Before you start
Dictation needs Microphone, Accessibility, and Input Monitoring permissions, plus a one-time download of the on-device speech model (~450 MB). Check Settings → Dictation → Permissions; all three rows should read Granted.
Try it
Click into any text field — a Slack message, an email, a note in Amlin.
Hold the fn key (bottom-left of your Mac keyboard, often marked 🌐).
Speak normally.
Release fn.
A moment later, clean text lands at your cursor — filler removed, punctuation added, and mid-sentence self-corrections resolved. You never said "period" or "comma."
The two gestures
Gesture | Behavior |
Hold fn | Press and hold, speak, release. Best for short bursts. |
fn + space | Press once to start, press again to stop. Hands-free, better for long-form dictation. |
Press Esc at any time to cancel; nothing gets inserted.
Where to control it
Menu bar → Dictation — live status, Start/Stop, Pause, Settings, and History
Settings → Dictation — permissions, per-app writing styles, and links to the full dictation settings
Settings → Custom Dictionary — the names and jargon Amlin should always get right
If nothing happens
The fn/🌐 key is sometimes claimed by macOS for the emoji picker or Apple's own dictation. Fix it in System Settings → Keyboard → "Press 🌐 key to" → Do Nothing. See Dictation isn't typing anything.