Dictate in any app · Publishing

Voice typing in Medium

Medium's editor is clean and empty, which is exactly what makes it intimidating. Typally works at the keyboard level, so anywhere Medium accepts typing, it accepts your voice instead.

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

  • Medium's own dictation: None. The editor is deliberately minimal with no speech input.
  • What Typally does instead: sends keystrokes to whichever window is in front, so Medium needs no plugin or setup.
  • Best used for: article drafts

Does Medium have built-in dictation?

None. The editor is deliberately minimal with no speech input.

Why dictate in Medium at all?

Medium removed every distraction, leaving a cursor blinking on white. For many people that is harder to start than a cluttered page — there is nothing to fiddle with instead of writing.

In practice people use it for: Article drafts, responses to other posts, publication submissions, and the personal essay that has been half-written for months.

How to dictate in Medium

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

1

Get Typally running

Install, sign in, and it waits in the tray.

2

Focus the Medium field you want the words in

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

3

Hold, say it, release

Nothing truncates part-way through.

4

Read it before you move on

Medium converts certain typed characters into formatting and its paste handling can carry unwanted styles. Paste as plain text.

What Typally adds in Medium

Typally works best beside Medium rather than inside it — speak the draft into a plain editor, then paste. Medium's formatting shortcuts fire on dictated punctuation, and its editor is built for polishing rather than drafting. The blank white page is the problem; a rough spoken draft removes it.

What this looks like in practice

An essay that has been sitting at four hundred words since spring gets finished in one twenty-minute spoken pass. It is far too long and repeats itself twice, which is a much better problem than the one it had for six months.

One habit that makes it work better

Dictate the article somewhere else and paste it in. Medium's editor is built for polishing, and polishing is the wrong activity for a first draft.

What to watch out for in Medium

Medium converts certain typed characters into formatting and its paste handling can carry unwanted styles. Paste as plain text.

Frequently asked questions

Does Medium have voice typing?

No. The editor has no speech input.

Can I dictate a response to a Medium article?

Yes. The response box is a normal text field.

Should I dictate directly into Medium?

Drafting elsewhere is usually easier — Medium's formatting shortcuts can fire on dictated punctuation.

Try it in Medium

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