Converting text to speech in LibreOffice and OpenOffice
Conversationalist
© Lead Image © warangkana bunyarittongchai, 122RF.com
Visually impaired users often find working with text and tables in office suites difficult. Pico TTS, a text-to-speech synthesizer, and the Read Text extension for LibreOffice and OpenOffice provide a solution.
Without special aids, people with vision impairments can find using a computer difficult. While icons can be sufficiently enlarged to make them readable, word processors and spreadsheets are a major hurdle. The fonts in the documents are almost always too small to be read and deciphering text is also difficult due to the smooth transitions in serif or cursive fonts.
In this case, programs that read the text out loud can help. These programs convert letters into linguistically adapted phonemes and then play them back via the computer's sound system with an installed voice.
On Linux, there are various screen readers for this purpose that are based on text-to-speech programs such as eSpeak or Festival. Solutions based on the popular eSpeak have the disadvantage of a synthetic computer voice: It is quite difficult to understand due to pronunciation that is typically very nasal and partly uses the wrong intonation.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Photoshop on Linux?
A developer has patched Wine so that it'll run specific versions of Photoshop that depend on Adobe Creative Cloud.
-
Linux Mint 22.3 Now Available with New Tools
Linux Mint 22.3 has been released with a pair of new tools for system admins and some pretty cool new features.
-
New Linux Malware Targets Cloud-Based Linux Installations
VoidLink, a new Linux malware, should be of real concern because of its stealth and customization.
-
Say Goodbye to Middle-Mouse Paste
Both Gnome and Firefox have proposed getting rid of a long-time favorite Linux feature.
-
Manjaro 26.0 Primary Desktop Environments Default to Wayland
If you want to stick with X.Org, you'll be limited to the desktop environments you can choose.
-
Mozilla Plans to AI-ify Firefox
With a new CEO in control, Mozilla is doubling down on a strategy of trust, all the while leaning into AI.
-
Gnome Says No to AI-Generated Extensions
If you're a developer wanting to create a new Gnome extension, you'd best set aside that AI code generator, because the extension team will have none of that.
-
Parrot OS Switches to KDE Plasma Desktop
Yet another distro is making the move to the KDE Plasma desktop.
-
TUXEDO Announces Gemini 17
TUXEDO Computers has released the fourth generation of its Gemini laptop with plenty of updates.
-
Two New Distros Adopt Enlightenment
MX Moksha and AV Linux 25 join ranks with Bodhi Linux and embrace the Enlightenment desktop.