Dictate in any app · Legal

Voice typing in iManage

Document management systems hold the file; somebody still has to write what is in it. Typally works at the keyboard level, so anywhere iManage accepts typing, it accepts your voice instead.

We make Typally, so treat this as a vendor's guide. Where iManage has a built-in option we say so, including when it is the better choice.
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In short

  • iManage's own dictation: Document management, search and workspace organisation.
  • What Typally does instead: types into the focused window, so it works in iManage and everywhere else you write.
  • Best used for: document descriptions

Does iManage have built-in dictation?

Document management, search and workspace organisation. Not an authoring tool with speech input.

Why dictate in iManage at all?

Large firms store enormous volumes of documents and then rely on metadata and descriptions to find them again. Those descriptions are written by whoever filed the document, quickly, and their quality determines whether anything is findable in three years.

In practice people use it for: Document descriptions, file notes, matter summaries, and the handover memo when a matter moves teams.

How to dictate in iManage

Typally runs in the background and types into whatever window has focus, so there is nothing to install inside iManage:

1

Install Typally

Windows or macOS, then sign in. No card for the free tier.

2

Focus the iManage field you want the words in

Put the cursor in the field you are about to fill — iManage decides where the text lands, not Typally.

3

Hold the hotkey and talk

Say the whole thought, then let go. No time limit.

4

Read it before you move on

Confidential client material in a regulated firm carries strict handling rules. Typally sends audio to a third-party service — that needs sign-off from whoever owns your firm's information security policy.

What Typally adds in iManage

Typally types into document descriptions, matter summaries and handover memos, so what gets written when a document is filed is a real description rather than a filename. Confidential client material in a regulated firm needs sign-off first — audio is transcribed by a third-party service, which your information security policy may have views about.

What this looks like in practice

A matter moves between offices and the outgoing partner dictates a three-paragraph handover memo instead of the usual one-line email. The receiving team bills fewer hours getting up to speed, which the client notices.

One habit that makes it work better

Dictate a real description when you file a document. Two spoken sentences beat a filename, and filenames are what most documents get instead.

What to watch out for in iManage

Confidential client material in a regulated firm carries strict handling rules. Typally sends audio to a third-party service — that needs sign-off from whoever owns your firm's information security policy.

Frequently asked questions

Does iManage have speech input?

No. It manages documents rather than authoring them.

Where would dictation help around iManage?

Document descriptions, matter summaries and handover memos — all prose that decides whether the archive stays usable.

Is dictation allowed in a large law firm?

That is your information security team's decision, not ours. Ask before using any tool that transmits audio externally.

Try it in iManage

Start on the free plan (100 minutes a month, no card). Pro lifts the cap and adds meeting notes for $7.99/month.

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Also dictate in: NetDocuments · Clio · Confluence · see all apps