Welcome to VoicePad Help! Everything you need to know about your AI dictation tool.

VoicePad Windows v1.2.1 | VoicePad Mobile v2.0.0

New Here?

👉 Start with Quick Start — You'll be dictating in under a minute.

Need Help?

Can't find what you're looking for? Contact us directly:

Email: alex@hoermal.app

We read and respond to every message.

Start dictating in 60 seconds. No account needed. No internet required.

Three Steps to Dictation

Step 1: Open VoicePad

Launch VoicePad from your desktop or Start menu. It starts instantly.

Step 2: Tap the Microphone

Click the big glowing orb in the center of the screen.
Or press Ctrl+Space from anywhere — even in other apps.

Step 3: Speak Naturally

Talk at your normal pace. Your text appears in real-time as you speak.

What Happens Next

When you stop talking (or tap the mic again):

• Your text is automatically copied to clipboard
• It's saved to history for later
• Just paste (Ctrl+V) wherever you need it

Quick Tips

The Most Important Shortcut

Ctrl+Space — Start or stop recording from ANYWHERE

This works even when VoicePad is minimized. Press it while typing an email, editing a document, or messaging — your dictation appears right where your cursor is.

Everything you see when you open VoicePad, explained.

Mic Orb

Location: Center of screen — the big glowing button

This is your main control. It has three states:

Status Text

Location: Below the Mic Orb

Shows what VoicePad is doing:

• "Tap to speak" — Ready for input
• "Recording..." — Listening to your voice
• "Processing..." — Converting speech to text

Transcript Area

Location: Center, above the Mic Orb

This is where your transcribed text appears.

• Editable — Click to edit any text
• Scrollable — For longer transcriptions
• Real-time — Text appears as you speak (streaming mode)

AI Tools Bar

Location: Above the transcript area (when text is present)

Feedback Bar

Location: Below transcript, after transcription completes

Footer Bar

Location: Bottom of window

Everything about capturing your voice and turning it into text.

Starting a Recording

You have three ways to start:

Stopping a Recording

What Happens During Recording

1. Real-time streaming — Text appears as you speak
2. When you stop — A more accurate model refines the text
3. Auto-copy — Text is copied to your clipboard (if enabled)
4. Auto-save — Recording is saved to history

Resume Dictation

Want to continue an old recording?

1. Open History (click ☰)
2. Find your previous recording
3. Right-click → "Resume"
4. Start talking — new text is appended

Tips for Best Results

Speak Naturally

• Talk at your normal pace — no need to slow down
• Use your natural voice — no robot speech needed
• Pause between sentences — helps accuracy

Punctuation

VoicePad handles punctuation automatically. You can also say:

• "Period" or "full stop"
• "Comma"
• "Question mark"
• "Exclamation point"
• "New line" or "new paragraph"

Your recordings are automatically saved and easy to find.

Opening History

Click the ☰ icon in the footer bar (bottom-left).

The History sidebar slides in from the left.

What's Saved

Every transcription is automatically saved with:

• Preview — First line of text
• Timestamp — When you recorded it
• Word count — How many words
• Duration — How long you recorded

Searching History

Type in the search bar at the top of the sidebar.

• Search is instant (with 400ms debounce for performance)
• Searches across all text content
• Results filter in real-time

Context Menu (Right-Click)

Where Is History Stored?

All history is stored locally on your computer:

%APPDATA%\HorMal\VoicePad\

You can access this folder via Settings → Sessions → Open Data Folder.

Export History

To export all your recordings:

1. Go to Settings → Sessions
2. Click Export History
3. Choose a location
4. Save as text file

Customize every aspect of VoicePad.

Opening Settings

Click the ⚙ icon in the footer bar (bottom-right).

Recording Settings

Speech Model (Whisper)

Choose your transcription model:

Auto-Copy

When ON (default): Transcription is automatically copied to clipboard.

Auto-Inject

When ON (default): Text is automatically pasted into your active application.

Smart Grammar

When ON (default): Applies language-specific grammar corrections:

• German noun capitalization
• ß corrections (strasse → Straße)
• English contractions (I am → I'm)

AI Model (Ollama)

VoicePad uses a local AI (Ollama) for advanced features.

Appearance

Theme

Choose your visual style:

• Dark — Deep navy with amber accents
• Light — Clean white with blue accents
• Arctic Frost — Premium icy blue with violet

UI Language

• 🇬🇧 English
• 🇩🇪 Deutsch (German)

Transform your transcriptions with AI-powered text tools.

Overview

VoicePad includes five AI tools that run 100% locally using Ollama:

Clean

Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+L

Removes filler words and speech artifacts:

• um, uh, er, ah
• like, you know, basically
• I mean, sort of, kind of

Improve

Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+I

AI rewrites your text for better clarity and professionalism.

Prompt

Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+F

Converts your dictation into a structured AI prompt. Great for ChatGPT, Claude, etc.

Summary

Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+U

Condenses long text to key points. Best for meeting notes and articles.

Requirements

AI tools require Ollama running locally.

1. VoicePad will prompt to download Ollama
2. Click "Install" in the dialog
3. Wait for download (~400 MB)
4. Tools are ready!

Teach VoicePad your vocabulary. The more you use it, the smarter it gets.

How It Works

VoicePad learns from your corrections:

• You fix a mistake → VoicePad remembers
• Next time → Gets it right automatically

This happens locally on your device. Nothing is uploaded anywhere.

The Feedback Bar

After each transcription, you see two buttons:

What VoicePad Learns

It DOES Learn:

• Brand names (iPhone, WhatsApp, Spotify)
• Technical terms (Kubernetes, PostgreSQL)
• Your name and contacts
• Industry jargon
• Foreign words you use often

The Built-In Dictionary

VoicePad starts with 668 words already known:

• Tech brands (Apple, Google, Microsoft)
• German cities (München, Köln, Frankfurt)
• Common names
• Technical terms

The Elephant Rule 🐘

Every 10th thumbs up shows a special message with an elephant emoji.

Why? It's fun. And it reminds you that VoicePad has a memory like an elephant.

Control VoicePad hands-free with voice commands.

Enabling Voice Commands

1. Open Settings (⚙)
2. Go to Hotkeys
3. Toggle Voice Commands ON

Basic Commands

Recording Control

Theme Switching

AI Commands

When you have text in the transcript:

All the hotkeys you need to work faster.

Global Shortcuts

These work anywhere — even when VoicePad is minimized:

Recording

AI Tools

Quick Reference Card

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│         VOICEPAD SHORTCUTS              │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ RECORDING                               │
│   Ctrl+Space    Start/Stop recording    │
│   Escape        Cancel recording        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ AI TOOLS                                │
│   Ctrl+Shift+L  Clean (remove fillers)  │
│   Ctrl+Shift+I  Improve (AI rewrite)    │
│   Ctrl+Shift+U  Summarize               │
│   Ctrl+Shift+F  Convert to Prompt       │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Make VoicePad look the way you want.

Available Themes

VoicePad comes with three beautiful themes:

Changing Themes

Via Settings

1. Click ⚙ in the footer
2. Go to Appearance
3. Click your preferred theme
4. Change is instant

Via Voice Command

VoicePad in your pocket. Same quality, anywhere you go.

Getting Started

1. Download — Get VoicePad from Google Play
2. Open — Launch the app
3. Tap the mic — Start dictating!

Key Features

• 100% offline processing
• Same Whisper AI as Windows
• Auto language detection
• Smart grammar corrections
• History sync with Windows
• Three themes (Dark, Light, Frost)
• Wake word: "dictation"

Available Models

Wake Word

Say "dictation" to start recording hands-free.

Enable in Settings → Voice → Wake Word.

Connect VoicePad on your phone and computer.

WiFi Sync

Synchronize over your local network. Fast and automatic.

Setup

On Windows:

1. Open Settings → Mobile Sync
2. Enable WiFi Sync

On Mobile:

1. Open Settings → Sync
2. Enable WiFi Sync
3. Devices should find each other

What Syncs

Security

• Sync happens only in your local network
• No data goes through external servers
• No cloud accounts required

Fix common problems with VoicePad.

Recording Problems

VoicePad doesn't hear me

Check microphone permissions:

1. Windows Settings → Privacy → Microphone
2. Ensure "Allow apps to access your microphone" is ON
3. Ensure VoicePad is in the allowed list

Recording stops immediately

Possible causes:

• VAD (Voice Activity Detection) is filtering silence
• Microphone isn't picking up sound

Solutions:

• Speak louder or closer to the microphone
• Check if microphone works in Windows
• Try a different microphone

AI Tools Problems

AI tools are grayed out

Ollama isn't running:

1. Check if Ollama is installed
2. Open Command Prompt: ollama serve
3. Or restart Ollama from Start menu

"Ollama not responding"

Solutions:

1. Restart Ollama
2. Settings → AI Model → Check Ollama URL
3. Default: http://localhost:11434

Still Need Help?

Email: alex@hoermal.app

Include:

• Windows version
• VoicePad version (Settings → About)
• What you tried
• Error messages (if any)

Quick answers to common questions.

Your voice, your data, your control.

The Short Version

VoicePad is 100% offline. Your data never leaves your device.

• No cloud processing
• No voice data uploaded
• No analytics or tracking
• No account required

That's our promise.

How VoicePad Processes Your Voice

VoicePad uses Whisper — an open-source speech recognition model.

It runs completely on your computer:

• Your voice → Your microphone → Your CPU → Text
• Nothing is sent anywhere
• No internet required

What VoicePad Stores

Locally Stored

Never Stored

Your Rights

You have complete control:

• Access your data: Settings → Sessions → Open Data Folder
• Export your data: Settings → Export History
• Delete your data: Delete files in the data folder
• No account needed: Use VoicePad anonymously

Questions?

Email: alex@hoermal.app

We're happy to explain anything in detail.