Voice Commands Reference
ParrotPadMD uses Dragon-style spoken punctuation, giving you full control over formatting. Simply speak the command naturally, and it converts to the appropriate symbol.
Commands follow your dictation language. The tables on this page list the phrases for the language of the page you are reading. Set your dictation language in the extension popup or in the Scratchpad, and say the commands in that language. A Spanish session understands the Spanish phrases and not the English ones.
In the Scratchpad and extension 0.7.10 or later, decimals, hyphenated words and abbreviation dots, such as 2.5 mg/mL, follow-up and q.i.d., are kept as recognized. Punctuation added by speech recognition at a pause can still appear.
Voice commands and macro triggers already enclosed in a complete pair of double quotes stay literal when the quoted text arrives together and the preceding dictated text has no unfinished quote. Incomplete or ambiguous quotes use the usual voice commands. Spoken commands for opening and closing quotes still surround normally processed dictation.
Punctuation Commands
Sentence Endings
| Say This | You Get |
|---|---|
| "period", "full stop" | . |
| "question mark" | ? |
| "exclamation point", "exclamation mark" | ! |
Mid-Sentence Punctuation
| Say This | You Get |
|---|---|
| "comma" | , |
| "colon" | : |
| "semicolon", "semi colon" | ; |
| "hyphen" | - |
| "dash" | - |
| "em dash" | — |
| "en dash" | – |
| "ellipsis", "dot dot dot" | ... |
Line Breaks & Paragraphs
| Say This | You Get |
|---|---|
| "new paragraph", "next paragraph", "paragraph" | Double line break (new paragraph) |
| "new line", "next line", "line break", "newline", "linebreak", "enter" | Single line break |
Quotation Marks
| Say This | You Get |
|---|---|
| "open quote", "open quotes", "begin quote" | " |
| "close quote", "close quotes", "end quote" | " |
| "single quote", "apostrophe" | ' |
Parentheses & Brackets
| Say This | You Get |
|---|---|
| "open paren", "open parenthesis", "left paren", "left parenthesis" | ( |
| "close paren", "close parenthesis", "right paren", "right parenthesis" | ) |
| "open bracket", "left bracket" | [ |
| "close bracket", "right bracket" | ] |
| "open brace", "left brace" | { |
| "close brace", "right brace" | } |
Symbols & Special Characters
| Say This | You Get |
|---|---|
| "percent", "percent sign" | % |
| "degree sign", "degrees" | ° |
| "ampersand", "and sign" | & |
| "at sign" | @ |
| "pound sign", "number sign" | # |
| "dollar sign" | $ |
| "asterisk" | * |
| "plus sign" | + |
| "equals sign" | = |
| "slash", "forward slash" | / |
| "backslash" | \ |
Medical & Scientific Symbols
| Say This | You Get |
|---|---|
| "times" | × |
| "greater than" | > |
| "less than" | < |
| "greater than or equal" | ≥ |
| "less than or equal" | ≤ |
Editing Commands
These commands help you correct mistakes during dictation:
| Say This | What Happens |
|---|---|
| "scratch that", "undo that", "delete that", "delete last", "never mind" | Deletes the last text you dictated (say it again to delete more) |
| "delete last 3 words", "delete 3 words" | Deletes the last N words (any number from 1 to 50) |
How "scratch that" works:
- Removes the last chunk of text you inserted
- Works on the most recent insertion only
- Can be used multiple times to undo multiple chunks
Recording Control Commands
| Say This | What Happens |
|---|---|
| "stop recording", "stop dictation" | Stops the recording and keeps the text |
When you say "stop recording":
- Any text spoken before the command is inserted
- Recording ends automatically
- Same as pressing Alt/Opt+A or clicking Stop
Capitalization Commands
Control capitalization during dictation with these Dragon-style voice commands:
| Say This | What Happens |
|---|---|
| "caps on", "all caps on", "all caps" | Start typing in ALL CAPS |
| "caps off", "no caps", "normal caps" | Return to normal capitalization |
| "cap [word]", "capitalize [word]" | Capitalize just that word |
Say a caps command the way you would say it to a person, with a pause around it. Pause, say "caps on", pause again, then dictate, and say "caps off" when you are done. You can also say the whole thing in one breath, like "caps on assessment and plan caps off". In the middle of a sentence the words stay in your note, so a sentence like "two temporary caps on the premolars" is never taken for a command. To put one word in capitals inside a sentence, say "cap" before it.
Example:
You say: "The patient is mister cap smith and he presents with chest pain"
You get: The patient is mister SMITH and he presents with chest pain
Note: Caps mode persists during a recording session and resets automatically when recording stops.
Automatic Formatting
ParrotPadMD automatically handles these formatting rules:
Capitalization
- First letter of your dictation is capitalized automatically
- After periods — the next word is capitalized
- After question marks — the next word is capitalized
- After exclamation points — the next word is capitalized
- After new paragraphs — the next word is capitalized
Spacing
- No space before punctuation marks (periods, commas, etc.)
- Single space after most punctuation
- Opening quotes/brackets — no space after
- Closing quotes/brackets — no space before
Medical Headers
Some speech models output recognized medical section headers in ALL CAPS. When that happens, ParrotPadMD normalizes them to Title Case for better readability:
- "REVIEW OF SYSTEMS" → "Review of Systems"
- "ASSESSMENT AND PLAN" → "Assessment and Plan"
- "CHIEF COMPLAINT" → "Chief Complaint"
- "HISTORY OF PRESENT ILLNESS" → "History of Present Illness"
- "PHYSICAL EXAMINATION" → "Physical Examination"
This normalization can be disabled in settings if you prefer ALL CAPS headers.
Example Dictations
Progress Note
You say:
"Chief complaint colon chest pain period new paragraph History of present illness colon The patient is a 65 year old female presenting with substernal chest pain times two hours period She describes it as pressure like comma radiating to her left arm period new paragraph Review of systems colon Positive for chest pain and diaphoresis period Negative for shortness of breath comma nausea comma and palpitations period"
You get:
Chief complaint: chest pain.
History of present illness: The patient is a 65 year old female presenting with substernal chest pain × 2 hours. She describes it as pressure-like, radiating to her left arm.
Review of systems: Positive for chest pain and diaphoresis. Negative for shortness of breath, nausea, and palpitations.
Medication
You say:
"Start the patient on lisinopril 10 milligrams daily for hypertension period Follow up in two weeks period"
You get:
Start the patient on lisinopril 10 milligrams daily for hypertension. Follow up in two weeks.
Tips for Voice Commands
- Pause slightly before punctuation commands for clearer recognition
- Speak at normal speed — no need to slow down for commands
- Commands are case-insensitive — "Period", "PERIOD", and "period" all work
- Multi-word commands work naturally — "new paragraph" is recognized as one command
- Corrections are easy — say "scratch that" immediately after mistakes