Sprecho's dictation key does two different things depending on how long you press it. Holding it is push-to-talk; a quick tap locks the recording on so you can let go. Both start the same recording — the difference is only what happens when your finger leaves the key.
There is nothing to configure. The app decides from the length of the press.
Hold-to-talk: press, speak, release
Hold the key (fn on macOS, Insert on Windows, Control+Space on Linux),
say what you want, then let go. The text is inserted at your cursor a moment
later.
This is the mode for short bursts: a chat reply, a subject line, a search query, a two-sentence answer. Your finger on the key is also the clearest signal you will ever get that Sprecho is listening — release and it is not.
Lock mode: tap once, speak hands-free
Tap the same key — anything under about a third of a second — and the recording stays on after you release. Speak as long as you like, then press the key again to stop and insert.
This is the mode for anything longer: a full email, a paragraph of a report, notes from a meeting, a long prompt for an AI tool. It frees both hands, so you can scroll a document or hold a page while you talk.
One tap is enough. Lock mode used to need a double-tap, and if you still double-tap out of habit the second tap is absorbed instead of killing the recording you just started. Sprecho shows a one-off hint the first time this happens.
While a recording is locked, the recording bar shows a stop button and a cancel button, so you can also finish or discard it with the mouse.
Which one to use
| Situation | Better mode |
|---|---|
| A one-line chat reply | Hold |
| A full email or a long paragraph | Lock |
| Dictating while scrolling or holding paper | Lock |
| Quick corrections between typing | Hold |
| A noisy room where you want tight control over what is captured | Hold |
| Long-form writing where a held key gets tiring | Lock |
Most people settle into hold for short things and lock for anything past two sentences, without ever thinking about it again.
Stopping, and the difference between stop and cancel
There are three ways to end a locked recording, and they are not the same:
- Press the dictation key again — stop, transcribe, insert. The normal way.
- Click the stop button on the recording bar — identical to the key press.
- Press
Escape, or click the ✕ on the recording bar — cancel. Nothing is transcribed and nothing is inserted.
The ✕ button offers a three-second Undo afterwards, in case the click was a mistake. More in Cancel or redo a dictation.
Stop with any shortcut
If you have configured a secondary shortcut, turn on Stop with any shortcut in Settings → General → Keyboard Shortcuts. Any configured shortcut then stops an active recording, even one that a different key started — useful when you start on the laptop keyboard and finish at an external one.
Common surprises
| What happened | Why |
|---|---|
| A tap ended the recording immediately | The press lasted longer than the tap threshold, so it counted as a very short hold |
| A locked recording kept running after I walked away | Lock mode has no timeout by design. Press the key or Escape to end it |
| The text landed in the wrong window | Focus moved during a locked recording. The text goes wherever the cursor is when it is inserted |
| Nothing happened on tap | Another app has claimed the key. Check Settings → General → Keyboard Shortcuts |