How to use the improved Voice Access feature to control Windows 11

The accessibility feature has been improved upon in 22H2

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Microsofthas added a large number ofaccessibilitytools and options to Windows over the years, and with the recent release of thefirst major updatetoWindows 11, the newest feature is Voice Access.

Regardless of whether you have accessibility needs, this great feature can be used to control Windows and to type using nothing more than your voice.

With this in mind, we’ve laid out how to enable Voice Access while configuring it to best suit your needs.

Tools and Requirements

Step by step guide

1. Enable Voice Access

Before you can start taking advantage of everythingVoice Accesshas to offer, you first need to enable and then configure the feature. To do so, open theSettingsapp in Windows 11 and move to theAccessibilitysection.

Under the Interaction heading, clickSpeechand move theVoice accesstoggle to theOnposition. You may see a warning that the feature works best in US English, and you can just clickContinueto acknowledge this.

2. Continue initial setup

The first thing you will notice is that a new toolbar appears at the top of your screen – if you have multiple monitors, it will show up on your main display.

Click theDownloadbutton in this toolbar and Windows will download and install everything you need to continue. While you still have theSpeechsection ofSettingsopen, you may want to enable theStart voice access after your sign in to your PC, so it’s available every time you start Windows.

3. Configure microphone

In order for Windows to be able to hear you, you need to have amicrophone connectedto your computer. You might have a mic built into your PC, particularly in the case of a laptop, or you may have a webcam connected that includes one. Otherwise, you’ll need to connect one separately.

In the Voice Access Guide window that appears,select the microphoneyou would like to use, and then click the arrow button to the lower right followed by theStart Guide.

4. Using the guide to learn about voice access

The voice access guide serves as a handy introduction to using the tool, as well as giving you a way to configure various options. The first thing you will learn is touse the command, ‘Voice Access Wake Up’ in order to enable your microphone so Windows will start to listen to what you say.

You will also learn that the voice control ‘Click’ can be used to select menu options. You can then say ‘Show numbers here’ to assign numeric labels to clickable items, and you can then say a number to click that item.

5. Control mouse movement

Another way to select something on your display is to make use of the voice access grid system. As you can experiment with in the guide, you can use the phrase “show grid here” to divide the current window or dialog up into a 3 x 3 number grid; you can then say one of the nine numbers to split that cell up into a smaller grid.

You can repeat this process until a cell is small enough to contain the thing you want to click, and then say “click 6” (or whatever number is appropriate).

6. Dictating text with voice access

One of the most useful functions of voice access is using theSpeech Recognition Toolto dictate rather than type text. You can practice dictation in the guide, but it works just the same in any app that accepts text input – such as Notepad or Word.

You can simply say the word you want to write, and it will be automatically converted to text. You can select the last snippet of text you typed by saying ‘Select that’ and you can remove it by saying ‘Delete that’.

7. Other voice access commands

When you have the Voice Access feature enabled, there is virtually nothing it cannot be used for. You can use your voice to control just about every aspect of Windows and the applications you work with, to dictate text instead of typing, to browse the internet and so much more.

For the most part, the voice commands you need to say are logical and intuitive – ‘Open Word’ to launch Word, for example – but at the end of the introductory guide, there is a very helpful list of all of the commands you can issue.

8. Voice access options

There are a few settings that you can configure to personalize voice access, and you can do so by clicking the cog icon on the right-hand side of the voice access toolbar.

From theSelect default microphonesub-menu, you can switch between mics if you have more than one, andManage microphone settingsto launch theSoundsection ofSettingsto tweak microphone settings.

In the Manage options sub-menu, you can toggleautomatic punctuationand theprofanity filter.

9. Manually launching voice access

We do recommend that you configure voice access so that it starts with Windows and is therefore available at all times, but you do not have to do so.

You can manually launch voice access by clicking the Start button and searching for voice access, or you can use theAccessibility > Speechsection ofSettingsto toggle it on and off as required.

It’s also worth learning two keyboard shortcuts that will prove handy –Alt+Shift+Ckeyboard shortcut to begin listening mode, andAlt+Shift+Bto stop.

Final Thoughts

The ability to controlWindows 11using nothing more than your voice is something that many people will love. Some will find that it is an interesting alternative to using a mouse and keyboard, while others – such as those with mobility issues – are likely to find that it is an incredible lifeline.

It opens up the world of computing to more people than ever, and this can only ever be seen as a positive thing.

While it is undeniably wonderful that Microsoft has built voice control options directly intoWindows 11, it is far from being the only solution. There are in fact numerous applications that can be used to control your computer with your voice. Particularly noteworthy titles includee-SpeakingandNuance Dragon Home.

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Sofia is a tech journalist who’s been writing about software, hardware and the web for nearly 25 years – but still looks as youthful as ever! After years writing for magazines, her life moved online and remains fueled by technology, music and nature.

Having written for websites and magazines since 2000, producing a wide range of reviews, guides, tutorials, brochures, newsletters and more, she continues to write for diverse audiences, from computing newbies to advanced users and business clients. Always willing to try something new, she loves sharing new discoveries with others.

Sofia lives and breathes Windows, Android, iOS, macOS and just about anything with a power button, but her particular areas of interest include security, tweaking and privacy. Her other loves include walking, music, her two Malamutes and, of course, her wife and daughter.

You can find her onTwitterandMastodon.

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