Route dictation directly to Slack, Email, or Calendar with keyboard shortcuts

Available on: Mac, Windows

Set your own keyboard shortcuts — or mouse buttons — for Flow's dictation actions like push-to-talk, hands-free mode, and pasting your last transcript. Useful when the defaults clash with another app or you want a key that's easier to reach.

When to use it

Customize your shortcuts when you want to:

Replace the default push-to-talk key with one that's easier to reach, or bind a mouse button instead of a key.
Resolve a conflict with another app that already uses Flow's default shortcut.
Assign multiple shortcuts to one action for different setups (laptop vs. external keyboard).

How it works in Flow

Overview

Go to Settings → General → Shortcuts and click Change to open the Shortcuts dialog. Each action has its own row, and you can assign more than one binding per row.

Click a selector box to start recording, then press your key or mouse button. Press X or Esc to cancel recording. Each binding saves immediately; the footer Done button only closes the dialog.

Configurable actions

Action	Default (Mac / Windows)	What it does
Push to talk	Fn / Ctrl+Win	Hold to dictate, release to stop.
Hands-free mode	Fn+Space / Ctrl+Win+Space	Toggles dictation on and off without holding a key.
Enter rebind	—	Remaps the Enter key during dictation.
Paste last transcript	Cmd+Ctrl+V / Shift+Alt+Z	Re-pastes your most recent dictation result.
Copy last transcript	— (Mac app menu: Copy Last Transcript)	Copies your most recent dictation result to the clipboard.
Command Mode (Lens)	Fn+Ctrl / Ctrl+Win+Alt	Opens Command Mode (Lens). Requires a paid plan.
Note	—	Triggers the Note action.
Cancel	Esc	Stops the current dictation without inserting text.
Open Scratchpad	Opt+S / Win+Alt+S	Opens the Scratchpad.
Transform	—	Opens the Transforms settings page instead of recording a shortcut.

Some rows appear only when the feature is enabled for your account: Open Scratchpad with Scratchpad, Join meeting / start Notetaker with Meeting Recorder, and Focus Mode with Focus Mode. During onboarding, only Push-to-talk and Hands-free appear.

Push-to-talk default variations

On Mac models without an Apple Fn key, the default is Ctrl+Opt.

On Windows, some setups default to Ctrl+Shift or Ctrl+Alt instead of Ctrl+Win — only if you haven't customized push-to-talk and that combo isn't already bound to another action.

How key labels appear

Mac shows ⌃ ⌘ ⌥ ⇧ glyphs; Windows shows Ctrl/Win/Alt/Shift text. The → symbol marks the right-hand variant of a key. Multi-key shortcuts display in a fixed order (Fn, Ctrl, Cmd, Win, Alt, Opt, Shift, then other keys) regardless of the order you pressed them.

Turning the Scratchpad shortcut off

Turning the Open Scratchpad shortcut off stores your custom binding and restores it when you turn the shortcut back on.

Shortcut rules and error messages

Shortcuts must contain 3 or fewer keys and include at least one modifier (except Esc for Cancel), can't mix the left and right variant of the same modifier, and can only be assigned to one action. Single letters, numbers, punctuation keys, and reserved OS shortcuts are blocked. A Hands-free binding that is a subset of your Push-to-talk binding triggers a warning.

Errors you may see: "This shortcut is not allowed: <combo>", "This shortcut is already in use", "Shortcut must include a modifier key or a valid mouse button", "Shortcut must contain 3 or fewer keys", and "Shortcut cannot contain both left and right version of the same key".

Key behaviors

Multiple bindings: Bind up to 4 combinations to one action — click "Click to add a shortcut" for the first, then the + (Add another) button, which disappears at 4. Cancel supports only one binding. The Shortcuts dialog shows every binding; the Notetaker settings page's "Recording window" summary shows only the first.
Required vs. optional bindings: Most actions must keep at least one binding (the delete icon is hidden on the last one). Hands-free mode, Enter rebind, Open Scratchpad, Focus Mode, Transform view changes, and Join meeting / start Notetaker can be left fully unbound.
Double-tap push-to-talk: Locks into hands-free mode, which is why a Hands-free binding is optional.
Mouse buttons: Middle Click, Mouse 4–Mouse 10, and Aux Button work for any dictation action, alone or with modifiers (e.g. Ctrl + Mouse 4). Left-click and right-click can never be bound.
Click suppression: When a mouse button is bound to a Flow action, Flow suppresses that click in other apps on Mac and Windows, so it won't also trigger browser navigation, selection, or other system behavior.
Reset to default: "Reset to default" in the dialog footer restores all default shortcuts at once, including Hands-free and Notetaker bindings you removed. It's unavailable while you're mid-recording. Deleting an individual binding removes it rather than restoring a default.
Maximum dictation length: Desktop dictation sessions record for about 6 minutes.

Best practices

Start with the defaults and change only shortcuts that conflict with apps you use daily.
Use a mouse button for push-to-talk if you dictate while reading or scrolling.
Keep Cancel bound to Esc so stopping a dictation stays easy.
Avoid unbinding or changing a mouse shortcut while that button is physically held down.

FAQs

How do I bind a mouse button?

In the Shortcuts dialog, click into the action's row and press the mouse button you want. It saves alongside any keyboard shortcuts for that action. See Key behaviors for supported buttons.

My shortcuts stop working in Slack or Terminal. Why?

On Mac, apps such as Slack, Terminal, and any app with an active password field turn on a macOS security feature that stops other apps from reading keyboard input, which blocks Flow's shortcuts. Hold-to-talk still works.

To restore your shortcuts, quit Slack, close the Terminal window, or click out of the password field.

Are there cases where a bound mouse click still passes through?

Click suppression (see Key behaviors) has these limits:

Overlapping bindings: If two mouse buttons are bound, release one before pressing the other to avoid conflicts.
Combo bindings: A binding like Ctrl+Mouse 4 also suppresses a bare Mouse 4 press.
Logitech aux buttons: Certain Logitech auxiliary buttons are not affected by click suppression.

Limitations and notes

This feature is available on Mac and Windows.
Logitech MX Master side buttons cannot be used for push-to-talk when configured through Logi Options+.
Keyboard shortcuts (non-mouse) bound to Flow actions still pass through to other apps; use a mouse button binding if you need the click fully suppressed.
If Flow quits while a mouse shortcut button is held, releasing the button afterward may still trigger the underlying app action once.