Dictāta
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Core features

Floating mic button

Use, move, hide, and recover the floating Dictāta button.

Updated 2026-10-22

What it does

The floating button stays on top of other windows so you can start dictating from anywhere without switching apps.

Button states

  • Three dots: ready to record.
  • On hover: the button expands, with the language button (globe) on the left and the Ask Dictāta button (pencil) on the right. A reminder above it shows your dictation shortcut.
  • Pulsing or visualizer bars: recording in progress. Wait for the recording cue before speaking.
  • Animated dashes: processing your speech.

The floating button on hover: the globe button on the left, the mic in the middle, the Ask Dictāta button on the right, and the reminder "Double-tap Alt or press Ctrl+Space to dictate. Click and hold to move"

Open Ask Dictāta

Click the pencil button on the right of the mic to open Ask Dictāta with your recent conversations. Pick one to continue it, or click New conversation to type or speak a new question.

Move the button

Click and hold the button with the left mouse button (on a Mac trackpad, tap and hold) until it enters drag mode, then move it anywhere on screen. Hovering over the button shows the reminder "Click and hold to move".

The floating button tooltip showing the dictation shortcut, "Click and hold to move", and an ES language badge

Dictāta saves the position between sessions. If the button ends up off screen, use Reset button to default position from the macOS menu bar or the Windows system tray.

Choose a language

The globe button next to the mic opens a language list. Pick Detect Language for transcription only, or choose a language to translate your dictation into it. Type in the search field to find a language quickly.

The globe button beside the floating mic button

The language list with a search field and Detect Language selected

When a language is selected, the globe is replaced by its short code, such as ES for Spanish, and a "Translating to Spanish" notice appears while you dictate. See Translation.

The notice shown while dictating with Spanish selected

Choose a style

The floating button menu also has style shortcuts: the shirt icon is Casual mode and the briefcase icon is Formal mode. The same menu shows the active Prompt and Language. See Styles and Prompts.

The floating button menu with Casual mode highlighted

The floating button menu with Formal mode highlighted

Recover a cancelled recording

If you cancelled a recording by mistake, a notification appears briefly. Press Option+Tab on macOS or Ctrl+Tab on Windows within a few seconds to transcribe and insert that recording anyway.

If a recording seems stuck

Cancel the current recording or restart Dictāta from the menu bar/system tray before trying again. Keep the app updated for audio-start and session-reliability fixes. See Troubleshooting.