- Secret 1: Share from TextEdit
- Secret 2: Hide Notification Center for a Day
- Secret 3: Use Punctuation with Dictation
- Secret 4: Tweet from Notification Center
- Secret 5: Pin Your Notes to the Desktop
- Secret 6: Set a Photo Booth Image as Your Twitter Profile Picture
- Secret 7: Keep an Eye on Your Calendar with Notifications
Secret 3: Use Punctuation with Dictation
I'm dictating much of this tip using the new Dictation tool that Apple has added to Mountain Lion. It's easy to start Dictation by pressing your function key twice. Then just speak, and hit the Done button when you've said everything you want to say. Dictation works pretty well, although you'll have to go over everything carefully—sometimes Dictation can misinterpret you in very bizarre ways.
Probably the trickiest part of using Dictation is getting the correct punctuation into your sentences. The simple punctuation is obvious. Say "period" for a period, "comma" for a comma. But you can also speak the following words to get more out of Dictation:
Say This |
Get This |
Left parenthesis |
( |
Right parenthesis |
) |
Ampersand |
& |
Pound sign |
# |
Question mark |
? |
Minus sign |
- |
Plus sign |
+ |
At sign |
@ |
A few other useful expressions that Dictation understands are "new line," "new paragraph," and "all caps." Experiment to see what else you can discover! (Exclamation point.)