Dictation from a game controller
The Dictation Control layout is built into InputConfig, free on the Mac App Store. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon.
On a Mac: macOS does the dictation. The big button presses the Mac's own dictation key, and the rest of the layout edits the result.
Yes, a controller button can start Mac dictation, and this layout is for fixing what dictation gets wrong: the cursor by word on the bumpers, by character on the D-pad, delete a word on a face button. macOS does the dictation. InputConfig presses the button and edits the result. Switch Dictation on once in System Settings, Keyboard, then add these rows to every writing preset you have.
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Start and stop. The big button sends Start Dictation, so one press starts listening and the next press stops it.
- Fix. Delete back on the left face button, delete a word (Option Delete) on the top, Cancel (Escape) on the right.
- Move. The D-pad moves by character and line, the bumpers by word (Option and the arrows).
- Finish. Return on Start.
- Point and click. The left stick is a slow pointer and the right trigger clicks, to put the cursor in a text field.
Check that dictation starts
- You: Switch Dictation on once in System Settings, Keyboard. Click into a text field with the right trigger and press the big button.
- InputConfig: Presses the Mac's own dictation key, the microphone key on a recent MacBook, so it works on a Mac mini or with a keyboard that has no microphone key.
- Check: Dictation starts listening, and a second press stops it.
Dictation types into whatever has focus, so click the field first. I dictate most of what I write, and the delete-word and word-jump rows are what make that practical from a controller.
Tune it
- Hear it back. A Speak Selection row reads the selected text aloud, which catches the words your eyes skip.
- Feel it start. Tick Vibrate under Feedback in the dictation row's Options, so you know it is listening.
- Hold to talk. Third-party dictation apps that listen while a key is held work too: a row holds its key for as long as you hold the button. YapToText, my free dictation app, has a Hold to talk setting for exactly that.
Dictation is a toy until fixing it is as easy as speaking, and these rows are what make it that easy.
Get it in two clicks
- Open InputConfig and click Smart Preset Maker on the welcome screen.
- Search for Dictation Control and pick it. The layout is created as a preset in your sidebar, named and ready.
- Press Activate. Every row can be changed afterwards: the editor's Scan button rebinds any control the moment you touch it.
Every binding, as a table
| Controller | Sends | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| A / Cross | Start Dictation | Start / stop dictation |
| B / Circle | Escape | Cancel (Escape) |
| Start / Options | Return | Confirm (Return) |
| X / Square | Backspace | Delete back |
| Y / Triangle | Alt / Option (Left), Backspace | Delete word (Option + Backspace) |
| D-pad left | Left | Cursor left |
| D-pad right | Right | Cursor right |
| D-pad up | Up | Line up |
| D-pad down | Down | Line down |
| Left stick left | Mouse motion left (speed 14) | Pointer left |
| Left stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 14) | Pointer right |
| Left stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 14) | Pointer up |
| Left stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 14) | Pointer down |
| Right trigger | Left click | Click |
| LB / L1 | Alt / Option (Left), Left | Previous word |
| RB / R1 | Alt / Option (Left), Right | Next word |
Names follow the editor's Xbox / PlayStation pair, and a Switch pad fires by position.
Questions
Does InputConfig do the dictation?
No, macOS does. InputConfig presses the button and fixes the text.
Can I use this with a dictation app instead of Apple's?
Yes, if the app has a keyboard shortcut. Change the big button's output to that key combination.
Related
Updated