As with some other features in the Keyboard preferences, this may not be available with some older third party applications (some will work).

Like line-breaks, different languages have their own ways to use quotations. A checkbox activates the two buttons available to select the user's preference: with double ("") and single ('') speech marks.

Shortcuts

Longtime Mac users are aware that using the keyboard is much faster than using a mouse or trackpad. I have written on this a number of times for example in a three-part article: (1) Outline and Applications; (2) Startup keys and Some Suggestions for Their Use; and (3) More Startup keys and Suggestions for Use.

The panel for Shortcuts is in two parts: on the left, the area or group that is being controlled. On the right, the commands themselves.

There are now nine groups (or types) shown: Launchpad & Dock, Mission Control, Keyboard, Input Sources, Screen Shots, Services, Spotlight, Accessibility, and App Shortcuts.

When one of these sections is highlighted, the panel on the right lists all commands for that specific group. Some have fewer than others. For example, Launchpad & Dock has only two listed like Input Sources. Screen Shots has only four. Services has many more. It is only possible to add commands to the App Shortcuts section (also see Services, below).

Each key command has a checkbox to its left (active/inactive) and any assigned key command. If the checkbox to the left is not checked, the key combination is greyed out or shows, "none". Clicking on this brings up a box that allows a key combination to be added or changed.

To add or change a shortcut, we may double-click over the key command shown. This reveals a small box in which the new key combination can be typed. If there is a conflict (the combination is already being used), yellow warning triangles appear: beside the command, under the panel, beside the current section and beside the section which is using the keys.

By default in OS X, Command + Space opens a Spotlight search. For many years I have used this combination to switch keyboards. I prefer to keep it that way. To use the keyboard switcher keys, I entered the combination (now in Input Sources) and deactivated the Spotlight command. This now has its own specific section and a different key command on my computer (F1 or Fn F1).

The Services menu has a large list of commands that may be used, particularly for some of the installed 3rd party applications. Any Services are listed in an application's menu (some way below the Preferences item). They are only displayed when a specific task may be available. In Safari, for example, opening the menu item shows, No Services Apply (with a link to Services Preferences). However, if a section of text is highlighted (or a URL) some services are listed.

When viewed in the Keyboard > Shortcuts panel, most Services commands do not have a key combination allocated. By highlighting the command, a small button marked "add shortcut" appears. Clicking on that opens a text box in which a key combination can be entered. This will be useful for those who have a specific task that is repeated often.

However, when I entered a key command which I knew would conflict, the yellow triangles did not appear. I was able to do this more than once in the Services section.

Great care should be exercised if such changes are considered.

In the App Shortcuts section we may add commands using the + icon that appears below the panel when this is selected. The other 8 groups do not display the + below the panel. As an example of the use of this feature, iTunes has a menu item (in the Window menu), "Zoom", which had no keys allocated. Pressing + in the Shortcuts panel reveals a dialogue box. We may select All Applications or specify: the list shows all installed applications, and Other.

I selected iTunes and typed in the menu title (the words for the command) as it appears in a menu, then allocated a key combination. I specified Command Shift and = for this. The key command now appears in the iTunes, Window menu. I had earlier added a key command to Safari for Reopen all Windows from Last Session (Control+Option+H). Adding such keystrokes only applies to menu commands that already exist. New menu commands cannot be added this way. A new Services item - perhaps created with AppleScript or in Automator - might get round this.

The ability to add (+) is not restricted to Apple applications. It is possible to add such key commands to 3rd party applications in the same way.

Controls at the bottom of the panel refer to the focus of the keyboard within windows and dialog boxes (such as a search box) in applications. This is unchanged from before Mountain Lion. By pressing the Tab key a different part of a panel or window is highlighted.

With "Text boxes and lists only" the focus is only where we may enter text (such as Search boxes or address fields in Safari). "With All controls" the focus cycles round text windows and other controls like buttons, sliders (and bookmark entries in Safari). Text beneath reads, "Press Control + F7 to change this setting." For some setups this will require fn + Control + F7 to be used. When this is used the selected radio button is changed immediately.

Input Sources

To the left of the panel is a list of keyboards chosen by the user. In the panel to the right is a display of the keyboard highlighted. This is large enough so that most users would be able to identify the keys (as confirmation). Pressing modifier keys (Shift, Option, Control, Command) changes the keyboard while the key is pressed (see comments on menubar, below).

The default selection is the localised language: US English for computers in many areas. When only the default is selected there is no icon in the menu bar. We may add or remove keyboards by using the + or - at the bottom of the panel.

When other keyboards have been added, the current keyboard language is changed using the menubar icon. We may also use a keyboard shortcut. There are now three checkboxes:

• Show Input menu in menu bar is checked by default when a second language is added. Unchecking the box will remove the icon from the menubar.

• Use the Caps Lock key to switch to and from last used Latin input source (if I am working with a Thai keyboard, pressing this changes to the US keyboard)

• Automatically switch to a document's input source. Below is the comment, "The input source is used until the document is closed." I have not been able to make this work with Thai documents.

The panel used has been redesigned in a way that makes selection of a specific keyboard easier. To the left, when the add (+) is used, I counted 79 language types and "Others". At the top of the list are languages that have already been selected. Highlighting one of the languages reveals in a panel (right, top) any keyboards that are available for the language. For example, Inuktitut has Inuktitut-Nunavut, Inuktitut-Nutaaq, Inuktitut-QWERTY and Inuktitut-Nunavik. Selecting one of these options, shows a representation of the specified keyboard in a panel (right, lower).

A change has been made in the keyboard icon and its display in the menubar. Several counties no longer have country flags: examples include Greek, Myanmar and Thailand. However some regional keyboards (e.g. Hawaiian) show flags. There is a search box at the bottom of the panel to speed things up. A keyboard already selected and in use is greyed out in the input source panel. Currently, "Others" only displays a keyboard marked Unicode Hex Input as before.

Any input source is included to the list of those in use by pressing the Add button.

Dictation

The Dictation feature can be used in any application where typing is normally required, although there are limits to output. On the left side of the panel is a microphone icon (updated from before). This indicates input levels in white and dark grey. As the sound increases, the white rises.

Below this icon, the currently selected input method is shown, for example, "Internal Microphone." Clicking on this reveals a small menu. By default, it is set to Automatic which uses the most suitable input method. This menu will change if other devices are connected to the computer.

There are two radio buttons in the center top of the Dictation panel: On and Off. A check box below is accessible when On is selected. This checkbox is marked, "Use Enhanced Dictation". When this is checked for the first time, a download of software that will allow offline use and continuous dictation takes place (see below). Below a short text description of the feature are two buttons for Language and Shortcut.

When Dictation is turned On, a microphone icon appears in the menubar. When pressed this shows a short menu:

• Required Keyword phrase, "Computer" greyed out until the Dictation item in Accessibility is On
• Listen without requiring keyword phrase
• Show Dictation Commands (reveals a long list of commands and applications that can be used)
• Open Dictation preferences (opens the pane in Keyboard preferences)

The Language button below showed English (US) and English (UK) in my settings. I have also added Thai. Using a Customize option there are now 43 languages to choose from. Some are regional variations, such as French (Canada, France, Switzerland). These are grouped in sections (e.g. Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Czech). Users in South-east Asia are now represented with selections for Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Results may vary with user input. While I had better success by changing Siri to a UK English voice on the iPhone, selecting "English (United Kingdom) did not provide the accuracy I wanted until I turned on Enhanced Dictation.

Pressing the Shortcut button reveals a small menu with a number of options for starting Dictation. Keys that may be specified include Fn (on some computers) and Command keys. In the menu revealed by the button, shortcuts may also be turned Off, or a user may select Customize: a text box appears for the user's own choice(s) to be entered. Not all key combinations will be accepted.

Using Customize, I was able to use the F6 key (F11 and F12 were already allocated). If a key or combination cannot work as a shortcut, instead of a warning triangle as before, the feature (e.g. Volume) is shown. If a Shortcut is deselected, Dictation may be started by an item in the Edit menu of suitable applications. Changing the key combination settings in the Dictation pane changes the entry in the Edit menu item of applications immediately.

When Dictation is started, a small microphone icon appears on the screen that shows the language option, with a button marked "Done" which is pressed when dictation is completed. There is a limit to the amount of dictation a user is able to do in the basic setup. I found that with the standard settings, the input was stopped at about 30 seconds. "Done" then changes to "Cancel".

However, when Enhanced Dictation was selected, a download of almost 500MB took place and the text was then changed to remove mention of the download. There were a number of improvements. When I tried the microphone, I was first asked to confirm the language. Adding another language later, needed that to be downloaded. The download of the Thai package was some 714 MB.

The microphone icon is now grey. Sound levels are indicated by white, as on the main panel. I was able to produce text output in each language I tried. When Enhanced Dictation was off, the feature worked in the limited way that it had before. A user may select another dictation language by clicking on the language shown on the microphone icon. There is a delay while the software is loaded.

Sometimes output may need editing and correcting. For example, slight pauses may cause a capital letter to be typed. Accuracy is another problem: While spellings are generally correct, homonyms (four, for, fore) may need some fixing.

As an additional note, using the Thai option, I was able to write quite effectively, although I am only able to speak street Thai. I cannot read or write the language, but using the dictation feature, I was able to produce some sentences which were correct.

Used in conjunction with System Preferences > Accessibility, there are also several commands available to enable a user not only to dictate, but to correct, or enter system commands. The commands available in Accessibility may be deselected, or users may add their own commands

At the bottom of the screen, is a button marked, "About Dictation and Privacy". This opens a panel which has a text explanation of the use of online access and the storage of data on remote servers.

See Also:

• Accessibility (1) - General and Vision
• Accessibility (2) - Media, Hearing and Interacting
• Accessibility (3) - Interacting: Switch Control and Dwell Control
• App Store
• Bluetooth
• CDs & DVDs
• Date & Time
• Desktop & Screensaver
• Displays
• Dock
• Energy Saver
• Extensions
• General
• iCloud
• Internet Accounts
• Language & Region
• Mission Control
• Mouse
• Network
• Notifications
• Parental Controls
• Printers & Scanners
• Security & Privacy
• Sharing
• Siri
• Sound
• Spotlight
• Time Machine
• Trackpad
• Users & Groups

Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs. He is now continuing that in the Bangkok Post supplement, Life. He can be followed on Twitter (@extensions_th)