Make the fn key work, or choose another key

Free the fn key

On most Macs, pressing fn opens the emoji picker or switches your input language, which gets in the way of holding it to talk. To stop that:

1. Open System Settings, then Keyboard. In Setup, the Open Keyboard Settings button takes you straight there.
2. Find “Press 🌐 key to” and choose “Do Nothing”. On some keyboards the setting reads “Press fn key to”.
3. Go back to Setup and click Done.

If the emoji picker still opens when you hold fn, the setting did not stick. Open Keyboard settings again and check it.

On Windows

Windows keyboards have no fn key that apps can notice, so Voxy for Windows listens while you hold Ctrl and the Windows key together. Everything on this page about the globe key is for the Mac.

fn on an external keyboard

Some external keyboards handle fn inside the keyboard and never tell the Mac about it, so holding it does nothing in Voxy. If that happens, choose another key below.

Choose another key

Open Settings, then Shortcuts. Next to Dictation key, click Change and press the key you want. Reset to fn brings the default back. In Setup, Pick a different key does the same.

You can choose:

• fn, the default.
• Command, Option or Shift, on the left or the right. Each side counts as its own key.
• An F key, from F1 to F19.
• A key that types, such as Space, a letter, a number, an arrow key or Return.

A few keys cannot be chosen, and Voxy tells you why when you try: Escape, because it cancels a take; Control on either side, because it reads your selection aloud; and Caps Lock and the media keys, because they cannot be held down cleanly.

Good to know for each kind of key

• Command, Option and Shift still reach your apps, so clicking while you hold one is a modified click. Clicking while you hold Shift extends a selection, and an app with its own double Shift shortcut also sees your double tap.
• F1 to F12 on a built in keyboard work only when the top row acts as standard function keys. Turn that on in System Settings, under Keyboard. Then press the key once in Setup to prove it reaches Voxy.
• Keys that type still type on a quick tap. Hold one for a beat and Voxy listens instead. Double tap does not start hands free with these keys, because two taps would type twice, so start hands free from the Voxy icon in the menu bar and press your key to finish.
• Password boxes. While a password box has focus, macOS hides key presses, so an F key or a key that types cannot start a dictation there. That is macOS protecting you. fn, Command, Option and Shift still work, and Voxy never types into a password box.