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      How do I control my Windows computer using my voice and dictate in applications?

      Use Windows Accessibility Voice Access and Microsoft 365 Dictate feature for voice to text

      Controlling your Windows computer with your Voice

      Note: Voice access is only available from Windows 11 onwards. Windows 10 does have the older Windows Speech Recognition available. Please raise a support ticket if you would like to be upgraded to Windows 11 to use Voice Access.

        1. Select the Windows Start button windows-icon-32-png
        2. Type and select Settings or select the Settings cog icon
        3. Select Accessibility
        4. Select Speech
        5. Slide Voice access to On
        6. To have voice access available before signing in please raise a support tickets because this requires admin permission.
        7. To have voice access available after signing in tick Start voice access after you sign in to your PC
        8. Once Voice Access has been enabled, a bar at the top of your screen will appear.
            1. Select Download to download the English (United Kingdom) language model
        9. It will take up to 10 minutes to download and install depending on your internet speed 
            1. Once installed, the Voice access guide will appear.
              1. Select the microphone you wish to use.
              2. Select the > arrow key
              3. Select the Start guide to read tutorials and walk through guide

        10. Keep an eye on the Voice access bar at the top of the screen for help while using.
        11. Select the microphone icon to turn on the microphone or say"Voice access wake up"  
        12. Select the microphone icon to turn off the microphone or say "Turn off microphone"  
        13. Select the Cog icon to configure the Voice Access options
        14. Select the ? icon for help
        15. Useful commands:
          1. Say "Show numbers here"  to place number labels on the active window so you can control any element.
          2. Say "Show grid here" to place a grid over the active window and say a number shown to select an area
          3. Say "Click" for a left click or "Click... [button name]" to click a button on-screen
          4. For more voice commands visit: Microsoft Support: Voice access command list >

      Dictating in the Microsoft 365 apps

      Tip: You can use Microsoft Voice Access above to dictate into documents. The instructions below are for the inbuilt Microsoft 365 dictation feature which cannot be used to control your computer.

      1. Open a Microsoft 365 app, eg. Word
        1. Under the Home tab in the ribbon select the Dictate button
          1. If you can't see it, expand the ribbon using the ⌄ down arrow on the bottom right of the ribbon
      2. Alternatively select the keyboard shortcut ALT+`
        1. ` is a key typically in the top left of your keyboard found with along with these other characters: ¬ ~ ¦