Docs / Settings Reference / Dictation Settings

Dictation Settings

Settings > Dictation configures the core dictation experience: how you trigger it, how recording behaves, and how text reaches your apps. This page explains every control and its default.

Keyboard Shortcut

  • Shortcut — your main dictation hotkey. Click the recorder and press the key or combination you want. All of these work:
    • A single modifier held alone — for example, Right Option (R⌥) for push-to-talk
    • Combinations like ⌘⇧D
    • Function keys like F5, or the Fn/Globe key
  • Command Mode Shortcut — a separate, optional hotkey for Command Mode. Murmur validates that the dictation, command, and notes shortcuts all differ — see Hotkeys for the conflict rules.
  • Clear — the small X removes a recorded shortcut.

There is no default shortcut — you choose one during setup. A warning banner with a Grant Access button appears here if the Input Monitoring permission is missing, since global hotkeys cannot work without it.

Murmur distinguishes left and right modifier keys, so Right Option can trigger dictation while Left Option keeps its normal job.

Dictation Mode

How the hotkey starts and stops recording. Details and trade-offs in Dictation Modes.

  • Auto (default) — "Quick tap for toggle, hold for push-to-talk." Murmur decides based on how long you held the key (about 600 ms).
  • Push-to-Talk — "Hold the key to record, release to transcribe."
  • Toggle — "Press once to start, press again to stop."

Paste Behavior

What happens to the finished text:

  • Auto-paste (default when available) — Murmur pastes the text at your cursor in the active app by simulating ⌘V. Requires the Accessibility permission; a banner with Grant Access appears if it is missing.
  • Copy to clipboard — the text is copied and you paste manually with ⌘V.

See Auto-Paste for details on how insertion works.

Restore previous clipboard

Visible when auto-paste is active. "After auto-paste, restores what was previously copied" — auto-paste briefly uses the clipboard, and this option (on by default) puts your earlier clipboard contents back afterwards, so dictating never costs you something you had copied.

Indicator Style

How the on-screen recording indicator looks: Notch (default), Bottom Bar, or Compact. Each style is described in Recording Indicator.

Status

A live readiness check at the bottom of the pane: a checkmark with "Ready to use" and your configured shortcut, or a warning that the shortcut is not yet configured.

Related settings elsewhere

Previous Statistics Dashboard
Next Transcription Settings