How to Start Audio Text

Use headphones to listen to audio on a laptop.

Many people can find some use for a computer, be it for personal, educational or professional reasons. However, some people might need assistance with reading the text on the computer screen. A vision impaired person may want to use the PC to read local news. A person with average 20/20 vision might want to reduce the strain of reading text on a PC. Although reading has traditionally involved the eyes, you can use a utility in the Windows operating system that can convert text to audio, allowing you to listen through your ears.

Instructions

1. Click the "Start" button (Windows circle) in the bottom-left corner on the taskbar. Select "Run" from the Start menu to open a dialog box.

2. Type "Narrator.exe" in the field labeled "Open." Press "Enter" to open Microsoft Narrator utility.

3. Press the "Insert" and "F7" keys on the keyboard to have Microsoft Narrator read the all of the text on page that is currently active. Press "Insert" and "F8" to read all of the text in a document.

4. Drag to highlight specific text on a Web page or in a document; press "Ctrl," "Alt" and "Spacebar" to read text in the window that is the interface for a program or application.

Tips & Warnings

• Use the speech recognition utility in Windows to have the operating system record your spoken words through a PC microphone and type out the text in an application on the screen.

References

• Microsoft: Windows 7: Hear Text Read Aloud With Narrator
• Microsoft: Windows 7: Text To Speech: Frequently Asked Questions

Resources

• Microsoft: Windows 7: What Can I Do With Speech Recognition?