Fact · Dictation on Mac
Apple says that if you assign a keyboard shortcut that already exists for another command or app, your new shortcut will not work, and that you must change one of the two shortcuts.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“If you assign a keyboard shortcut that already exists for another command or app, your new shortcut won’t work.”
Use macOS keyboard shortcuts, Apple, Apple Support, Mac Help, n.d., Page text, paragraph on conflicting shortcuts.
Open the original- What it measures
- Apple's article is about keyboard shortcuts in general on macOS. A Dictation shortcut is a macOS shortcut, so the same rule applies to it. Apple does not state a separate rule for Dictation.
- What it does not show
- Apple's article does not say what happens with a key that is also used by an input source or a keyboard utility, so check the other tool's settings for a key that does not respond.