How Sayburst makes sure you never lose a dictation

You never lose a dictation in Sayburst because it never throws text away: if it can't type what you said, it keeps it and hands it back. Press ⌃⌥⌘V and your last dictation is pasted wherever your cursor is now.

The worst thing a dictation app can do is lose a paragraph you just said. The second worst is type it into the wrong place. Here's how Sayburst avoids both, and what to do in the rare moment your text doesn't show up.

#Where dictations usually get lost

With most dictation tools, including Apple's built-in Dictation, your words are tied to the text field you started in. That breaks in ordinary ways:

• You click another window to check a detail while you're still talking.
• A notification or dialog grabs focus.
• The cursor ends up in a password field or a field that doesn't accept typing.
• The microphone drops out: AirPods go to sleep, a USB cable gets knocked.
• The app you're typing into won't accept pasted text.

Apple Dictation also stops after 30 seconds without speech, so a long pause ends the session (why that happens). Each of these costs you a sentence or a paragraph, and you say it again.

#It won't type into the wrong place

Sayburst inserts text when you finish speaking. If, at that moment, the text can't go where you meant it to, Sayburst doesn't guess:

• You switched apps. It keeps the text instead of dropping it into whatever window is in front now.
• A password field is focused. It keeps the text instead of typing it there.
• Accessibility permission is off. It can't type into other apps without it, so it keeps the text and tells you. Our permissions guide shows where to switch it on.

In each case the overlay tells you what happened and offers Copy and Paste here, so you click back into the right field and put it there.

Here's a typical near-miss. You're answering a client in Mail and say:

"Hi Dana, so the, um, the revised quote is attached, it's lower than the first one because we dropped the on-site day, let me know if Thursday still works"

Halfway through, you click over to Calendar to check Thursday. With Sayburst, the reply isn't typed into Calendar and isn't lost. Click back into the email, press ⌃⌥⌘V, and in it goes:

Hi Dana, the revised quote is attached. It's lower than the first one because we dropped the on-site day. Let me know if Thursday still works.

#Your microphone can fail without taking your words

Pick any microphone in Sayburst. If it's unplugged or disconnects mid-recording, Sayburst stops and keeps what you'd said up to that point, so you only need to say the rest. Sayburst also recovers interrupted recordings rather than discarding them.

#Your clipboard comes back

Pasting is the most dependable way to get text into every kind of app, from Mail to browser editors to terminals, so that's how Sayburst inserts text. Pasting uses the clipboard, which would normally mean losing whatever you'd copied. Sayburst restores your clipboard afterwards, so the link or image you copied before dictating is still there.

One limit worth knowing: apps that block pasting won't accept Sayburst's text either. In those, copy it from the overlay or History and enter it some other way.

#Four ways back to your last dictation

1. ⌃⌥⌘V pastes your last dictation into the current field, from any app.
2. The overlay's Copy and Paste here buttons appear whenever Sayburst couldn't type.
3. The menu bar icon shows your last dictation.
4. History keeps everything you've dictated, searchable.

You decide how long History keeps things: forever, down to a single day, or not at all. Recordings are deleted after transcription unless you choose to keep them, and everything stays on your Mac, since speech recognition runs locally and audio is never uploaded.

#Apple Dictation vs Sayburst when things go wrong

Apple's behaviour comes from its Dictation guide, checked October 31, 2026. For short dictations in one window, none of this comes up and Apple Dictation is fine. It matters when you dictate long emails and documents and move around while you do it. Compare the two fully in Sayburst vs Apple Dictation.

#If text still doesn't appear

Work through these:

• Check the overlay message. It says why the text wasn't typed: switched app, password field, or permissions.
• Check Accessibility. In System Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility, Sayburst should be switched on.
• Try TextEdit. If it works there, the app you were in probably blocks pasting.

More causes and fixes are in dictation text not appearing on Mac and our troubleshooting docs.

Questions people ask

What happens if I switch apps while Sayburst is transcribing?

Sayburst doesn't type into the wrong window. It keeps the text and offers it back in the overlay with Copy and Paste here, and you can paste it anywhere with Control-Option-Command-V.

How do I get back a dictation that didn't appear?

Press ⌃⌥⌘V to paste your last dictation into the current field, click the Sayburst menu bar icon to see it, or search for it in History.

Does Sayburst overwrite my clipboard?

Sayburst inserts text by pasting into the focused field, then restores your clipboard afterwards, so what you'd copied is still there.

What if my microphone disconnects mid-recording?

Sayburst stops and keeps what you said up to that point, so a dead Bluetooth headset or an unplugged USB mic doesn't cost you the sentence.

Does Apple Dictation keep a history of what I said?

Apple's Dictation guide doesn't describe a history. If Dictation ends because you clicked away, you dictate the rest again.