Voice Dictation (Speech-to-Text)

Jotter supports native voice dictation for rapid hands-free task capture and notes editing. Powered by the browser's native Web Speech API, voice dictation works directly on your device with zero cloud latency and no external service dependencies.

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How It Works

When dictating task titles or descriptions, speech is transcribed in real-time. Because Jotter includes a live natural language parser, any spoken metadata (dates, priority tokens, tags, buckets) is automatically detected and parsed into task properties.

flowchart LR
    A["🎙️ User Voice"] --> B["Web Speech API"]
    B --> C["Real-Time Transcript"]
    C --> D["Title & DSL Parser"]
    D --> E["Task Card Properties"]

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Dictating Task Titles

1. Open the Task Creation Modal (q) or click the title in the Task Detail Modal.
2. Click the Microphone icon on the right side of the title input, or press Alt + D.
3. Speak your task title and properties naturally.

Natural Language Synergy Examples

Spoken Text	Extracted Title	Extracted Metadata
"Refactor authentication endpoint !urgent #backend @tomorrow"	Refactor authentication endpoint	Priority: urgent Tag: backend Due Date: Tomorrow
"Weekly team sync in:todo #meeting @friday"	Weekly team sync	Column: todo Tag: meeting Due Date: Friday
"Fix memory leak !high #bug"	Fix memory leak	Priority: high Tag: bug

TIP

You can click or press Alt + D again at any point to stop recording.

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Dictating Notes & Checklists

In the Task Detail Modal and Task Create Modal, the Markdown editor features a dedicated dictation button in the top-right toolbar:

1. Click the Microphone icon in the top-right corner of the editor.
2. Dictate your thoughts, bullet points, or checklist items.
3. The transcribed text is automatically formatted and inserted at the end of the markdown note.

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Browser Support & Permissions

Voice dictation relies on native browser capabilities:

• Supported Browsers: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Brave, Safari, and Chromium-based mobile browsers.
• Permissions: The browser will ask for microphone permissions on first use. If denied, ensure microphone access is enabled in your browser's site settings.
• Language Support: Dictation automatically respects your active language setting in Jotter (switching between English en-US and German de-DE).

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Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action	Description
Alt + D	Toggle Dictation	Starts or stops voice recording when focused inside the task title input.