The Text to Speech feature is useful for users who have low vision but do not use a screenreader.
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- This is totally different to text-to-speech software, which is software can read out text already in the computer. In this article you’ll learn about different types of speech-to-text software for Mac OS X, and what your options are if you want to use it to control your computer, dictate text, or both.
- ESpeak Speech Synthesizer is an open source speech synthesizer for Windows, Mac and Linux based OS. It provides the option for listening to text in multiple languages. The speech is clear and the available text in English, can be listened to in any alternative language easily.
- Speech Central: Text to Speech needs a review. Be the first to review this app and get the discussion started! Speech Central can read aloud web pages, browse web pages and RSS feeds (allowing you to enqueue the reading of the articles while headlines are read), documents and e-books for you while you are doing something else.
If your OS of choice is Mac OS X, and all you need is basic but extremely solid text to speech (TTS) functionality, you don’t even have to bother with a third party software application, as the OS’ native Text to Speech feature has you covered. Best Speech Dictation Software for MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, iMac Pro For business, Personal, professional users Now you have a great option as the perfect speech dictation software Mac or Windows.
- Choose Apple, System Preferences, Speech.
- Select the Text to Speech pane.
- Use the pulldown menu at the top of the Text to Speech pane to select a voice. The slider allows you to select the speaking rate that works best for you. To preview the voice and speaking rate, click on the Play button.
- Check the box next to “Speak selected text when the key is pressed” and click on Set Key.
- Click in the text field inside the popup window and press the keys you want to use for your Text to Speech keyboard shortcut, then click on OK.
- To use the text to speech feature, select the text you want to hear and press the keyboard shortcut you set up in the Text to Speech preferences. The same keyboard shortcut will stop the Text to Speech feature.
Thanks to Siri on the iPhone 4S, people are quickly getting used to hearing gadgets talk. Your Mac can talk, too. For using your Mac everyday, there’s VoiceOver, which is designed for people who are blind or have low vision. If that’s more talking from your Mac than you need, you can use the Mac’s Text to Speech feature, where the Mac reads selected text. It can be handy to use in a presentation, or, if you use an app to record your Mac’s audio, you can create sound clips to use in videos or audio recordings.
The default voice that your Mac uses for Text to Speech actually has a name: Alex. He has a pleasing tone and a certain warmth, but you have other choices if you're looking for something else. There’s Victoria, who’s the female equivalent of Alex; and Bruce and Katy, who are more robotic. Lion and Snow Leopard show a total of six voices available, but there are plenty more to choose from. In this how-to, you will learn how to change the system voice, as well as add new voices.
Step 1: Activate Text to Speech
To have your Mac read selected text out loud, go to System Preferences and open Speech; then under the Text to Speech tab, check the box for Speak Selected Text When the Key is Pressed. The default key combination in Lion is Option+Esc, but you can change it by clicking the Change Key button. In Snow Leopard, you have to define a key combination.
Now whenever you want the Mac to read something out loud, you just select the text and press the key combo. You can, for example, have your Mac read an email as you settle in after arriving to work.
Step 2: Change the voice
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Sure, Alex sounds like a nice guy, but he won’t be offended if you want a change. Still in the Text to Speech tab of the Speech system preference, click on the System Voice pop-up menu. You’ll see the voices, divided by gender. (In Lion, the female voices are listed first. In Snow Leopard, the male voices are first.) To see what each one sounds like, select it, and then click the Play button. You can use the slider bar to adjust the Speaking Rate.
If you like one of the six voices, select it, adjust the Speaking Rate (if you want), close the window, and you’re done. If you aren’t satisfied with one of the six, you can add more voices.
Step 3: Add new voices
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In the System Voice pop-up menu used in step 2, select Customize (or Show More Voices if you’re using Snow Leopard) at the bottom of the menu. In Lion, a new window will appear, with a list of different voices. Many are designed for use with a particular language, such as German, Japanese, Arabic, Korean, or even South African English, and those voices will read American English with the inflections of the language it is designed for. To sample a voice, check its box and click on the Play button. Check the boxes of the voices you want, and then click OK. The OS will need to download the voice, so you’ll be asked to confirm that you want to install it. If you click Install in the confirmation window, the Apple Licensing Agreement will appear. You’ll need to agree to it to proceed.
In Snow Leopard, after you select Show More Voices, you need to open the System Voice pop-up menu again. You’ll notice that the list has expanded. To sample a voice, you need to select it, and then click on the Play button in the Text to Speech tab of the Speech preference. Unfortunately, you don’t get the language choices that are available in Lion.
Lion users: If you want a Siri-like voice on your Mac, install Samantha, located in the English (United States) Female section. Samantha doesn’t sound exactly like Siri, but it’s close. If you adjust the speaking rate, you can get closer to a Siri sound-alike. Snow Leopard doesn't have Samantha or another Siri-like voice.
Step 4: Talk talk
Once you’re done adding new voices and you’ve found one you like, select it, adjust the Speaking Rate if you want, and then close the Speech preference window. You’re done.
When you want to use Text to Speech, select the text and press the key combo you defined in step 1. Some apps, such as TextEdit, have text-to-speech built in, so you can use the app’s menu command instead. (It's Edit -> Speech -> Start Speaking in TextEdit.)
Text-to-speech (TTS) is the ability of your computer to play back written text as spoken words. Depending upon your configuration and installed TTS engines, you can hear most text that appears on your screen in Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and OneNote. When your Mac can hear you, the input meter inside the microphone rises and falls as you speak. Speak the words that you want your Mac to type. Dictation learns the characteristics of your voice and adapts to your accent, so the more you use it, the better it understands you. Word for mac text to speech.
[Samantha was a key contributor to Macworld senior editor Roman Loyola’s performance in the Macworld Pundit Showdown XIII.]
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