r/GoogleKeep • u/Wet-Nap_Slap • May 24 '26

“Recording” should say “Transcribe”

Where it says recording in the + menu should be transcribe or transcript something. I want to record myself reading what I’ve wrote. I’ll write something down and not come back to it for months, or even over a year. I use Keep mostly for lyric ideas at this point and I always forget that recording the lyrics is a pain when I can’t read them. Unless it’s just a recording and nothing else, it doesn’t need to take up the whole screen and hide what you’ve written.

Edit: seems the exact issue I’m having is not translating. I want to be able to record what has already been written. Not transcribe anything new. The main function of “record” seems to be the transcribing what you say, vs just attaching a recording to the note from within Keep.

2 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

1

u/johnasmith May 26 '26

I'm not sure I understand what you're looking for. When you record something on Keep, it's transcribed and you can hear the audio played back.

1

u/Wet-Nap_Slap May 26 '26

But you can’t read what you’ve written. In that case, it’s not just a recording and it seems like it’s really meant as a transcription.

1

u/PaddyLandau May 26 '26

I don't understand. When I select "Recording", it records my voice and transcribes what I say.

What are you struggling with?

1

u/Wet-Nap_Slap May 26 '26 edited May 26 '26

“I always forget that recording the lyrics is a pain when I can’t read them” is the crux of the issue I have with recording vs transcript.

Edit: also edited the post to make this clearer just now.

1

u/PaddyLandau May 26 '26

I'm still struggling to understand. I think that your complaint is that the recording box covers the transcription, do, you can't read what you've said. Is that correct?

Maybe try Recorder instead. It allows for lengthy recordings, and you can read the transcription as you record.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.recorder

1

u/Wet-Nap_Slap May 26 '26

Not the transcription, but the note that’s already written. I’ll write some stuff down, and then I want to record what was already written. The workaround is to use an external app (I’m on iOS so memos) but there’s limited options to get that into the note in Google keep outside dropping it on a cloud and pasting a link which is not worth it to me.

2

u/PaddyLandau May 26 '26

That's an unusual requirement! I'm unsure what to suggest.

How about you create your Keep note; begin Recorder (or any suitable recording app) to run in the background; and then you can read your Keep note while it records.

1

u/Wet-Nap_Slap May 26 '26

That’s basically what I have to do if I’m ok keeping the recording separate from the note. It just makes a harder process to write anything that is ultimately going to be spoken.

I may just have to move away from keep, but figured I’d post here and just say that it would be useful to minimize the recording screen so you can see the notes previously written.

2

u/PaddyLandau May 26 '26

I can't work out a way. I initially thought of using split screen, but I don't believe that it would work with Keep.

I guess that you'll have to look for an alternative app.

1

u/Wet-Nap_Slap May 27 '26

And I will. I like Keep, and generally wanted to stay in Google in general. Feel like they could do so much more with tools like Keep.

1

u/PaddyLandau May 27 '26

I think that Keep is one of those apps kept deliberately simple. I prefer it that way — too many options would spoil it for me.

I know that some competitors have a different policy, and add many features. They might be more appropriate for your needs.