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      How to Dictate Formatting Commands
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      How to Dictate Formatting Commands

      • 6 Minutes to read
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      How to Say Formatting Commands

      Use formatting commands to get your dictation to add things like carriage returns, quotation marks, and capitalization.


      Start a New Line

      "New Line" or "Next Line"

      The "new line" or "next line" commands inserts a carriage return into the transcript, starting the next text in the transcript one line down.

      Say this...To display this...
      sincerely comma new line Gordon RobinsonSincerely,
      Gordon Robinson
      sincerely comma next line Gordon Robinson


      Start a New Paragraph

      "New Paragraph" or "Next Paragraph" or "Paragraph"

      Say this...To display this...
      sincerely comma new paragraph Gordon RobinsonSincerely,

      Gordon Robinson
      sincerely comma next paragraph Gordon Robinson
      sincerely comma paragraph Gordon Robinson



      Add Quotation Marks

      "Open Quote" or "Quote" / "Close Quote" or "Unquote"

      The "open quote" and "close quote" commands add quotation marks around text in the transcript. You could also say "quote", "open double quote", or "start quote" to start the quotation and "unquote", "close double quote", or "end quote" to end the quotation.

      Say this...To display this...
      She told me to buy open quote a loaf of bread comma a container milk comma and a stick of butter period close quoteShe told me to buy "a loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter."
      She told me to buy quote a loaf of bread comma a container of milk comma and a stick of butter period unquote
      She told me to buy open double quote a loaf of bread comma a container of milk comma and a stick of butter period close double quote
      She told me to buy start quote a loaf of bread comma a container of milk comma and a stick of butter period end quote



      Create a Numbered List

      "Numeral One Period" or "One Period" -OR- "Next Number" or "Number Next"

      Numeral One Period or One Period

      The commands, "numeral one period" or "one period" create a numbered list and capitalize the first letter of each list item. When using these commands, you will need to add the "new line" command before your first list item and between each item if you want them to appear on separate lines. 

      Say this...To display this...
      I need to buy colon new line numeral one period bread new line numeral two period milk new line numeral three period butterI need to buy:
      1. Bread
      2. Milk
      3. Butter 
      I need to buy colon new line one period bread new line two period milk new line three period butter



      Number Next  or  Next Number

      The commands "Number Next" or "Next Number" create a numbered list, capitalize the first letter of each list item, and also automatically add a new line before each list item.

       The "number next" or "next number" commands must be used within one single dictation. If you start a new dictation, the numbering starts over as a new list.   
      Say this...To display this...
      I need to buy colon next number bread next number milk next number butterI need to buy:
      1. Bread
      2. Milk
      3. Butter
      I need to buy colon number next bread number next milk number next butter



      Create a Lettered List

      "Letter Next" or "Next Letter"

      The commands "Letter Next" or "Next Letter" create a lettered list, capitalize the first letter of each list item, and also automatically add a new line before each list item.

      • Letters in the list go from A to Z. If a list is longer than 26 lines (and needs to go past the letter Z), the list starts numbering from 27.
      The "letter next" or "next letter" commands must be used within one single dictation. If you start a new dictation, the lettering starts over as a new list.  
      Say this...To display this...
      I need to buy colon next letter bread next letter milk next letter butterI need to buy:
      A. Bread
      B. Milk
      C. Butter
      I need to buy colon letter next bread letter next milk letter next butter


      Capitalize a Letter

      "Capital" or "Letter"

      If you want to see a capital letter in your dictation, say the word "Letter" or "Capital" before the letter. Multiple capitalized letters in a row will appear in the dictation with no space between them. You can make a lettered list by following the letter with a period followed by the "new line" command after the list item.

      Say this...To display this...
      Capital aA
      Letter a
      Capital a capital b capital cABC
      Letter a letter b letter c
      His flight leaves from gate capital a periodHis flight leaves from gate A.
      He saw the story on letter n letter b letter c periodHe saw the story on NBC.
      Letter a period stick of butter new line letter b period loaf of bread new line letter c period container of milk

      A. Stick of butter
      B. Loaf of bread
      C. Container of milk 

      Capital a period stick of butter new line capital b period loaf of bread new line capital c period container of milk


      Capitalize First Letter of One Word

      "Caps"

      The first word of a dictation is automatically capitalized even if the start of the dictation is not the first word in a sentence. Also if a word is normally capitalized (like "June"), it will be capitalized automatically. The "caps" command allows you to capitalize Other Words that would not normally be capitalized.

      Say this...To display this...
      Tuesday will now be known as caps bagel caps day periodTuesday will now be known as Bagel Day.
      I went to the caps apple store to get a new phone periodI went to the Apple store to get a new phone.



      Capitalize First Letter of All Words

      "Caps On" / "Caps Off"

      You can capitalize the first letter of all words by saying "caps on" before the words. When you want to stop capitalizing, say "caps off", or release your dictation button. 

      Say this...To display this...
      Tuesday will now be known as caps on bagel day caps off periodTuesday will now be known as Bagel Day.
      I went to the caps on apple store caps off to get a new phone periodI went through the Apple Store to get a new phone.

       


      Capitalize All Letters in One Word

      "All Caps"

      You can capitalize ALL LETTERS of a word by saying "all caps" before the word.

      Say this...To display this...
      Tuesday will now be known as all caps bagel day periodTuesday will now be known as BAGEL day.
      I went to the all caps apple store to get a new phone periodI went to the APPLE store to get a new phone.

       


      Capitalize All Letters in All Words

      "All Caps On" /  "All Caps Off"

      You can capitalize ALL LETTERS of all words by saying "all caps on" before the words. When you want to stop capitalizing, say "all caps off", or release your dictation button. 

      Say this...To display this...
      Tuesday will now be known as all caps on bagel day all caps off periodTuesday will now be known as BAGEL DAY.
      I went to the all caps on apple store all caps off to get a new phone periodI went to the APPLE STORE to get a new phone.

       


      Begin a Dictation Transcript with a Lowercase Letter

      "Lowercase" or "Overwrite"

      The first word of a dictation is automatically capitalized. Saying "lowercase" or "overwrite" at the beginning of a dictation starts the first word of the dictation with a lowercase letter. This can be useful if you are starting a new dictation in the middle of a sentence, or if you want to replace text in the middle of a sentence by highlighting the text and dictating over it.

      Say this...To display this...
      lowercase and a stick of butterand a stick of butter
      overwrite and a stick of butter
       "Lowercase" and "Overwrite" will NOT work if the first word in your dictation is a proper noun (like the name of something) that is supposed to be capitalized.
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