Notes and dictation history

Every dictation is kept in a searchable history with both the formatted and the raw text, and Notes gives you a separate place for thoughts you want to come back to.

Updated August 23, 20263 min read
FreeProEnterprise

Two different things live side by side in Sprecho, and people mix them up: history is the automatic record of everything you have dictated, and Notes is a place you put things on purpose.

This article covers where each one lives, how to search it, and how to get something back out.

Where your past dictations live

Open the Home screen. Everything you have dictated is listed underneath, newest first, grouped into Today, Yesterday, This Week, Last Week, This Month and Older.

Each entry shows:

  • the Formatted text — what was actually typed into your app
  • the Raw text — the untouched output of the speech recognition
  • which application it went to
  • how long the recording was, and how much typing time it saved

Show more expands a long entry.

Search, copy, edit, delete

The search box above the list filters by transcription text or by app name, so "Outlook" finds everything you dictated into Outlook.

Each entry has:

Action What it does
Copy Puts the text on your clipboard
Edit Corrects the text in place — and teaches the dictionary
Download Saves the recording
Retry Re-processes a dictation that failed
Delete Removes the entry, after a confirmation

Editing a history entry is not cosmetic. Sprecho compares your correction with the original and uses it to improve recognition — that is where the dictionary's auto-learning comes from. Correcting a misheard surname in your history is the cheapest way to stop it happening again.

What "Expires in N days" means

Audio recordings are not kept forever. Each entry shows the number of days before its recording is deleted automatically; after that the text remains and the entry shows No audio.

You can change what is stored, and switch storage off entirely — see Turn off transcript and audio storage and What Sprecho stores and where.

When a dictation shows an error

Instead of text, an entry may carry a short explanation:

  • Transcription failed — click Retry to re-process it.
  • Weekly limit reached — you are on the Free plan and have used your 2,000 words for the week. See What the Free plan includes.
  • Session expired — sign in again and retry.

Notes: for thoughts, not for documents

Notes in the sidebar is a separate list for things you want to keep rather than send: a reminder, a follow-up, an idea you had while walking to a meeting.

The point is the hotkey. Press Option+F on macOS or Alt+F on Windows, anywhere, even with the Sprecho window closed, speak, and the note is saved. No cursor to place, no app to switch to.

You can also type a note directly, or click the microphone button on the Notes page.

Every note can be searched, copied, edited and deleted from the same page, and the most recent ones appear under Recents.

Which one should you use?

  • You dictated something into an app and want it back → history on the Home screen.
  • You want to capture something with nowhere to put it yet → Notes.
  • You want text that reinserts itself on demand → neither; make a snippet.

Frequently asked questions

On the Home screen. Every dictation is listed there grouped by date, with the app it was sent to, and you can search the list by text or by app name.

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