---
title: "How the text reaches your program"
summary: "Dictate inserts the text through the clipboard or character by character. Without an active text field it goes to the clipboard."
url: "https://help.medisynchealth.ai/en/dictate/how-text-is-inserted"
product: "MediSync Dictate"
platforms: ["windows","macos"]
access: "public"
updated: "2026-11-11"
version: "Dictate 0.4.0-beta.6"
---

# How the text reaches your program

Dictate inserts the text through the clipboard or character by character. Without an active text field it goes to the clipboard.

When a dictation starts, Dictate remembers the window your cursor is in. When the dictation is done, Dictate inserts the text there. The Action Bar then shows **Inserted**.

## The two methods

Set the method under **Settings › Dictation › Insertion › Method**.

| Method | How it works | When |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Through the clipboard (fast)** | Dictate puts the text on the clipboard, pastes it with `Ctrl` + `V` and then puts your previous text back on the clipboard. | Default, for almost every program |
| **Character by character (for older programs)** | Dictate types the text character by character, as if from the keyboard. | For programs that do not accept pasting with `Ctrl` + `V` |

On a Mac, Dictate pastes with `Command` + `V`.

Dictate restores only text on the clipboard. If the clipboard holds an image or a file, Dictate types the text character by character even with the first method. That way the image stays on the clipboard.

With the first method an insertion is one step. `Ctrl` + `Z` in the program takes it back as a whole. So does the voice command "Undo" from [Voice commands](https://help.medisynchealth.ai/en/dictate/voice-commands).

## When no text field is active

If the cursor is not in a text field, for example on the desktop, in File Explorer or in the Finder, Dictate copies the text to the clipboard. The bar shows:

```text
Copied. Ctrl+V to paste
```

Click into the field you want and press `Ctrl` + `V`, on a Mac `Command` + `V`.

For some fields Windows cannot tell for sure whether they take text, for example a web page in the browser. There Dictate checks after pasting whether the text arrived. If it did not, the text is on the clipboard and the bar shows the same message.

If a dictation starts without a target, the bar shows `No text field active`. Click into a text field and dictate again.

## Programs Dictate always inserts into directly

Dictate always inserts directly into these programs, even when the field is not reported as a text field:

| Windows | Mac |
| --- | --- |
| Word, Outlook, Notepad, Windows Terminal, Visual Studio Code | Word, Outlook, Mail, TextEdit, Visual Studio Code |

## When inserting fails

The **Copy to the clipboard when no text field is active** switch under **Settings › Dictation › Insertion** is on by default. Then Dictate puts the text on the clipboard when inserting into a field fails. When the switch is off, the bar shows `Insert failed` in that case.

You can get the text back afterwards: `Alt` + `Shift` + `Z` puts the last dictation where the cursor is. Older dictations are in the [dictation history](https://help.medisynchealth.ai/en/dictate/dictation-history) on the **Home** page.

If the text does not appear at all, or appears in the wrong window, see [The text does not appear](https://help.medisynchealth.ai/en/dictate/text-does-not-appear).