Voice command settings
On the Advanced tab of Settings, choose Press & hold or Hands-free for talking to Plexii, set when Hands-free stops, and turn spoken replies on or off.
The Voice command (mic button) settings decide how talking to Plexii works: whether you hold the Plexii button the whole time you speak or let it listen hands-free, how long a pause ends a hands-free recording, and whether Plexii reads its reply back to you. Changes take effect from your next recording, with no restart.
Before you start
- Every plan includes these settings.
- They change hold to talk. If you have not used it yet, start with Talk to Plexii: hold to talk.
- These settings belong to this computer. If you use PlexiDesk on more than one computer, set them on each.
Open the voice command settings
- Click the gear at the right-hand end of the header to open Settings.
- Click the Advanced tab.
- Scroll to Voice command (mic button).
Trigger mode
Choose how a recording starts and ends:
| Option | What it says | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Press & hold | Walkie-talkie — release to send | Hold the Plexii button, or ⌘ ⇧ Space on a Mac, while you speak. Letting go stops listening and puts your words in the Plexii box. This is the setting until you change it. |
| Hands-free | Keeps listening after you let go; stops on silence | Hold the Plexii button for a moment to start, then let go and keep talking. Listening stops by itself when you pause. On a Mac, tap ⌘ ⇧ Space once to start and again to stop. |
The option you chose is highlighted.
Stop a hands-free recording early
- Press the Plexii button again, or
- on a Mac, tap ⌘ ⇧ Space again.
Either one stops listening and transcribes what you have said so far. To throw the recording away instead, press Esc.
In Hands-free you can look at another app while you talk, and listening carries on. In Press & hold, switching to another app cancels the recording.
Auto-stop after silence
This slider appears when Hands-free is chosen. It sets how long a pause has to last before listening stops. The value shows beside it, for example 5.0s.
- Drag it between 1.0s and 15.0s, in half-second steps. It starts at 5.0s.
- The pause only counts once you have started speaking, so taking a breath before you begin does not end the recording.
- If nothing is heard at all, listening stops by itself after 20 seconds.
Choose a shorter pause for quick commands, and a longer one if you think aloud and pause mid-sentence.
Speak the AI's reply aloud
When Speak the AI's reply aloud is ticked, Plexii reads a short version of its reply aloud. It is ticked until you change it.
Plexii speaks only when you spoke first:
- It reads replies to messages you said out loud. A message you typed is never read aloud.
- Dictation does not count. Words typed into a note or document by voice produce no reply to read.
- It reads a short version. Plexii reads the first few sentences of its reply, and leaves out code, links and citation numbers.
- Send within ten minutes. If your spoken words sit in the box for more than ten minutes before you send them, the reply is not read aloud.
To stop a reply while it is being read, start talking to Plexii again: holding the Plexii button stops it. A newer reply also replaces one that is still being read.
What you will see
Under the controls, a line describes the gesture: hold the Plexii button, or press ⌘ ⇧ Space, and speak; what you said lands in the Plexii box for you to send, and speaking into a text field types the words in instead. With Hands-free chosen, it adds that you can press the button again to stop early.
Common questions
I chose Hands-free, but a quick click only opens the panel. That is expected. In both modes you start by holding the button for a moment; a short click opens the Plexii panel.
Hands-free keeps cutting me off. Drag Auto-stop after silence to a longer pause.
Hands-free never seems to stop. It waits for a pause after you have spoken. In a noisy room it may not hear a pause; press the Plexii button again to stop.
Plexii doesn't read its reply aloud. Check that Speak the AI's reply aloud is ticked, and that you spoke the message rather than typed it. Your computer's sound also needs to be on.
Does the shortcut work on Windows? ⌘ ⇧ Space is for Mac. On Windows, use the Plexii button.
Related tasks
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