Skip to content
Download LotusQGet LotusQDownload LotusQ
Get LotusQDownload LotusQ

Everything LotusQ does, and where it works

Everything below works while you have a trial or plan. Where something works only on some computers, the line under it says so.

More than a transcript

Hold a key and talk

Hold F1, say it, let go, and your words go in where your cursor is. Or go hands-free, and LotusQ works out when you've finished.

A mouse button can be the key on Windows and Linux, the Globe key on a Mac. On most MacBooks, hold Fn with the F-keys.

More about dictation
  • F1 is the default. Choose another key or a combination if you prefer.
  • In hands-free mode, press F8 to pause. You can adjust how sensitive it is and how long it waits before sending.
  • Say nothing and nothing gets typed.

A note called Weekly notes beside a keyboard key labelled Fn. While the key is held, someone says “ship the beta on friday”. When the key is let go, “Ship the beta on Friday.” appears in the note.

Works in any app

If it has a text field, LotusQ can type into it: email, chat, your editor, a box in your browser. The words go wherever your cursor is.

More about apps
  • If you click away, LotusQ switches back to where you started and types there.

LotusQ dictating into Slack, Gmail, ChatGPT, Claude, Notion and Cursor in turn; in each, the finished text lands at once.

Writing styles that follow the app

LotusQ picks a style from the app you're in (chat, work, email or coding), takes out fillers and false starts, and punctuates. No style is asked to fix your grammar.

Most browser tabs get your browser's style. Telling websites apart works only on Windows and Linux; see More.

More about writing styles
  • Six styles: Professional, Standard Casual, Very Casual, Excited!, Coding and Direct Mirroring. You choose which style each group gets.
  • On Linux, a website installed as its own app, such as Outlook or Gmail, is recognised and gets its own style. On Windows and Linux, with the optional Use window titles to pick a better style setting, LotusQ can also recognise sites in ordinary browser tabs.
  • The Professional style also trims hedges like "kind of" and may split a long sentence.
  • Direct Mirroring skips the tidying: you get the words as they were heard, with your dictionary and basic capitals applied.

The same words land differently in each app: lower case in a chat, full sentences in an email, and code names in backticks in a code editor. Below, the style each kind of app gets.

Say it the way you'd type it

Change your mind halfway and say "scratch that": only what you meant goes in. Lists, times and email addresses come out the way you'd type them.

More about saying it
  • "Actually, no" works like "scratch that": it drops what came before it.
  • Amounts come out the way you'd type them too.
  • Spoken code names come out in camelCase. Say "type exactly" for words taken literally.

A document, "Notes for Maya", with two dictated landings: "The launch review moves to Friday." and a list of three things, and the LotusQ pill showing Ready.

Teach it your words

Add a name with how it sounds and how you write it, and LotusQ puts your spelling in after every dictation. Fix a word right after it's typed, and LotusQ can learn it.

Learning your corrections: Windows and macOS.

More about your dictionary
  • Give a word more than one spoken form if you need to.
  • Near-misses are caught too.
  • No limit on entries. Import and export as CSV.
  • Your dictionary syncs across your computers when you sign in.
  • A few seconds after inserting, LotusQ notices words you corrected and adds them to your dictionary, or asks first if you prefer.

The LotusQ Dictionary with Brindlewick added for two spellings, 26 words in all, and an Updates window where "The Brindlewick demo moves to Thursday." landed spelled that way.

Say a phrase, get the whole text

Save text you use often, like an address or a sign-off, and give it a trigger phrase. Say the phrase and the saved text goes in as plain text, in place of your dictation.

More about snippets
  • Several lines are fine; line breaks are kept.
  • Your snippets sync across your computers when you sign in.

You say "my address" and a saved postal address lands in an email reply; then "my linkedin" and a saved profile address lands under it.

Say what you want written

Hold F6 and say what to write, how to change the text you've selected, or select a message and say how to reply. You see it first: nothing goes in until you choose Insert.

Reading the conversation on your screen: Windows and macOS, and off until you turn it on.

More about Compose
  • The preview offers Insert, Copy or Close.
  • Ask for Formal, Casual or Fun, up to five versions.
  • To write a reply, it can also read the conversation on your screen, if you turn that on.

A document whose wordy paragraph LotusQ Compose has replaced with a shorter one: the design review moves from Tuesday mornings to Wednesday afternoons.

Speak one language, type another

Hold the Translate key and speak, and LotusQ types it in the language you chose. Or select text and tap the key to translate it in place.

The Translate key starts unset: choose it in Settings. English, Hindi, Kannada and Chinese (Simplified) are tested; the other languages are marked Beta.

More about Translate
  • Any of the 78 languages can be a target. Choose up to 3 in Settings › Translate, and switch with the Next Translate language key or from the tray menu.
  • Settings suggests an available key when one exists.
  • Selected text: up to 5,000 characters.
  • In hands-free mode, hold the Translate key while you speak.
  • History keeps your translations, and a spoken one shows what was heard.

A task's comment box holding a Hindi sentence, with the LotusQ card above the pill showing what was heard: "Could you share the slides after the call?"

78 languages

Speak in any of 78 languages. LotusQ works out which one each time you hold the key, or you can pin one.

More about languages
  • Auto is the default. If you pin one language in Settings, LotusQ listens for that one only.
Spanish, Hindi and German lines in one notes window, with the language set to Auto-detect.

Always know what it's doing

A small overlay at the bottom of your screen shows when LotusQ is listening and when it's working. Your text goes in once it's done.

More about the overlay
  • Between dictations it shows Ready. While you talk it shows a waveform and a timer; while LotusQ works, a spinner.
  • A tone plays when recording starts and stops. You can mute other sounds while you dictate.
The LotusQ pill in its three states: Ready between dictations, a waveform and timer while you talk, a spinner while LotusQ works.

Plans and platforms

Everything that turns speech into text needs a trial or a paid plan. Your dictionary and snippets sync across your computers when you sign in.

Mac (Apple Silicon, macOS 12 or later), Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit), Linux (64-bit Intel or AMD).

Every account starts with a 7-day trial. Mac, Windows and Linux, with the systems each supports.
Download LotusQGet it on your computer

7 days free, no card

See how it works

Looking for how developers use LotusQ? For developers

Questions

  • Which apps does it work in?

    Any app with a text field. If you click away, LotusQ switches back to where you started and types there.

  • Can it learn names and technical terms?

    Yes, through your dictionary, on every platform, synced with your account. On Windows and macOS it can also notice your corrections and add them, or ask first if you prefer.

  • How does push-to-talk work?

    Hold F1, speak, let go. Or switch to hands-free mode, which you pause with F8.

  • Can I change the key?

    Yes. Pick another key or a combination. On Windows and Linux it can be a mouse button; on a Mac, the Globe key. On most MacBook keyboards, hold Fn with F1 or pick another key.

  • Can I dictate without holding a key?

    Yes. Hands-free mode listens and decides when you've finished. On Windows and Linux you can also put dictation on a mouse button.