Help

Getting started

Download Spokn, open the disk image and drag Spokn into Applications.
Open Spokn. Its welcome window asks for three permissions:
- Microphone, to hear you.
- Accessibility, to type into the app you report in.
- Input Monitoring, so the shortcut works while other apps are in front.
Run the microphone check in Settings → Check. Say a sentence and Spokn tells you if the microphone is loud enough.
Choose your report type in Settings → Speech: radiology or general medicine.

The first launch takes about half a minute while macOS prepares the speech models for your Mac. After that Spokn is ready in a second.

Dictating

Click the field in your report where the text should go.
Press ⌃ ⌥ Space (Control, Option, Space) and speak. You can also click Speak on the floating pill.
Your words appear in a live preview as you speak. Nothing is typed yet.
Press the shortcut again, or click Stop. Spokn checks the whole recording and types the result into your report.

Two speech models hear every recording: one writes clear everyday English, the other fixes medical terms. You can choose just one in Settings → Ear. The live preview is a quick draft; the text typed at Stop is the checked version and is usually more accurate.

Shortcut	What it does
`⌃` `⌥` `Space`	Start and stop dictation
`⌃` `⌥` `Z`	Remove the last sentence Spokn typed
`⌃` `⌥` `N`	Open the scratch pad, a private note that stays out of the report

Change any shortcut in Settings → Shortcuts. You can also choose hold-to-talk: hold the shortcut while you speak and release it to stop.

Voice commands

Say	What happens
“full stop”, “period”	Ends the sentence
“comma”, “colon”, “question mark”	Inserts the mark
“slash”, “forward slash”	Inserts /
“new line”, “next line”	Line break
“new paragraph”	Blank line
“caps on”, “caps off”, “all caps”	Changes capitals
“scratch that”, “delete that”	Removes the last insert
“correct that”	Opens Fix the last sentence
“go to findings”, “go to impression”, “go to technique”, “go to comparison”	Jumps to that report section
“next field”, “previous field”	Moves between [placeholders] in a template
“stop listening”	Turns the microphone off, when said on its own

Settings → Speech can add a full stop automatically when you stop, and write measurements as numbers: “three millimetres” becomes 3 mm.

Macros and templates

A macro is saved text with a short name. Say the name, for example “normal chest”, or “insert normal chest”, and the whole paragraph appears. Templates work the same way for longer, structured sections, with [placeholders] you fill in by voice. Spokn comes with common radiology macros; add your own from Settings → Library.

Fixing words

Correct the last sentence: say “correct that”. Type what you meant and choose Replace. Choose Remember to use your wording next time.
Save a word: if one word keeps coming out wrong, save it in Settings → Library → Saved words: what Spokn heard, and what it should type.
Undo: ⌃ ⌥ Z removes the last sentence Spokn typed.

PowerScribe, EHRs and Citrix

Spokn types into whichever field has the cursor, the way a keyboard does, so it works with most reporting systems and EHRs. Click the report field before you start speaking.

Through Citrix or another remote desktop: typed text usually arrives as normal. If your remote session drops or scrambles it, turn on Also keep the words on the clipboard in Settings → Input and paste with ⌘ V.
The pill shows where the text will go: the name of the app you last clicked in.
Keep the scratch pad for things that must stay out of the report. Its contents never go into the report unless you click Send to report.

Your licence

Activating: in Settings → License, paste the key from your email and click Activate. This needs the internet once.
Two Macs: a licence runs on two Macs at a time. To move it, choose Deactivate this Mac on the old one first.
Offline: Spokn checks your licence about once a month and keeps working offline for up to 60 days in between.
Blocked network: if your hospital network blocks activation, copy This Mac’s code from Settings → License and send it to us with your key. We will send back an activation to paste into the same box.
Updates: your licence includes every version released within a year. Settings → License shows the date.

Troubleshooting

Nothing is typed

Check that you clicked into a text field first, and that Spokn has Accessibility permission in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. If it was just added, quit and reopen Spokn.

The shortcut does nothing

Give Spokn Input Monitoring permission in System Settings → Privacy & Security. Make sure no other app uses the same shortcut, or choose a new one in Settings → Shortcuts.

Words come out wrong

Run the microphone check. Speak at a normal pace, close to the microphone. Make sure Settings → Ear is set to Medical + English, and save words Spokn keeps getting wrong.

“Activate this Mac”

Spokn has not been able to check your licence for 60 days, or the Mac was deactivated. Connect to the internet and click Activate this Mac in Settings → License.