This is the transcript of the 'Apple MAc - spoken content' video.
Speaker 1:
Welcome. In this video, we're going to show you how to use the text-to-speech tools on your Apple Mac so you can listen to the text on your screen, making it easier to absorb information. Let's dive in.
First things first, let's set up the text-to-speech on your Mac. It's a simple process, and once it is set up, you can have the text read aloud to you from any app.
To get started, click on the Apple logo in the top left corner of your screen and select System Settings. In System Settings, scroll down and click on Accessibility. This is where all the features to help with accessibility are located.
Now, in the Accessibility menu, find the Spoken Content option and click on it. Here, you'll see the settings to enable a range of text-to-speech options.
First, turn on the Speak Selection toggle. This allows you to highlight any text and have it read out loud to you. Let's try this out. Once you have highlighted a word, right click and select Speech and the Start Speaking option
Matilda:
Learning.
Speaker 1:
Another good way to speed up the speech selection process is to use the keyboard shortcut. On my device, it is set at Command, Option and S. You can personalise this on your device by navigating back to the System Settings; Accessibility, Spoken Content, and click on the little I icon.
Select this keyboard shortcut cut out box and press the keys you would like to make your shortcut. You also have some other features in here that you might find handy to adjust to suit your preferences.
Now, let's navigate up to the Speaking rate section. Here, you can adjust the Speaking rate by sliding the Speech rate bar. Slow it down or speed it up to match your preference.
Next, you can change the voice. By default, it might be set to a standard voice, but you can click on the voice drop down menu and choose from a large variety of different voices or even download a voice of your choosing.
There are many available to choose from. Explore what suits you. But I like the Matilda Premium option. You can choose the play sample and hear what it sounds like.
Matilda:
Hello, my name is Matilda. I am an Australian English voice.
Speaker 1:
If you want your Mac to speak the entire screen to you, reader mode is available on some web pages. Reader mode removes the unnecessary distractions. Look for the page icon in the URL bar or try the reader view shortcut, Shift, Command and R.
Once on the reader view page, simply use your speak words shortcut, Command, Option, S and the page will start being read to you. Let's test this out.
Matilda:
What is a planet? Learn about Earth's neighbourhood. The planets in our solar system-
Speaker 1:
Let's navigate back to the System Settings, Accessibility and Spoken Content section. Speak item under the cursor is another exciting option when turned on. This allows you to tap a word and the whole line will be read to you. Let's try this out.
Matilda:
Far out facts. Our solar system's eight planets come into flavours, smaller rocky planets with solid ground.
Speaker 1:
Finally, the last feature we will explore today is the Speak typing feedback. Once turned on, decide if it would like your MacBook to read your typed word to you or the individual characters as you type. Let's try this out.
Matilda:
A, B, C. Ryan and Zoe went to the beach.
Speaker 1:
For even more customisation, you can use the VoiceOver feature. This is a more advanced screen reading option that reads everything to you on your screen allowed, but we won't go into that one today. For now, the basic text-to-speech should be more than enough for most tasks.
And that's it, you're all set up, ready to use the text-to-speech on your Mac. Whether you are reading documents, emails, or websites, you now have an easy way to read text aloud to you. We hope that this improves your activity and makes using your Mac even easier.
[End of transcript]