How to Use the Voice Control Feature in Mac OS Mojave

Posted on 21st June 2023

The new Voice Control feature in Mac OS Mojave is an accessibility feature that allows you to control your Mac using your voice. This can be useful for people with physical impairments or for anyone who wants to use their hands for other tasks while they’re using their Mac.

To use Voice Control, you’ll need to enable it in the Accessibility pane of System Preferences. Once you’ve done that, you can start using Voice Control by pressing the Fn key twice (or by going to the menubar and choosing Accessibility > Voice Control).

Here are some tips for using Voice Control:

Using Voice Control Commands

Voice Control uses a number of different commands that you can use to control your Mac. To see a list of all the available commands, press the Fn key twice (or go to the menubar and choose Accessibility > Voice Control > Customize Commands).

Some of the most useful commands are:

• Select – use this command to select an item on your screen
• Click – use this command to click on an item on your screen
• Type – use this command to type a character or string of characters
• Show Numbers – use this command to display numbers on your screen. You can then say the number of the item you want to select
• Show Menus – use this command to display menus on your screen. You can then say the name of the menu you want to open, followed by the name of the menu item you want to select
• Show Dock – use this command to display the Dock on your screen. You can then say the name of the application you want to launch

Editing Text with Voice Control

Voice Control can also be used to edit text. To do this, you first need to select the text you want to edit using the Select command. Once the text is selected, you can use the following commands to edit it:

• Cut – use this command to cut the selected text
• Copy – use this command to copy the selected text
• Paste – use this command to paste the text that’s on your clipboard
• Undo – use this command to undo the last change you made
• Redo – use this command to redo the last change you made

Navigating with Voice Control

Voice Control can also be used to navigate your Mac. To do this, you can use the following commands:

• Go to [item] – use this command to go to a specific item on your screen. For example, you could say “Go to Dock” to move your cursor to the Dock
• Scroll up/down – use this command to scroll up or down in a document or web page
• Page up/down – use this command to move up or down a page in a document or web page
• Home/End – use this command to move to the beginning or end of a document or web page

Controlling Applications with Voice Control

Voice Control can also be used to control applications. To do this, you can use the following commands:

• Open [application] – use this command to open an application. For example, you could say “Open Safari” to launch the Safari web browser
• Close [application] – use this command to close an application. For example, you could say “Close Safari” to quit the Safari web browser
• Show [application] windows – use this command to show all the windows for an application. For example, you could say “Show Safari windows” to see all the open Safari windows

Controlling System Preferences with Voice Control

Voice Control can also be used to control System Preferences. To do this, you can use the following commands:

• Show [System Preferences] – use this command to open a System Preferences pane. For example, you could say “Show Accessibility” to open the Accessibility pane
• Open [System Preferences] – use this command to open a System Preferences application. For example, you could say “Open Keyboard” to launch the Keyboard preference pane

Using Voice Control with Siri

You can also use Voice Control with Siri. To do this, you first need to enable Siri in the Accessibility pane of System Preferences. Once you’ve done that, you can press the Fn key twice (or go to the menubar and choose Accessibility > Voice Control > Siri) to start using Siri.

Here are some tips for using Siri with Voice Control:

• Siri, [command] – use this command to tell Siri to perform a specific action. For example, you could say “Siri, open Safari” to launch the Safari web browser
• Siri, [question] – use this command to ask Siri a question. For example, you could say “Siri, what’s the weather like today?” to get the current weather conditions

If you’re not a fan of Siri, you can disable it in the same menu. Just uncheck the “Enable Siri” box.

To use voice control, open any application and press fn + F5 on your keyboard, or click the Voice Control icon in the menu bar. A microphone will appear on the screen, and you’ll see a list of commands you can use. To stop using voice control, press fn + F5 again, or click the Voice Control icon and select “End Voice Control.”

You can also use voice control to dictate text. To dictate text, open the application you want to type in and press fn + F5 on your keyboard, or click the Voice Control icon in the menu bar. A microphone will appear on the screen, and you’ll see a list of commands you can use. Say “dictate text,” and then start speaking. To stop dictating, press fn + F5 again, or click the Voice Control icon and select “End Voice Control.”

If you’re using a Mac with a Touch Bar, you can also use voice control to dictate text. To dictate text, open the application you want to type in and press fn + fn + Space on your keyboard, or tap the Voice Control icon in the Touch Bar. A microphone will appear on the screen, and you’ll see a list of commands you can use. Say “dictate text,” and then start speaking. To stop dictating, press fn + fn + Space again, or tap the Voice Control icon in the Touch Bar and select “End Voice Control.”