# Spoken text replacements

In **Settings → Dictation**, a **When I say … / Type …** rule replaces a recognized phrase with text you choose. It is useful for repeated signatures, links, and snippets.

## Create and test a rule

1. Add a distinctive phrase, such as “my meeting signoff.”
2. Enter the exact text it should insert.
3. Dictate the phrase into a scratch note.
4. Check punctuation and spacing before using it in a message.

Choose phrases you would rarely say accidentally. A short, common word could trigger the replacement in otherwise ordinary dictation.

## Matching behavior

Matching ignores capitalization and looks for whole words. A comma introduced between the words can still match. Longer phrases are considered first, and a replacement's output is not fed back through the rules again.

If your whole dictation is just the trigger phrase, with or without a final period, the inserted result is the replacement text. If the phrase appears inside a sentence, review how the surrounding punctuation reads.

Polishing happens first, then replacements. Rules run locally and affect dictation only; they do not rewrite questions spoken to the agent.

## Limits and fixes

The current implementation supports up to 200 rules. A trigger can contain up to 80 characters and its replacement up to 4,000 characters.

If a rule does not fire, first check the recognized caption: the trigger must be heard correctly. Add unusual terms to [Your words](/nock/dictionary), or choose a less ambiguous phrase. If the wrong rule fires, review overlapping triggers and remove the broader one.

See [dictation](/nock/dictation) and [polish settings](/nock/dictation-polish).

## Build a small set you can trust

Start with one or two distinctive triggers rather than a large list of ordinary words. For each rule, test the phrase alone and within a longer sentence, then check its behavior with punctuation. A signature that works at the end of a message may read awkwardly when expanded in the middle of a paragraph.

Treat replacement text as something you could paste into the wrong app accidentally. Avoid using a casually spoken trigger for a password or other secret. Review the result before sending, especially when an expansion contains a link or contact details that might become outdated.

If a rule becomes confusing, remove or revise that rule rather than resetting all dictation preferences. The last-transcript command retains the already-expanded result, so re-pasting will not recover the original trigger phrase.