Speak a comment instead of typing it. Both composers — the one on the page and the one in the side panel — have a microphone button: press it and speak, and the words land in the box you were about to type in. To stop, press the button again or press Escape; the words already heard stay in the box. A live edit has the same button beside ✕ and ✓, and its words go in at the cursor.
If the page reloads while you are dictating into a new comment or a live edit, the microphone carries on in the restored box, and words spoken during the reload are added. If it cannot carry on, a message says the microphone stopped, and pressing the button starts it again. A reply box and the side panel do not carry dictation across a reload.
Prerequisites
- The extension installed and connected to a server. See Install a server.
Set up dictation
The first press of the microphone button opens a short setup in a small window of its own.
- Press the microphone button on either composer.
- Select Allow the microphone, and accept Chrome’s prompt, headed with Commentware’s name.
- Pick a row in the list: a language, and where your speech is recognized — Cloud or local, or Only on this computer. If you want a guarantee that your voice stays on your computer, pick Only on this computer. Learn more about where your voice is recognized.
- Under When the microphone gets ready, choose As soon as the overlay opens, so your first word is heard straight away, or Only when I press the microphone. Learn more about when the microphone is open.
- Select Continue.
- Optional: if your choice needs a voice model, let it download.
- Select Done.
The window closes and puts you back on the page you were commenting on. After that, the button dictates with no further question.
Change the setup later
- Open the extension’s options page: the gear in the side panel’s header.
- Select Settings. It names what dictation is set to in a sentence.
- Select Manage dictation settings, and change the language, the mode or when the microphone opens, or download a model.
Check that it worked
The last screen of the setup reads “Dictation is ready”, and pressing the microphone button and speaking puts the words in the composer. Until the setup is finished, the button names what is missing instead — “Allow Commentware to use your microphone”, say — and pressing it opens the setup again.
Next steps
- Comment on a page: send what you dictated, and mention somebody in it.