If no text items are available, you will hear a tone. Otherwise, available text items in the current window are spoken for example, if Mail is the current window, an email message (main content) is read however, the “To” and “From” sections of the email are not read. If text is selected when you press the key, the selected text is spoken. To stop the speaking, press the key again. To have your Mac start speaking, press the specified key. To choose a different key combination, click Change Key, press one or more modifier keys (Command, Shift, Option, or Control) together with another key, then click OK. By default, speaking is enabled when you simultaneously press Option + Esc. Select the “Speak selected text when the key is pressed” checkbox. Speak Text may also be beneficial for a low vision student who may not have the mental ability or physical dexterity to learn or produce the more complex VoiceOver keyboard commands.Ĭhoose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Dictation & Speech, then click Text to Speech. Speak Text may be appropriate for a student who is low vision while that student is learning to use auditory input and/or in the process of transitioning to VoiceOver. Speak Text is not appropriate for a student who is blind or has severe vision loss. However, Speak Text does not announce buttons and other areas outside of the main body of content. Another option is Speak Text, which enables the student to choose to have the main body of text read aloud using one simple key command. VoiceOver requires learning a new set of keyboard commands in order to navigate and interact with the Mac.

For some low vision students, having the ability to listen to text read aloud without having to turn on VoiceOver may be beneficial.

Text reader mac