Tip of the Week: Adobe Reader’s ‘Read Aloud’ Feature
You don’t need an Amazon Kindle 2 to have a mechanical box read documents out loud. Although its main function is to display PDF files, thefree Adobe Reader software has a Read Aloud feature that can audibly recite the contents (in a decent, but not unmistakable computerized voice) of many PDF files.
To hear it for yourself, open a PDF file, go to the View menu and activate the feature from the Read Out Loud submenu; controls for how much to read and when to stop are here, too. While copy-protected e-books may not be compatible with Read Out Loud, it’s fine for works in the public domain, like books in PDF form fromProject Gutenberg, academic papers and other PDF files.
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Good tip, but please recognize that Adobe Acrobat has had this ability for a number of years, going back to Acrobat version 5.0 (now its 9.0). The feature works well enough to sit back and listen to either a page to be read aloud, or a whole document; it also has a pause control. A feature worth checking out.
Unfortunately, Adobe hasn’t improved the interface – the reading feature is somewhat buried in the menu structure, with no toolbar available, for something akin to a pushbutton control – perhaps in ver. 10.0?
The voice is a bit mechanical, but still listen-able. If you use this feature a lot, there are third-party companies that sell voices you can plug in for an enhanced listening experience.
How do you get the voice to change from MS Sam to a newer voice installed in Xp sp3. O changed the default using control panel voices but MS Sam is still being used.
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