Dragon Voice Commands in Sprecho: What Works, What Doesn't, and What Replaces Them (2026)

Dragon voice commands list is one of the first things long-time Dragon users search for when they try a modern dictation app, because twenty years of muscle memory ("comma", "new paragraph", "scratch that") do not disappear overnight. This cheat sheet maps every Dragon command you are likely to use onto Sprecho: which ones work with the same words, which ones do not exist, and what replaces them.

Last verified: October 2026.

• Punctuation and layout: almost all of Dragon's everyday punctuation words work in Sprecho, in English and German, with a few wording differences listed below.
• Correction: "Scratch that" / "Streich das" works, and fillers and false starts disappear on their own. Dragon's Select, Correct, Cap and Insert grammar does not exist in Sprecho.
• App and mouse control: "Open Word", "MouseGrid" and "Click <button>" have no Sprecho equivalent. Sprecho is a dictation tool, not a hands-free computer controller.
• Custom commands and auto-texts: become Sprecho snippets, a spoken trigger phrase that expands into stored text.

Why are Dragon users asking which commands work in Sprecho?

Because Dragon's product line is shrinking and many users are moving, but nobody wants to relearn how to dictate. The question is not "is the new tool accurate?" but "do my commands still work?".

Dragon Professional 16 is Nuance's perpetual-licence dictation software for Windows, released on 28 February 2023 and still the current desktop version in October 2026. Sprecho is a voice dictation app by Melo Designer GmbH (Lastrup, Germany) for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android that dictates into any application and formats the text with AI on servers in Germany.

• No Dragon 17: three and a half years after the February 2023 release there is no new major desktop version.
• Mac gone since 2018: Dragon Professional Individual for Mac 6 was discontinued on 22 October 2018.
• Mobile gone since July 2026: Dragon Anywhere can no longer be bought or renewed since 1 July 2026, according to its App Store listing.
• Windows 10 pressure: Microsoft ended Windows 10 support on 14 October 2025, and Nuance says Windows 10 issues must be solved by moving to Windows 11 and Dragon v16.
• Muscle memory: users who dictate "comma" and "new paragraph" for a living want to know exactly what changes before they switch.

If you are still choosing a replacement, start with our overview of the best Dragon alternatives in 2026. This post assumes you are looking at Sprecho and want the command-level detail.

Which Dragon punctuation and layout commands work in Sprecho?

Nearly all of them: the everyday punctuation and layout words are the same in Sprecho as in Dragon, in English and in German. The table lists every command documented in Sprecho's help center next to the phrase Dragon Professional 16 uses for the same result.

Sources: Sprecho's voice commands help article and Nuance's Dragon 16 help page "Dictating punctuation and special characters".

The wording differences that trip up Dragon users

• Brackets, not parentheses: Sprecho's documented English command is "open bracket" / "close bracket" and it produces round brackets. US Dragon users who say "open parenthesis" should switch to "open bracket".
• Paragraph sign in German: Dragon's German help writes "Paragrafzeichen"; Sprecho documents "Paragraphenzeichen". Say it in full.
• Semicolon in German: Dragon also accepts "Strichpunkt". Sprecho documents only "Semikolon".
• "Paragraph" alone is not a command: in Sprecho only "new paragraph" / "neuer Absatz" inserts a blank line. The single word stays text, because "the third paragraph of the contract" is ordinary language.
• No short forms: "line", "line break" and "Zeilenumbruch" are not recognised; "quotation marks" and "in brackets" are not commands either.
• German-only extra: the German help also documents "Gegenzeichen", which writes ./., the mark German lawyers use between party names in a case caption.
• Typographic quotes: "open quote" / "close quote" produce typographic quotation marks, not straight ASCII quotes.

Sprecho's help center states that these commands work in German, English and Portuguese. The language you dictate in must match the language selected: a German command inside an English-configured dictation is treated as text.

Why does a command sometimes end up as words in the text?

Almost always because there was no short pause before it. Sprecho decides from context whether "new line" is a command or part of your sentence, and a pause of about half a second before the command is the signal that tells the two apart.

This will feel familiar. Dragon gives the same advice: its own cheat sheet tells users to "pause before and after the full text of the command", and its dictation guidelines say to pause briefly before and after punctuation.

1. Finish the sentence: "I would like to say".
2. Pause about half a second: the natural beat at the end of a thought, not a long stop.
3. Say the command: "new paragraph".
4. Pause briefly again: a short moment after the command makes recognition even clearer.
5. Carry on: "Life is good". Result: a blank line between the two sentences.

• Without the pause: "I would like to say new paragraph life is good" is written out as words.
• Nouns stay nouns: "under point three" or "unter dem Punkt drei" never becomes punctuation, and the words around a command are kept.
• Start and end: a command at the very start or end of a dictation is also executed, but a pause still helps.
• Clear endings: swallowed endings turn "neue Zeile" into "neu Zeile", which is not a recognised phrase.

The full troubleshooting list is in Dictating voice commands reliably.

What replaces Dragon's Select, Correct That and Cap That?

Only one Dragon correction command carries over directly: "Scratch that" / "Streich das". The rest of Dragon's editing grammar (Select, Correct, Cap, Insert Before, Resume With) has no voice equivalent in Sprecho; it is replaced by automatic formatting, spoken self-corrections, editing in the history and the dictionary.

Dragon commands as documented in Nuance's Dragon 16 help: Correcting your dictation, Inserting, replacing and deleting text and Capitalizing text.

"Scratch that" and "Streich das"

• What it does in Sprecho: removes the phrase spoken immediately before the command.
• What it does in Dragon: deletes the last dictated text; Dragon also accepts "Scratch that <n> times".
• Same words: say "Scratch that" in English or "Streich das" in German, with the same short pause before it as any other command.
• Spoken self-corrections: Sprecho also applies corrections you simply say out loud, such as "the meeting is on Monday, no, I mean Tuesday".

Select and Correct: why the history replaces them

In Dragon, Select and Correct open the Correction menu, which is also how your personal profile learns from mistakes. Sprecho learns from your edits instead.

• Edit in the history: every dictation appears on the Home screen with a Formatted and a Raw version. Click Edit, fix the word, and Sprecho compares before and after.
• Learned automatically: clear corrections are learned straight away with a short "Learned:" note and an Undo button.
• Suggestions inbox: less certain corrections land in Suggestions on the Dictionary page to accept or reject.
• Misspelling rules: turn on Correct a misspelling to replace a wrong form automatically, for example "schmitt" with "Schmidt".
• Pin to recognizer: reserve a slot for the handful of names you can never afford to get wrong.

Details: Notes and dictation history and Teach Sprecho your words with the dictionary.

What about "Open Word", MouseGrid and mouse commands?

Sprecho has no equivalent. Dragon is both a dictation engine and a hands-free computer controller; Sprecho is only the dictation part, and it reaches every application through a push-to-talk hotkey instead of voice navigation.

• Open / Start <application> (DE: Öffne / Starte <Anwendungsname>): launches programs from the Start menu in Dragon. Not available in Sprecho.
• MouseGrid (DE: Mausraster): divides the screen into nine numbered areas to move the pointer by voice. Not available in Sprecho.
• Close Window (DE: Fenster schließen) and "Click <name>": window and button control by voice. Not available in Sprecho.
• Honest note: if you depend on Dragon for hands-free computer use, for example for accessibility reasons, Sprecho does not replace that part of Dragon.

Dragon's app and mouse commands are documented in Opening and closing applications and Using your mouse with MouseGrid. What Sprecho does instead:

• One hotkey everywhere: fn on macOS, Insert on Windows, Control+Space on Linux.
• Hold or lock: hold the key to talk and release to insert, or tap once to lock the recording for long dictations. See Hold-to-talk vs lock mode.
• Any app: text lands at the cursor in Word, Outlook, Teams, DATEV, RA-MICRO, browser forms and practice software, without plugins.
• Re-insert the last dictation: Control+Cmd+V on macOS, Ctrl+Alt+V on Windows and Linux.
• Quick notes: Option+F on macOS or Alt+F on Windows saves a spoken note even when the Sprecho window is closed.

What replaces Dragon custom commands and auto-texts?

Snippets. A Sprecho snippet is a spoken trigger phrase that expands into stored text in the middle of a dictation, which covers what most professionals used Dragon's "Add new command" and auto-texts for: signatures, addresses and standard paragraphs.

1. Open Sprecho and click Snippets in the sidebar.
2. Click Add new.
3. Enter the Trigger phrase, for example "my signature".
4. Enter the text under Expands to; the rich editor supports paragraphs, headings, quotes and links.
5. Click Add snippet and say the trigger while dictating.

• Dynamic variables: {date}, {time} and {clipboard} are filled in when the snippet expands.
• Forgiving matching: case-insensitive, trailing punctuation ignored, fuzzy for triggers of five or more characters; triggers of one to four characters need an exact match.
• Formatting follows the app: chat apps such as Slack receive markdown, Outlook receives rich text.
• Team sharing: switch on Share with team so the whole firm uses one wording (requires a team).
• What does not transfer: Dragon macros that click through menus or run scripts have no Sprecho equivalent; snippets insert text only.

Step-by-step guide: Snippets: voice shortcuts for text you repeat.

Which commands can you stop saying altogether?

Most of them. Sprecho punctuates, capitalises, breaks paragraphs and removes filler words from the meaning of the sentence, so the commands Dragon users dictate out of habit are usually unnecessary. Dictate a mark only when you want it exactly there.

Dragon's auto-punctuation option is documented in its Auto-Formatting dialog box help page. Sprecho's behaviour is described in Automatic punctuation and filler-word removal.

Formatting models do the work commands used to do

• Standard: keeps your wording exactly as spoken and cleans up punctuation, layout and lists.
• Thinking: also rewrites sentences for grammar and readability without changing facts, names, numbers or meaning; the shipped default for Email.
• Per app category: set a model on the Models page for Personal messages, Work messages, Email, Code and Other.
• Never invents content: names, numbers and technical, medical and legal terms are kept exactly as spoken; the model treats your dictation as text to clean, never as instructions.

More in Formatting models: Standard, Thinking and Sprecho 5.

Where is Dragon's command set still better?

Dragon's command grammar is bigger, and for some users that matters. Sprecho deliberately ships the high-frequency set and relies on AI formatting for the rest.

• Voice editing: Select, Correct, Insert Before and Resume With let you edit a document without touching the keyboard.
• Hands-free control: MouseGrid, "Click", "Open <app>" and window commands support fully hands-free computer use.
• More symbols: Dragon's punctuation table also covers characters such as ampersand, euro sign, degree sign and braces.
• Offline: Dragon Professional 16 recognises speech on the device; Sprecho's recognition and formatting run on servers in Germany and need an internet connection.
• Macros: Dragon's advanced custom commands can automate clicks and keystrokes; Sprecho snippets insert text only.

Which commands matter most for lawyers, doctors and tax advisors?

A short set: the section sign, brackets, quotes and paragraph breaks cover most professional dictation, and the rest is handled by automatic formatting plus a well-kept dictionary.

Lawyers and law firms

• Citations: "section sign" / "Paragraphenzeichen" for §, with "open bracket" / "Klammer auf" for paragraph numbers in brackets.
• Quotes from pleadings: "open quote" / "Anführungszeichen auf" and "close quote" / "Anführungszeichen zu".
• Statute abbreviations: spell them ("b g b" becomes "BGB") or add them to the dictionary once.
• Standard clauses: store them as snippets and share them with the team. More on Sprecho for law firms.

Doctors and practices

• Structure: "new paragraph" / "neuer Absatz" between findings and assessment; lists after a lead-in become bullets on their own.
• Medical terms: kept exactly as spoken by the formatter; add drug and practice-specific names to the dictionary and pin the critical ones.
• Standard findings: a snippet with {date} gives you a dated skeleton for recurring reports. More on Sprecho for healthcare.

Tax advisors

• Amounts: spoken amounts become digits with the euro sign without a command.
• Slashes and hyphens: "slash" / "Schrägstrich" and "hyphen" / "Bindestrich" for file references and tax numbers.
• DATEV: dictation lands in any normal text field. More on Sprecho for tax consultants.

Where are commands processed, and what does it cost?

Sprecho processes dictation, including commands, on servers in Germany operated for Melo Designer GmbH, a German company; Dragon Professional 16 processes on your PC. Both are serious options for confidential work, but for different reasons.

• Sprecho infrastructure: STRATO GmbH servers in Germany, GPU inference by Media Trooper (Germany and the Netherlands), no US sub-processor in the dictation path.
• Professional secrecy: under § 203 StGB lawyers, doctors and tax advisors need a processor outside US reach; the US CLOUD Act (2018) lets US authorities compel US companies regardless of server location. An AVV is available on Enterprise.
• Dragon's cloud products: Dragon Professional Anywhere and Dragon Medical One run on Microsoft Azure, and Microsoft is a US company.
• Sprecho Pro: 12.99 € per month, or 10.99 € per month billed yearly (131.88 € per year), incl. 19 % VAT; Free Forever with 2,000 words per week; 14-day Pro trial without a card. See pricing.
• Dragon Professional 16: $699.99 one-time in the US; German resellers list the Individual download at around 699 € netto.

For the full product comparison see Sprecho vs Dragon, and for the legal background GDPR-compliant dictation software compared.

Conclusion

If your Dragon habits are mostly punctuation, "new line", "new paragraph" and "scratch that", you can keep them in Sprecho almost word for word: remember the half-second pause, say "open bracket" and "Paragraphenzeichen", and stop dictating the commas Sprecho now sets for you. If you rely on Select, Correct, MouseGrid or voice macros, Dragon's larger grammar is still the better fit, and you should weigh that honestly against Windows-only support and no new major version since February 2023. Try Sprecho Pro free for 14 days, no card required, and dictate your next letter with the commands above; the Sprecho vs Dragon comparison covers everything beyond commands.