Word audio to text

You can record directly in Word while taking notes in the canvas and then transcribe the recording.  Word transcribes in the background as you record; you won’t see text on the page as you would when dictating. You’ll see the transcript after you save and transcribe the recording.

1. Make sure you’re signed into Microsoft 365, using the new Microsoft Edge or Chrome.

2. Go to Home > Dictate > Transcribe.

   

3. In the Transcribe pane, select Start recording.

   

4. If it’s your first time to transcribe, give the browser permission to use your mic. There might be a dialog that pops up in the browser or you may have to go to the browser settings. 

   • In the new Microsoft Edge: … > Settings > Site permissions > Microphone > Allow “https://[your company URL]…sharepoint.com”

     

   • In Chrome: … > Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Microphone > Allow “https://[your company URL]…sharepoint.com”

     

     Tips: 

     • Be careful to set the correct microphone input on your device, otherwise results may be disappointing. For example, if your computer’s microphone input is set to your headset mic based on the last time you used it, it won’t work well for picking up an in-person meeting.

     • If you want to record and transcribe a virtual call, don’t use your headset. That way, the recording can pick up the sound coming out of your device.

5. Wait for the pause icon to be outlined in blue and the timestamp to start incrementing to let you know that recording has begun.

6. Start talking or begin a conversation with another person. Speak clearly.

7. Leave the Transcribe pane open while recording.

8. Pause recording by selecting the pause icon.

   

9. Resume recording by selecting the microphone icon.

   

10. When finished, select Save and transcribe now to save your recording to OneDrive and start the transcription process.

11. Transcription may take a while depending on your internet speed. Keep the Transcribe pane open while the transcription is being made. Feel free to do other work or switch browser tabs or applications and come back later.

You can upload a pre-recorded audio file and then transcribe the recording. 

1. Make sure you’re signed into  Microsoft 365, using the new Microsoft Edge or Chrome.

2. Go to Home > Dictate dropdown > Transcribe.

   

3. In the Transcribe pane, select Upload audio.

   

4. Choose an audio file from the file picker. Transcribe currently supports .wav, .mp4, .m4a, .mp3 formats. 

5. Transcription may take a while depending on your internet speed, up to about the length of the audio file. Be sure to keep the Transcribe pane open while the transcription is happening, but feel free to do other work or switch browser tabs or applications and come back later.

Your transcript is associated with the document it’s attached to until you remove it. If you close and reopen the pane or close and reopen the document, the transcript remains saved with the document.

You can interact with the transcript in a few different ways.

Access the audio file

Play back the audio

Use the controls at the top of the Transcribe pane to play back your audio. The relevant transcript section highlights as it plays.

• Select the timestamp of any transcript section to play that portion of audio.

• Change the playback speed up to 2x.

Relabel a speaker or edit a section

The transcription service identifies and separates different speakers and labels them «Speaker 1,» «Speaker 2,» etc. You can edit the speaker label and change all occurrences of it to something else. You can also edit the content of a section to correct any issues in transcription.

1. In the Transcribe pane, hover over a section you want to edit.

2. Select the Edit transcript section icon.

   

3. Edit the content or change the label. To change all instances of a label, select Change all Speaker [x].

   

4. To save your changes, select the Confirm icon.

   

Add a transcript to the document

Unlike Dictate, Transcribe doesn’t automatically add the audio to the document. Instead, from the Transcribe pane, you can add the entire transcript, or specific sections of it, to the document.

• To add a specific transcript section, hover over the section and select the Add section to document icon.

  

• To add the entire transcript to the document, select Add all to document.

  

• To delete the transcript or create a new one, select New transcription. You can only store one transcript per document; if you create a new transcript for the document, the current transcript will be deleted. However, any transcript sections you’ve added to the document remain in the document, but not in the Transcribe pane.

Rename a recorded audio file  

You can rename an audio file that has been recorded.

1. Go to the Transcribed Files folder in OneDrive, or at the top of the Transcribe pane, click the name of the recording. When the audio player interface appears, close it to return to the Transcribed Files folder.

2. Find your recording, then select Actions > Rename and rename the recording file.

   

   Note: TheTranscribed Files folder looks different depending on whether your OneDrive account is for a business or personal.

3. Close the Transcribe pane in Word and then reopen it to see the name update.

You can share the transcript with someone in two ways:

• Select Add all to document to add the entire transcript to your document, then share the Word document as usual. The transcript will appear as regular text in the document and there will be a hyperlink to the audio file in the document.

• Share the Word document as usual. The recipient can open the Transcribe pane to interact with the transcript. To protect your privacy, playback of the audio file is by default not available in the Transcribe pane for anyone that you share the Word document with.

You can also share the transcript and enable playback of the audio file in the Transcribe pane:

1. On your version of the Word document, click the filename at the top of the Transcribe pane to go to where the audio file is saved in OneDrive.

2. The Transcribed Files folder in OneDrive opens.

3. Find your recording, then select Actions > Share and add the email address of the person you want to share the recording with.

4. Share the Word document as usual.

5. The person that you shared both the Word document and audio file with will be able to open the Word document, open the Transcribe pane, and interact with both the transcript and audio file.

Now users with a Microsoft 365 subscription can transcribe unlimited minutes of uploaded audio using the transcribe feature. Previously, the limit was 300 minutes per month per user. There’s been no change for live recordings, and you can still transcribe unlimited minutes of live recordings. 

Note: Unlimited transcription for uploaded audio is available to enterprise customers upon request.

How this change affects your organization

If you request access for your organization, unlimited transcription for uploaded audio is available to everyone in your organization as a preview experience. A limit for uploaded audio may be reintroduced in the future, with the option to purchase additional minutes based on your usage. 

How to prepare 

Fill out this uncapping upload minutes request form to enable the feature for your tenant. To learn more, email VoiceTransFC@microsoft.com. 
 

System requirements are:

• Transcribe only works on the new Microsoft Edge and Chrome.

• Transcribe requires an Internet connection.

Transcribe experience works with 80+ locales:

• Arabic (Bahrain), modern standard

• Arabic (Egypt)

• Arabic (Iraq)

• Arabic (Jordan)

• Arabic (Kuwait)

• Arabic (Lebanon)

• Arabic (Oman)

• Arabic (Qatar)

• Arabic (Saudi Arabia)

• Arabic (Syria)

• Arabic (United Arab Emirates)

• Bulgarian (Bulgaria)

• Catalan

• Chinese (Cantonese, Traditional)

• Chinese (Mandarin, Simplified)

• Chinese (Taiwanese Mandarin)

• Croatian (Croatia)

• Czech (Czech Republic)

• Danish (Denmark)

• Dutch (Netherlands)

• English (Australia)

• English (Canada)

• English (Hong Kong SAR)

• English (India)

• English (Ireland)

• English (New Zealand)

• English (Philippines)

• English (Singapore)

• English (South Africa)

• English (United Kingdom)

• English (United States)

• Estonian (Estonia)

• Finnish (Finland)

• French (Canada)

• French (France)

• German (Germany)

• Greek (Greece)

• Gujarati (Indian)

• Hindi (India)

• Hungarian (Hungary)

• Irish (Ireland)

• Italian (Italy)

• Japanese (Japan)

• Korean (Korea)

• Latvian (Latvia)

• Lithuanian (Lithuania)

• Maltese (Malta)

• Marathi (India)

• Norwegian (Bokmål, Norway)

• Polish (Poland)

• Portuguese (Brazil)

• Portuguese (Portugal)

• Romanian (Romania)

• Russian (Russia)

• Slovak (Slovakia)

• Slovenian (Slovenia)

• Spanish (Argentina)

• Spanish (Bolivia)

• Spanish (Chile)

• Spanish (Colombia)

• Spanish (Costa Rica)

• Spanish (Cuba)

• Spanish (Dominican Republic)

• Spanish (Ecuador)

• Spanish (El Salvador)

• Spanish (Guatemala)

• Spanish (Honduras)

• Spanish (Mexico)

• Spanish (Nicaragua)

• Spanish (Panama)

• Spanish (Paraguay)

• Spanish (Peru)

• Spanish (Puerto Rico)

• Spanish (Spain)

• Spanish (Uruguay)

• Spanish (USA)

• Spanish (Venezuela)

• Swedish (Sweden)

• Tamil (India)

• Telugu (India)

• Thai (Thailand)

• Turkish (Turkey)

You can record directly in OneNote while taking notes in the canvas and then transcribe the recording.  OneNote transcribes in the background as you record; you won’t see text on the page as you would when dictating. You’ll see the transcript after you save and transcribe the recording. The ink strokes you make while recording it will be captured and replayed. 

Make sure you’re signed into Microsoft 365 and using the latest version on OneNote. 

 Record

1. Go to Home > Transcribe > Transcribe.

   

2. In the Transcribe pane, select Start recording. 

   

3. If it’s your first-time transcribing, give the OneNote app permission to use your mic: How to set up and test microphones in Windows (microsoft.com).

   Tip: When the pause icon is outlined in purple and the timestamp starts to change, the recording has started and you can speak, have a conversation, or record a lecture. Speak clearly or make sure the incoming audio is clear.

4. Start talking or begin a conversation with another person. Speak clearly.

5. Leave the Transcribe pane open while recording.

6. Pause and resume recording as you need.

   Pause the recording by selecting the pause icon.

   

   Resume recording by selecting the microphone icon.

   

7. When finished, select Save and transcribe now to save your recording to OneDrive and start the transcription process.

   

8. Transcription may take a while depending on your internet speed. Keep the Transcribe pane open while the transcription is being made. Feel free to do other work or switch browser tabs or applications and come back later.

You can upload a pre-recorded audio file and then transcribe the recording. Make sure you’re signed into Microsoft 365 and using the latest version on OneNote. 

1. Go to Home > Transcribe > Transcribe.

   

2. In the Transcribe pane, select Upload audio.

   

3. Choose an audio file from the file picker. Transcribe currently supports .wav, .mp4, .m4a, .mp3 formats.

Note: Inking strokes made during the paused state replay at the same time.

Your transcript is associated with the OneNote page it’s attached to, until you remove it from that document. If you close and reopen the pane or the document, the transcript remains saved with the document. 

You can interact with the transcript these different ways. 

Access the audio file 

Play back the audio 

Use the controls at the top of the Transcribe pane to play back your audio. The relevant transcript section highlights as it plays. 

1. Select the timestamp of any transcript section to play that portion of audio.

2. Change the playback speed up to 2x.

   

Relabel a speaker or edit a section 

The transcription service identifies and separates different speakers and labels them «Speaker 1,» «Speaker 2,» etc. You can edit the speaker label and change all occurrences of it to something else. You can also edit the content of a section to correct any issues in transcription. 

1. In the Transcribe pane, hover over a section you want to edit.

2. Select the Edit transcript section icon. 

   

3. Edit the content or change the label. To change all instances of a label, select Change all Speaker [x]. 

   

4. To save your changes, select the Confirm icon.

   

Add a transcript to the document 

Unlike Dictate, Transcribe doesn’t automatically add audio to the document. Instead, from the Transcribe pane, you can add the entire transcript, or specific sections of it, to the document. 

• To add a specific transcript section, hover over the section and select the Add section to page icon.

  

• To add the entire transcript to the document, select Add to page.

  

• To delete the transcript or create a new one, select New transcription.

  

Note: You can only store one transcript per document; if you create a new transcript for the document, the current transcript will be deleted. However, any transcript sections you’ve added to the document remain in the document, but not in the Transcribe pane. 

Rename a recorded audio file 

You can rename an audio file that has been recorded. 

1. Go to the Transcribed Files folder in OneDrive, or at the top of the Transcribe pane. Select the name of the recording.  When the audio player interface appears, close it to return to the Transcribed Files folder.

2. Find your recording, then select Actions > Rename and rename the recording file. 

   

3. Close the Transcribe pane in OneNote and then reopen it to see the name update.

Note:  The Transcribed Files folder looks different depending on whether your OneDrive account is for a business or personal. 

You can share the transcript with someone in two ways:

• Select the Add all to document button to add the entire transcript to your OneNote page, then share the OneNote page as usual. The transcript displays as regular text in the page with a hyperlink to the audio file in the document.

• Share the OneNote page as usual. The recipient can open the Transcribe pane to interact with the transcript. To protect your privacy, playback of the audio file is, by default, not available in the Transcribe pane for anyone that you share the OneNote page with.

You can also share the transcript and enable playback of the audio file in the Transcribe pane:

1. On your version of the OneNote page, click the filename at the top of the Transcribe pane to go to where the audio file is saved in OneDrive.

2. The Transcribed Files folder in OneDrive opens.

3. Find your recording, then select Actions > Share and add the email address of the person you want to share the recording with.

4. Also share the OneNote page as usual.

5. The person that you shared both the OneNote page and the audio file with will be able to open the OneNote page, open the Transcribe pane, and interact with both the transcript and audio file.

Now users with a Microsoft 365 subscription can transcribe unlimited minutes of uploaded audio using the transcribe feature. Previously, the limit was 300 minutes per month per user. There’s been no change for live recordings, and you can still transcribe unlimited minutes of live recordings. 

Note: Unlimited transcription for uploaded audio is available to enterprise customers upon request.

How this change affects your organization

If you request access for your organization, unlimited transcription for uploaded audio is available to everyone in your organization as a preview experience. A limit for uploaded audio may be reintroduced in the future, with the option to purchase additional minutes based on your usage. 

How to prepare 

Fill out this uncapping upload minutes request form to enable the feature for your tenant. To learn more, email VoiceTransFC@microsoft.com. 
 

System requirements are:

• Transcribe + Ink only works on version 2211 Build 16.0.15819.20000 or later.

• Transcribe + Ink requires an Internet connection.

Transcribe + Ink experience works with 80+ locales:

• Arabic (Bahrain), modern standard

• Arabic (Egypt)

• Arabic (Iraq)

• Arabic (Jordan)

• Arabic (Kuwait)

• Arabic (Lebanon)

• Arabic (Oman)

• Arabic (Qatar)

• Arabic (Saudi Arabia)

• Arabic (Syria)

• Arabic (United Arab Emirates)

• Bulgarian (Bulgaria)

• Catalan

• Chinese (Cantonese, Traditional)

• Chinese (Mandarin, Simplified)

• Chinese (Taiwanese Mandarin)

• Croatian (Croatia)

• Czech (Czech Republic)

• Danish (Denmark)

• Dutch (Netherlands)

• English (Australia)

• English (Canada)

• English (Hong Kong SAR)

• English (India)

• English (Ireland)

• English (New Zealand)

• English (Philippines)

• English (Singapore)

• English (South Africa)

• English (United Kingdom)

• English (United States)

• Estonian (Estonia)

• Finnish (Finland)

• French (Canada)

• French (France)

• German (Germany)

• Greek (Greece)

• Gujarati (Indian)

• Hindi (India)

• Hungarian (Hungary)

• Irish (Ireland)

• Italian (Italy)

• Japanese (Japan)

• Korean (Korea)

• Latvian (Latvia)

• Lithuanian (Lithuania)

• Maltese (Malta)

• Marathi (India)

• Norwegian (Bokmål, Norway)

• Polish (Poland)

• Portuguese (Brazil)

• Portuguese (Portugal)

• Romanian (Romania)

• Russian (Russia)

• Slovak (Slovakia)

• Slovenian (Slovenia)

• Spanish (Argentina)

• Spanish (Bolivia)

• Spanish (Chile)

• Spanish (Colombia)

• Spanish (Costa Rica)

• Spanish (Cuba)

• Spanish (Dominican Republic)

• Spanish (Ecuador)

• Spanish (El Salvador)

• Spanish (Guatemala)

• Spanish (Honduras)

• Spanish (Mexico)

• Spanish (Nicaragua)

• Spanish (Panama)

• Spanish (Paraguay)

• Spanish (Peru)

• Spanish (Puerto Rico)  

• Spanish (Spain)

• Spanish (Uruguay)

• Spanish (USA)

• Spanish (Venezuela)

• Swedish (Sweden)

• Tamil (India)

• Telugu (India)

• Thai (Thailand)

• Turkish (Turkey)

Can’t find the Transcribe button 

If you can’t see the button to start Transcription, make sure you’re signed in with an active Microsoft 365 subscription. 

Switch accounts 

Note: If you see the message “Switch account to transcribe on this notebook”, you need to switch your active account to the identity that has the required edit permissions. This message displays when you try to transcribe a page of the notebook where you don’t have the edit permission.  

1. Select the user profile currently displayed on the top right corner.

2. Select the user profile that has edit permissions for that page.