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Screen Readers - Browsealoud & Adobe Reader

Introduction / Screen Reader / Help with PDF's / Viewing / Text Size / Feedback

Browsealoud

Download the Browsealoud software (opens in new window)

As part of the ongoing efforts to make Oswestry Borough Council's services more accessible to the public we have now 'speech-enabled' our website using a system called Browsealoud.

By installing a simple free download on your computer, which you can download using the link on this page, you can have the text on our web pages and PDF documents read out loud. This can be a huge help to those with visual impairments, dyslexia, literacy difficulties or have English as a second language.

Once you have made the initial download it will allow you to easily access a number of other local and national government websites, as well as internet search engines such as Google and Yahoo, and the websites of many other high-profile organisations.

For more help, the Browsealoud Video Tour explains the functionality of Browsealoud. Click on the link or image below to view.

View the Browsealoud Video Tour

Using Adobe Reader to read out PDF documents

Newer versions of Adobe Reader (version 7 & above) include the ability to read out pdf documents. You can download the latest version of Adobe Reader using the link on the Help with PDFs page.

To activate this, open the pdf, and click on View in the toolbar. From the list, select Read Out Loud and then Activate Read Out Loud.

You can use the same menu to control what is read out loud - read out the page, or the entire document - and to pause and stop it at any time. For an example of how this menu looks in version 8 of Adobe Reader, click on the image on the left.

There are keyboard shortcuts to help, which are as follows:

To change the type of voice used and the speed in which the document is read out, go to the Edit menu, click on Preferences and select Reading from the list on the left.

To download new voices, visit the Texthelp webite.