# The dictation shortcut: how to use it and how to change it

On Windows, hold **Ctrl + Win** while you talk and let go when you're done: the text appears where your cursor is, in any app. On a Mac, hold **fn**. Press **Esc** before letting go to cancel. To use other keys: **Settings › Dictation › Dictation shortcut › Change**.

## How to dictate

1. Put the cursor where you want to write: an email, a chat, a document.
2. Hold **Ctrl + Win** (on a Mac, **fn**). Loro's pill says "Listening…".
3. Talk the way you talk.
4. Let go. Loro types the text with punctuation and without filler words.

## What the same shortcut does

- **With text selected**, what you say is an instruction: "make it shorter", "translate it to Spanish", "make it a list". That's **edit by voice**: it needs internet and it's a Pro feature.
- **If you start with "Loro, note"**, Loro saves an idea in your Notes instead of typing it.
- **If you start with "Loro, I need to…"**, Loro adds it to your [To-do](https://heyloro.app/en/help/to-do).

There's a second shortcut: **Ctrl + Alt** (on a Mac, **Control + Option**) is **write with your screen**. Hold it, ask for what you want to write ("reply to this email", "tell her yes, but on Thursday") and Loro looks at your screen and writes it the way you would, where your cursor is. It needs internet and it's a Pro feature. The screenshot isn't saved.

## How to change the keys

1. Open **Settings › Dictation**.
2. Under **Dictation shortcut**, click **Change**.
3. Press your new keys, for example **Ctrl + Shift**.

To go back to the usual keys, click **Back to Ctrl + Win** (on a Mac, **Back to fn**). Some keys can't be used: Esc (it cancels), Ctrl + Alt (it's for writing with your screen) and a single key on its own. If you pick a letter or a number, add Ctrl, Alt or Win.

## Frequently asked questions

### Ctrl + Win does nothing. What's going on?

On many laptops, Fn + Windows locks the Windows key. Press them again to unlock it, or pick other keys. More in [Your Windows key is locked](https://heyloro.app/en/help/windows-key-locked).

### Does Loro have to be open?

You don't need to open its window: Loro just has to be next to the clock (on a Mac, in the menu bar). If you paused it from that icon, click **Resume Loro**.

### Can I dictate without holding the keys?

Not for now: you hold the keys while you talk and let go when you're done.

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The Loro team · Updated October 13, 2026 · https://heyloro.app/en/help/dictation-shortcut