1. Enable the two layers Final Draft needs
Final Draft says version 13 takes advantage of the Dictation feature built into macOS. First turn Dictation on under System Settings → Keyboard, choose the active microphone, and verify that the input level responds to your voice.
Then open Final Draft 13 → Preferences → General and enable Speech Commands. macOS supplies speech input; Final Draft interprets supported commands in the screenplay editor. A working Mac microphone does not prove that Final Draft’s screenplay command layer is enabled.
- Enable macOS Dictation and inspect its current shortcut.
- Select and test the intended microphone.
- Enable Speech Commands in Final Draft 13 preferences.
- Open the exact script and place the insertion point deliberately.
2. Start from the visible Edit menu
Final Draft’s current support article directs users to Edit → Start Dictation and also describes pressing the Command key twice or using the microphone control. Its current keyboard-shortcut reference lists Fn-D for Start Dictation. Because macOS shortcuts can be customized and documentation can span configurations, use the visible Edit menu as the reliable starting point, then confirm the shortcut shown on your own Mac.
Speak one short action line before a long scene. Verify the active document, cursor location, current screenplay element, and transcript before continuing.
3. Use commands for screenplay structure
Final Draft documents “return” and “tab” as spoken equivalents of those keys. It also documents a “new paragraph” pattern followed by the intended element, such as a scene heading. English natural-speech dictation can turn a spoken description into structured action, character, and dialogue elements.
Punctuation names, undo, and redo are also documented. Treat every command as an editing operation: pause after it, inspect the element type and text, and correct mistakes before they propagate through the scene.
4. Keep the English-language boundary explicit
Final Draft says its full Mac dictation feature supports English. English speakers can use natural-language screenplay formatting, paragraph, keystroke, and punctuation commands.
Its language support article says speakers of other languages can still dictate action and dialogue, but the screenplay command, punctuation-command, and natural-speech formatting layers are not available in those languages. Do not promise multilingual screenplay commands based only on macOS supporting a dictation language.
5. Separate Dictation from Speech Control
Dictation turns speech into editable script content. Speech Control, opened from Tools → Speech Control, reads an existing script aloud. It can assign different voices to characters and a narrator and adjust playback, but it is not the microphone workflow for writing new screenplay text.
Use Dictation for drafting and commands. Use Speech Control after the text exists to listen for wording, rhythm, missing words, and typos. Neither tool replaces a deliberate visual review of screenplay formatting.
6. Review words, elements, and revisions separately
A plausible transcript can still put a line in the wrong element, misspell a character name, alter a slugline, or change dialogue meaning. Inspect the words and the screenplay element after each short passage.
Final Draft’s keyboard reference exposes direct element shortcuts for Scene Heading, Action, Character, Parenthetical, Dialogue, Transition, and Shot. Use those controls to repair structure deliberately instead of repeating a failed voice command into an uncertain cursor state.
7. Check the active Mac processing disclosure
Because Final Draft says its feature uses macOS Dictation, check the text beneath System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation on the actual Mac. Apple says that disclosure tells you whether general voice inputs and transcripts for the current configuration are processed on the device or require a connection.
Speech processing and script storage are separate boundaries. Even when speech recognition is local, the resulting screenplay follows the save, backup, collaboration, and sharing choices you make in Final Draft.
8. Add IraVoice only for a simpler Mac-wide input path
IraVoice 0.7.1 is a separate held-key input option for macOS 26+ Apple-silicon Macs. Its speech recognition and supported formatting run on the Mac, and it can supply text to a supported focused Final Draft field or use its clipboard fallback after a short compatibility test.
IraVoice does not enable Final Draft Speech Commands, infer screenplay elements, open scripts, select scenes, manage revisions, save projects, assign read-aloud voices, export, or submit a screenplay. Choose Final Draft’s own dictation when spoken screenplay structure matters; choose IraVoice when a consistent local text-input habit across Mac apps matters more.