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[] VOICE CONTROL YOUR MAC WITH SIRI07
ADD “HEY SIRI” TO YOUR MAC
This iPhone feature isn’t provided on the Mac, but you can add it. In
Keyboard preferences, click Dictation, turn it on, and enable ‘Enhanced
Dictation’ too. When the download is done, go to the Accessibility pane, select
Dictation, enable the dictation keyword and set it to “Hey” (without quotes).
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CALL UPON SIRI
Siri listens as soon as you click its icon in the Dock or menu bar;
the latter’s visibility is determined in Siri’s prefs pane, and if you’ve
removed the former, drag Siri from the Applications folder into the Dock.
If your Mac has a Touch Bar, its Control Strip includes a one-press Siri key.
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COMMANDS AND QUERIES
To see guidance on what you can ask of Siri, invoke it and say “What
can I ask you?” Its window will show a mix of apps and activities;
click one for examples of representative queries. You don’t need to close and
then reinvoke Siri to ask it something else; say “Clear” or “Restart” to it.
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FINISHING TOUCHES INTERACT AND EXPERIMENT
In Dictation Commands, enable advanced ones. Click the ‘+’, set the
command to “Mac” (without quotes; using “Siri” might trigger it on
your iPhone), to work in any app and to perform a keyboard shortcut, then press
Siri’s (it must be the ‘press’ kind and not include Function; see Step 4). Click Done
and you’re ready to dictate.04
INVOKE SIRI FROM THE KEYBOARD
Siri’s default keyboard shortcut requires you to hold Command-
spacebar, adding a very slight delay before Siri reacts. Picking the
predefined Function-spacebar alternative or a custom shortcut in Siri’s prefs
makes it react instantly. You can also disable keyboard access if you prefer.06
KEEP A FILE SEARCH AROUND
Siri’s window stays open until you click an item in it or close it. If you
asked about files, such as “Show files I’ve worked on this week”,
there’ll be a ‘+’ at the top right of the results. Click that to pin the search to
Notification Centre’s Today view, where the results will stay up to date.