To use text-to-speech in different languages, see Using the Speak feature with Multilingual TTS. To learn how to configure Excel for text-to-speech, see Converting text to speech in Excel. Add Speak to the Quick Access Toolbar. You can add the Speak command to your Quick Access Toolbar by doing the following in Word, Outlook, PowerPoint,. Aug 31, 2016  Learn how to keep in touch and stay productive with Microsoft Teams and Office 365, even when you’re working remotely. Dictate text using Speech Recognition. Content provided by Microsoft. You can dictate text to fill out online forms; or you can dictate text to a word-processing program, such as WordPad, to type a letter.

In Office, the Microsoft Learning Tools is a set of features available in Word designed to help you improve reading skills no matter your age or ability.

Just click the Download Button for Speech Tools or Dual Writer. When the Download window opens, click the Run button to install. Speech Tools System Requirements. Speech Tools supports Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016 running on Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.

The idea with these tools is to remove distractions and offer proven techniques to improve reading fluency and comprehension. For example, using Learning Tools, you can add spacing to reduce visual crowding. You can change the color of the background to make it easier to see the letters. It's also possible to break down words into syllables and highlight part of the speech, and you can use the narration feature to hear the text aloud and see the words highlighted to follow along.

In this Windows 10 guide, we'll walk you through the steps to get started with the Learning Tools available with Microsoft Word to improve your reading skills when using an Office 365 subscription or Office 2019.

How to use Learning Tools in Word

To get started with the Learning Tools available in Word, use the following steps:

1. Open Word.
2. Click the View tab.

3. Click the Learning Tools button.

Once you open Learning Tools, a new tab will appear, with various features to help with reading fluency and comprehension, including 'Color Width,' 'Page Color,' 'Text Spacing,' and 'Syllables,' and 'Read Aloud.'

Column Width

Using the Column Width option, you can control the width of the text lines which can affect readability as a result of how our eyes see content. (Usually, you don't want to read more than 10 to 15 words per line of text. Otherwise, reading text can quickly become tiring.)

Options available, include:

• Very Narrow.
• Narrow.
• Moderate.
• Wide.

Page Color

Microsoft Word For Macbook

The Page Color options allow you to change the background color that best suits your eyes, which can help reduce eye strain while reading content.

Options available, include:

• None.
• Sepia.
• Inverse.

Text spacing

The Text spacing option allows to add wider spacing between characters and words to improve reading fluency.

Syllables

Using the Syllables option, you can divide words into syllables to help you to better your reading and spelling skills as well as to improve word pronunciation.

Read Aloud

Using the Read Aloud option brings up a set of media controls that you can use to hear the text in the document aloud.

To hear text aloud, select the text, and click the Play button in the top-right corner. You can also use the Previous and Next button to go back to the previous or next paragraph that you selected.

Click the speaker button allows you to control the reading speed and the voice selection.

How to use Learning Tools in Word Online

If you use the online version of Microsoft Word, you can also use the tools to improve comprehension and fluency using these steps:

1. Open Word Online.
2. Click the View tab.

3. Click the Immersive Reader button.

Once in the 'Immersive Reader' experience, a full-screen view will open with various learning tools, including 'Text Preferences,' 'Grammar Options,' 'Reading Preferences,' and read aloud.

Text Preferences

Clicking the Text Preferences option in the top-right allows you to change several options to help with reading fluency, including the ability to change the font size and family.

In addition, you can add wider spacing between letters and words, and you can even choose from 21 different themes to change the background color, which can help to make it easier to see the letters and reduce eye strain while reading.

Grammar Options

The Grammar Options, similar to the Learning Tools for Microsoft Edge, includes features to help with reading comprehension.

Turning on the Syllables toggle switch allows you to break words into syllables.

Using the Parts of speech option, you can highlight nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in the Word document.

As you start highlighting parts of the speech, you can use the drop-down menu to select different colors to highlight the words.

In addition, it's also possible to turn on the Show labels toggle switch to display a label above the part of the speech that you're highlighting.

Reading Preferences

Clicking the Reading Preferences button allows you to access a few additional features. For example, the Line focus option helps you to focus on the document you're reading by highlighting one, three, or five lines of text at a time while dimming the rest of the document.

If you enable this feature, you'll need to use the controls that appear on the right side to move up and down within the document.

Finally, there's also an option to enable the built-in Picture Dictionary. When you enable this feature, you can click a word to see its definition appear as an image. If an image definition is not available, you can still click the speaker button to hear the pronunciation.

Speech Tools For Microsoft Word For Mac 2011

Read Aloud

At the bottom of the Word document, you'll also find the Play button, which you can click to use the narrator to hear the entire document or selection aloud.

If you want to change the voice settings, you can click the speaker button next to the Play button to access the menu, and change the voice speed and voice selection.

We're focusing this guide for Microsoft Word, but the Learning Tools are also available for OneNote desktop and OneNote Online, Outlook desktop, Office Lens, and Microsoft Edge for Windows 10.

More Windows 10 resources

For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10, visit the following resources:

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Get the right GPU for a stellar VR experience. These are the best available

VR performance hinges on a lot of factors, though perhaps none more important than the graphics card. If you're wondering what the best option is for your next gaming and VR PC, we've rounded up a bunch that fit a number of budgets and performance levels.

macOS Catalina introduces Voice Control, a new way to fully control your Mac entirely with your voice. Voice Control uses the Siri speech-recognition engine to improve on the Enhanced Dictation feature available in earlier versions of macOS.¹

How to turn on Voice Control

After upgrading to macOS Catalina, follow these steps to turn on Voice Control:

1. Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click Accessibility.
2. Click Voice Control in the sidebar.
3. Select Enable Voice Control. When you turn on Voice Control for the first time, your Mac completes a one-time download from Apple.²
   Voice Control preferences
   

When Voice Control is enabled, you see an onscreen microphone representing the mic selected in Voice Control preferences.

To pause Voice Control and stop it from from listening, say ”Go to sleep” or click Sleep. To resume Voice Control, say or click ”Wake up.”

Speech Tools For Microsoft Word For Mac Pro

How to use Voice Control

Get to know Voice Control by reviewing the list of voice commands available to you: Say “Show commands” or ”Show me what I can say.” The list varies based on context, and you may discover variations not listed. To make it easier to know whether Voice Control heard your phrase as a command, you can select ”Play sound when command is recognized” in Voice Control preferences.

Basic navigation

Voice Control recognizes the names of many apps, labels, controls, and other onscreen items, so you can navigate by combining those names with certain commands. Here are some examples:

• Open Pages: ”Open Pages.” Then create a new document: ”Click New Document.” Then choose one of the letter templates: 'Click Letter. Click Classic Letter.” Then save your document: ”Save document.”
• Start a new message in Mail: ”Click New Message.” Then address it: ”John Appleseed.”
• Turn on Dark Mode: ”Open System Preferences. Click General. Click Dark.” Then quit System Preferences: ”Quit System Preferences” or ”Close window.”
• Restart your Mac: ”Click Apple menu. Click Restart” (or use the number overlay and say ”Click 8”).

You can also create your own voice commands.

Number overlays

Use number overlays to quickly interact with parts of the screen that Voice Control recognizes as clickable, such as menus, checkboxes, and buttons. To turn on number overlays, say ”Show numbers.” Then just say a number to click it.

Number overlays make it easy to interact with complex interfaces, such as web pages. For example, in your web browser you could say ”Search for Apple stores near me.” Then use the number overlay to choose one of the results: ”Show numbers. Click 64.” (If the name of the link is unique, you might also be able to click it without overlays by saying ”Click” and the name of the link.)

Voice Control automatically shows numbers in menus and wherever you need to distinguish between items that have the same name.

Grid overlays

Use grid overlays to interact with parts of the screen that don't have a control, or that Voice Control doesn't recognize as clickable.

Say “Show grid” to show a numbered grid on your screen, or ”Show window grid” to limit the grid to the active window. Say a grid number to subdivide that area of the grid, and repeat as needed to continue refining your selection.

To click the item behind a grid number, say ”Click” and the number. Or say ”Zoom” and the number to zoom in on that area of the grid, then automatically hide the grid. You can also use grid numbers to drag a selected item from one area of the grid to another: ”Drag 3 to 14.”

To hide grid numbers, say ”Hide numbers.” To hide both numbers and grid, say ”Hide grid.”

Dictation

When the cursor is in a document, email message, text message, or other text field, you can dictate continuously. Dictation converts your spoken words into text.

• To enter a punctuation mark, symbol, or emoji, just speak its name, such as ”question mark” or ”percent sign” or ”happy emoji.” These may vary by language or dialect.
• To move around and select text, you can use commands like ”Move up two sentences” or ”Move forward one paragraph” or ”Select previous word” or ”Select next paragraph.”
• To format text, try ”Bold that” or ”Capitalize that,” for example. Say ”numeral” to format your next phrase as a number.
• To delete text, you can choose from many delete commands. For example, say “delete that” and Voice Control knows to delete what you just typed. Or say ”Delete all” to delete everything and start over.

Voice Control understands contextual cues, so you can seamlessly transition between text dictation and commands. For example, to dictate and then send a birthday greeting in Messages, you could say ”Happy Birthday. Click Send.” Or to replace a phrase, say ”Replace I’m almost there with I just arrived.”

You can also create your own vocabulary for use with dictation.

Create your own voice commands and vocabulary

Create your own voice commands

1. Open Voice Control preferences, such as by saying ”Open Voice Control preferences.”
2. Click Commands or say ”Click Commands.” The complete list of all commands opens.
3. To add a new command, click the add button (+) or say ”Click add.” Then configure these options to define the command:
   • When I say: Enter the word or phrase that you want to be able to speak to perform the action.
   • While using: Choose whether your Mac performs the action only when you're using a particular app.
   • Perform: Choose the action to perform. You can open a Finder item, open a URL, paste text, paste data from the clipboard, press a keyboard shortcut, select a menu item, or run an Automator workflow.
4. Use the checkboxes to turn commands on or off. You can also select a command to find out whether other phrases work with that command. For example, “Undo that” works with several phrases, including “Undo this” and “Scratch that.”

To quickly add a new command, you can say ”Make this speakable.” Voice Control will help you configure the new command based on the context. For example, if you speak this command while a menu item is selected, Voice Control helps you make a command for choosing that menu item.

Create your own dictation vocabulary

1. Open Voice Control preferences, such as by saying ”Open Voice Control preferences.”
2. Click Vocabulary, or say ”Click Vocabulary.”
3. Click the add button (+) or say ”Click add.”
4. Type a new word or phrase as you want it to be entered when spoken.

Learn more

• For the best performance when using Voice Control with a Mac notebook computer and an external display, keep your notebook lid open or use an external microphone.
• All audio processing for Voice Control happens on your device, so your personal data is always kept private.
• Use Voice Control on your iPhone or iPod touch.
• Learn more about accessibility features in Apple products.

Microsoft Word For Mac Student

1. Voice Control uses the Siri speech-recognition engine for U.S. English only. Other languages and dialects use the speech-recognition engine previously available with Enhanced Dictation.

Speech Tools For Microsoft Word For Mac Free

2. If you're on a business or school network that uses a proxy server, Voice Control might not be able to download. Have your network administrator refer to the network ports used by Apple software products.