Manual Dictation
Choosing a shortcut that works
The rules a hotkey has to follow, which combinations Windows won't give up, and what to use instead.
Most rejected shortcuts fail for one of three reasons: no modifier key, a combination Windows has already claimed, or another app got there first. Neato Echo tells you which when it refuses.
Set shortcuts under Settings → Hotkeys under App.
The rules
The app shows these in a Shortcut Guide next to the hotkey field:
- Use at least one modifier — Ctrl, Alt, Shift, Win, or similar.
- Three keys maximum. Four-key combinations are rejected.
- Single keys on their own aren't allowed.
- Reserved system shortcuts are blocked.
- Some combinations may still conflict with whatever else you run — those can't be predicted, only tried.
The one principle worth knowing
Pick a combination that types nothing.
A hotkey is held down while you talk, sometimes for a minute, in whatever app you're already typing into. If it ever slips through — a moment before the app grabs it, a window that doesn't give it up — a combination ending in a letter puts that letter in your document. A combination made only of modifier keys can't.
That single test explains why the default is what it is, and it's a better guide than any list.
What to use
| Best | Also good |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+Win — the default. Two modifiers, types nothing. | Ctrl+Alt, same reasoning. Ctrl+Shift+K if you'd rather have a letter. |
The default is the recommendation. If dictation is working, there's no reason to change it — the reasons to change are a physical conflict with something you use constantly, a keyboard without the key, or wanting the same shortcut across two machines with different layouts.
What to avoid
Win+H— that's Windows' own voice typing shortcut. Binding it puts two dictation systems on one key.- Anything ending in a common letter with one modifier —
Ctrl+S,Ctrl+Fand their neighbors mean something in nearly every app, and most are blocked outright. - Caps Lock. Some dictation tools use it; Neato Echo doesn't support it.
What the errors mean
| Message | What's happening |
|---|---|
| "[key] is already registered by another application" | Something else on your machine claimed it first. Pick another, or quit the other app to find out which. |
| "[key] may be reserved by your desktop environment" | Windows won't release it. Nothing Neato Echo can do — choose a different one. |
| "Could not register [key]. It may be in use by another application." | Same as the first, where the system didn't say who has it. |
| "Failed to update hotkey to [key]. Check the format is valid." | The combination isn't a shape the app accepts — usually a missing modifier. |
| "This hotkey is already used for [feature]" | You've assigned it to another Neato Echo shortcut. Each of the five needs its own. |
When a shortcut is rejected the app offers up to three alternatives inline. They're a fixed list rather than a check of what's free on your machine, so treat them as a starting point and not a guarantee.
If it registers but doesn't do anything
That's a different problem — the shortcut saved fine and something is intercepting it. See my hotkey doesn't work.
Related
Still need help?
Write to [email protected] with your Windows version, your Neato Echo version (Settings → System), and what you were doing. A person reads every message.