> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hermesvoice.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Dictation Settings

> Configure language, microphone, audio processing, and text cleanup options.

## Language

| Setting      | Default | Description                |
| ------------ | ------- | -------------------------- |
| **Language** | Auto    | The language for dictation |

Choose a specific language or select **Auto** to let Hermes detect the language automatically.

Hermes supports 100+ languages.

***

## Microphone

| Setting                  | Default | Description                              |
| ------------------------ | ------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| **Microphone Selection** | Auto    | Automatically choose the best microphone |
| **Preferred Mode**       | Auto    | Prioritize certain microphone types      |

### Microphone modes

| Mode           | Behavior                                   |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| **Auto**       | Hermes picks the best available microphone |
| **AirPods**    | Prefer AirPods when connected              |
| **Headphones** | Prefer any connected headphones            |
| **Built-in**   | Always use the Mac's built-in microphone   |
| **Manual**     | Use a specific microphone you select       |

### Selecting a specific microphone

1. Set Preferred Mode to **Manual**
2. Choose your microphone from the dropdown
3. The selected microphone will always be used when available

***

## Audio processing

| Setting                            | Default | Description                          |
| ---------------------------------- | ------- | ------------------------------------ |
| **Mute speakers during dictation** | Off     | Silence system audio while recording |

***

## Text processing

| Setting                 | Default | Description                           |
| ----------------------- | ------- | ------------------------------------- |
| **Remove Filler Words** | Off     | Remove "um", "uh", "like", etc.       |
| **Code Mode**           | Off     | Preserve code syntax during dictation |

### Remove filler words

When enabled, common filler words are automatically removed:

* "um", "uh", "er"
* "like", "you know", "basically"
* "so", "actually" (when used as fillers)

<Note>
  AI Formatting also removes filler words. This setting applies an additional cleanup layer before AI processing.
</Note>

### Code mode

Enable this when dictating code or technical content. Code mode:

* Preserves technical terms exactly
* Reduces aggressive punctuation
* Maintains formatting characters

***

## Related settings

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="AI Formatting Settings" icon="wand-magic-sparkles" href="/settings/ai-formatting">
    How your text is formatted after dictation.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Keyboard Shortcuts" icon="keyboard" href="/settings/keyboard-shortcuts">
    Configure your dictation hotkey.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>