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Using Speech in Windows Mixed Reality

  • Article
  • Applies to:
    Windows 10

You can use your voice to get around Windows Mixed Reality faster. Taking a quick photo, opening an app, even teleporting without a controller are all a word away. For an easy way to type, try dictation mode on the mixed reality keyboard.

Having trouble with Speech? Get help

Note

  • When Speech is turned on, Windows Mixed Reality is always listening. When you’re connected to the Internet, we send everything you say to the cloud so Microsoft speech services can recognize even more of your commands.
  • Speech commands are not supported in all languages. Learn more
  • Bluetooth headsets and speakers are not supported in Windows Mixed Reality.

See it, say it

In the Windows Mixed Reality home, if you see a word, you can often use it as a speech command. For instance, just say the name of a button to select it. If you don’t see a name, point your motion controller at the button to find out what to say. For Xbox gamepads, rest your gaze on the button.

General speech commands

Use the following speech commands throughout Windows Mixed Reality to get around faster. Some commands use the gaze cursor, which you’ll bring up by saying “select.”

To do this Say this
Select Say “select” to bring up the gaze cursor. Then, turn your head to position the cursor on the thing you want to select, and say “select” again.
Open the Start menu Go to Start
Leave an immersive app Say "Go to Start" to bring up the quick actions menu, then say "Mixed reality home."
Turn Flashlight on/off Flashlight on / Flashlight off
Teleport Turn your head toward the place you want to go, and then say “teleport.” (For more precise targeting, first say “select” to bring up the gaze cursor, then say “teleport.”)
Turn to the left or right Turn left / turn right
Turn 180 degrees Turn around
Move forward Move forward / walk forward
Back up Move back / walk back
Move to the left Move left / walk left
Move to the right Move right / walk right

3D object commands

Gaze at a 3D object, hologram, or app window to use these commands:

To do this Say this
Make it bigger Bigger
Make it smaller Smaller
Turn it to face you Face me
Get it ready to move - it will follow your gaze Move this
Place it when you're done moving it Place

App bar commands

Gaze at an app window or a 3D object to use these commands:

To do this Say this
Close an app or 3D object Close
Adjust something (resize or move) Adjust
Stop adjusting Done
Hide the app bar on a 3D object Hide menu
Show the app bar on a 3D object Show Menu
Go back to the previous screen or page in an app that has a Go back button Go back
Use your Xbox controller as a gamepad, rather than as a mixed reality controller, in the app you’re looking at Use as gamepad
Use your Xbox controller as a mixed reality controller (when you’ve been using it as a gamepad) Use with gaze

Start menu commands

Gaze at the Start menu to use these commands:

To do this Say this
Go to the All Apps list All apps
Move up or down on Start or All apps Page up/down
Go back to Start menu from All apps Go back
Take a photo Camera
Take a video Video
Show the headset view in Mixed Reality Portal on your desktop Preview
Open the volume control on Start Change volume
Mute Mute
Unmute Unmute
Close the Start menu Close or cancel

Hey Cortana commands

Say "Hey Cortana,” then use one of the following commands:

To do this Say this
Find out what you can say to Cortana What can I say?
Increase/decrease volume Turn the volume up/down
Mute/unmute Mute/unmute
Start an app Launch [app name]
Open a website in Microsoft Edge Open [website name] (for example, “open bing.com”)
Take a photo Take picture
Start recording a video Start recording
Stop recording a video Stop recording
Show the time What time is it?
Open the Start menu Open Start menu
Set a timer Set a timer
Set a reminder Set a reminder

Note

  • Cortana is not available in all regions and languages. Learn more.
  • If Cortana isn't responding to "Hey Cortana," select Settings > Privacy > Speech and make Online speech recognition is turned on.
  • If you turn Cortana off, "Hey Cortana" voice commands won't be available, but you'll still be able to use other commands (like "select" and "teleport")

Keyboard dictation

Switch to dictation mode anytime the keyboard is active for an easy way to type. Select microphone on the keyboard—or just say “start dictating”—to get started.

Note

The mixed reality keyboard is only available in English, but you can use dictation in any of the supported Windows Mixed Reality languages.

Keyboard dictation commands

To do this Say this
Close the keyboard Close
Start dictation Start dictating
Stop dictation Stop dictating
Delete what you've dictated Delete that
Select everything in the dictation box Select all

Punctuation

You’ll need to say the names of the punctuation you want to use. For instance, you might say "Hey comma what are you up to question mark."

Here are the punctuation keywords you can use:

  • Period, comma, question mark, exclamation point/exclamation mark
  • New line/new paragraph
  • Semicolon, colon
  • Open quote(s), close quote(s)
  • Hashtag, smiley/smiley face, frowny, winky
  • Dollar, percent

Sometimes it's helpful to spell out things like email addresses. For instance, to dictate example@outlook.com, you'd say "E X A M P L E at outlook dot-com."

To stop dictating, select Done.

See also