Listen to this simple program recite any piece of text in the English language back to you, and quickly modify the speed and volume of the speech.
- Screen Reader
- Version : 10.1.1.41947
- License :Trial
- OS :Windows All
- Publisher :Source Binary
Screen Reader Description
Screen Reader is a modern-looking application that enables you to transform text into speech, then listen to it spoken back to you. It supports various languages, not just English, allowing you to adjust the speed of the speech and its volume.
Opens text files and reads the text out loud
Screen Reader allows you to quickly load a text file or document, it displays the words, then you can start listening to it as it is spoken by one of the available voices (the voices already installed in Windows are supported).
It features a convenient progress watching function, which highlights the word in the text that the voice is currently reciting. You may easily read the text while you are listening to it being spoken.
Unfortunately, it does not support copy-paste actions, so you just have to settle for manually opening a text file. However, you can have any text read out loud to you by selecting it and pressing the CTRL-‘dot’ key combination. This is actually more convenient and faster than copying and pasting text, but note that the main window is not an editor, which means you cannot modify the text in any way.
Adjustable speech rate, and exporting options
If you consider the speech rate is not comfortable for you, you can adjust it, so to have the text read at a slower or a higher pace. There is a 20 units range (-10 – +10, the limit is 10 units in either direction) you can experiment with until you find the right speed. The ‘+’ and ‘-’ buttons in the main window allow you to do so, without opening the main menu.
The main window stays on top of all windows and you cannot change this, which is quite annoying. However, working with it is easy. As for playback controls, Screen Reader only includes play and pause commands.
An important plus is the exporting function. The text can be saved as a new text file and the speech can be exported to an audio file and saved to your computer in WAV format (no other format is supported).
Modern GUI, feature set that can be improved further
Screen Reader sports a stylish GUI and simple functions and while it does its job pretty good, that might not be enough for some users. It would be a real plus if the main window would actually be an editor, with options to modify and paste text, alongside the ‘CTRL-dot’ text importing function. Furthermore, no other customization options are available, which is an additional drawback.
Other than that, it is an average text reader, with a look that blends with the modern interface of the latest Windows iteration, but with functions and options that require further improvements.