Voice input is a convenient, though still far from perfect, function that acts as an alternative to traditional text input. We tell you about the five best programs for Windows that allow you to “chat” an article.
Microsoft 365
This option is best suited for those who actively use Microsoft 365. Fortunately, the free version of the program provides all the necessary functionality, and the algorithm of actions is extremely simple:
- Open the Microsoft 365 website and sign in to your account or create a new one if you don’t have one;
- In the left panel, click on the Word icon, and then select New Document;
- On the top panel, select the “Dictate” option;
- After the sound signal, start dictating the text. In the “Options” window, you can set the required recording settings;
- Point to the microphone icon again to stop everything. Pressing any key on your keyboard or switching to another tab will automatically stop the process.
That’s it, the finished material can be edited at your discretion. By the way, access here is also opened through the OneDrive service. To do this, go to this cloud storage and launch the necessary or new document. After that, the same editor with the same functions will open.
Google Docs
“Google Docs” pleases with its versatility and rich functionality. Among them is text recognition. Their advantage is that punctuation marks are placed independently, and integration with other Google services allows you to quickly share files. Everything is done as follows:
- Log in to Google Docs or register from scratch;
- Click on “Blank Document” to open a blank page;
- On the top panel, in the Tools menu, select Voice Input;Place the record button in a convenient place for you and click on it once
- If necessary, issue all required permits;
- Calmly dictate the text. Watch how the system recognizes words to correct errors immediately;
- Click the microphone icon again to stop recording.
After this, you can continue working with the file in the normal mode. And also, you can additionally select the input language in case the words are recognized incorrectly.
Built-in Windows 11 tool
The latest version of Windows has many special features, including voice input support. No third-party applications are required for this, except for Microsoft Word itself and the microphone, and all the necessary parameters are easily adjusted via the gear sign.
- Launch the program and place the cursor in the desired part of the document;
- On the keyboard, set the Russian layout and simultaneously press Win + H;
- At the bottom, in the “Listening…” window, click on the microphone icon and voice the entire material;
- Finally, press the microphone button again to stop recording.
The main drawback of this method is that recognition in Russian does not work, although the input itself supports it. Because of this, you will have to wriggle out quite a bit to make it work the way you need.
Speech Pad Service
You can find many different services on the Internet that allow you to dictate the necessary text. Of their large number, I would like to separately note Speech Pad . Despite its outdated appearance, its interface is intuitive, and the resource itself perfectly converts audio into words with a minimum of errors.
All that is required from the user is to go to the page , click on the “Enable recording” button and start speaking. The upper field displays how all the words were recognized. After a short time, the sentences are transferred to the main field, where editing is available. The final result can be downloaded in TXT format or manually copied and pasted into Word.
PDF2GO Service
The online converter PDF2GO is not used for voice typing, but for recognizing and converting already recorded speech into text format. Of course, the service is initially designed to work with PDF files, but it also copes with all other operations perfectly.
- Voice the required text and save it on your computer in MP3 format;
- Go to the website and select the category “Speech to text” from the options presented;
- Upload the finished audio file and click “Start” to start the conversion;
- After completing the procedure, click “Download” to get the finished result in a TXT file.
To get the final file immediately in Word format, call the “Export as” menu and select “DOCX”.
Useful tips
Since not all users are familiar with the voice input function, it is necessary to remember the following points:
- Prepare a good microphone in advance, which should be connected to the computer and its functionality checked;
- The text should be spoken clearly and without haste, otherwise completely different words will be written down;
- Say punctuation marks out loud. Also say “New line” to start a new paragraph;
- If you say “Delete this”, the last word you typed will disappear;
- When a service asks for access to the microphone, be sure to agree. Otherwise, nothing will work.
And remember: voice input does not mean that you can forget about typing with your fingers. The method is still far from perfect and is currently suitable for creating sketches or a framework for a future article. Manual finishing by more familiar methods is still required.
