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Setup / Guide 02

Complete the Onboarding and First Test

Finish TypingVoi onboarding from language selection to a short voice test so your first real recording works cleanly.

This guide is for new TypingVoi users who want to finish setup once and avoid guessing through the welcome flow. It walks through each onboarding step, explains the choices that matter, and ends with a short voice test so you know recording, transcription, and output are working.

Before you start

Open TypingVoi and keep the onboarding window visible. The guide moves through six steps:

  1. Pick your main language.
  2. Download the recommended model.
  3. Allow microphone and typing permissions.
  4. Choose a hold-to-talk shortcut.
  5. Run a 20-second voice test.
  6. Finish setup and choose whether TypingVoi opens at login.

If you close the window before finishing, you can continue later from the Dashboard in Settings.

1. Pick your main language

Choose the language you usually speak when dictating. This choice is used to recommend the best speech-to-text model for your first setup.

Screenshot placeholder: onboarding language step with the Main language picker open and the step progress visible

Use this rule:

  • Pick the language you will actually speak out loud.
  • Do not pick the language you plan to edit into later.
  • If you work in multiple languages, start with the one you use most often and adjust profiles later.

After you choose a language, continue to the model step.

2. Download the recommended model

TypingVoi shows one recommended model first so you do not have to sort through the full library during setup. That recommendation is based on your selected language and is meant to be a safe default for first use.

Screenshot placeholder: onboarding model recommendation step showing the recommended model card and Download button

On this step:

  1. Review the top recommendation.
  2. Click Download if it is not installed yet.
  3. Wait until the model is ready.
  4. Click Use This Model if the model is already installed and you want to confirm it.

If you want to compare choices, use See Other Options, but the fastest path is to accept the default recommendation and move on.

3. Allow the two permissions that matter

TypingVoi asks for only the permissions that affect the first-run experience directly: microphone access and accessibility typing access.

Microphone

Microphone access is required for recording. Without it, the voice test and all later dictation will fail.

Accessibility Typing

Accessibility Typing lets TypingVoi insert text into other apps. If you skip it, TypingVoi can still fall back to the clipboard, but direct insertion will not work.

On the permissions step:

  1. Click Allow Microphone and accept the macOS prompt.
  2. Click Allow Typing Access.
  3. In macOS System Settings, enable TypingVoi under Accessibility.
  4. Return to the onboarding window and confirm both items show as allowed.

If one permission is missing, the Next button stays unavailable until both are granted.

4. Choose a hold-to-talk shortcut

TypingVoi uses a push-to-talk shortcut during onboarding. You hold the shortcut while speaking, then release it to stop recording and process the result.

Screenshot placeholder: onboarding hotkey step showing the current shortcut, recorder button, and starter preset choices

You have two ways to set it:

  • Click the recorder and press the exact shortcut you want.
  • Pick one of the starter presets such as Control + Space, Option + V, or Fn.

Choose a shortcut that is easy to hold with one hand and does not conflict with something you use constantly in other apps.

5. Run the 20-second voice test

The voice test is where you confirm the full path works: shortcut, recording, transcription, and visible output in the onboarding window.

Screenshot placeholder: onboarding test step showing the hold-to-talk instructions, recording progress, and transcript preview area

Follow this sequence:

  1. Keep the onboarding window in front of you.
  2. Hold your chosen shortcut.
  3. Speak naturally for one or two sentences.
  4. Release the shortcut within 20 seconds.
  5. Wait for the transcript preview to appear.

Use a simple test phrase that sounds like real work, for example a short note, draft sentence, or reminder. You are checking whether the result is understandable and whether the model handles your speaking pace well.

If the test does not look right:

  • Recheck microphone permission.
  • Confirm the selected model finished downloading.
  • Try speaking a little slower and closer to the microphone.
  • Use the related permissions and model guides at the end of this page if the problem is more specific.

You can use Skip Test if you want to finish onboarding first, but running the test is the better path because it catches setup issues immediately.

6. Finish setup

The finish step confirms that your shortcut, language, and model are ready. You can also choose whether TypingVoi opens automatically when you sign in to macOS.

After you click Done, the onboarding flow is marked complete.

Skip Guide vs Maybe Later

These two buttons do different things:

  • Skip Guide ends onboarding immediately and marks it complete.
  • Maybe Later closes the window without marking onboarding complete.

Use Skip Guide only if you are intentionally bypassing the guided flow. Use Maybe Later if you want to come back and continue from the Dashboard.

What success looks like

You are finished when all of these are true:

  • Your main language is selected.
  • A speech-to-text model is installed and assigned.
  • Microphone access is allowed.
  • Accessibility Typing is allowed if you want direct insertion.
  • Your push-to-talk shortcut is set.
  • The 20-second test produces a transcript preview.

At that point, you can start using TypingVoi from the menu bar for real dictation.

Related guides

Best next step

Open the menu bar app and do one short real recording in the app where you plan to use TypingVoi most.