Voice prompting tips

Speaking to your CAD tool feels like magic the first time, and it is a faster way to work once you have a few habits. These tips apply to both voice modes: push-to-talk (press and hold Space, or click the mic) and Live voice mode (a spoken conversation).

Choose the mode

Both feed the same agent. Changes always arrive as ghost previews.

Habits that help

1. Select first, then speak

"This" resolves to whatever is selected at the moment you speak. Click the face, then talk. Your current selection is shared with Live voice mode so you can keep selecting as you chat.

2. Say the unit, every time

Speech recognition hears "twenty five" but not necessarily "millimetres". Say it:

• "Make this twenty-five millimetres thick."
• "Rotate it forty-five degrees."

When the number matters, glance at the live captions to confirm it was heard correctly.

3. One idea per breath

Push-to-talk works best with a single instruction. If you have three changes, say them one at a time and check each preview. In Live voice mode, a short back-and-forth works better than a long monologue.

4. Digits and decimals

Say "point" for a decimal: "two point four millimetres". Speak numbers like "one-point-five" slowly. If a number is long or tricky, type it. Mixed input is fine: speak the sentence, then edit the figure in the prompt bar.

5. Name rather than describe

"The wall thickness parameter" is better than "that number that makes it thicker". If you have named your parameters, use the names: "set fit clearance to zero point three".

6. Use the words that carry rules

Spoken or typed, "always", "keep" and "never" create lasting rules. Speak them clearly: "Always keep the holes centered."

7. Mind homophones and soundalikes

When the captions show a mistake, just say it again.

8. Control your environment

• A headset or close mic helps in noisy rooms.
• Bluetooth headsets sometimes drop to a low-quality microphone mode, which hurts accuracy.
• Pause between sentences rather than rushing.

Live voice mode: how to use it well

Live voice mode shines when you do not yet know the answer.

• Interrupt. You can cut in with "wait, make it thicker".
• Ask why. "Why did you put the boss there?"
• Think aloud. "I need to hold a 9 mm phone. What would you suggest?"
• Hand off to text for precision. When you need an exact value, type it.

Anything you ask for in Live voice mode still creates a ghost preview. Look at the screen, and use the on-screen controls to Accept, Tweak or Reject.

When voice is not the right tool

• Precise numeric tables. Type them.
• A quiet shared office. Type, or use push-to-talk quietly.
• Long, careful specs. Write them in the prompt bar.

Try it

Select the top face of any model, hold Space, and say:

Add a four point two millimetre hole here, centered, through the whole part.

Check the live captions for the number, then watch the ghost preview. If it is not what you meant, click Reject and try again with Live voice mode, asking: "What did you think I wanted?"