What it does

The Read Aloud tool will read whole Word documents, Outlook emails and web pages (viewed in the Microsoft Edge browser) aloud to you. 

How to use it

Word

Read Aloud is available in the desktop and online versions of Word. Instructions on how to use it are available on the Listen to your Word documents web page. Click on the platform you are using to get the relevant instructions.

Outlook emails

Read Aloud also works in Outlook. Instructions on how to use it are available on the Listen to your Outlook email messages with Read Aloud web page. Click on the platform you are using to get the relevant instructions.

Webpages and eBooks

To use the Read Aloud tool in Microsoft Edge, right click on the text you want to start reading and select Read aloud (the keyboard shortcut is CTRL+SHIFT+U). You can also usually find the Read Aloud icon at the right of the address bar. Once you have clicked on Read aloud, the toolbar will appear near the top of the browser. Use the Play and Pause buttons to control the reading. The Voice Options button allows you to change the voice and the speed of reading.

Some webpages can be accessed using Immersive Reader (please note, this feature is not available for all webpages). For instructions on how to have web pages read aloud in Immersive Reader please see What is "Immersive Reader" and how do I use it?

You can read aloud some of the Library eBooks using the Microsoft Edge Read aloud tool, but it will not work for all of them. More detailed help about the accessibility features of different Library eBooks is available on the eBook Collections page.

If the Read Aloud feature is unavailable you may need to update your Edge browser.

PDF files

You can use the Edge Read Aloud tool to read PDFs that open from webpages. 

For PDF files you have saved to your computer these will also open in Edge if you have set Edge as your default PDF viewer.  If not, you can open PDF files in Edge by:

1. Right clicking on the PDF file
2. Choose Open with from the menu
3. Then select Microsoft Edge  

Once you have a PDF file open in Edge, right click and select Read Aloud (the keyboard shortcut is CTRL + Shift + U). The Read Aloud toolbar will appear at the top of the window.  Use the Play and Pause buttons to control the reading.  The Voice Options button allows you to change the voice and the speed of the reading.