A Voice Assistant for Mac and Windows, From Any App

The thought arrives while you are deep in a document: I need to book the physio. Switching to your planner means losing your place, so you tell yourself you will remember. You don't.

That small gap is what a voice assistant for Mac or Windows should close: say it, or type it, from the app you are in, then get back to work. Here is how the Ranya desktop app does that, and how to set it up.

Is there a voice assistant for Mac other than Siri?

Yes. Siri comes built into macOS. Ranya is a different kind of assistant: she works on your plans. Your tasks, calendar, habits and goals live in your Ranya account, and the desktop app lets you reach them from any app on your Mac or Windows PC.

Press one shortcut and you are on a call with Ranya, in a small panel at the top of the screen. Ask what is next on your calendar or add a task. When she wants to change something, she reads it back and waits for your yes. Then you hang up, still where you were.

What a call can do is in the guide to planning your day out loud. This post is about reaching Ranya from everywhere else.

Why is a shortcut better than switching apps?

Each switch looks free. You click away, check one thing, click back. The cost is in finding your place again, and it adds up over a day: in a study in Harvard Business Review of 137 people at three large companies, workers switched apps about 1,200 times a day, at a little over two seconds each.

Time is only part of it. As UW Magazine sums up Sophie Leroy's research, unfinished tasks stay active in your mind after you move on. That is why "I'll remember" costs something even when it works: the physio sits half in your head all afternoon. So the desktop app was built to make capturing it cheaper than the switch: one shortcut from the app you are in, then straight back to work. More on that in why context switching wears you down.

What can I do from any app?

The desktop app has three shortcuts that work from any other app while Ranya runs. They are the same keys you use inside the Ranya app on that computer, with ⌘ on a Mac and Ctrl on Windows, and you can change them in its Settings > Shortcuts.

Call Ranya (⌘,Command Comma) starts a call in a small panel at the top of the screen, above every app. Ranya's window stays where it is, and the app you are in keeps the keyboard. When she asks, the panel shows the change with Cancel and Confirm. Press the shortcut again to hang up.

New task (⌘JCommand J) opens a small task card on top of the app you are in, with your cursor in its title. Type, press Return, and it goes to your Inbox, or add a board or dates first. Escape closes it, and the title you started waits there for a day.

Dictate (⌘MCommand M) types your words into whatever you are writing in. More on that in a moment.

Can I dictate into any app on my Mac or PC?

Yes, in most apps. If you would rather speak instead of typing on your Mac or PC, put your cursor where the words go, press Dictate, talk, and press it again. A small pill at the top of the screen shows Ranya listening, then Transcribing, and your words appear at your cursor: in an email, a document, a chat or a form.

It is the same dictation as inside Ranya, so the ums come out and the punctuation goes in. The guide to Ranya's dictation explains the tidying and the spoken commands it understands. So the desktop app is also dictation software for Mac and Windows, not only a way to call Ranya.

A few things differ from dictating inside Ranya. From another app it is tap on, tap off: holding the key to talk only works inside Ranya. The text arrives on one line, so line and paragraph breaks become spaces. And on a Mac, typing into another app needs the Accessibility permission. Until you allow it, Ranya leaves the text on your clipboard so you can paste it yourself. Either way, read it over before you send.

Does Ranya need to be open?

Ranya needs to be running, and you need to be signed in, but it does not need to be in front. On a Mac, closing the window only hides it, the way Mail and Calendar do, and the shortcuts keep working. On Windows, closing the window quits Ranya, so minimise it instead. If Ranya is not running, the keys go back to the app you are in.

How to set up Ranya on your Mac or PC, step by step

1. Download Ranya for Mac or Windows

   Open the Ranya download page and pick the installer for your Mac (Apple silicon or Intel) or Windows PC. Install it and sign in with the Ranya account you already use. Your tasks, notes, habits and goals are already there.

2. Leave it running

   Keep Ranya open in the background. On a Mac you can close the window; on Windows, minimise it rather than closing it.

3. On a Mac, allow the microphone and Accessibility

   macOS asks to use the microphone the first time you call or dictate; allow it. The first time you dictate into another app, also allow Ranya in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility, so it can type for you, and let it control System Events if asked. Windows needs no extra permission.

4. Call from any app

   In any app, press ⌘,Command Comma and talk: "Add book the physio to my inbox." Ranya reads the task back and waits. Say yes, or click Confirm. Press the shortcut again to hang up.

5. Or capture without a call

   Press ⌘JCommand J and type the task into the small card, or press ⌘MCommand M to dictate where your cursor is. Capture it, close it, go back.

6. Make the keys yours

   In the desktop app, open Settings > Shortcuts and click a shortcut's keys to change it. Keys are saved on each computer, so set them in the desktop app itself; it then uses them from every app. Each floating window can be dragged aside, and opens there next time.

   Keyboard shortcuts

   Click a shortcut, then press the keys you want. Saved on this device.

   Reset all

   • General

     Dictate

     Hold to talk, tap to keep listening

     Works in every app on your computer

     ⌘MCommand M

   • Tasks

     New task

     Works in every app on your computer

     ⌘JCommand J

   • Voice

     Call Ranya

     Works in every app on your computer

     ⌘,Command Comma

Ready to try it? Download Ranya for Mac or Windows.

Does it work on Windows 11, and does it update itself?

Yes. Ranya runs on Windows 10 and 11, and on Macs with macOS 12 or later, Apple silicon or Intel. It is signed, so your computer can check it really comes from Ranya. And it keeps itself up to date, installing new versions the next time you quit.

It is the same Ranya as in your browser and on your phone, one account kept in sync, so a task added at your desk is on your phone when you leave. The guide to Ranya on your phone covers the other half, and you can see everywhere Ranya runs.