Frequently Asked Questions

What is NarrationCue?

A voice-activated autocue for Mac. Import your manuscript, and the script follows your voice as you read, sitting right above your DAW timeline so everything is on one screen.

Is NarrationCue an all-in-one audiobook studio?

No, and that’s on purpose. NarrationCue does one job: it keeps your place in the script. It’s for narrators who already have their audio sorted (mic, interface and DAW) and just want the manuscript right above their timeline, following their voice.

• Runs alongside the DAW you already use and never touches your audio
• Cleans up manuscripts: page numbers, running headers and layout marks stripped
• Built for the booth: picks the live input on multi-channel interfaces, with an adjustable voice gate so headphone bleed doesn’t move the script
• Lightweight: uses the speech recognition built into macOS, so there are no large downloads

Does it work with my DAW?

Yes, with any of them: Pro Tools, Reaper, TwistedWave, Audition and the rest. NarrationCue never records, routes or processes your audio, so there’s nothing to set up in your DAW.

Do I still need an iPad or a second screen?

No. The script sits on the same screen as your DAW, so there’s no more turning between an iPad and your monitor.

What Mac do I need?

macOS 15 Sequoia or later, on Apple silicon or Intel.

What file types can I import?

DOCX, DOC, RTF, TXT and PDF. Scanned PDFs are read with text recognition on your Mac, so give names and unusual words a quick check.

Will page numbers and headers from my PDF show up?

No. Page numbers, running headers and layout marks are stripped, leaving a clean reading version of your manuscript.

Will the markup in my PDF come in?

Yes. Highlights, underlines, squiggly underlines and strikethroughs come in with their colors. Lines drawn with your PDF app's line tool become underlines, or "/" pause marks when they sit between words. Typed notes, sticky notes and comments appear in [brackets] beside the word they belong to. Notes, pause marks and struck-out words stay on the page but are never read into the cue.

Freehand pen marks and handwriting aren't imported. If a PDF was flattened or printed to a new PDF, highlights drawn onto the page usually still come in with their colors, but its other markup doesn't.

Will footnotes in my PDF come in?

Yes. Each footnote moves to just after the paragraph that cites it, set apart in small grey italics, so it's there when you need it. The cue skips footnotes, so they never get in the way of your read.

Can I change how the script looks?

Yes. Choose from seven reading fonts (San Francisco, New York, Georgia, Palatino, Charter, Helvetica Neue and Avenir Next), with bold and italics kept, and set the size and line width. Pick a light, dark or sepia page, and highlight the full passage, just the current word, or nothing at all; the page still follows your voice either way. You can also switch to a distraction-free view that shows only the manuscript.

Does it find my chapters?

Yes. Chapters are detected automatically, and you can rename, add or remove them and jump straight to the one you’re recording.

What happens if I pause, stumble or re-read a line?

The script waits for you rather than jumping around. When you stop, it stops, and you can always move it by hand.

Will headphone playback or room noise move the script?

Not once Mic sensitivity is set for your booth. It filters out headphone bleed and room noise so only your voice moves the script.

Which languages and accents does it understand?

English for now, with US, UK, Canadian and Australian recognition.

Does it need an internet connection?

Not if on-device recognition is available on your Mac and turned on. Otherwise it uses Apple’s speech service, which needs a connection.

Does my manuscript leave my Mac?

No. There’s no account, no analytics and no upload to our servers. With on-device recognition turned on, your voice is processed on your Mac too; otherwise Apple processes it under Apple’s privacy terms. See our privacy policy.

How much does it cost?

NarrationCue is free to download from the Mac App Store with a full-featured 14-day trial. After that, choose a monthly subscription or a one-time lifetime unlock. The App Store shows the prices in your currency.

What happens when my trial ends?

Your existing manuscripts stay fully available. Importing new manuscripts needs the monthly plan or the lifetime unlock.

Can I switch from monthly to lifetime?

Yes, buy the lifetime unlock from inside the app at any time. Then cancel the monthly subscription in your App Store account settings so it doesn’t renew.

How do I get help?

Choose Help inside NarrationCue for a guide to every control, or send us a message through the contact form.