How to Use Hold-to-Talk Dictation
SteelType operates globally across all Windows applications (Microsoft Word, VS Code, Slack, Chrome, Notepad, etc.).
Hold F2- Set Focus: Click your cursor into any text box or document.
- Hold Key: Press and HOLD the
F2key on your keyboard. - Dictate: Speak naturally into your microphone.
- Release: RELEASE
F2. Transcribed or translated text appears at your cursor.
Configuration & Controls
Choose your preferred input device from the dropdown menu. Ensure the selected microphone is active in Windows sound settings.
Set to Auto Detect or explicitly lock your spoken language (English, Chinese, French, German, Spanish, etc.) for optimal Whisper speed.
Check Enable Real-Time Translation and pick your target language. SteelType translates speech before inserting text.
Speech-to-text uses local Whisper models, while translation runs on local NLLB engines. 100% offline, zero cloud reliance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: Why is there a slight delay when enabling translation for the first time?
SteelType uses lazy loading for the translation backend to conserve system memory. When checked, the translation model is loaded into RAM in the background. Once ready, subsequent translations occur instantaneously.
Q2: Nothing happens when I hold F2. How do I fix it?
Check if another background app is holding an exclusive lock on the F2 key. Also, verify that SteelType has microphone permissions enabled in Windows Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Microphone.
Q3: Does SteelType send voice or text data to cloud servers?
No. SteelType runs 100% locally on your computer. All model inferences execute offline on your GPU or CPU. No audio or text ever leaves your PC.
Q4: What happens when I exceed the free quota?
Free users receive a generous daily character quota. Once reached, you can wait for the counter to reset tomorrow or purchase a lifetime pass for $39 to unlock unlimited dictation and translation.
Need Additional Help?
Have questions, feature requests, or license key issues? Our technical support team is here to assist you.