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Van Line Pro

Dictate items

Speak your items hands-free and the app parses them into a reviewable list, on-device, with cube estimates you confirm.

Dictation lets you list items hands-free. You speak, the app transcribes your words on-device, parses them into distinct items with quantities, and shows them as a list you review before adding. Nothing leaves the phone: recognition is forced on-device.

Who this is for: Crew and estimators who want to list items while their hands are busy. You'll need: Microphone and speech permission. The app asks the first time.

Before you start

  • Name the room. The room name defaults to Dictated Items; change it in the Room name field at the top.
  • This is not walk and talk. Dictation is a standalone list-builder with no LiDAR, so every cube is a catalog estimate. To narrate while measuring, use a LiDAR scan with walk and talk on a Pro device instead.

Dictate your items

  1. Open the job and tap Dictate items.

  2. Adjust the Room name if you want.

  3. Tap Start dictating and speak. The live transcript appears as you talk.

  4. Say your items in one natural list, for example: "leather sofa, two nightstands, a 55-inch TV, four kitchen boxes." A short pause (about 1.3 seconds) finalizes what you said.

  5. Tap Stop & add items. The app shows "Reading your items…" while it parses, then lists what it found.

Review and add

Each parsed item appears with an include toggle and a caption showing its category, cube estimate, and quantity. The section header shows how many are selected, e.g. "Items (4 selected)". Before adding:

  • Fix a name by tapping it and typing.
  • Include or exclude an item with its toggle.
  • Swipe to delete any row you don't want.

Tap Add N to import the selected items into the room, each as an individually numbered piece with its estimated cube and derived weight. Add is disabled until at least one item is selected.

Result: Each item lands in the room, ready to open in the Item Editor to correct sizes or add pre-existing damage.

Speaking damage

You can mention damage as you dictate, and the app maps your own words to the standard condition codes where they match. Anything it can't map stays as text for you to code by hand. For the full damage system, see How damage codes work.

Good to know

  • Sizes are estimates. Every dictated item gets a typical cube from the catalog. Correct it, or re-measure with a LiDAR scan, when the exact size matters.
  • Weight is derived from the cube and the item's category. See Categories & how weight is estimated.
  • On-device only. Speech is recognized on the phone, in US English; no audio is sent anywhere.

Troubleshooting

  • "Allow microphone and speech access in Settings to dictate items." — permission is off. Turn on Microphone and Speech Recognition for Van Line Pro in the iOS Settings app. See Camera, microphone & photo permissions.
  • "Couldn't start dictation. Check that another app isn't using the microphone, then try again." — something else is holding the mic (a call, another recording app). Close it and try again.

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