1. Choose the artifact before you touch the microphone
Use ordinary Dictation when the desired result is editable prose in a note or text box and no recording needs to remain. The Mac handles speech input; Notability receives text at the focused insertion point.
Use Notability recording when the desired artifact is audio linked to the notes or annotations made while it was captured. Use Audio Transcripts when you need time-stamped text from that recording. Use Live Transcripts when the current Pro workflow should show words while recording. These paths have different controls, plan rules, storage, and processing.
2. Dictate editable text into a Notability note on Mac
Notability’s text guide says to select the Text tool and begin typing at the chosen note position. On a Mac, click until the insertion point is visible in the note or text box, then press the Microphone key or the shortcut shown under System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation.
Speak a short passage, stop Dictation, and inspect the actual text object. Dictation inserts characters into the active editable position; it does not create a synchronized recording, transcript panel, Smart Note, handwriting object, or movable text box automatically.
- Select Notability’s Text tool.
- Click inside the intended note position or text box.
- Confirm the insertion point before starting Dictation.
- Stop and review the text before moving or sharing the note.
3. Do not confuse the Notability microphone with text Dictation
Notability documents its microphone icon as the control that starts audio recording. Its current Mac shortcut list also assigns Command-R to Start Recording. That recording is linked to annotations so playback can jump to what was written or drawn at a particular moment.
If you click the Notability microphone expecting ordinary voice typing, the app is doing the correct but different job: preserving audio. To place live speech directly into editable prose, first focus a text position and use a Mac text-input path.
4. Use Audio Transcripts for a recording you need to revisit
Notability’s Audio Transcripts page describes time-stamped text for a note’s audio recording. Open a note with audio, open the Learn or Summary panel documented by the current build, choose Transcripts, and use Copy All Transcripts when the text should be pasted into the note or another application.
The transcript remains conceptually tied to recorded audio and playback time. Copying it into the note creates ordinary editable text, but it does not delete the original recording or turn every handwritten annotation into typed prose.
5. Keep Plus transcripts and Pro live transcripts distinct
Notability’s current support page says unlimited Audio Transcripts are available to Plus subscribers. Its separate Live Transcripts page labels real-time transcription as a Pro feature and says transcripts can be copied and pasted rather than exported as a standalone transcript file.
Plan names, entitlements, regional availability, and prices can change. Check the current Notability account and pricing page before promising a class, team, or client that recording, post-recording transcription, live transcription, Smart Notes, or unlimited use is included.
6. Name the network and privacy boundary accurately
Notability says Audio Transcripts require an internet connection and that audio is processed while the device is connected. It also says it does not access, listen to, or review recordings beyond automated transcription, does not use the data to train AI models, and does not share recordings with third parties without consent except where legally required.
Those statements do not make the workflow on-device. They also do not replace consent, school, workplace, meeting, or jurisdiction rules for recording other people. The final note, recording, copied transcript, sync destination, shared link, and backup each have their own access and retention boundary.
7. Separate imported audio, live recording, and text to speech
Notability can import audio such as MP4 files and voice memos, and its recording guide explains how annotations added during playback can sync to that audio. That is a saved-audio workflow, not live cursor Dictation.
Notability’s Text and Text Boxes guide also documents Text to Speech for reading selected text aloud. Text to Speech moves from text to audio; Dictation moves from live speech to editable text; Audio Transcripts move from a recording to time-stamped text. Search results often merge all three.
8. Diagnose the path that actually failed
If ordinary Dictation is silent, test the same shortcut in TextEdit. If it fails there, turn Dictation on under System Settings → Keyboard, check the active shortcut and language, select the intended microphone under Sound → Input, and confirm Voice Control is not replacing standard Dictation.
If TextEdit works, return to Notability, select the Text tool, create a fresh text box, and confirm a visible insertion point before a short test. If recording fails, check Notability’s microphone permission and selected input. If Audio Transcripts fail, confirm the account entitlement, connection, region, current app version, and whether Notability currently reports a transcription service issue.
9. Add IraVoice only for the compatible Mac text-input job
IraVoice 0.7.1 is relevant on macOS 26+ Apple-silicon Macs when speech recognition and supported formatting should run on the Mac and one held-key text habit should work across supported editable fields. The trial needs no account; continued use costs $50 once after the trial.
IraVoice is not a Notability extension. It does not record lectures or meetings, sync annotations to audio, import recordings, create Notability transcripts or Smart Notes, operate the Learn panel, or manage the note library. It is not available for Notability on iPad, iPhone, Android, web, Intel Macs, or older macOS versions.