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Getting started

From download to your first dictation in about a minute. The one step that matters most is granting two permissions — here's exactly where they are.

1 · Install

Requires a Mac with Apple Silicon, running macOS [version] or later.

  1. Download Say in Place for Mac [download link — pending first signed build].
  2. Open the .dmg and drag Say in Place into your Applications folder.
  3. Launch it from Applications. The app lives in your menu bar — look for the waveform icon at the top-right of your screen.
Say in Place is signed and notarized, so macOS opens it normally. The first time you launch it you may see a confirmation dialog naming the app — click Open. This is a one-time confirmation, not a warning that anything is wrong. If macOS ever blocks it instead of offering Open, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down, and choose Open Anyway.

2 · Grant two permissions

Say in Place needs two macOS permissions to do its job. It asks for each one when you first dictate, and you can change them anytime in System Settings → Privacy & Security.

Microphone

So it can hear you. When prompted, click Allow. Audio is transcribed on your Mac and never sent anywhere.

Accessibility

So it can place the finished text at your cursor in other apps. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility, find Say in Place, and turn it on. The app gives you an Open System Settings button that takes you straight there.

macOS may list Say in Place in two rows under Accessibility — turn on both. The second one is the small helper that watches for the Fn key.

3 · Your first dictation

  1. Click into any text field — a chat box, an email, a note, a code editor.
  2. Press and hold Fn. A small pill appears and shows it's listening.
  3. Speak naturally — including switching languages mid-sentence.
  4. Release Fn. Clean text appears right where your cursor was.

Prefer not to hold a key? You can switch to a click-to-toggle mode or a custom hotkey — see Dictation modes.

4 · Activate your license

Say in Place is free to try. When you're ready to keep it, open Settings (,), paste the license key from your purchase email into the License field, and you're set — on this Mac, for good.


Stuck on something? Email support@sayinplace.com — a real person reads it.