How to type faster on a Mac
Updated
To enter text with fewer keystrokes on a Mac, use text replacements for repeated phrases and dictation for longer passages. macOS provides text replacements; Scribe adds dictation with spoken snippets and optional rewriting.
How do I set up text replacements on a Mac?
As of October 2026, Apple’s Mac Help page on text replacements gives these steps:
- Choose Apple menu › System Settings, click Keyboard in the sidebar (you may need to scroll), then click Text Replacements.
- Click Add, type the text to replace, such as teh, and its replacement, such as the.
- Click Add, then Done.
Choose short codes you would never type by accident, such as addr for your postal address. Apple’s page notes that text replacements are not available in every app.
Text replacements expand a code you type. A Scribe snippet expands a phrase you say. Choose the one that fits how you are entering the surrounding text. Apple’s current help page covers macOS 27; the wording may differ on macOS 26.
How do I fix text I have already typed?
Apple’s page describes replacing text that is already in a document. Select the text, choose Edit › Substitutions › Show Substitutions, make sure the Text Replacement checkbox is selected, then click Replace in Selection. To change the whole document, click Replace All instead.
Can dictation replace some of my typing?
Yes. Scribe is a Mac app for dictation. Click where the text should go, hold the talk shortcut, speak, then let go. The text is typed at the cursor. Dictate on Mac explains the floating bar and the recovery controls.
Compare dictation for full sentences and paragraphs with typing for short edits, code and exact spellings. Try both on your own tasks before deciding where speech saves you work.
Which Scribe features save the most typing?
- Snippets insert fixed text from a short phrase. Say my address and the full address goes in exactly as you wrote it. See Snippets.
- Refine removes filler words, false starts and repetition, so you do not have to delete them afterwards. Turn it on by pressing ⌘ during a hold. See Refine.
- Hands-free lets you keep speaking without holding a key. Tap Shift while holding the talk shortcut, then let go. Return inserts the text.
- Edit selection by voice changes selected text from an instruction such as “shorter” or “make it a list”, so you do not retype the passage.
How do I stop Scribe mishearing names?
Add the name to the Dictionary with the spellings Scribe tends to produce under Heard as. Replacements apply to whole words, ignore capitals, and run before and after Refine, so a rewrite does not undo them. Scribe can also offer to remember a correction you make to text it inserted. Review these suggestions under Settings › Dictionary › Corrections.
How can I compare typing and dictation on my own work?
Pick a task you do regularly, such as replying to a routine email. Write one reply by typing and another by dictating. Include the time spent checking and correcting each draft, rather than timing only the first pass. A quick first draft is useful only if the result says what you intended.
Try one change at a time. Add a text replacement for a repeated phrase, or a snippet for a fixed sign-off, then see whether you actually use it. Keep names, figures and exact wording in your review. There is no need to move every task to speech: use the method that leaves you with less editing for that task.
Does using dictation send my words to a server?
Speech recognition and rewriting run on the Mac by default, and audio and text are not uploaded. Optional models are downloaded only when you choose them. Each device keeps its own Dictionary and Snippets.
Try it
Set up one text replacement for a phrase you type every day, then dictate a short email in a blank note. Download Scribe for Mac if you want to try dictation. Dictate on Mac covers the floating bar and the recovery controls.