---
title: Dictate messages and notes
path: tutorials/beginner/dictate-messages-and-notes
status: published
---

```json frontmatter
{
  "title": "Dictate messages and notes",
  "audience": "beginner",
  "summary": "Use the microphone button to speak instead of type — in chat or the note editor.",
  "sort_order": 8
}
```

# Dictate messages and notes

Don't feel like typing? Click the mic button, speak, and your words
appear as text — ready to send or edit.

## In the chat composer

1. Look for the **microphone icon** (🎤) in the message composer
   toolbar, between the emoji picker and the autocorrect toggle.
2. **Click once** to start recording. A VU meter appears showing
   your audio level + elapsed time.
3. **Speak your message.** Take your time — the recording captures
   everything until you stop it.
4. **Click the mic icon again** (now showing a stop square) to
   finish.
5. After a brief processing moment (transcription via ScaiEcho),
   your spoken words appear in the composer text field.
6. **Review and send** — edit if needed, then press Enter/Send as
   usual.

The text inserts at the cursor position, so you can dictate into
the middle of a message you're already composing.

## In the note editor

1. Open any note in the editor.
2. Click **"Dictate"** in the note toolbar (next to the voice-note
   button).
3. Speak. The VU meter confirms your mic is active.
4. Click again to stop.
5. Your transcribed text inserts at the cursor position in the
   editor — Yjs broadcasts it to collaborators automatically if
   the note is shared.

## Tips

- **Speak clearly** — the transcription engine (ScaiEcho) works
  best with natural-paced speech, not rushed.
- **One sentence or many** — there's no time limit. Speak as long
  as you like; the entire recording is transcribed at once.
- **Edit before sending** — the composer is your review surface.
  Fix any transcription errors before pressing Send.
- **Language** — ScaiEcho auto-detects language. For best results,
  speak consistently in one language per recording.

## What about the "Record voice" button in notes?

That's a different feature — it records a full voice note, sends
it through AI-powered transcription + organization, and produces a
structured Markdown document. "Dictate" (the mic button described
here) just inserts raw transcribed text at the cursor. Use whichever
fits your workflow.

## Where to go next

- [Talk to your AI](/docs/scaiwave/tutorials/beginner/talk-to-your-ai) — full voice conversations
- [Todos from notes](/docs/scaiwave/tutorials/power-user/todos-from-notes) — voice-dictate todo items