Why does dictation reload after not using for 10 minutes? The integrated dictation software on my Mac (whose hotkey is pressing function twice) takes 10 seconds to initialize after not using it for around 10 minutes. It's a minor nuisance, but still a nuisance. Is there documentation for changing the settings?

MacBook OS 10.11
By default, Enhanced Dictation waits 7 minutes (420 seconds) before quitting its processes. You can override this default by writing a different value to its preference file.

For example, if you want Dictation to wait 60 minutes (3600 seconds), open Terminal and execute the following command.

defaults write com.apple.inputmethod.ironwood DelaySecondsUntilTerminatationOffline -float 3600;killall DictationIM


If you want to return to the default value, you can remove the override using the command:

defaults remove com.apple.inputmethod.ironwood DelaySecondsUntilTerminatationOffline;killall DictationIM