7h ago
Separate shortcut to stop/finish a recording (distinct from Toggle Recording)
Today the only way to stop a recording is to press the Toggle Recording shortcut again. I'd like to be able to bind a *separate* key to "stop and transcribe", so that starting and finishing a dictation use different keys.
Why this matters:
Most text input on macOS follows a "start typing -> press Return to commit" pattern. IMEs, search fields, chat apps all work this way. Dictation is text input too, so being able to finish with Return (or any dedicated key) matches the muscle memory people already have. Pressing the same chord twice is a different, less natural gesture — you have to remember you are in a recording state.
It also removes a real failure mode: if you forget whether the recording is running, pressing the toggle again can start a new recording instead of ending the old one. A dedicated stop key is unambiguous.
Why push-to-talk doesn't solve it:
PTT is the usual suggestion here, but holding a key down for the whole utterance is tiring for longer dictation, and it makes it awkward to pause and think mid-sentence. Toggle-style recording is the right model for longer-form input — it just needs an asymmetric stop.
Suggested implementation:
Add a third binding alongside the existing "Toggle Recording" and "Cancel Recording":
- Stop Recording (stop + transcribe + insert)
Leaving it unset would keep today's behaviour exactly as-is, so this is fully backwards compatible. Ideally it could be configured per mode, alongside the per-mode shortcuts shipped in v2.12.
Note on Return specifically: binding a modifier-less key like Return only makes sense if it is scoped to "while a recording is active" — it must not act as a global hotkey. Scoping the stop binding to the recording state would make bare keys like Return or Space safe to assign.
Pending