![]() ![]() Not sure if this is feasible at all using MS built in and downloadable voice packs, or if open source options are available, but this would be an incredibly useful plugin for language learners/x-as-second-language readers that are taking notes in Obsidian. I’d prefer if I could have a Read Aloud command in Obsidian that would read from a given note/pane, using available system voices, while I took notes (or, even added highlights in the same note) in another pane. ![]() Current process is open my source folder in Obsidian (where many articles are saved to read later), copy editor text, paste in Word, click “Read Aloud”, and then switch back to Obsidian afterwords to write down any notes. I use this for some of my foreign language articles as it helps me set a pace reading something which I mostly understand but may trudge through very slowly on my own motivation. You are limited solely office applications, there’s no support for web, no PDF conversion, no homophone check, or predictive spell checker, no downloadable voice etc, etc, etc.I’ve learned Microsoft Word has a decent text-to-speech plugin using the free voices available in Windows 10 - see under “Review -> Read Aloud” in the tool ribbon. But in my option, for anyone doing some serious writing going native does not yet give you options to really support anyone that realise on text to speech to get through the day. If I’m writing a quick email or note, it’s a really good option. So now that office has a usable and accessible text to speech option, will I be ditching the third-party apps that I’ve bee using for the best part of 10 years? Well for the most part no. With Word MS have done with their voice assistant Cortana and her forthcoming like up with Alexa I would have liked to see learnings from those digital “Dames” applied to this accessibility tool. The female voice is the same as in the older vision of MS’ text to speech which is disappointing, as one the biggest barrier to people using text to speech can be the difficulty that some people have listening to synthetic and robotic sounding voices. There is a choice of ‘three’ voices Gorge, Hazel, and Susan (at the moment the two female voices sound exactly the same but I am sure this will be sorted in a future update). There’s also a settings icon which allows you to change the voice and speed of playback. Microsoft’s new and improve transport controls But I expect it was part of the recent update that also added a native dictation function to Office applications. It’s difficult to say how long this has been there, as there are often under the radar developments in Office that aren’t obvious to those not in the know. When I clicked as if by magic one by one the words of my email were brought to life in speech. So it’s needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised when clicking through the menu of outlook I noticed a new button labeled ‘Read Aloud’. It’s no surprise the is a feature that few people know about and even fewer actually use.įor me, third-party apps like Claro Read or Read and Write have been the most suitable and effective text to speech options, the Microsoft option has only made an appearance when I am on a computer that doesn’t have any third-party app installed or when my computer is running really slow. Even if you jumped through all of the hoops to gain access, the reading the voice felt unnatural and the lack of settings (no ability to change the voice, reading speed, volume or control playback) didn’t make the user experience particularly good. It was hidden deep within an obscure options menu and once found, you had to manually add it to the Quick Access Tool Bar or Ribbon. Now your TTS voice should be using one of the Cortana voices. In the Text to Speech tab under Voice selection, choose either. Open the ‘Change text to speech settings’. In the search box top right type ‘Speech’. Using text to speech in office for the longest time has quite frankly been a bit of a faff. Hit the Windows key and type ‘Control panel’. ![]() Most of my writing is in Microsoft Word and although it has had text to speech capability for a while, it’s not something I was ever tempted to use unless there was no other option. Even today, with the wealth of assistive technology (AT) at my finger tips, text to speech is still the main weapon in my arsenal. Text to speech was the first piece of productivity-boosting tech I used when first looking into software that could help with some of my dyslexic difficulties. And even if you are not dyslexic if you speak English as a second language, want to give your eyes a rest or just wanted ramp up your productivity, using a computer reader can be a really effective tool. While speed reading and skimming are generally the go-to methods for more efficient reading, for me using ‘ Text to speech‘ has always been the best way to power through documents. ![]()
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