1. Choose browser Dictate or desktop text input
WriterDuet documents its native Dictate feature for the computer web app at writerduet.com/script. It explicitly excludes the desktop app, mobile app, and mobile or tablet web browsers. That is a product boundary, not a missing microphone permission.
Use the browser path when screenplay-aware spoken commands matter. In the Mac desktop app, start with macOS Dictation in the focused editor or test another system-wide input tool. Do not expect WriterDuet’s Dictate menu, Modes widget, or line-type voice commands to appear there.
2. Start WriterDuet Dictate in the correct script
Open the intended WriterDuet project and document in a computer browser, place the cursor where the new text belongs, then choose Edit → Dictate or press Command-Shift-D. WriterDuet says the active mode appears in the Modes widget on the right.
Dictate one short line first. Confirm the project, document, collaborator state, cursor position, and current line type before a long passage. A working microphone does not prove the words are landing in the intended scene.
- Use the computer browser at writerduet.com/script.
- Open the exact project and script document.
- Place the insertion point on the intended line.
- Start with Edit → Dictate or Command-Shift-D.
3. Use the documented screenplay commands
WriterDuet says its Dictate mode uses the browser’s dictation and recognizes line types. Say “Press enter” to create a new line. Say “Press enter character” or “Press enter action” to create a new line and apply that screenplay type.
WriterDuet supports many line types, including Scene, Action, Character, Dialogue, Parenthetical, Transition, Shot, Note, Outline, and Act boundaries. The Dictate article demonstrates Character and Action commands; do not assume every custom or specialized type has a reliable spoken alias without testing it.
4. Review screenplay semantics, not just spelling
Speech recognition can produce plausible words while changing a character name, slugline, location, time of day, parenthetical, transition, or dialogue meaning. Stop after each short passage and inspect both the words and the line type.
Use WriterDuet’s keyboard, Line Types widget, or Format → Line Type controls to correct structure deliberately. Enter and Tab can advance through WriterDuet’s screenplay line-type progression, but that formatting behavior does not validate the transcript.
5. Stop Dictate before editing or collaborating
Turn Dictate off by choosing Edit → Dictate again, pressing Command-Shift-D, or selecting the x beside Dictate in the Modes widget. Confirm that listening has stopped before discussing the script, switching documents, or reviewing a collaborator’s changes.
WriterDuet can synchronize edits and show collaborators’ changes in real time. Treat spoken insertion, revision tracking, collaborator permissions, and accepting or rejecting edits as separate operations.
6. Understand the desktop and offline boundary
WriterDuet offers a paid desktop app for Mac, Windows, and Linux and documents offline work in both the desktop app and a previously loaded browser session. That does not make its native Dictate feature available in the desktop app.
WriterDuet says offline changes are stored in the app’s local memory or browser cache and synchronize to its servers after reconnection. Watch the Online Status Indicator: green means synchronized, yellow means locally saved but not fully synchronized, and red means the change is not yet safely saved.
7. Separate speech processing from script storage
WriterDuet describes native Dictate as using the browser’s dictation. It does not establish a universal on-device processing guarantee for every browser, operating system, language, or account. Check the active browser and microphone permissions rather than transferring Apple or IraVoice privacy claims to WriterDuet’s microphone.
The resulting script text is WriterDuet project data. WriterDuet says online work continuously synchronizes to its servers, while offline edits synchronize after reconnection. A local speech recognizer can keep microphone processing on the Mac, but it does not keep the resulting WriterDuet project out of WriterDuet’s storage and collaboration system.
8. Export only after formatting and sync review
WriterDuet exports WriterDuet, PDF, Final Draft, Fountain, Celtx, Word, RTF, text, HTML, CSV, and JSON formats, with document and content filters. Dictation does not choose those settings or prove the exported screenplay is complete.
Wait for the intended save state, verify line types and documents, then choose File → Export. Inspect the generated file before sending it to a collaborator, producer, actor, client, or submission service.
9. Add IraVoice only for the separate Mac-wide path
IraVoice 0.7.1 is a separate option for macOS 26+ Apple-silicon Macs when speech recognition and supported formatting should run on the Mac across supported focused fields. In WriterDuet’s desktop or browser editor, test a short phrase first; protected or custom surfaces can require the clipboard fallback.
IraVoice does not sign in to WriterDuet, open projects, choose scenes, assign screenplay line types, inspect collaborators, manage revisions, confirm synchronization, publish ReadThrough links, export scripts, or submit anything. WriterDuet remains responsible for the project and every downstream action.