Accessibility
Dictation for RSI, carpal tunnel, and wrist pain
When every keystroke costs something, talk instead. OliType types what you say into any app on your Mac, and starting it takes one key, one pedal press, or one click.
OliType is a dictation app, not a treatment. If typing hurts, talk to a doctor or an occupational therapist about it too.
Pick the hotkey that's easiest on your hands
OliType has four ways to start and stop with your hotkey. Change it any time in Settings.
- Tap: one press starts, one press stops. The fewest presses, and nothing to hold.
- Double-tap (the default): two quick taps start, two more stop. A single stray press never starts it.
- Hold: talk while you hold the key, let go to stop. Good for short bursts, but it means holding a key the whole time, so skip it if holding hurts.
- Tap or hold: a quick tap works like Tap, a longer press works like Hold.
Choose a key you can press without stretching. The default is Left Option, at the bottom-left of the keyboard; Right Option or any key you can reach works too.
Or keep your hands off the keyboard
- A foot pedal. A pedal that sends a key press or a mouse click can be your hotkey: click the hotkey box in Settings and press the pedal. See which pedals work.
- A mouse button. The middle or a side button can be the hotkey the same way.
- The floating Dictate button. Click it to start and stop. Clicking it never takes you out of the app you're typing in. The menu bar icon does the same.
Fix less afterward
- Vocabulary exact fixes: if OliType gets a word wrong the same way again and again, add a fix once and it's corrected every time. An exact fix can also expand a short spoken phrase into longer text.
- AI cleanup, a free optional download, polishes your text on your Mac before it's typed. It needs a Mac with 16 GB of memory or more.
- Esc cancels without typing anything, and Restore in History turns a cancelled dictation back into text for up to a day, so nothing has to be said twice.
It stays on your Mac
Speech recognition runs on your Mac, so your voice is never uploaded, and dictation works with Wi-Fi off after the one-time model download. It works in Mail, Messages, Word, Google Docs, Slack, Terminal, and almost anywhere you can type.
Used Dragon on a Mac before it was discontinued? See a Dragon for Mac alternative.
Why OliType exists
When I broke my arm playing softball, I realized typing with one hand was going to be a challenge. I tried Apple's built-in dictation, but it kept getting my words wrong, and the tools that did better wanted a monthly subscription. I wanted dictation that was accurate, worked with one key, and kept my voice on my Mac. So I built the one I would want to use. I hope it helps you too.
Eric