Reading PDF

You can listen to any PDF file that has a text layer using Windows Speech (Windows SAPI). This feature requires Windows 10 or better.

Text-to-speech languages can be installed and configured in Windows Settings, on the Region & language and Speech pages.

To set up default read aloud parameters

Choose File > Options > Read Aloud to specify language, voice, volume and rate. You can set here the range of accessibility for the entire document or for the first several pages only, and decide if you want to use tags to define the reading order. See Text To Speech Preferences for details.

To set up current read aloud parameters

Go to File > Info > Description and click the heading Properties, then open the Reading tab. Specify the reading order (from the left to the right or from the right to the left), as well as the language for the document to be read aloud.

To have text read aloud

Choose Advanced Processing > Read Aloud and select a tool:

Read Current Page - reads the current page from beginning to end.

Read to End of Document - reads from the start of the current page to the end of the document.

Read to File - all document text enters an mp3 file you can name and save.

Once you have started reading, the Read PDF toolbar is displayed.

It has following controls (from left to right):

Stop – stops reading out. (The Escape key also stops reading)

Pause – pauses reading. When paused, the button changes to Resume.

Previous page – jump to the beginning of the previous page

Previous paragraph - jump to the beginning of the previous paragraph

Next paragraph – jump to the beginning of the next paragraph

Next page - jump to the beginning of the next page

Reading an image-only PDF

Such PDF files or pages can be read only after they are made searchable.

Use the Search tool at the right of the Home ribbon to test whether a PDF document or page is searchable. Choose Search Current and enter a word from the PDF text (not in a comment or annotation). If searched words cannot be found, you must make the PDF searchable:

Use the Make PDF Searchable tool in the Convert group. This should allow the PDF content to be read aloud.

Reading order by tag structure

Usually, an in-built application algorithm determines the reading order. But the reading order can be defined by the document's tag structure.

To utilize this, choose File > Options > Read Aloud, and mark the Use tags for reading out if document is tagged check box.

When the application is reading out a PDF using its tag structure, it utilizes the following mechanism:

• Text elements: the Alternate Text property is read out. If it is not available, the program reads the Current (Actual) Text property. If this is not available, the text content of the given tag will be read.

• Non-text elements (for instance, images): Since these have no text content, only two of the above steps may apply: Alternate text is read out - in its absence, Actual Text. Such PDF elements will have Alternate text if they have been created from Word documents using the proper settings in Word (Format Picture dialog, Web tab). If not, their alternate texts have to be specified manually through the Tag tab in the Properties dialog box of the element concerned.

There are certain tag types that are treated specially by the PDF reading feature. These include:

• Tables: Reading first describes the table (number of columns and rows). Then table headings with the specification 'Heading'. Afterwards reading navigates through the cells following the left-to-right and top-to-bottom order. For every cell, the relevant header cell content is repeated first, before reading out the actual cell content.

• Headings: Before reading each heading, its level is defined.

• Numbered or Bullet Lists: First, the number of list elements is specified, then list elements themselves are read out.

• Form fields: When reading out uses tagging, only tagged form fields are included in it. In untagged documents, all form fields are read out - after the document content.

• Annotations: In tagged documents, only tagged annotations are read out. In untagged ones - all annotations (after form fields - if any).

These tag types are created when you generate tagged PDF files from Word using the Kofax PDF ribbon. The layout analyzer built into the product is not capable of detecting these tag types.

Note

We recommend that you use tag-defined reading order if you have a complete and verified tag structure.

Reading out using Jaws®

The software Jaws is one of the most widespread screen-reader application used to read texts of interface elements as well as document content. If Jaws is installed on your machine, this program works in close cooperation with it.

Having your PDF read out by Jaws is an alternative for the in-built document reading capability of the program. With Jaws running, as soon as a PDF is opened, its content will start to be read out. For this reading method, the following keyboard actions are available:

• Left arrow: read previous word

• Right arrow: read next word

• Up arrow: read previous content element in tag tree

• Down arrow: read next content element in tag tree

• CTRL+UP: read content of previous tag

• CTRL+DOWN: read content of next tag

• Page Up: read first content element of previous page

• Page Down: read first content element of next page

• Home: read first content element of document

• End: read last content element of document

• Escape: cancel reading

For the full list of supported keyboard shortcuts visit the Jaws support website.

Parsing the whole PDF document for reading with Jaws may take longer than desired.

If the document is tagged for reading aloud, then the screen reader keeps to the tagging by default. Select the Override reading order in tagged documents option to ignore tagging, instructing the screen reader to sequence the reading on its own. To control the sequence of text to be read out, go to File > Options > Accessibility > Speech and pick one of the following items in the Reading Order list:

• Use reading order in raw stream – Pick this item to mirror the sequence of the components (such as headings, text blocks) of the document.
• Left-to-right, top-to-bottom reading order – Pick this item to follow the conventional reading sequence.

To control the amount of pages to read, go to File > Options > Accessibility > Speech and pick one of the following items in the Page range list:

• Read the entire document – Pick this item to read the whole document.
• Read the currently visible pages only – Pick this to read only those pages displayed in the document panel.
• For large documents read the currently visible pages only – Applies the above setting, but only for long documents. Use the Number of pages that large documents minimally contain box to specify at least how many pages a document should contain to be treated as large.

When power PDF starts the first time together with Jaws, the Accessibility Options offers the Accessibility pages from the Options panel, aiming to help visually impaired people with quick display setup and screen reader setup. The same settings are available at File > Options > Accessibility > Display and File > Options > Accessibility > Speech.

Tip

To save only part of a PDF document to a sound file, use Split Document first.

Note

This product reads text in the language you chose at installation time. Go to File > Options > Read Aloud to change the reading language.