Create — dictate, generate, rewrite, translate
Draft, rewrite, reformat, and translate right inside the app you are working in, using highlighted or clipboard text.
Create is the second of Cephable's three modes. It works on text where you already are — the app you are in, the text you have highlighted, or what is on your clipboard.
Dictation
Dictation types what you say into whatever application has focus. Start it from the Dictation card on the Workspace, from the Panel, or by mapping it to a control so you can start it hands-free. From any app, the Toggle Dictation Mode shortcut — Alt + D, or Option + D on a Mac — starts or pauses it. Change the shortcut in Settings → Global Shortcuts.
Basic dictation is included on the free plan.
Hold to dictate
Hold to dictate is the quickest way to say a sentence or two into a field without switching modes. It is on by default, on every plan.
- 1
Click into the field you want to type in
Cephable types into the field you started in.
- 2
Hold Alt, and nothing else
On a Mac, hold Option. After a moment dictation starts and the Panel shows Listening....
- 3
Talk, and keep holding
Say everything you want typed.
- 4
Let go
Cephable transcribes what you said and types it all at once.
Pressing any other key or clicking before dictation starts cancels the hold, so your usual Alt shortcuts keep working.
Change how it works in Settings → Connection → Dictation:
| Setting | Default | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Hold to dictate | On | Turns the feature on or off |
| Keys to hold | Alt (Option on a Mac) | Any combination of modifier keys |
| Hold time | 1.5 seconds | How long to hold before dictation starts, from 0.5 to 3 seconds |
With Intelligent Dictation and Quick Type turned on, hold to dictate uses the same AI-enhanced recognition. On a Mac it needs Device Control and Data Access permission (Accessibility on macOS 26 and earlier) to see the keys; until it has it, Settings shows Hold to dictate is waiting for permission.
What Create does with your text
Set the composer to a Create mode, or leave it on Auto and just say what you want.
| Mode | Works on | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Generate | Nothing — you describe it | New text, written where you are |
| Summarize | Your selection | A summary |
| Rewrite | Your selection | A rewritten version, replaced in place |
| Translate | Your selection | A translation |
Rewrite, Summarize, and Translate need something to work from, so the composer asks you to pick a context source first: highlighted text, the clipboard, or the current app. It also shows where the result will go — the app it will type into.
The usual rhythm is: highlight a paragraph, open the Panel, say what you want done to it. The context row confirms what it is reading and where it will type before you commit.
Intelligent dictation and Quick Type
Cephable Plus unlocks this section
Cephable Plus adds AI-enhanced dictation — automatic punctuation, proper nouns, and sentence structure — plus Quick Type, so you can say 'type …' to insert text without switching modes.
Included with Plus, Pro, Education, SDK.
AI rewrite for long dictation
Cephable Plus unlocks this section
Cephable Plus can rewrite long dictation before it is typed — cleaning up filler words and corrections, following directions like 'email Sam' or 'make that a list', and formatting it for the app you are in. It runs on the on-device model.
Included with Plus, Pro, Education, SDK.
Generate, rewrite, summarize, and translate
Cephable Plus unlocks this section
AI content generation, rewriting, and translation are included with Cephable Plus — running on the on-device model, so the document never leaves your machine.
Included with Plus, Pro, Education, SDK.
Where the text goes
Cephable types into whichever application has focus, the same way a keyboard does. That is why it works across desktop applications with no per-app integration — and equally why an application that does not accept normal keyboard input will not accept this either.
When there is nowhere to type
If no text field has focus when Cephable is ready to type, or focus moves while it is typing, Cephable keeps the text instead of losing it. A Background Content button appears in the Panel with a count of what it is holding. Open it to search, copy, or dismiss entries. They last until you quit Cephable.
To put the newest entry into a field, click into the field and say "paste last entry" — or "paste recent entry", "paste last dictation", or "paste background content". Pasting goes through your clipboard, so anything you had copied is cleared.
Watch it in practice
Getting the most out of Create
Select precisely. Rewrite and Translate work on what you highlighted. Highlighting a whole document and asking to "tighten this up" gives a worse result than doing it a paragraph at a time — and takes longer.
Say the outcome, not the method. "Make this sound less defensive" works better than "change some words". The model is deciding how; you are deciding what.
Use suggested prompts for repeated work. A set of App Controls can carry suggested generate and rewrite prompts, so the phrasings that suit a particular app are there when you are in it.
Put house style in a skill. If you find yourself repeating "keep it under 100 words, no exclamation marks, British spelling", that belongs in a skill, not in every prompt.
Check before you accept. Generation runs on a local model, which is what keeps your document private — and means it is smaller than a datacenter one. Read the output.
Common questions
Cephable is hearing me but not typing what I say.
You are in command mode, where speech is matched against your controls instead of typed.
Press the dictation icon in the Panel, or say "dictate" to switch. For something short, stay where you are and say "type" followed by the text.
Which is better — dictation or Quick Type?
Dictation mode for anything longer than a sentence — it stays on until you stop it.
Quick Type for filling a field mid-task, where switching modes costs more than the typing saves.
Can I undo a rewrite?
Yes. A rewrite lands as one edit as far as the host app is concerned, so Ctrl + Z brings your original text back.
Why is generation slow on my machine?
It runs on your device, so it competes with everything else you have open. Close other demanding applications, and note that it performs meaningfully better on newer hardware.
Turn on Automatically Warm Up Text Generation in Text Generation Settings to load the model when Cephable starts, so the first request of a session does not wait for it.
Does my document get sent anywhere?
No. All of it runs on the on-device model — the text you are working on stays on your computer.
Next
- Voice commands — Control mode
- Automate — multi-step jobs
Related
Voice commands
Say a phrase and Cephable acts. How commands are matched, and the settings that make recognition reliable.
Welcome to Cephable
Start with voice on Basic, explore Create as you upgrade, and put Automate, voice, and dictation to work on Pro.
Record a Workflow
Do a task once while Cephable watches and listens, and it becomes a skill the assistant can use any time.