Dictate in any app · Spreadsheets

Voice typing in Smartsheet

Smartsheet sits between a spreadsheet and a project tool, and its comment threads carry the reasoning. With Typally you hold a hotkey, speak, and the text lands in Smartsheet exactly where your cursor was.

Disclosure: Typally is our product. We have tried to describe what Smartsheet already does without talking you out of using it.
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In short

  • Smartsheet's own dictation: None. Cells, comments and descriptions are typed.
  • What Typally does instead: sends keystrokes to whichever window is in front, so Smartsheet needs no plugin or setup.
  • Best used for: row comments

Does Smartsheet have built-in dictation?

None. Cells, comments and descriptions are typed.

Why dictate in Smartsheet at all?

Grid cells encourage short entries. The conversation about why a date moved happens in the row's comment thread, which takes real typing and therefore mostly does not happen.

In practice people use it for: Row comments, long-text columns, status explanations, and the summary sent to stakeholders.

How to dictate in Smartsheet

Nothing changes inside Smartsheet itself. Typally sits in the tray and types into the focused window:

1

Install Typally

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

2

In Smartsheet, click the field before you speak

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

3

Press and speak

Hold, talk, release. Long passages are fine.

4

Read it before you move on

Enter commits a cell and moves down. Use the row detail panel for anything longer than a few words.

What Typally adds in Smartsheet

Typally types into row conversations and the detail panel rather than a grid cell that commits on Enter, so the explanation of why a date moved lands where the history is kept. Cells get overwritten at the next update; the thread survives.

What this looks like in practice

A construction schedule slips by nine days. The row conversation carries a spoken explanation of the weather delay and the revised sequence, so the client's question on Monday is answered by opening the row rather than arranging a call.

One habit that makes it work better

Put the explanation in the row conversation rather than a cell. Cells get overwritten on the next update; the thread keeps the history.

What to watch out for in Smartsheet

Enter commits a cell and moves down. Use the row detail panel for anything longer than a few words.

Frequently asked questions

Does Smartsheet have voice input?

No. All entry is typed.

Where should long text go in Smartsheet?

The row's comment thread or a long-text column opened in the detail panel, not a grid cell.

Does dictation work in Smartsheet's mobile app?

Mobile uses the phone keyboard's microphone; desktop needs a separate tool.

Try it in Smartsheet

Free plan: 100 minutes of dictation a month, no card. Pro is $7.99/month if you want more.

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