Potok turns speech into text in 33 languages, including English and Russian.
On Mac, punctuation during dictation is placed by a separate command on the spot: say "zapyataya" (comma) and a comma appears, "tochka" (period) gives a period, and so on for each mark in the official list. Potok (potok.now) works differently: it reaches about 900 characters per minute by voice against about 200 when typing, and it places punctuation and capital letters itself, so you do not need to name them.
Every pause to place the cursor and press the comma or period key is a break in the dictated text. By voice, a punctuation mark goes into the text the same way as an ordinary word, right during dictation, without stopping the recording and without hands on the keyboard. The general order of voice input on a computer is covered in the article about dictating text on a computer (in Russian).
| Task | Characters | Typing (200 chars/min) | Voice (900 chars/min) |
|---|---|---|---|
| chat reply | 300 | 2 min | 0.5 min |
| 1500 | 8 min | 1.7 min | |
| post or meeting minutes | 4000 | 20 min | 4.4 min |
| article | 10000 | 50 min | 11.1 min |
How to place punctuation by voice on Mac and how much time it saves
In a long text there are dozens of such periods and commas, and when typing, each one costs a fraction of a second to switch attention from the thought to the key. With Mac dictation, the command "zapyataya" (comma) or "tochka" (period) is spoken exactly where the mark should appear, and it is inserted without stopping the recording, with no need to switch to a separate mode. Potok, another voice input tool, places punctuation and capital letters automatically, without a separate command for each mark.
Steps on Mac
Punctuation commands work only when Dictation is turned on and running. This is the step before the marks themselves.
- Turn on Dictation once: the Apple menu, then System Settings, Keyboard, the Dictation section, then Turn On.
- Start dictation itself: with the microphone key in the row of function keys (if it is there), the dictation keyboard shortcut, or through the menu Edit, Start Dictation. The detailed order of the first launch is in the article about starting dictation on a MacBook.
- Dictate the text in ordinary words, and name the punctuation mark separately at the place where it is needed: "zapyataya" (comma) places a comma, "tochka" (period) or "konets predlozheniya" (end of sentence) places a period.
- The exclamation and question marks have their own commands, "vosklitsatelnyy znak" (exclamation mark) and "voprositelnyy znak" (question mark). The other marks from the Punctuation section are placed the same way, by a separate word in their place.
- After the command, keep dictating in ordinary words right away; there is no need to switch to another mode.
- The list of punctuation commands in Russian is common to Mac dictation and is not tied to a specific app: the same commands work in mail, notes, documents, everywhere you can dictate.
Where voice punctuation reaches its limit
Potok is a cloud service: recognition runs on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet. The recorded audio is not lost, though: it stays in the history, and you can send it for recognition again with the Re-recognize button when the network returns. Potok has no voice commands at all, not only for punctuation, so a mark placed by voice cannot be undone or replaced, except with the keyboard. There are no mobile versions either: the program exists for computers with Windows, macOS and Linux.
Frequently asked questions
The command "vosklitsatelnyy znak" (exclamation mark) places "!", and "voprositelnyy znak" (question mark) places "?". Both commands are in the official list for Mac dictation in Russian.
No. Potok has no voice commands: it places punctuation and capital letters itself during speech recognition, and you do not need to name them separately.
How to place punctuation by voice on Mac. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. Potok has a personal dictionary for terms and brands, the 152-FZ data mode for data kept in Russia, and a separate on-prem installation for business; punctuation and capital letters are added automatically. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For How to place punctuation by voice on Mac you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
How to place punctuation by voice on Mac. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. Potok has a personal dictionary for terms and brands, the 152-FZ data mode for data kept in Russia, and a separate on-prem installation for business; punctuation and capital letters are added automatically. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For How to place punctuation by voice on Mac you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
How to place punctuation by voice on Mac. Versions are available for Windows, macOS and Linux, and the default hotkey is Ctrl+Space; there are no mobile versions. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. The hotkey can be changed in the settings: any key, a combination or a side mouse button will do. Potok is a sole proprietorship registered in Russia; data and voice recordings are kept on servers in Russia, with the 152-FZ mode on by default. For How to place punctuation by voice on Mac you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
How to place punctuation by voice on Mac. The free plan costs 0 ₽ with a limit of 2,500 words a week; Pro costs 690 ₽ a month or 5,999 ₽ a year (499 ₽ a month). Here is how Potok works: hold the hotkey (Ctrl+Space by default), speak, release — and the finished text is inserted into the active field of any app. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For How to place punctuation by voice on Mac you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
If you want to compare for yourself
Take one of your own tasks and dictate it in Potok. The first 14 days have no limits and need no card. Potok is a cloud service, so it does not work without the internet.
Download PotokA voice message from a messenger or a call recording can be forwarded to the bot @potok_now_bot, and it sends back the text. The bot is part of the same subscription as the Potok app.
Built-in dictation and Potok
| Tool | Where it works | Russian language | Where speech is recognized |
|---|---|---|---|
| macOS Dictation | macOS | yes | on the device or on Apple servers |
| Potok | Windows, macOS, Linux | primary language | cloud, servers in Russia, does not work offline |
Primary sources: support.microsoft.com · support.apple.com · www.apple.com · support.microsoft.com · support.apple.com