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Comparison of Free Text to Speech Programs: WordTalk, NaturalReader, and ReadPlease

Created by the Loudoun County Public Schools AT Team

|WordTalk |NaturalReader |ReadPlease |

|.uk | | |

|Text to speech for MS Word documents only |Text to speech for Word documents, PDFs, |Reads text in ReadPlease window that is copied|

| |PowerPoint slides, Internet, email |and pasted from any source |

|Toolbar docks onto Word toolbar under the |Choice of floating toolbar (Minboard) or copy|ReadPlease window, can be resized |

|Add-Ins tab |and paste text into Main Window | |

| |Can minimize to system tray |Can minimize to system tray; can be set to run|

| | |automatically when Windows opens |

| |Text in Main Window can be saved as .rtf or |Text can be saved as a .txt file or a |

| |.txt files. |ReadPlease file (.rpps or .rpnp) |

| |Can open saved . txt files from Main Window | |

|Click icons on toolbar or use keyboard |Click icons on toolbar or window to speak, or|Click icons on window to speak |

|shortcuts to speak; can configure to speak |use keyboard shortcuts. | |

|word on double-click. | | |

|Choose to speak by word, sentence, or |Text in Main Window is read from the cursor |Reads text from the beginning, or can select |

|paragraph |location to the end of the text, or text that|specific text to be read by highlighting with |

| |is selected by highlighting with mouse. When |mouse |

| |using Minboard, must select text to be read. | |

|Choice of voices; can change speed |Choice of voices; can change speed |Choice of voices; can change speed |

|Can change color of highlighted text |Text is highlighted only when in Main Window.|Can change color of highlighted text (has |

|(foreground and background) |Highlighted text has blue foreground and |foreground but no background highlighting) |

| |yellow background. | |

| |Can change font size, style, color |Can change font color, size, style and |

| | |background color; has low vision settings |

|Talking spell check and talking synonyms; can| | |

|configure to right click to access talking | | |

|spell check | | |

|Speak as I type feature: Echo letters, words,| | |

|or sentences | | |

|Converts text to MP3 or wave audio file | | |

| |Find and replace feature |Find and replace feature |

| |Help menu |Help menu |

| |Zoom feature | |

WordTalk docked toolbar (in MS Word)

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NaturalReader Minboard (floating toolbar)

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NaturalReader Main Window

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ReadPlease Window

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