For people with visual impairments, making PDFs “speak” can bring them more convenience and reduce the pressure on their eyes. But how can we achieve to make PDF read aloud? The following are three reliable ways that have been proven.
Having a PDF read aloud can help ordinary people easily realize the joy of listening to books while also helping some people with visual impairment to access information. The following three tested aids allow you to “read” the contents of PDF files by ear.
Do Not Miss: 16 Best Sites to Read Free Books Online
Microsoft Word is a professional word processing application, it can not only provide you with some basic functions but also translate PDF or Word documents, insert PDF files in Word, check for spelling errors and other advanced features are not to mention. If you are willing to study it, then you can also find a lot of hidden features, such as reading PDFs aloud to you.
Step 1. Although Microsoft Word allows you to open PDF files directly, you can always guarantee that you do not lose the format. Therefore, the best way is to convert and save the format in PDFgear Online PDF to Word Converter. PDFgear is completely free and will not affect the original formatting of the document after conversion.
Use PDFgear to Convert PDF to Word
Step 2. open the converted document directly through Microsoft Word. Move the mouse to any blank position in the toolbar, and click the right button to select “Customize the Ribbon…” In the Word Option pop-up box, click “Quick Access Toolbar” to select “All Commands” for the Commands form, find and add the Find and add the “Speak” function button to the box on the right. Please remember to customize the default to “For all documents”.
Add Speak Function Button in Microsoft Word’s Quick Access Toolbar
Step 3. At this point, you will see the “Speak” function button in the Quick Access Toolbar. Move your mouse to the start position and click the icon to start reading, and the second click will automatically pause.
Have PDF Read to You in Microsoft Word
Adobe Acrobat Reader allows you to experience extremely fast feedback and review PDFs. you can let your workmates sign, add highlights, share annotations, add comments in PDFs, and more. When you want to take a break from your work, Adobe Acrobat Reader can also provide you with a read-aloud service. You only need a few simple steps to set up.
Step 1. After selecting the PDF file, select the way to open it with Adobe Acrobat Reader. Right mouse button > Open with > Adobe Acrobat.
Open a PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader
Step 2. Navigate to the top-left menu, and click View>Read Out Loud (at the bottom). You can choose Read This Page Only or Read To End of Document. you can pause or end the reading at any time, just go back to the Read Out Loud display bar and choose Pause or Stop.
Read PDF Aloud in Adobe Acrobat Reader
Step 3. You can customize your reading preferences. Click “Edit-Preferences…” In the pop-up box, select “Reading” in the directory. You can customize the reading volume, reading speed, and start position.
Customize Reading-aloud Settings in Adobe Acrobat Reader
The power of Preview is not only reflected in its ability to help Mac users to view, approve, notes, format converting, and make cropping operations in PDF, but also to provide you with more features you never expected, such as reading PDF files aloud.
Step 1. First of all, open a PDF file in Preview.
Open a PDF File in the Preview Application
Step 2. Move your mouse to the location where you want to start, click the top left toolbar “Edit-Speech”, select “Start Speaking” and you can start listening to the content of your PDF. Click “Stop Speaking” and you can pause or end the reading at any time.
Read PDF Aloud in Preview
If you want an application that will help you read PDFs out loud so you can do another thing at the same time, Adobe Acrobat Reader can help you. You need to open Adobe Acrobat Reader, upload the PDF, and click View > Read Out Loud > Read This Page Only or Read To End of Document.
Can I read a PDF file directly in my browser? Of course, you can, you just need to add a plugin. Open Google Chrome and search for the Read Aloud plugin in the Chrome web store to add it. Then open the PDF document to Chrome and then open the plug-in so you can let Google read the PDF for you.
Cell phones are more portable, so it would be great to have software to read PDFs aloud on your phone. But then you need to download some applications like PDF Speaker or eReader Prestigio on it.
How can I have a PDF reader for you for free? Whether you are a laptop or desktop computer, you must have a free office suite that can be activated, which includes Microsoft Word. you can add the “Speak” function to the function panel in its toolbar, click on it to let your PDF for you. You can add the “Speak” function to the function panel in its toolbar and then click on it to have your PDF read to you.
For Mac users, Preview is a good software for listening to PDFs. You just need to open the PDF file, click the “Edit” drop-down menu, find the “Speech” function button, and click “Start Speaking “.
These three methods either way can be a good solution to help you read aloud PDF needs. Of course, except for the Preview application which can only be used on Mac, Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat Reader are compatible with all platforms, so you can use them without worries. When conditions do not allow or when time is limited, having PDF files read aloud will become a very good solution. So please do try and use these methods to help you.