How to Dictate Instead of Typing

You can speak your text instead of typing it. This helps most for the long boxes on the activity form (summary, achievements, challenges, lessons learned, next steps), but it is offered in most places where you write sentences.

Use the microphone

1. Click inside a text box. A microphone button sits in its top-right corner.
2. Click it. The button pulses and the box says Listening… speak, then press the microphone to stop.
3. Speak. Each finished phrase is typed at the cursor, or at the end of the text if you had not clicked in the box.
4. Click the microphone again to stop.

The box's maximum length is respected: dictation stops adding text when it is full.

Where it is available

Activity forms (new, resubmit, review notes), the report editor (a microphone in the formatting bar, and the section editor, rewrite and regenerate instructions), the story and compliance notes, comments and review notes, project descriptions, the reporting profile, template notes and instructions, evidence notes, and the paste boxes on every import screen.

Good to know

• It needs Chrome, Edge or Safari. In other browsers the microphone button is not shown and typing works as before.
• The first time, your browser asks to allow the microphone. If it is blocked, the box tells you; allow it in the browser's site settings.
• It follows your browser's language.
• Your browser's speech service turns your voice into text; DonorDesk receives only the text. Check what was typed before you submit, especially numbers and names.
• Dictation does not add punctuation for you in every browser; say or type full stops where you want them. To fill a whole activity from one description, use Tell it in your own words.