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Arlington Text to Speech - Help
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Using TTS
After you install TTS you can run it
either from the Start-->Programs-->Arlington Text to Speech menu
or by double-clicking the icon placed on the Windows Desktop. Note that
it is important to have installed the Microsoft SAPI 5 Speech Engine as
part of the TTS Installation process, otherwise errors may occur when
you start the program. Also, you will need a sound card in your PC along
with either speakers or headphones. When you run TTS you will be
presented with the main screen which is divided into four main areas:
The Toolbar, the Menu, the Other Controls and the Text window
as shown in Figure 1.
If you want to perform a quick test of
the programs speaking capability, start by clicking the Speak button on
the toolbar to speak the default text that comes with the program. You
could also highlight text in another program (eg E-Mail, Word or your
Browser) and copy the text to the clipboard (for example by pressing Control
C). The TTS program should then popup and begin speaking the text.
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The
Toolbar consists of a row of icons that let you Speak text, Pause Speaking, Stop Speaking, Skip Forward, Save to MP3, enter the Options menu or exit the program. The
Toolbar can be edited with any HTML editor, or even Notepad to change the button images or labels. The Toolbar
also allows you to enter the Options area by clicking on the Options button.
The Menu consists of drop-down shortcuts to many of the icons on the
toolbar, along with extra options, such as Load Text File.
The Other Controls consists of the Voice
Selection list, Speaking Rate and Volume controls. You also have the
ability to show or hide the talking blueberry Avatar and decide whether
the program should automatically detect and start speaking text placed on
the clipboard.
Most of the controls and features in the program have been made as intuitive and self-explanatory as possible.
Figure 1. The Main screen.
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