Pop over to QuickTime Player, and play your audio or video file, and watch as the words are transcribed as if by magic!Īlternative: Welder (or other online services)Īs an alternative, you could use an online upload-to-transcribe service like Welder. Then go back to TextEdit, and in a new document, activate Dictation using your configured shortcut (e.g. In there, choose the new 'Transcription Device' sound input: Quit Loopback (the device will still be present on the system after quitting), then go back to the Dictation settings in System Preferences. Delete the default Pass-thru source, and add in Quicktime Player as a new source: If you have Rogue Amoeba's Loopback, you can also use it to route the audio signal internally, so you don't have to have audio playing out through the speakers.Īfter you have Loopback installed and running, create a new device called 'Transcription Device'. Bonus: Routing audio internally on the Mac with Loopback The mic should pick up the audio and start transcribing live into the open document. press the dictation key), then start playing back your audio file through your Mac's speakers. Make sure you have your Mac's microphone selected, then open up TextEdit and create a new document:Īctivate the dictation shortcut (e.g. You'll use that to activate dictation later. 'press dictation key' or 'press control twice'. Turn on Dictation, and when prompted, accept the terms for Apple's Dictation service. These instructions were last updated for macOS Monterey 12.4.įirst, open up System Preferences, go to Keyboard, then the 'Dictation' tab: You can use the Dictation feature built into your Mac to transcribe audio files, and in my experience, it's been about 98-99% accurate, so it saves a lot of time if you want to index your audio files, or you need a transcript for some other purpose.

Voice text on macbook