Monologue uses one main recording shortcut for dictation, plus a few optional shortcuts for related actions. The most important thing to know is that Hold to record, Hands-free mode, and Switch to hands-free are all behaviors of the same recording shortcut. They are not separate shortcut fields.
Recording shortcut
This is the main shortcut you use to start dictation from anywhere on your Mac.
Open Monologue Settings.
Go to the General tab.
In the Shortcuts section, find Recording shortcut.
Click the key shown on the right side of that row.
Press the shortcut you want to use.
If you already see a key there, like Fn or Right Option, that means your recording shortcut is already set. Click that current key to change it, or use Reset to switch back to the default.
Popular choices
Right-side Option key: smooth default for many users
Fn key: convenient on laptops
Left-side Control key: easy to reach for some setups
One shortcut, three recording behaviors
Hold to record: press and hold your recording shortcut to start recording, then release to stop.
Hands-free mode: double-tap the same recording shortcut to start recording, then tap it again to stop.
Switch to hands-free: start with a normal hold, then press Space while still holding to lock into hands-free mode.
Those rows explain how the recording shortcut behaves. They are not places where you assign different keys.
Other shortcuts
Cancel recording is a separate shortcut. By default it is set to Escape, and you can change it in the same Shortcuts section.
Paste last transcript is also separate. That shortcut only pastes your most recent transcription and does not affect recording.
Secondary shortcuts let you add extra keys that trigger the same recording flow. If you want one shortcut for your left hand and another for your right hand, expand Secondary shortcuts and add them there.
iPhone Action Button
The iPhone Action Button cannot currently replace the Monologue keyboard for text-field dictation.
Apple does not give Action Button shortcuts the same active text-field access that a keyboard has. That means the Action Button cannot work as a hold-to-record, release-to-paste trigger into whatever field you are typing in.
For text-field dictation on iPhone, use the Monologue keyboard and tap the Monologue microphone.
Troubleshooting
I can see Fn on the screen. Is that already my shortcut?
Yes. If a key is visible in the Recording shortcut row, that is your current recording shortcut.
I don't see a separate field for Hold to record.
That's expected. Hold to record uses the same recording shortcut you set in the Recording shortcut row.
There is a delay before recording starts.
First, update Monologue to the latest version. Then check which microphone you are using.
If you are using AirPods or another Bluetooth microphone, try switching to your MacBook microphone or a wired mic. Bluetooth microphones can add extra startup delay.
If recording still takes a few seconds to start after that, send us a quick video so we can understand what is happening and track it down.
My shortcut isn't working.
Try a different key in case another app is already using the same shortcut.
Make sure Accessibility permission is enabled for Monologue.
Quit and reopen Monologue if you just changed permissions.