Text-to-Speech (TTS) is a software capability that is used to produce a sound version of text that appears in a document so that it sounds like a voice.  Microsoft has provided this capability in recent versions of Windows, beginning with Windows XP.  XP offers two voice types, one male (Microsoft Sam) and one female (Microsoft Anna).  For Vista and Windows 7, the only voice offered is for Microsoft Anna.

Please note, by the way, that Windows Text-to-Speech will work with English-language parts of BibleWorks.  It will not read the Greek or Hebrew texts.

To configure Text-to-Speech in Windows, one will open the Speech Properties window from the Control Panel.  The path is very similar in Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7.  When the Control Panel window has opened, for Windows XP and Vista, choose Classic View (and not Category View).  In Windows 7, choose Large icons or Small icons instead of Category View.  When icons are showing in rows and columns, find the icon for Speech (Win XP) or Speech Recognition (Vista & Win 7) and double-click it.

In Windows XP, the Speech Properties window will open.  In Vista and Windows 7, another window containing a number of speech recognition options will be offered.  Find and click Text to Speech in the panel on the left to open the Speech Properties window.

In the Voice selection field choose the desired voice.  Click the button labeled Preview Voice to hear a sample.  It will read the sentence entered in the field Use the following text...

The reading speed can be adjusted, if desired, by moving the slider in the Voice speed section of the window.

Voices are also available from AT&T (http://www.naturalvoices.att.com/) and may be preferred to those offered in Windows. These voices and others from other companies can be purchased at http://www.nextuptech.com/ . They must be purchased with their text-to-speech application, but it is usually reasonable in cost. (Good voices, however, are not cheap.)  These programs will have their own settings, and thus will not use the Windows settings described above.

Last Update: ELM/May 8, 2012