Dictate in any app · Design

Voice typing in Photoshop

Photoshop files get handed over, and layer names are the only documentation they carry. Typally works at the keyboard level, so anywhere Photoshop accepts typing, it accepts your voice instead.

Yes, we build Typally. That is also why the section on Photoshop's built-in option is honest: people who switch after trying both are the ones who stay.
Dictate into Photoshop Free on Windows and macOS. No payment details needed to start.
Try Typally free

In short

  • Photoshop's own dictation: None. Text layers and notes are typed.
  • What Typally does instead: types into the focused window, so it works in Photoshop and everywhere else you write.
  • Best used for: text layer content

Does Photoshop have built-in dictation?

None. Text layers and notes are typed.

Why dictate in Photoshop at all?

A PSD with sixty layers called 'Layer 12 copy 3' is a file only its creator can work with. Naming is documentation, and it is skipped because it interrupts the actual work.

In practice people use it for: Text layer content, layer comments and notes, file handover documentation, and client feedback replies.

How to dictate in Photoshop

There is no Photoshop extension or add-in involved — Typally behaves like a very fast keyboard:

1

Install Typally

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

2

Focus the Photoshop field you want the words in

Click first. Typally types into Photoshop wherever the caret already is, with no idea what that field is for.

3

Hold the hotkey and talk

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

4

Read it before you move on

Almost every key in Photoshop is a tool shortcut. Dictating without a text field focused will switch tools rather than type.

What Typally adds in Photoshop

Typally types into text layers when the type tool is active and the cursor is in the text, and into your handover notes and client emails the rest of the time. Be careful: with no text field focused, nearly every key in Photoshop is a tool shortcut, so dictated words switch tools rather than typing.

What this looks like in practice

A designer handing off a campaign file records five spoken sentences about how the layers are organised and which groups are client-editable. The agency picking it up stops calling with questions.

One habit that makes it work better

Dictate the handover note explaining how a file is structured. Five spoken sentences save the next designer an hour of clicking through groups.

What to watch out for in Photoshop

Almost every key in Photoshop is a tool shortcut. Dictating without a text field focused will switch tools rather than type.

Frequently asked questions

Can I dictate text layers in Photoshop?

Yes, once the type tool is active and the cursor is in the text. Otherwise your words become tool shortcuts.

Is dictation useful for design work?

For the writing around it — handover notes, feedback, copy — rather than the design itself.

What about long copy inside a layout?

Draft it elsewhere by voice and paste it in. Photoshop is a poor text editor.

Try it in Photoshop

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

Try Typally free

Also dictate in: Adobe InDesign · Figma · Canva · see all apps