# Dictate your first message

Source: https://help.contextli.com/articles/dictate-your-first-message

Click into any text field, press your recording hotkey (Option+Space on Mac, Ctrl+Space on Windows and Linux), speak, then press the hotkey again. Contextli transcribes what you said and pastes it where your cursor is.

## Dictate in any app

1. Make sure Contextli is running. You will see its icon in the menu bar (Mac) or system tray (Windows, Linux).
2. Open the app you want to write in, for example email, Slack or a document, and click where the text should go.
3. Press your recording hotkey: **Option+Space** on Mac, **Ctrl+Space** on Windows and Linux.
4. Wait for the start sound, then speak normally.
5. Press the hotkey again to stop. After a moment the text appears at your cursor.

If you picked **Hold to Record** during setup, hold the hotkey while you speak and let go when you are done. See [Choose Toggle or Hold to record](/articles/toggle-vs-hold-to-record).

## Where your text goes

- With **Auto-Paste** on (the default), the text is pasted at your cursor and also copied to your clipboard.
- Every dictation is saved in **Notes** in the Contextli app, so you can copy it again later. See [Find, copy and retranscribe your notes](/articles/find-and-manage-your-notes).
- On Mac, pasting needs Accessibility access. If text does not appear, see [Grant microphone and Accessibility permissions on Mac](/articles/grant-microphone-and-accessibility-permissions-on-mac).

## Make it sound better

- Turn on **Polished Transcription** to have AI fix grammar and punctuation. See [Turn Polished Transcription on or off](/articles/turn-on-polished-transcription).
- Use a context, like Email or Slack, to get your words back in that format. See [What are contexts?](/articles/what-are-contexts).

## If nothing happens

- Check that the hotkey shown in **Settings > General > Keyboard Shortcut** is the one you pressed.
- See [The hotkey does nothing when I press it](/articles/hotkey-does-nothing) and ["No sound from your microphone" or empty notes](/articles/no-sound-from-your-microphone).

## Related articles

- [Default keyboard shortcuts on Mac, Windows and Linux](/articles/default-keyboard-shortcuts)
- [Change your recording hotkey](/articles/change-your-recording-hotkey)
- [What are contexts?](/articles/what-are-contexts)