logo AutoPTT

Features & Use Cases

AutoPTT began as a simple utility with one purpose: to turn Push-to-Talk back into Voice Activation, which is where the name came from. Since then, the goal of the app has shifted towards a more comprehensive microphone control solution for Windows.

Features

  • Turn Push-to-Talk back into Voice Activation with Activation Mode: Voice Activity.
    • AutoPTT presses and releases the Push-to-Talk key for you.
    • When you start talking, the key is pressed, and when you stop, it’s released.
    • This can be useful for gamers too busy to press the key in a hectic fight, or people with certain disabilities that make using Push-to-Talk difficult.
    • Of course, this may not be necessary if the game/app natively supports Voice Activation, but it may still be preferable to use AutoPTT’s Voice Activity mode to keep settings consistent between different games/apps.
  • Turn Push-to-Talk (or Open Mic) into a hybrid mode of Push-to-Talk and Voice Activation with Activation Mode: Tap.
    • In this mode, the mic is not activated until you press the Push-to-Talk key. However, you can release the key immediately – the key release event is blocked from Windows so it stays down until you actually stop speaking, and only then is it released.
  • Turn Open Mic (or Voice Activation) back into Push-to-Talk with Activation Mode: Open Mic to PTT.
    • When your game/app does not support Push-to-Talk, you can still achieve it by muting and unmuting the mic system-wide, so no audio comes through when it’s not intended.
    • Open Mic to PTT simply keeps the mic muted unless you’re pressing the Push-to-Talk key.
    • There is also an Open Mic to Tap mode which works in a similar fashio, except that just like the Tap mode, it keeps the mic unmuted for as long as you keep talking.
  • As microphone control settings vary greatly between different games and apps, AutoPTT can be used as a way to get consistent settings between all of them. Set up your mic once in AutoPTT, and then the time you have to spend configuring each individual game or app is greatly reduced.
  • Aside from Push-to-Talk and Voice Activation, you can also use Push-to-Mute or Toggle Mute (Toggle to Talk)
    • There is a “global” and “normal” version of both Push-to-Mute and Toggle Mute, where the “global” versions mute/unmute the mic system-wide, while the “normal” versions simply prevent the Push-to-Talk key from being pressed.
  • There are also various advanced featrures that may or may not exist in other games/apps:
    • If you’re using the Voice Activity or Tap mode and tend to start speaking (relatively) loudly and then trail off a bit at then end, you can use s separate Deactivation Threshold (sometimes also referred to as Hold Sensitivity). The mic will stay active until the sound level is under both the Activation and Deactivation thresholds.
    • In a similar fashion, Release Delay keeps the mic active for a time even after AutoPTT thinks you’ve stopped talking.
    • Additionally, the Tap mode can also have a separate Tap Activation Window which keeps the mic active for a time from the moment you release the PTT key. It’s basically Release Delay for before you start speaking – and in fact, it’s only useful if it’s longer than Release Delay.
  • Hotkeys for most actions you can think of
    • It’s particularly important to note that many games do not support Push-to-Talk and related hotkeys for game controllers. AutoPTT supports all game controllers from simple gamepads (Xbox, PlayStation, etc) to steering wheels and joysticks.
    • Any kind of combination is supported. SHIFT-X is just as valid as X-Y. You could even mix keyboard keys with mouse or controller buttons.
  • To keep you aware of what’s going on, AutoPTT offers:
    • Sound effects for various events like when the mic activates and deactivates (when PTT is pressed/released) or when the mic is muted system-wide
    • There is also an always-on-top Overlay that can show the current state of the mic, and support for external devices via the Elgato Stream Deck Plugin and the Bitfocus Companion Plugin.
    • You can also develop (or vibe-code; I don’t judge) your own plugins using an API (protobuf, JavaScript).
  • For when you need to have different settings based on what app is running (or the active window), AutoPTT also supports multiple profiles and the ability to automatically switch between them.
  • Run at Startup
    • As it’s recommended to start AutoPTT with admin privileges to ensure compatibility with other games/apps that run as admin, it’s possible to have AutoPTT start automatically on boot (as admin, or not).
  • AFK Auto Mute (and Auto Unmute)
    • If AutoPTT detects no input (mouse, keyboard, game controller) for a time, it can automatically mute the mic. It can also unmute the mic after activity is detected again.
  • Mic Inactivity Alert
    • You can also set up an alert for when no audio is detected from the mic, in case you have a physical mute button, for example, and forget to unmute it.
    • This is basically like a “dead air” warning for radio hosts but instead of 5 seconds it’s several minutes (by default).

Example uses

  • Voice Activation in Valorant Team Chat (which requires Push-to-Talk)
  • Voice Activation in Discord channels with forced Push-to-Talk
  • Voice Activation with Discord Priority Speaker (which requires Push-to-Talk)
  • Automatically activate mic when playing sounds from soundboard apps (using the Voice Activity or Tap mode)
  • Control the mic in Microsoft Teams while the Teams window is in the background