken Languages ​​control and choose the language you want to use.

Dictation in PowerPoint

Launch PowerPoint for Office 365 and open a new or existing presentation. Click the Dictation icon on the ribbon and dictate your text. When you're done, click the icon again to stop dictation.

Dictation in Word for the web

If you use Office on the webTo access Office on the web, go to the website and sign in with your Microsoft account. On the main Office screen, click the Word icon. Open a document and click the Dictation icon on the Home ribbon and dictate your text. When you're done, click the icon again to turn off dictation. To see the other languages ​​available for dictation, click the down arrow next to the Dictation icon and choose the language you want to use.

Dictation in OneNote

You can dictate text in two different versions of OneNote. Either go to Office on the web and choose OneNote, or use the OneNote Windows 10 App button. In either version, open a OneNote document and click the Dictation button on the home ribbon, then start to dictate. Click the button again to stop. Click the down arrow to see other dictation languages.

Dictate on your mobile device

Your iPhone, iPad and Android devices offer built-in dictation functions accessible from the keyboard. These tools support Microsoft Office applications and other text-based programs.

To dictate text in an Office document, tap anywhere to show the keyboard and select the microphone icon. You can then dictate to your mobile device. Tap anywhere on the screen to stop dictation.

Windows Speech Recognition

Microsoft Office's Dictate tool does not work with Excel or earlier versions of Office, and Dictate does not provide an easy way to correct errors, add words to a dictionary, or manage settings. One option that overcomes these limitations is the Windows Speech Recognition tool built right into Windows 10.

The tool is compatible with any Windows program including all versions of Office like Office 365, Office 2019 and older versions. Open Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or any other program, then hold down the Win key and press H to open a dictation toolbar at the top of the screen. You can then start dictating.

You can dictate punctuation and specific actions to move around the screen. For example, say "tab" to move to the next cell in the column, or "new row" to move to the next cell in the row. You can also say things like "Undo That" to erase the last word you dictated. Microsoft provides a comprehensive list of phrases and actions you can dictate with Windows Speech Recognition.

If you open the Windows 10 Control Panel and click Speech Recognition, you can set up a microphone, train speech recognition, or follow a voice tutorial.

Third-Party Programs

If you don't want to use one of Microsoft's solutions, there are plenty of third-party voice dictation programs that work with Office, other apps, and Windows as a whole. Some of these products come at a steep price, but they also offer more power and flexibility than Microsoft's built-in tools.

For example, Nuance's Dragon program costs $200 for the basic version. Home Edition and $500 for the Professional Edition. Meanwhile, Braina offers a free Lite version and a Pro version that costs $49 per year or $169 for lifetime use.