Windows 10: Lists of vocal commands for speech recognition and dictation

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Practically from the beginning, navigating commands in Microsoft Windows has been made easier by the inclusion of keyboard shortcut combinations. For some people, these shortcuts are often faster than using the mouse and the GUI. However, for some tasks, an even more efficient method for commanding Windows 10 is available—speech recognition and the power of vocal commands.

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SEE: Windows 10: Lists of vocal commands for speech recognition and dictation (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

The list of potentially useful vocal commands for the Windows 10 speech recognition feature is considerable. Recognized commands range from simple tasks like opening applications to more complex jobs like editing documents. While it is not likely a user will remember all the various commands, it is possible that more than a few vocal commands will be useful enough to become a standard part of their Windows 10 tool kit.

Vocal commands for speech recognition and dictation in Windows

Activating speech recognition and dictation features in Microsoft Windows 10 requires a visit to several configuration screens, the first of which is shown in Figure A.

Figure A

Once the feature is active in Windows 10, you may reach the speech recognition interface by using the keyboard shortcut combination of Windows Key + H. Of course, your system microphone will also have to be active.

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Table A provides a list of common speech recognition commands in Windows 10. Note, you can also get help from the system at any time by asking, “What can I say?” If a word or phrase is shown in bold, it is an example that can be replaced with similar words to get the result you want.

Table A—Common speech recognition commands in Windows 10

To do this	Say this
Open Start	Start
Open Cortana	Press Windows C
Open Search	Press Windows S
Perform an action in an app	Right-click; press Windows Z; press Ctrl B
Select an item by its name	File; Start; View
Select an item or icon	Click Recycle Bin; click Computer; click file name
Double-click an item	Double-click Recycle Bin; double-click Computer; double-click file name
Switch to an open app	Switch to Paint; switch to WordPad; switch to program name; switch application
Scroll in one direction	Scroll up; scroll down; scroll left; scroll right
Insert a new paragraph or new line in a document	New paragraph; new line
Select a word in a document	Select word
Select a word and start to correct it	Correct word
Select and delete specific words	Delete word
Show a list of applicable commands	What can I say?
Update the list of speech commands that are currently available	Refresh speech commands
Turn on listening mode	Start listening
Turn off listening mode	Stop listening
Move the Speech Recognition microphone bar	Move speech recognition
Minimize the microphone bar	Minimize speech recognition

Table B provides a list of common dictation commands in Windows 10. If a word or phrase is shown in bold, it is an example that can be replaced with similar words to get the result you want. To insert punctuation while dictating a document, simple say the word. For example, “comma” will insert a comma, etc.

Table B—Common dictation commands in Windows 10

To do this	Say this
Insert a new line in the document	New line
Insert a new paragraph in the document	New paragraph
Insert a tab	Tab
Insert the literal word (for example, insert the word “comma” instead of the punctuation mark)	Literal word
Insert the numeral form of a number (for examples, insert 3 instead of the word three)	Numeral number
Put the cursor before a specific word	Go to word
Put the cursor after a specific word	Go after word
Don’t insert a space before the next word	No space
Go to the start of the current sentence	Go to start of sentence
Go to the start of the current paragraph	Go to start of paragraph
Go to the start of the current document	Go to start of document
Go to the end of the current sentence	Go to end of sentence
Go to the end of the current paragraph	Go to end of paragraph
Go to the end of the current document	Go to end of document
Select a word in the current document	Select word
Select a word range in the current document	Select word range; select word through word
Select all text in the current document	Select all
Select a number of words before the location of the cursor	Select previous 20 words; select previous 10 words
Select a number of words after the location of the cursor	Select next 20 words; select next 10 words
Select the last text you dictated	Select that
Clear the selection on the screen	Clear selection
Capitalize the first letter of a word	Caps word
Capitalize all the letters of a word	All caps word
Make all the letters in a word lowercase	No caps word
Change the next number of words to uppercase	Change next 10 words to uppercase
Change the next number of words to lowercase	Change next 10 words to lowercase
Delete the previous sentence	Delete previous sentence
Delete the next sentence	Delete next sentence
Delete the previous paragraph	Delete previous paragraph
Delete the next paragraph	Delete next paragraph
Delete the selected or last dictated text	Delete that

Table C provides a list of common Windows 10 application and Windows commands. If a word or phrase is shown in bold, it is an example that can be replaced with similar words to get the result you want.

Table C—Common Windows 10 application and windows commands (Microsoft)

To do this	Say this
Select an item by its name	File; Start; View
Select an item or icon	Click Recycle Bin; click Computer; click file name
Double-click an item	Double-click Computer; double-click Recycle Bin; double-click folder name
Right-click an item	Right-click Computer; right-click Recycle Bin; right-click folder name
Minimize all windows to show your desktop	Show desktop
Select something if you don’t know what it’s called	Show numbers (Numbers will appear on the screen for every item in the active window. Say an item’s corresponding number to select it.)
Select a numbered item	19 OK; 5 OK
Double-click a numbered item	Double-click 19; double-click 5
Right-click a numbered item	Right-click 19; right-click 5
Open an app	Open Paint; open WordPad; open app name
Switch to an open app	Switch to Paint; switch to WordPad; switch to app name; switch application
Close an app	Close that; close Paint; close Documents
Minimize	Minimize that; minimize Paint; minimize Documents
Maximize	Maximize that; maximize Paint; maximize Documents
Restore	Restore that; restore Paint; restore Documents
Cut	Cut that; Cut
Copy	Copy that; Copy
Paste	Paste
Delete	Delete that; Delete
Undo	Undo that; Scratch that; Undo
Scroll in one direction	Scroll up; Scroll down; Scroll right; Scroll left
Scroll an exact distance in pages	Scroll down 2 pages; Scroll up 10 pages
Scroll an exact distance in other units	Scroll up 5; Scroll down 7
Go to a field in a form or app	Go to field name; Go to Subject; Go to Address; Go to cc

Mark W. Kaelin

Mark W. Kaelin has been writing and editing stories about the information technology industry, software, hardware, gaming, finance, accounting, and technology geekdom for more than 30 years.