BT Speak Quick Tips: Check Time, Date, and Battery Status on the fly!

Why this is cool

Sometimes you need the time, today’s date, or battery level while you’re in the middle of another task. Do you ever struggle to remember the date or day of the week while writing? Get lost in an engaging subject while surfing Wikipedia and want to check the time? We all do! BT Speak gives you quick, consistent hotkeys that work almost everywhere, so you don’t have to back out of what you’re doing. It’s fast and simple without breaking your concentration.

Here's how it works

Each command uses a chord (a letter or dot combination pressed with the space bar) together with dot 8. For example, T-chord + dot 8 means pressing dots 2-3-4-5, space, and dot 8 all at the same time.

Time

• Press: T-chord + dot 8

• What you’ll hear: The current time.

  
  

Date

• Press: D-chord + dot 8

• What you’ll hear: Today’s date.

  
  

Battery status

• Press: dots 3-4-chord + dot 8

• What you’ll hear: Battery percentage (and charging status if applicable).

• Note: Dots 3-4 is also the “st” sign in Grade 2 Braille (think "status")- a handy mnemonic!

  
  

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Where these work

• Almost anywhere: menus, dialogs, and the File Browser

• Desktop mode: yes, they work there too

  
  

One exception

• Speech Settings (opened with S-chord): these commands don’t run here because the speech settings menu reserves a distinct set of commands to toggle speech parameters. If you need to check time, date, or battery status while in Speech Settings, press Z-chord to exit. Then use the commands normally!

Tips & tricks

Make it muscle memory

• Think T = Time, D = Date, ST = Status (dots 3-4 = “st” → battery status).

  
  

Use dot 8 as your accelerator

• Think of adding dot 8 with the chord as telling BT Speak to “Say it now,” without leaving your current task.

Quick recap

• Time: T-chord + dot 8

• Date: D-chord + dot 8

• Battery: dots 3-4-chord + dot 8

• Works: almost everywhere (menus, File Browser, Blazie mode, Desktop mode, etc.)

• Where it doesn’t work: Speech Settings (S-chord)

  
  

Try it now

Open anything including your inbox, a document, or the File Browser and issue one of the commands above. You’ll hear exactly what you need, right when you need it.

Comments? Feature suggestions?

Let us know by posting a comment below!