TorTalk for Mac - Manual
Manual –TorTalk 1.7 for Mac
Introduction
TorTalk is a program whose function is to read text via a speech synthesizer. The goal is to make it as
easy as possible to use. Thus, the number of features have been kept down and the number of steps
to get to different settings should be minimal.
There are three ways to read the text, first highlight the text to be read, then, press the play button.
Another way is to use settings that makes the tortalk read automatically when text is selected with
the mouse and the mouse button is released (this option must be selected first). Below are more
features.
Play - Reads the selected text. Select text in the application where you want to get text read
aloud and then press the button.
Pause or resume. Pauses, or resumes text being read aloud. When paused the current word
get read before the reading stops. Resume starts after last read word. The shortcut key for
this function is right SHIFT key.
Decreases reading speed.
Increases reading speed.
Opens a menu from which you can choose voice and language.
Opens a transparent window that can convert all text within the window frame to speech.
Works with images of text and whenever the text is not accessible. Even protected PDF files
and e-books can be read. See below for a detailed description.
Displays settings for changing voice, resize etc. See below.
1
TorTalk for Mac - Manual
Settings
Below are the settings that can be altered. All settings are saved automatically.
Voice and language - One of two places from where
you can choose voice and language.
Size - Determines the size of the program.
Read on mouse up - Checked, TorTalk reads when the mouse is released
after text is highlighted. This is done by TorTalk simulating the copy
function.
2
TorTalk for Mac - Manual
Mute parentheses - Checked, the program will skip all that is with
in parentheses. The text:” In occupational therapy, habits are
central to give structure in everyday life (Dunn, 2002; Hasselkus, 2000)” is read as: “In occupational
therapy, habits are central to give structure in everyday life”. Simply the contents without
parentheses. Content can still be read if the text within the brackets is selected without selecting the
parentheses. If this setting is not checked, all text is read.
Show hide buttons
Visible buttons - Here you select which buttons will
be visible. If you do not use all the buttons you can
deselect those and then TorTalk uses less screen
space.
Close settings – Closes the settings.
Pronunciation - Opens a window where you can change the pronunciation of
specific words. Example, abbreviations like “i.e” can be changed to “that is”.
When “i.e” appears in the text “that is” will be read instead. See below for further description.
Help – Opens this manual.
3
TorTalk for Mac - Manual
OCR – Speak text from images and locked documents.
The picture above shows a window that is placed over the text that you want to read. The window is
transparent, you can see whatever that is behind the window.
The picture above shows the same window with text behind. Pressing the play button reads the text.
It may take a few seconds before the reading starts depending on how powerful your computer is.
Changing the pronunciation of words
Here, you can change pronunciation of the word read.
Add words
Enter words you want to change pronunciation for in the first box, then the new pronunciation in
the second box. Then press the "Add" button.
Edit words
To change a word that is already in the list, select it and press “Edit”. The window below will be
open. Make your changes, then press "Save".
4
TorTalk for Mac - Manual
Update TorTalk
Every time the program starts it will search for a new update. If so the pop-up window below will
show. If you do not want to be asked about new updates then choose the option “Don´t check for
updates on start-up”.
You can always check for updates choosing “Update TorTalk” under settings. The window below will
then pop-up.
5