How do I use Smart Formatting & Backtrack

Dictate numbered lists, insert exact punctuation, or fix mistakes without stopping. Smart Formatting automatically structures your text, and Backtrack lets you correct yourself mid-sentence.

How to enable Smart Formatting

Smart Formatting transforms your spoken words into properly formatted text — including punctuation, numbers, and lists.

How to use Smart Formatting

Context-aware formatting

Flow automatically adjusts capitalization based on where your cursor is — lowercase if mid-sentence, capitalized after sentence-ending punctuation. It also adds spaces before and after your dictation as needed.

In messaging apps (like iMessage, WhatsApp, and Slack), Flow removes trailing periods for a more casual style. Formal Writing Style keeps periods.

Creating lists

Use numbers or sequence words ("one… two…" or "first… second…") to create a list automatically.

You say: My top goals this week are one finish the report two send the presentation.

Flow writes:

My top goals this week are: 1. Finish the report 2. Send the presentation

Inserting punctuation

Flow handles most punctuation automatically. Say punctuation marks by name when you need exact control.

You say: I can't wait to see you exclamation point Let's meet at seven period.

Flow writes:

I can't wait to see you! Let's meet at 7.

Supported punctuation commands:

• Period, comma, question mark, exclamation point

• Dash, em dash

• Quotation mark: say "quotation mark" instead of "end quote" for best results

• Apostrophe: "apostrophe" or "single quote"

• Asterisk: "asterisk", "star", or "asterisk sign"

• Ampersand: "ampersand", "and sign", or "and symbol"

• Percent sign: "percent sign", "per cent", or "percentage symbol"

• Ellipsis: "ellipsis"

• Slash: "slash", "forward slash", "per", or "divided by"

• Backslash: "backslash" or "slash en"

• At symbol (@): "at", "at sign", "at symbol", "mention", or "ping"

• Angle brackets: "angle bracket", "greater-than sign", or "less-than sign"

• Parentheses: "open parenthesis", "close parenthesis", "open paren", "close paren", or "brackets"

• Plus sign: "plus", "plus symbol", or "plus sign"

• Minus sign: "minus", "minus symbol", or "negative"

• Equals sign: "equals", "equals symbol", or "equals sign"

• Trademark (™): "trademark" or "tm"

• Copyright (©): "copyright" or "copyright symbol"

• Degree symbol (°): "degree sign" or "degree symbol"

• Degrees Celsius: "degrees celsius" or "degrees centigrade"

• Degrees Fahrenheit: "degrees fahrenheit" or "degrees f"

Press Enter (desktop only)

Say "press enter" at the end of your dictation to simulate pressing the Enter key after your text is pasted.

The first time Flow detects "press enter" in your dictation, it removes the phrase from your text but does not press Enter. Instead, you see a prompt asking if you'd like to enable this feature. Once enabled, future uses of "press enter" work as expected. If you disable it, saying "press enter" is left as-is in your text.

Adding line breaks and paragraphs

Say "new line" to insert a line break, or "new paragraph" to start a new paragraph. This works best at natural pauses or between sentences.

You say: When is reading club new line should be tomorrow.

Flow writes:

When is reading club?
Should be tomorrow.

How to use Backtrack

Flow's AI automatically detects when you correct yourself mid-sentence. Words like "actually" or "scratch that" naturally signal a correction, but Flow understands any self-correction pattern — it analyzes your full dictation and removes the parts you corrected.

You say: Let's do coffee at 2 actually 3.

Flow writes:

Let's do coffee at 3.

You can also restate naturally without trigger words:

You say: I wanted to buy a record as a gift… as a present.

Flow writes:

I wanted to buy a record as a present.

FAQs