How to add text-to-speech voices to Windows 10 so that text can be read in the tone or language of your choice
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Dave Johnson
Jul 18, 2020, 01:15 IST
It only takes a few moments to add a text-to-speech voice to Windows.Crystal Cox/Business Insider
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You can add text-to-speech voices to Windows 10 through your PC's Settings app.
Once you've added a text-to-speech voice to Windows, you can use it in programs like Microsoft Word, OneNote, and Edge.
Microsoft has a text-to-speech feature built into a number of Windows programs, including Microsoft Office, the Edge web browser, and OneNote.
By default, the voices for your computer's current language are already installed. But if you need to install a second language, or if additional voices are released for your primary language, you can install them as well.
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The text-to-speech voices for all Microsoft apps are installed in the Settings app. Here's how to find and add them to Windows.
1. Click the Start button in the bottom-left, and then click the Settings icon, which looks like a gear.
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2. In Settings, click "Time & Language."
3. In the navigation pane on the left, click "Language."
4. Click "Add a preferred language" and then scroll through the list until you see the language you want to add. Click it, and then click "Next." It'll be installed.
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5. After it's installed, select it in the list of languages and click "Options."
6. On the language's details page, click "Download." This will install the language pack, which includes the voices for this language.
How to choose a voice for text-to-speech in Windows 10
After you've downloaded voices, you can choose which one Windows uses for text-to-speech.
1. While still in the "Time & Language" section of Settings, click "Speech" in the left sidebar.
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2. Underneath "Speech language," make sure it's set to the language you want text-to-speech to use.
3. Underneath "Voices," click the "Choose a voice" drop-down menu and select the voice you want to use by default. You can vary its speed and preview the voice here as well.
Some programs let you pick a text-to-speech voice that's different from the one the rest of Windows uses.
In Word, for example, click "Review" and then click "Read Aloud." A playback control menu will appear in the top-right of the screen. Click the gear icon to open the Read Aloud settings. Here, you can choose the voice you want to use in Word.
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Likewise, the Edge browser has a similar option. When you choose "Read aloud" from the three-dot menu, "Voice options" appears at the top of the page. Click it to change voices.
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