How to Create Custom Voice Control Commands in macOS Catalina

WithmacOS Catalina, Apple has introduced “Voice Control” to provide a better way to control Mac with voice. And from what I can tell after giving it a shot on my MacBook, it works pretty well. In fact, at times, I find it more convenient to interact with the macOS device using voice commands instead of traditional input methods. Siri’s speech-recognition engine coupled with the ability to recognize several apps, labels, and controls has played a vital role in making the dictation feature effective. Though macOS offers many readymade commands, you can choose to create custom Voice Control commands on your Mac for a personalized experience. And that’s exactly what I’m going to show you in this hands-on guide!

Create Custom Voice Commands & Vocabulary on Mac

Create Custom Voice Commands & Vocabulary on Mac

Aside from fine-tuning custom commands, you can also create your own dictation vocabulary. If you want to have improved control, do not fail to craft your own set of vocabulary. That aside, there are a couple of things worth keeping in mind upfront:

Now that everything looks clear, let’s get started with steps!

Enable Voice Control on macOS

Enable Voice Control on macOS

You can quickly turn on voice control on your Mac just byactivating Siriand asking it to get the job done for you. Besides, you can also get it done from the System Preferences.

  1. Click onApple Menuat the top right-> System Preferences -> Accessibility.

  2. Now, click onVoice Controlin the sidebar. After that, make sure to check the box for“Enable Voice Control”.

Next up, you will need to wait for a minute or two to let macOS download Voice Control on your Mac. When Voice Control is turned on, a microphone will appear on the screen.

If you want to pause Voice Control and stop it from listening, simply say ”Go to sleep” or just click on Sleep. To resume Voice Control, either say or click on ”Wake up.”

Customize Voice Control Commands on macOS

  1. Ensure thatVoice Controlis selected in the sidebar. Now, click onCommands.

  2. Next, you should see several predefined voice control commands. Standard commands are grouped in several categories such as Overlays & Mouse, Basic Navigation, Text Editing, Text Deletion, Dictation, Text Selection, and Text Navigation.

Tick mark the ones that you want to use and uncheck the unnecessary ones. Besides, select preferred ones to check out additional phrases for them. To add a new command, click on the“+”.

  1. Next up, you have three options:

In the end, make sure to click onDoneto confirm. All the custom commands show up right at the top of the Command list.

Going forward you can use these Voice Control commands to navigate or interact with your Mac. If you ever decide to delete a command you had created earlier, return to the Voice Control preference andselect the command in the Custom section. After that, click on theRemovebutton

Customize Voice Control Vocabulary

  1. Make sure theVoice Controloption is selected in the sidebar. Then, click on theVocabulary option.

  2. Next, click on the“+”button to add a phrase/word. After that, click onSaveto finish.

Fine-Tune Voice Control Commands on Mac

So, that’s how you can create custom Voice Control commands on macOS to control your device more comfortably using voice. These commands can come in handy in several situations when you want to make the interaction with your computer a little convenient. Apart from this notable feature, macOS Catalina has come up with several new features likeScreen Time, a full-fledgedApple Music app, andApprovedto let Apple Watch users unlock Mac with ease. Which is your favorite new feature and why? Do not forget to spill some beans about it in the comments down below.

Rajesh Mishra

An old school bibliophile who turned a tech nerd out of obsession. When he is not digging into hacks and tracking down stories that are breaking the internet, you may find him reciting poems.

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