It’s helpful to know how to use dictation and Microsoft’s text-to-speech features in Word. These features improve accessibility and save time. Microsoft’s text-to-speech feature reads the text you type in a document.
This is useful for visually impaired people who have difficulty reading text. It is also useful for busy people who receive large amounts of documents, as they can listen to the material while doing other things. Word’s dictation feature makes creating documents easier for people who can type.
This article explores the benefits of voice input and explains how to use text-to-speech and dictation in Word.
Advantages of voice input
Dictation in Microsoft Word is useful to many different people. For example, voice input functionality is useful for people with disabilities.
“TTS technology can be used to read text from websites, e-books, and other digital content, giving individuals access to information and entertainment in ways not previously available.” (disabilityhorizo ns.com)
Benefits of voice input for people with disabilities include:
- It is useful for people who are visually impaired as it provides an alternative to reading printed text.
- It also helps people with dyslexia understand and retain information.
- This feature is also useful for people with disabilities who have difficulty using a mouse or keyboard.
These are just some of the ways voice input can be useful. very convenient.
Text-to-speech is useful for people who don’t have time to read documents because they can listen to them. For example, a student who has a long commute to school can listen to her Word document while commuting.
Another advantage of text-to-speech is that you can convert written words into spoken words in multiple languages, even if you don’t speak the language of your target market.
Now that we’ve covered the benefits, let’s take a look at how to dictate and use text-to-speech in Word.
How to use Microsoft Text-to-Speech
This tutorial shows you how to use Dictation in Word version 16.77.1 on macOS.
Try using Text-to-Speech in Microsoft Word.
1. Use templates
In this post, we will be working with a CV resume template. This is a premium Microsoft Word template from Envato Elements.
This template includes a cover letter and business card to match your resume. All content on your resume can be easily edited. CV resume templates also have modern and creative designs suitable for any job you want to apply for.
2. Make sure you have the right equipment
Before learning about Microsoft Word dictation, you need the following:
- Microphone-enabled device or external microphone
- A Microsoft account with access to Word
- stable internet connection
- quiet environment
3. How to turn on dictation
Here’s how to enable voice input:
The first step to enabling voice input in Microsoft Word is to open a new or existing document.
Then click House,after that, dictate button. You will be asked if the app can access your microphone.click got it. This turns on dictation in Word. Start hearing your voice. Now you can speak and what you say will appear as text in MS Word.
Try to be in a quiet environment. If other voices are around, your microphone may pick them up and add them to your document.
4. How to add punctuation marks
The voice input feature allows you to say specific phrases that are recognized by Windows Speech Recognition. When you say these phrases, Word inserts punctuation into your document. Here are some phrases you can use:
phrase | output |
---|---|
period, period | . |
comma | , |
question mark | ? |
exclamation mark/point | ! |
new line | new line |
apostrophe | ‘s |
colon | : |
semicolon | ; |
open quotes | ” |
close quote | ” |
hyphen | – |
ellipsis, dot dot dot | … |
Left parenthesis/open parenthesis | ( |
Close parenthesis/close parenthesis | ) |
Left/opening bracket | [ |
Right/Close Bracket | ] |
left/open brace | |
right curly brace/right curly brace |
Punctuation is required. Knowing these phrases will help you put proper punctuation in your documents.
5. Editing method
You can also edit documents using the speech-to-text feature. Text-to-Speech Use Word’s editing commands to make your documents look the way you want them. The editing phrases you can say in Word dictation are:
phrase | |
---|---|
Backspace (1-100) | |
Delete (word or phrase)
|
|
Delete last/previous (1-100) character/word
|
|
Delete last/previous [1-100] sentence/paragraph
|
|
Delete the following [1-100] letters/words
|
|
Delete the following [1-100] sentence/paragraph
|
|
Delete, Scratch or Erase
|
|
Delete or Scratch?
|
|
insert space
|
|
undo
|
6. How to stop dictation
There are three ways to turn off the dictation feature in Word:
- Press dictate Press the button to stop voice input.
- Please click X Click on the menu bar to remove the dictation menu.
- You can say “Pause dictation.”
That’s all! You can start using speech-to-text with the following MS Word documents:
How to use the read-aloud feature in Microsoft Word.
Here’s how to read using Microsoft Word’s text-to-speech feature:
1. Listen aloud
Please click review Menu bar tab.select read out loud.
Click . read out loud When you press the button, a popup will appear. play, previous, Nextand setting icon.
To read the text aloud, play icon. To pause reading, pause icon. Press previous or Next Click the icons to move from one paragraph to another.
2. Change reading settings
To change reading settings, setting icon. Click . setting Click on the icon and a pop-up will appear.
Slide the slider bar inward to change the reading speed. Click the arrows below to change the audio. voice selection. Clicking on the arrow will drop down a menu with all the different audio options.
3. Quit Microsoft Word reading aloud
To end the reading function, X at the top left of read out loud Pop-up.
Best source for Microsoft Word templates (unlimited use)
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Learn more about Word
Have questions about Microsoft Word? Read the following articles to learn more.
Microsoft Word FAQ
Whether you are an expert in MS Word or a beginner, you probably have some questions. Below are frequently asked questions and answers for Microsoft Word.
1. What skills do I need to use Microsoft Word like a pro?
Microsoft Word has 12 important skills you need to know. These skills will help you take advantage of all the features of Word. To learn more about these skills, check out the following articles:
2. How do I recover a Microsoft Word document?
Microsoft Word has two features that can help in this situation.They are auto save and automatic recovery Features. These features prevent you from losing your documents. For more information about these features, see the following articles:
3. How can I check the character count in Microsoft Word?
There are several ways to check your word count. See your word count in the status bar or ribbon, or use keyboard shortcuts. For more information on how to check your word count in Microsoft Word, see the following tutorial:
4. How can I print documents quickly?
You can print documents from the menu or use shortcuts. Both options allow you to print documents quickly. For more information on how to quickly print documents, see the following tutorials:
5. How do I add comments to a Microsoft Word document?
Comments make it easy to collaborate on documents. Use the Track Changes feature to add comments to your documentation. If you want to learn more, read the detailed tutorial below.
Try these Microsoft Word features today.
Microsoft’s text-to-speech and Word’s dictation are useful features that anyone can use. Whether you have a disability or just want to multitask, these features can help.
To save even more time, download our premium Microsoft Word templates. The best place for premium templates and other assets is Envato Elements. Sign up now for unlimited access.